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SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

Measuring Isolation Integrity in Depleted Reservoirs


Long Jiang, Dominique Guillot, Milad Meraji, Puja Kumari, and Benoit Vidick, Schlumberger Bill Duncan, Gamal Ragab Gaafar, and Salmi B Sansudin, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd.
Copyright 2012, held jointly by the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts (SPWLA) and the submitting authors This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium held in Cartagena, Colombia, June 16-20, 2012.

whether zonal isolation was achieved around planned perforations. The interpretation and corrective actions taken would have direct impact on subsequent wells. The aim was to improve the cement bond. CEMENT EVALUATION Before attempting to interpret the cement log, slurry design, casing centralization, operational records, and other information related to each cementing job were reviewed. There were no design defects or operational issues that could have affected the cement bond quality. Cement evaluation was performed with conventional sonic and ultrasonic logs. The conventional sonic logs included the cement bond log (CBL) and variabledensity log (VDL). The ultrasonic log was acquired with an ultrasonic imaging tool. The logs were run 2 days after the cementing job. Even though the cement did not reach its full strength, the cement has reached a high enough acoustic impedance to interpret the logs. The log in Figure 1 is an example from the first well. From left to right, track 1 is depth; track 2 shows the formation evaluation results including fluid types; track 3 shows maximum, minimum, and average acoustic impedance; and track 4 shows the cement map from ultrasonic tool. This map is derived from acoustic impedance. The yellow to dark brown coding represents cement, green is microdebonded cement, blue is liquid, and red is gas or dry microannulus. The bond index map in track 5 is the color mapping of computed indexes. The solid black line is the CBL. Track 6 is the VDL. The log response clearly indicated a good cement bond in water sands and poor cement bond in hydrocarbonbearing reservoirs. This correlation was observed in entire well. A fluid channel around 6,300 ft is most probably due to formation fluid migration occurring during the liquid to solid transition of the cement. The hole size is constant and very close to bit size. The impact of formation type on cement bond logs has been discussed by other authors (Vidick. B. & Krummel. K. in 2005). The hydrocarbon effect on the cement bond is also a common issue in the industry. However, it is very rare to see such good correlation in the entire wellbore.

ABSTRACT Isolating through proper cementing is critical in depleted reservoirs, which are often near or very close to higher pressure water zones. These same reservoirs are often multilayered but production is not allowed to be comingled, making isolation through cement integrity even more important. Failing to ensure proper isolation increases the likelihood of crossflow between adjacent zones during the life of the well. Even when the parameters necessary for a perfect cementing job (centralization, mud removal, etc.) are well known, interpreting cement logs (sonic or ultrasonic) in order to assess well integrity is still a challenge in many cases. Endless discussions will take place to determine if zonal isolation is ensured or if remedial perforation and cement squeeze operations should be performed. In this study, cement evaluation logs were recorded and interpreted in several depleted reservoirs. Nearly perfect correlations between cement sonic and ultrasonic logs and formation logs (total water saturation, for instance) are clearly shown. Different scenarios were looked at using all information possible (logs, permeability, porosity, water saturation, etc.). Based on detailed analysis and laboratory experiments, a mechanism explaining those correlations was proposed with possible solutions. This mechanism links the decrease in the hydrostatic pressure during the cement setting to the oil invasion or influx from the formation. The possible effect of the gas invasion through the cement slurry has also been reviewed in this study. Numerous examples were obtained in the same field with all data related to the formation properties and cementing operations. INTRODUCTION During recent redevelopment of a 35-year-old field, five new wells were drilled and completed. The reservoirs are depleted at different levels. The first well was cemented without any operational issues reported. However, the cement bond logs showed poor cement bond across the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs and good cement bond in wet sands. The question was

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

Figure 3 shows the most critical part of the cemented section because this is where the casing is to be perforated. The presentation is the same as in Figure 1 except the formation tops are displayed on the left, and the well sketch including the depth of the perforations is added to depth track. Both CBL and VDL logs show a very poor cement bond. However, the ultrasonic cement map indicates patchy cement. This is interpreted as a microannulus effect. Microannulus effect on cement logs is also described by Jutten and Hayman (1993). The question now was whether there is hydraulic zonal isolation between those perforations.

Fig. 1 Good cement bond in water sand and poor cement bond in depleted hydrocarbon reservoir. Figure 2 is from a shallower section of the same well. The logs show a similar trend. However, the cement map indicates more microdebonded cement in less depleted reservoirs. The microdebonding logic is well explained in Butsch (1995).

