Improving Cement Bond and Zonal Isolation in Deviated Production Casing Through the Application of a New Generation Environmentally Friendly Enhanced Spacer System

Abstract

Abstract A successful cement job is a crucial element of obtaining and maintaining well integrity and ensuring safe and efficient hydrocarbon production. The success of cementation starts with a full understanding of good parameters such as formation characteristics and depends on a properly designed slurry and spacer system. The most challenging part of cementing a wellbore is cementing one with a low fracture gradient. There's a high risk of formation breakdowns and hole instability if maximum allowable equivalent circulation densities (ECDs) are exceeded. In addition to severe losses and formation damage, the outcome includes inefficient placement of the cement that warrants time-consuming and costly operations to assure zonal isolation. In Kuwait, first trial of a new generation of an environmentally friendly enhanced aqueous spacer system was used successfully in a highly deviated well for cementing the production casing covering shale formations. This paper discusses the design of the enhanced aqueous system and its technical features and benefits, which helped improve the cement bond and achieve zonal isolation.