Using Distributed Temperature Sensing to Inform the Quality of Cementing Operations

Abstract

AbstractSurveillance of well work-overs and downhole operations is not trivial but is becoming increasingly feasible with recent improvements in the technology of fibre optics. Well cementing operations are critical for providing zonal isolation over the life of a well. However, there are limited downhole options to monitor and inform operations in real-time. Installing a permanent fibre optic cable enables surface to reservoir permanent surveillance. In this work, fibre optic cables were deployed in 4 different wells using different configurations and test passive and active distributed temperature sensing (DTS) setups to interpret the quality of the cement injection and hydration processes.Well cementing can occur during well installation and decommissioning. For 3 wells, fibre optic sensing cables were installed for the purpose of monitoring the casing cementing installation, detect zones of isolation and any background lateral flow in the formation.For one of the well, fibre optic cables were installed inside casing to monitor a full wellbore decommissioning cementing operation. Following the same process, datasets were acquired prior to and during cement injection.Dataset acquired during mud circulation highlights interval of thief zones and potential leakage zones for the cement into the formation. The real-time surveillance of cement injection informs about the top of cement but also the in-fill of breakout intervals and the blockage of thief zones.The long-term surveillance of the vertical temperature distribution enabled to determine the timing and intensity of the cement hydration process and provided a unique insight on the quality of the cementing operations and its possible correlation to breakout intervals and thief zones.Active DTS was also used to confirm the completion installation as temperature diffuses differently depending on the presence or absence of gravel pack and the thickness of the cement sheath.Our results show that downhole surveillance of cementing operations is possible using DTS. This technology enables high vertical accuracy in real-time and long-term surveillance providing insights on the quality of the cement bond. In this case study, DTS has proven to be a very valuable and reliable tool throughout the cementing operations at 4 wells.