Fig. 3 Microannulus in depleted reservoirs. To answer the question, the individual acoustic impedances were plotted with scale of 0 to 10 MRay (Figure 4). The ultrasonic tool was acquired in highresolution mode with 36 radial measurements and a 1.5in. vertical sample rate. The plot verified there are many sections in which acoustic impedance is greater than fluid threshold (~1.8 MRay). Based on field experience, the minimum interval for zone isolation in 9 5/8-in. casing is 15 ft (assuming a bond index of 0.8). On this basis one can conclude the ultrasonic log shows there is hydraulic zonal isolation between the top perforations at M5.0/5.5 reservoirs and the bottom perforation at M7.0. The permanent downhole gauges installed on the completion string confirmed there is no

Fig. 2 Microdebonded cement in less depleted reservoirs.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

communication between M5.0/5.5 and M7.0 reservoirs. The production tests also did not show an evidence of lack of zonal isolation between the two sets of open perforations. The main concern was potential water production through the microannulus. The logs did not indicate apparent channels. Any squeeze attempt would be difficult. The perforated zones are separated by sliding sleeves. The decision was made to proceed without any squeeze job. In the case of a single-zone completion, one may consider different options to prevent any potential water production through the microannulus.

more microdebonded reservoirs.

cement

in

less

depleted

As discussed above, the poor cement bond is linked to microannulus across the hydrocarbon-bearing zones. However, the cement bond is good in water sands. This phenomenon cannot be explained by a simple hydraulic pressure difference between drilling mud and completion fluid.

Fig. 5 Composite display of water saturation, bond index, and depletion.

POSSIBLE MECHANISM Fig. 4 Acoustic impedance display for reservoirs shown in Figure 3. To further investigate the possible causes of the poor cement bond, the composite display including ultrasonic bond index, total water saturation, and depletion is shown in Figure 5. The depletion is the pressure reduction from the initial reservoir pressure. On the left track, the bond index in green shows very good correlation with total water saturation in blue. The reservoir depletion is shown as red dots. The only difference on the right track is the ultrasonic bond index included microdebonded cement. One can clearly see To be able to propose a possible mechanism explaining why when the different pressure was high, thus allowing a microannulus to be created, it is necessary to go through a detailed analysis of the cementing job. The slurry placement was executed as per design. Figure 6 shows a comparison between the simulated wellhead pressure (WHP, blue curve) and the acquired WHP (green curve) during the job. Both curves do match very well during the displacement which takes place when the time exceeds 150 minutes. The higher WHP acquired is due to a small difference (less than 50 ft) in the top of cement. The analysis does not show any losses during cement placement.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

setting. The gel strength development analysis showed that only 21 minutes were required for development from 100 to 500 lbf/100 sqft. The risk of gas migration was therefore very low, and the slurry was, in any case, gas tight (as per API specifications). What made this cementing job different (at least for the bottom section where a microannulus is observed) is the extremely large differential pressure between the hydrostatic pressure in the annulus (at the end of the displacement when the slurry is still liquid) and the formation pressure. This differential pressure exceeds 2,500 psi at 6,200 ft. The amount of water the slurry can lose to the formation was measured as per API specifications (i.e., after conditioning the slurry for 20 minutes at bottom hole circulating temperature, BHCT, and under 1000 psi differential pressure only). The value was 36 ml/30 min. Due to safety and technical constraints, it was not possible to measure the fluid loss at 2,500 psi differential pressure. Outmans (1963) gave an equation linking the filtrate to the square root of pressure as follows:

Fig. 6 Wellhead pressure comparison between calculated (blue) and acquired (green) pressures. The next parameter to look at is the mud removal. Is the mud effectively displaced by the spacer and the spacer by the slurry? Figure 7 shows that for the interval logged, there was good separation between all the fluids during slurry placement. It also shows that from a depth of 5,000 ft and above, it is possible for some mud to be left in the narrow side of the annulus. But this is above the zone of interest.

Kdep = deposition constant Figure 8 is the relationship between API filtrate volume and the square root of pressure.

