SPWLA 53

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Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

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Measuring Isolation Integrity in Depleted Reservoirs

Long Jiang, Dominique Guillot, Milad Meraji, Puja Kumari, and Benoit Vidick, Schlumberger
Bill Duncan, Gamal Ragab Gaafar, and Salmi B Sansudin, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd.

Copyright 2012, held jointly by the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log
Analysts (SPWLA) and the submitting authors

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPWLA 53rd Annual Logging
Symposium held in Cartagena, Colombia, June 16-20, 2012.


ABSTRACT

Isolating through proper cementing is critical in
depleted reservoirs, which are often near or very close
to higher pressure water zones. These same reservoirs
are often multilayered but production is not allowed to
be comingled, making isolation through cement
integrity even more important. Failing to ensure proper
isolation increases the likelihood of crossflow between
adjacent zones during the life of the well. Even when
the parameters necessary for a perfect cementing job
(centralization, mud removal, etc.) are well known,
interpreting cement logs (sonic or ultrasonic) in order to
assess well integrity is still a challenge in many cases.
Endless discussions will take place to determine if
zonal isolation is ensured or if remedial perforation and
cement squeeze operations should be performed.

In this study, cement evaluation logs were recorded and
interpreted in several depleted reservoirs. Nearly
perfect correlations between cement sonic and
ultrasonic logs and formation logs (total water
saturation, for instance) are clearly shown. Different
scenarios were looked at using all information possible
(logs, permeability, porosity, water saturation, etc.).

Based on detailed analysis and laboratory experiments,
a mechanism explaining those correlations was
proposed with possible solutions. This mechanism links
the decrease in the hydrostatic pressure during the
cement setting to the oil invasion or influx from the
formation. The possible effect of the gas invasion
through the cement slurry has also been reviewed in
this study. Numerous examples were obtained in the
same field with all data related to the formation
properties and cementing operations.

INTRODUCTION

During recent redevelopment of a 35-year-old field,
five new wells were drilled and completed. The
reservoirs are depleted at different levels. The first well
was cemented without any operational issues reported.
However, the cement bond logs showed poor cement
bond across the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs and
good cement bond in wet sands. The question was
whether zonal isolation was achieved around planned
perforations. The interpretation and corrective actions
taken would have direct impact on subsequent wells.
The aim was to improve the cement bond.

CEMENT EVALUATION

Before attempting to interpret the cement log, slurry
design, casing centralization, operational records, and
other information related to each cementing job were
reviewed. There were no design defects or operational
issues that could have affected the cement bond quality.

Cement evaluation was performed with conventional
sonic and ultrasonic logs. The conventional sonic logs
included the cement bond log (CBL) and variable-
density log (VDL). The ultrasonic log was acquired
with an ultrasonic imaging tool. The logs were run 2
days after the cementing job. Even though the cement
did not reach its full strength, the cement has reached a
high enough acoustic impedance to interpret the logs.

The log in Figure 1 is an example from the first well.
From left to right, track 1 is depth; track 2 shows the
formation evaluation results including fluid types; track
3 shows maximum, minimum, and average acoustic
impedance; and track 4 shows the cement map from
ultrasonic tool. This map is derived from acoustic
impedance. The yellow to dark brown coding represents
cement, green is microdebonded cement, blue is liquid,
and red is gas or dry microannulus. The bond index
map in track 5 is the color mapping of computed
indexes. The solid black line is the CBL. Track 6 is the
VDL.

The log response clearly indicated a good cement bond
in water sands and poor cement bond in hydrocarbon-
bearing reservoirs. This correlation was observed in
entire well. A fluid channel around 6,300 ft is most
probably due to formation fluid migration occurring
during the liquid to solid transition of the cement. The
hole size is constant and very close to bit size.

The impact of formation type on cement bond logs has
been discussed by other authors (Vidick. B. &
Krummel. K. in 2005). The hydrocarbon effect on the
cement bond is also a common issue in the industry.
However, it is very rare to see such good correlation in
the entire wellbore.

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Fig. 1 Good cement bond in water sand and poor
cement bond in depleted hydrocarbon reservoir.

Figure 2 is from a shallower section of the same well.
The logs show a similar trend. However, the cement
map indicates more microdebonded cement in less
depleted reservoirs. The microdebonding logic is well
explained in Butsch (1995).



Fig. 2 Microdebonded cement in less depleted
reservoirs.
Figure 3 shows the most critical part of the cemented
section because this is where the casing is to be
perforated. The presentation is the same as in Figure 1
except the formation tops are displayed on the left, and
the well sketch including the depth of the perforations
is added to depth track.

Both CBL and VDL logs show a very poor cement
bond. However, the ultrasonic cement map indicates
patchy cement. This is interpreted as a microannulus
effect. Microannulus effect on cement logs is also
described by Jutten and Hayman (1993). The question
now was whether there is hydraulic zonal isolation
between those perforations.



