Topics in oilfield cementing fluid mechanics

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Canada is the 3rd-largest producer of natural gas and the 6th-largest producer of crude oil in the world. The upstream sector employs over half a million people (directly & indirectly). Oil and gas accounts for approximately 70% of Canada's annual energy demand and accounts for 15% of Canada's exports. Before oil & gas can be produced, nearly every well is cemented by the primary cementing process. This process seals the outside of the well, increasing production and preventing subsurface fluids from percolating to surface. Reservoir recovery rates typically are about 30%, (lower for oil sands), so any loss of productivity is economically critical. Equally, the environmental and ecological impact of poor primary cementing is an important issue in petroleum producing areas. A recent upsurge of interest in shale gas production (particularly in British Columbia) has meant more gas wells and less consolidated formations for drilling. Both factors make effective cementing of wells more critical. This project addresses three aspects of the primary cementing process where an improved fundamental understanding of the fluid mechanics of the process can lead to improved design of cementing operations. Our technological objective is to use the knowledge that we develop, to enhance cementing operations worldwide. Over half a million wells have been drilled in Canada, with typically, 10-20,000 wells drilled annually. The majority of these wells will have one or more cementing operation carried out on them. Our supporting organisation, Schlumberger, is one of the most technologically focused oilfield service companies in the world & is a key player in Canada. As well as having a large global market share of oilfield cementing operations, Schlumberger has a suite of engineering software tools that are widely used for design of different cementing operations, converting physical understanding into useable engineering practice. This provides an ideal route through which to introduce new fluid mechanic knowledge to the oil industry, ensuring both an industrial and environmental impact.