Fig. 7 Mud removal plot. The slurry was initially tested against the API requirements for gas tightness i.e. a gel strength development from the critical static gel strength (CSGS in lbf/100 sqft) to 500 (lbf/100 sqft) in less than 45 minutes and an API fluid loss of less than 50 ml/30 min. From the well design and the top of cement, the CSGS was found to be above 500 lbf/100 sqft, indicating very low risk of gas migration during cement

Fig. 8 Relationship between API filtrate and square root of pressure.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

An extrapolation to 2,500 psi increases the API measured volume from 36 ml/30 min to 62 ml/30 min. This figure might look small. However, one needs to consider two important points. First, there are no data to support this extrapolation through physical measurements. Second, the open hole size is 12 in. This makes a surface area of 462 square inches per foot of length. The fluid-loss test is done in the laboratory through a grid of roughly 2 in.2. So one could imagine that the amount of fluid the slurry could lose with an API fluid loss of 62 ml is very important. This very large amount of water to the formation will create bulk cement shrinkage. This shrinkage, if high, can induce the formation of radial cracks (tensile failure) along the cement column. Those cracks could allow the flow (from formation fluids or gas) from the formation to the interface cement/casing (once the cement is set) and affect the cement bond quality as seen on the cement evaluation logs. The changes in the ultrasonic log versus depth are abrupt (i.e., that within a foot, the log quality changes from good to bad and vice versa). This indicates that those changes are induced by phenomena occurring after the placement of the slurry. The log variations would be smoother and occurring over hundreds of feet if those changes were induced by the placement (mud removal, channeling, or bad centralization). Across a zone where there is a high differential pressure between the annulus hydrostatic and the formation pressure, during the period where the cement is static until it sets, fluid (water) is lost from the slurry into the formation. This creates bulk shrinkage and radial cracks. Once the cement is set, the cement pore pressure has dropped to a value well below the equivalent water density. Therefore, formation fluids or gas will then flow from the formation to the slurry. If radial cracks are present, then formation fluids or gas can enter a microannulus and induce potential loss of zonal isolation. When the differential pressure is not large enough to generate radial cracks, formation fluids or gas will still migrate through the set cement matrix (set cement is not an impermeable material), and a microdebonding (heterogeneous cement) was seen on the log. SOLUTION ATTEMPTED A few options were available to improve the quality of cement bond and therefore zonal isolation. One solution would have been to use light-weight cement. This would reduce the differential pressure

and, if the mechanism is correct, prevent the formation of a microannulus. This was not done for economic reasons. The cost of light-weight cement was found to be excessive. Another option would have been to improve dramatically the fluid-loss control. If the amount of fluid lost to the formation is reduced, bulk shrinkage should also be reduced and the formation of radial cracks and microannulus prevented. Preliminary laboratory testing showed that it is possible to reduce the fluid-loss value to less than 10 ml/30 min. However, the amount of fluid-loss additive required excessively increased the costs of the slurry, making it uneconomic, similar to the case of light-weight cement. The third option, used on the next four wells, was to include expanding additive into the cement slurry. The expansion takes place after the cement is set and is induced by a chemical reaction in between the additive and the water from the cement. The expansion was measured in the API expansion cells in water and oil baths. The results are presented in Figure 9. They indicate that the expansion can take place in presence of water and oil.

Fig. 9 Expansion tests in water and oil baths.

RESULTS The well logs from well drilled after the first well showed very good results. The short section shown in Figure 10 is a log example across the oil zone. Both ultrasonic and sonic logs confirmed the cement bond quality is excellent. The bond index does not correlate with total water saturation. The trend observed in the first well does not exist in the subsequent wells. The cement bond quality has been improved in hydrocarbon bearing zones.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

CONCLUSIONS A correlation in the first well shows good cement bond in water sands and poor cement bond in hydrocarbonbearing reservoirs. The poor cement bond was caused by the development of a microannulus in depleted reservoirs. Microdebonded cement was present in less depleted reservoirs. Across gas reservoirs, gas was trapped in gas block cement. A detailed analysis of the log and of the cement job execution (slurry placement and post-placement) indicates that the loss of fluid from the slurry into the formation (due to the extreme differential pressure) would create cement bulk shrinkage. The shrinkage would generate radial cracks allowing the flow of gas/liquid through the cement to the casing/cement interface. When the differential pressure is lower, heterogeneous cement is seen with no loss of zonal isolation. Fig. 10 Good cement bond across oil reservoirs. All four wells are displayed in Figure 11. The overall cement bond is good. The occasional low bond index is related to gas reservoirs. The gas was trapped in gas block cement. The zonal isolation is obtained in those wells. The use of an expanding additive on four wells has improved the quality of the cement bond and of zonal isolation supporting the proposed mechanism. NOMENCLATURE A = filtration surface area, m2 Kfc = filtercake permeability, m2 Kdep = deposition constant, unitless p = differential pressure, Pa SWT = total water saturation, unitless t = time, s V = cumulative filtrate volume, m3 filt = filtrate viscosity, Pa.s ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors thank PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd and Schlumberger for permission to publish this paper. REFERENCES SECTION Butsch, R.J., 1995, Overcoming interpretation problems of gas-contaminated cement using ultrasonic cement logs: SPE 30509 presented at SPE Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, USA. Jutten, J.J. and Hayman, A.J., 1993, Microannulus effect on cementation logs: Experiments and case histories: SPE 25377 presented at SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Singapore. Fig. 11 Combined display of water saturation and bond index.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

