A comprehensive review on the loss of wellbore integrity due to cement failure and available remedial methods

Yousuf, Navid; Olayiwola, Olatunji; Guo, Boyun; Liu, Ning

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2021.109123

Cited by 54 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Stable nanosilica dispersion is formed in the solution due to the electrostatic repulsive force. However, this stability is interrupted as high concentrations of Na + are introduced in the solution, resulting in the adjacent nanosilica particle interaction via silanol–silanol bonding and giving rise to a 3D network structure . Nanosilica concentration is a key factor to control the silica gel property including gel texture and the gelation time.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental Investigation of Nanosilica Gel Properties for Well Integrity Remediation

et al. 2022

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This study investigates the role of clay mineral, polyacrylamide additive, and nanosilica solution in the creation of a cross-linked gel for well cement repair. Several experimental setups were developed using a rotational viscometer and an Anton rheometer to investigate the impact of nanosilica particles on the rheology and performance prediction of the sealing gel. The results of varying the nanosilica concentration revealed that silica solution with a concentration of 15−25 wt % produced a lower gel strength property over a suitable gelation period, whereas silica solution with a concentration of 30−40 wt % displayed a higher gel strength property but with a short gelation time. The findings also demonstrated that adding 0.15 wt % polyacrylamide (PAM) to 18 wt % nanosilica significantly enhanced the properties of the gel, increasing about 135% in the gel strength, 429% in the yield point, and 122% in the storage modulus without posing any operational issues. The gelation of the nanosilica solution in the downhole environment, on the other hand, was shown to be greatly improved by the clay mineral bentonite, which was present in the formation rock. This research's findings have improved the oil and gas industry's understanding of the materials that might be used to improve a sealing gel's rheological properties for well integrity operations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The temperature, pH value, starting concentration of monomers and reactants, and catalyst conditions are known to influence gelation behavior . The gelation time is the time when the first clusters form.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Investigation of Nanosilica Gel Properties for Well Integrity Remediation

et al. 2022

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“…OGWs commonly lose their integrity due to the formation of cracks in the well cement or cement debonding with the formation or the well casing Bachu 2009, Bachu 2017). The most common approach to repair cracks and debonding is squeezing cement (Yousuf et al 2021). Cement squeezes involve injecting, at high pressure, a cement slurry into the cement annulus or cracks; after the injection is complete, the well gets shut in for a duration between 48 and 72 h, and production stops, to allow the slurry to solidify (Yousuf et al 2021).…”

Section: Repair Strategies 341 Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing oil and gas well leakage: a review of leakage drivers, methane detection and repair options

Hachem

Kang

2023

Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain.

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Oil and gas wells (OGWs) with integrity failures can be a conduit for methane and contaminant leakage to groundwater aquifers, surface water bodies and the atmosphere. Recent reviews have addressed OGW leakage but focused on specific types of wells (conventional/unconventional) or specific geographic regions. Here, we conduct a literature review and focus on factors and policies affecting leakage of active and abandoned OGWs, studies quantifying OGW methane emissions, and leakage repair and emission reduction options. Of the 38 factors reviewed here in published literature, studies find that 15 (39%) factors, including geographic location, well deviation, casing quality and plugging status consistently affect OGW leakage. For 15 (39%) factors, including surface casing depth, well elevation and land cover, one or two studies show that they do not affect OGW leakage. For the remaining eight (21%) factors, including well age, studies show conflicting results. Although increased frequency of well monitoring and repair can lead to reduced OGW leakage, several studies indicate that monitoring and repair requirements are not always enforced. Moreover, we find that while 27 studies quantify OGW methane emissions to the atmosphere at the oil and gas wellhead scale, there still are major gaps in the geographical distribution of the collected data, especially for abandoned and orphaned wells. Although studies measuring abandoned wells may include measurements from orphaned wells, these measurements are not separated by well status (orphaned/abandoned), which is important for policy makers aiming to plug thousands of orphaned wells. To repair OGW leakage, we find that most studies focus on well cement and casing repair, and other studies focus on improving the cement mixture to avoid the need for repairs. Alternatives to cement and casing repair for methane emission reductions, such as soil methane oxidation to reduce leakage from OGWs may be effective, but their widespread applicability requires further study. Overall, our review of factors affecting OGW leakage can be used to guide OGW leakage monitoring and repair policies to target wells with high leakage potential, thereby reducing climate and environmental impacts.

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“…Annulus compression zone and gas channeling are challenging (Bu et al, 2016;Zhao et al, 2018;Zeng et al, 2019;Bu et al, 2020a;Bayanak et al, 2020) problems in the development and production of oil and gas wells because cement rings are subjected to casing internal pressure (Bu et al, 2020b;Guo et al, 2020;Kuanhai et al, 2020;Kuanhai et al, 2021) and formation stress (Su et al, 2022). The failure of its mechanical integrity (Wang and Taleghani, 2014;Omosebi et al, 2017) leads to damage, cracks, and the appearance of microannular gaps on the cemented surface, yielding annulus packing failure (Yousuf et al, 2021), introducing enormous safety hazards to the later exploitation of oil and gas wells. In cementing formations with a low pressure coefficient and easy leakage, especially in fracture-type and cave-type carbonate formations (Wang et al, 2021), it is very easy to cause a loss of circulation if a conventional cement slurry with a density of about 1.9 g/cm 3 is used for cementing, yielding inadequate cementing quality and cementing failure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on the Mechanical Integrity of Low-Density Cement Mortar

Xie¹,

Cheng

et al. 2022

Front. Mater.

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Poor mechanical integrity of cement sheaths during the production of oil and gas wells may cause air channeling and water channeling issues in the wells, leading to severe safety problems, and adversely affecting the safety and efficiency of the oil and gas resources production. This article focuses on a low-density cement slurry system with added floating beads. The compressive strength and flexural strength of cement stones, the mechanical integrity of cement rings, and triaxial mechanical properties were assessed. The optimal dosage of floating beads and the evolution of the cement stone’s mechanical properties and deformation ability were discussed. Bonding strengths of the first and the second interfaces were evaluated using the shrinkage test results of the cement mortar. Finally, the microscopic mechanism of the change in mechanical properties was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the cement mortar exhibited the best compressive strength, mechanical integrity, and deformability after blending with 15% floating beads. At the same time, the volume shrinkage of the cement mortar mixed with 15% floating beads was the smallest, only 0.00667%, plausibly indicating good bonding with a casing and the formation to reduce the occurrence of gas channeling. Finally, the microscopic test of the cement mortar showed that the bonding between floating beads and cement was not tight, so internal cracks in the cement easily developed along the bonding part of cement and floating beads. The more floating beads were mixed, the more likely was cement mortar destroyed.

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A comprehensive review on the loss of wellbore integrity due to cement failure and available remedial methods

Cited by 54 publications

References 69 publications

Experimental Investigation of Nanosilica Gel Properties for Well Integrity Remediation

Experimental Investigation of Nanosilica Gel Properties for Well Integrity Remediation

Reducing oil and gas well leakage: a review of leakage drivers, methane detection and repair options

Research on the Mechanical Integrity of Low-Density Cement Mortar

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