Investigating the Benefits of Rotating Liner Cementing and Impact Factors

Abstract

Abstract Effective primary cementing in the wellbore is critical to achieve positive wellbore isolation for the life of the well. This paper discusses an expandable liner hanger (ELH) system, which provides liner rotation during the liner deployment and the cementing operation while also providing a hydraulically energized liner-top seal on setting. The wells in this case study were drilled and 7″ liners installed using an expandable liner hanger system. This paper demonstrates the cementing result of the cemented liners in 30 wells during a 2 ½-year period. The wells consisted of two types of liner installations: liner jobs in which rotation was planned and achieved and liner jobs in which rotation was not planned due to equipment limitations (cementing results prompted a change to a high torque rotating liner system). The study evaluates the quality of cement bond with the effects of liner rotation, standoff, displacement rate, openhole inclination, openhole exposure time, and dogleg severity (DLS). In hostile well environments, the cementing of liners has always presented a challenge to conventional cementing liner operations. Well designs are inherently more complex because the targets are deeper, and the downhole conditions are uncertain. Highly deviated and extended reach well configurations require much more planning when developing the drilling and completion design. An ELH system has been developed to address the challenges in the conventional cementing liner operation, which can increase the probability of achieving overall operational success. The result of this study shows that rotating the liner during the cementing operation achieved better cement quality. The case histories of the wells using the expandable liner system verify the key consideration factors presented in this paper, which helps to improve the quality of liner cementing bond.