Disadvantages Of Wellbore Cementing

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Wellbore cementing is a critical part of oilfield drilling operations normally conducted a number of times during the drilling of a well. Cementing is completed by pumping cement down through the casing then back up the annulus between the casing and formation creating a hydraulic barrier between the casing and the formation in addition to protecting and supporting the casing. During latter times in a wells life cementing can also be conducted order to plug zones or entire wells that are no longer producing [1].
Most all cements used in the oil field are Portland cements. This dry cement is created by mixing raw materials that contain high amounts of calcium, silicon, aluminum, and iron. These materials are ground up and heated in a kiln …show more content…

During hydration the cement reacts with the water to form three main components; calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), Calcium Silicate hydrate (C-S-H), and aluminum trisulfate also known as ettringite [4]. The C-S-H forms a gel that accounts for around 50% of the paste and is where most of the strength of the cement comes from by becoming a binding phase for all of the crystal structures formed in the cement paste. Calcium hydroxide then accounts for around 15 % of the cement paste and forms uneven hexagonal crystals that are grown around the C-S-H. Ettringite along with other products of the C₃A and C₄AF reactions account for 15- 25% of the paste form more crystalline parts of the paste the do not provide much to the strength of the cement …show more content…

This porous region is important because of the fluids contained inside them. These fluids will have free particles on cement that have not been reacted as well as unreacted ions. This liquid phase creates a link between the hydrated cement and outside environment as fluids can slowly travel through these pores. During the hydration process as all the reactions take place the porosity and permeability decrease as the strength increases in a process known as hardening [5]. This is due to the growth of C-S-H and can take varying amounts of time to become fully hydrated depending on environmental conditions. Figure 1.1 shows these mechanical changes happening over time in relation to the different products being reacted. The American Petroleum Institute (API) recognizes nine different Portland cement types. These different types of cements are distinguished by their different compositions allowing them to be used in different conditions. These different types of cement are presented in Table 1.2 along with their applications. In the united states the most common class used is class H because of its ability to be mixed with a variety of different additives to achieve a range of different requirements [7].
Table 1.2 API cement classes and application [6]
API class

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