Innovative Cementing Solution for Long-Term Steam Injection Well Integrity

Abstract

Abstract Operators involved in the recovery of hydrocarbons from heavy-oil reservoirs often face the problem of maintaining well integrity in steam-injection wells. A significant portion of these wells suffer various forms of leaks and in the most severe case complete steam breakthrough to surface. Throughout the life of heavy-oil wells, cement material degradation and stresses in the cement sheath induced by extreme temperature cycling result in severe mechanical damage and ultimate failure of the cement sheath. These problems motivate different operators to explore new cementing technologies that are capable of achieving reliable long-term zonal isolation in these extreme conditions. The main challenge for operators is to design thermally stable cement with mechanical properties sufficient to withstand stresses induced by the large temperature changes. This paper describes the development of a new cement system, which is stable, strong, impermeable and flexible up to a temperature of at least 350°C(650°F), corresponding to the maximum steam injection temperature. Depending on the curing temperature this new cement system provides low Young's modulus of 1,800 to 4,000 MPa while maintaining excellent compressive and tensile strengths compared to cements currently used in the oilfield industry. Aging the cement system for 6 months at steam temperatures demonstrates the stability of the set material properties, including maintaining a low permeability. Field trials in North America show that this new cement system can be easily implemented into standard cementing operations using conventional equipment. Cement evaluation logs after cement operations confirm that excellent zonal isolation and wellbore integrity are readily achieved. By keeping adequate strength and flexibility, this new cement system reduces the risk of cement sheath failure and steam migration throughout the life of these steam-injection wells. It provides a long-term well integrity solution for any well exposed to very large temperature increase after the cement initial set, such as in fields exposed to steam temperatures.