Outmans, H.D., 1963, Mechanics of static and dynamic filtration in the borehole: SPE 491 presented at Drilling and Rock Mechanics Conference in Austin, Texas, USA. Vidick, B., Krummel, K., and Kellingray, D.S., 2005, Impact of formation type on cement bond logs: SPE 96022 presented at SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, UAE. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Long Jiang joined Schlumberger as a field engineer in November 1984, after graduating from the Petroleum University in China with a BS degree. He has worked in many areas including Asia, the North Sea, and Canada. In 2000 he was assigned as senior petrophysicist in Calgary. He moved to Bangkok in 2004 as senior petrophysicist for the region of Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Long has been principal petrophysicist in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since October 2007. He is the author of SPE and SPWLA papers and is a member of both societies. Dominique Guillot is the Domain Manager for Well Integrity/Cementing in Schlumberger. He received a degree in civil engineering and completed his PhD thesis on flow through porous media. Dominique has more than 30 years with Schlumberger. He has had various positions, mainly in engineering, during which he contributed to the development of new technology for cementing and hydraulic fracturing. He is the coeditor of the Well Cementing book. He is currently serving as a technical editor for the SPE Drilling & Completion Journal and as the program chairman of the SPE R&D Technical Section. Milad Meraji holds his bachelors degree in civil engineering from American University of Sharjah, and his masters degree in petroleum engineering from Herriot Watt University. His paper on Water Resources and Possible Hazards Faced in UAE won the third place in Green Gulf Conference and was published in 2006. He joined Schlumberger in August 2006 as a wireline field engineer and worked in various land and offshore locations throughout Indonesia and Iran, including Jakarta, Papua, Central Sulawesi, and Kish Island. He is currently one of the Lead Wireline Field Engineers in Labuan, Malaysia. Puja Kumari holds her bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and masters degree in chemistry from Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, India. She joined Schlumberger in December 2007 as a cementing field engineer and worked in various land and offshore (shallow and

deepwater) locations in Australia and Egypt. She currently works as a technical engineer for cementing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Benoit Vidick joined Schlumberger 25 years ago. A chemical engineer with a PhD in chemistry, he has worked in different parts of the world including the North Sea, North America, North Africa, and Asia. He holds different positions in between operations, marketing, engineering, and research centres. He is now an Advisor for Well Services Schlumberger in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was and is involved in HTHP projects in the North Sea, North Africa, and Asia. Benoit has experience in drilling fluid, cementing, and sand control. Bill Duncan graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1976 with a BS degree in geological engineering. After a 6-year stint with Schlumberger of Canada as a Logging and Marketing Engineer, Bill joined Canadian Superior Oil, subsequently Mobil Oil Canada, in 1982. After 9 years working as an Operations Log Analyst in the Geological Operations Department of Mobil Oil Canada, Bill joined PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd as a Senior Petrophysicist in Miri, Sarawak, East Malaysia in March 1991. After 15 years as Team Senior Petrophysicist for numerous Asset Teams, Bill transferred to Kuala Lumpur in March 2006 as Staff Petrophysicist in the Production Enhancement Group in PCSB. Bill is still in KL serving in the role of Specialist Petrophysicist in the Logging Operations and Production Enhancement groups. Gamal Ragab Gaafar, PhD, is a staff Petrophysicist with PETRONAS Exploration. He holds a BSc in geology, MSc in sedimentology, and PhD in hydrodynamics and reservoir evaluation. He has almost 26 years of experience in the oil industry in the area of formation evaluation and petrophysics; currently, he is the focal point of core analysis with PETRONAS. He is a vesting professor with University Technology of PETRONAS (UTP), teaching a formation evaluation course for masters students. He published many papers in the field of formation evaluation and reservoir characterization. He is a member of SPWLA and SPE. Salmi Sansudin joined PETRONAS Carigali (PSCB) as a Petrophysicist in September 2006. He graduated from University Technology of PETRONAS (UTP) in 2006 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After two years of working as an Operations Petrophysicist in many areas, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Northern Africa, and Venezuela, he transferred to the Production Enhancement Group in PCSB, where he working as a Senior Petrophysicist.

SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

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