Fig. 3 Microannulus in depleted reservoirs.

To answer the question, the individual acoustic
impedances were plotted with scale of 0 to 10 MRay
(Figure 4). The ultrasonic tool was acquired in high-
resolution mode with 36 radial measurements and a 1.5-
in. vertical sample rate. The plot verified there are
many sections in which acoustic impedance is greater
than fluid threshold (~1.8 MRay). Based on field
experience, the minimum interval for zone isolation in
9 5/8-in. casing is 15 ft (assuming a bond index of 0.8).
On this basis one can conclude the ultrasonic log shows
there is hydraulic zonal isolation between the top
perforations at M5.0/5.5 reservoirs and the bottom
perforation at M7.0. The permanent downhole gauges
installed on the completion string confirmed there is no
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communication between M5.0/5.5 and M7.0 reservoirs.
The production tests also did not show an evidence of
lack of zonal isolation between the two sets of open
perforations.

The main concern was potential water production
through the microannulus. The logs did not indicate
apparent channels. Any squeeze attempt would be
difficult. The perforated zones are separated by sliding
sleeves. The decision was made to proceed without any
squeeze job.

In the case of a single-zone completion, one may
consider different options to prevent any potential water
production through the microannulus.



Fig. 4 Acoustic impedance display for reservoirs shown
in Figure 3.

To further investigate the possible causes of the poor
cement bond, the composite display including
ultrasonic bond index, total water saturation, and
depletion is shown in Figure 5. The depletion is the
pressure reduction from the initial reservoir pressure.

On the left track, the bond index in green shows very
good correlation with total water saturation in blue. The
reservoir depletion is shown as red dots. The only
difference on the right track is the ultrasonic bond index
included microdebonded cement. One can clearly see
more microdebonded cement in less depleted
reservoirs.

As discussed above, the poor cement bond is linked to
microannulus across the hydrocarbon-bearing zones.
However, the cement bond is good in water sands. This
phenomenon cannot be explained by a simple hydraulic
pressure difference between drilling mud and
completion fluid.



Fig. 5 Composite display of water saturation, bond
index, and depletion.


POSSIBLE MECHANISM

To be able to propose a possible mechanism explaining
why when the different pressure was high, thus
allowing a microannulus to be created, it is necessary to
go through a detailed analysis of the cementing job.

The slurry placement was executed as per design.
Figure 6 shows a comparison between the simulated
wellhead pressure (WHP, blue curve) and the acquired
WHP (green curve) during the job. Both curves do
match very well during the displacement which takes
place when the time exceeds 150 minutes. The higher
WHP acquired is due to a small difference (less than 50
ft) in the top of cement. The analysis does not show any
losses during cement placement.
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Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012
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Fig. 6 Wellhead pressure comparison between
calculated (blue) and acquired (green) pressures.

The next parameter to look at is the mud removal. Is the
mud effectively displaced by the spacer and the spacer
by the slurry?

Figure 7 shows that for the interval logged, there was
good separation between all the fluids during slurry
placement. It also shows that from a depth of 5,000 ft
and above, it is possible for some mud to be left in the
narrow side of the annulus. But this is above the zone of
interest.



Fig. 7 Mud removal plot.

The slurry was initially tested against the API
requirements for gas tightness i.e. a gel strength
development from the critical static gel strength (CSGS
in lbf/100 sqft) to 500 (lbf/100 sqft) in less than 45
minutes and an API fluid loss of less than 50 ml/30
min. From the well design and the top of cement, the
CSGS was found to be above 500 lbf/100 sqft,
indicating very low risk of gas migration during cement
setting. The gel strength development analysis showed
that only 21 minutes were required for development
from 100 to 500 lbf/100 sqft. The risk of gas migration
was therefore very low, and the slurry was, in any case,
gas tight (as per API specifications).

What made this cementing job different (at least for the
bottom section where a microannulus is observed) is the
extremely large differential pressure between the
hydrostatic pressure in the annulus (at the end of the
displacement when the slurry is still liquid) and the
formation pressure. This differential pressure exceeds
2,500 psi at 6,200 ft.

The amount of water the slurry can lose to the
formation was measured as per API specifications (i.e.,
after conditioning the slurry for 20 minutes at bottom
hole circulating temperature, BHCT, and under 1000
psi differential pressure only). The value was 36 ml/30
min. Due to safety and technical constraints, it was not
possible to measure the fluid loss at 2,500 psi
differential pressure. Outmans (1963) gave an equation
linking the filtrate to the square root of pressure as
follows:

K
dep
= deposition constant

Figure 8 is the relationship between API filtrate volume
and the square root of pressure.



Fig. 8 Relationship between API filtrate and square
root of pressure.

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An extrapolation to 2,500 psi increases the API
measured volume from 36 ml/30 min to 62 ml/30 min.

This figure might look small. However, one needs to
consider two important points. First, there are no data to
support this extrapolation through physical
measurements. Second, the open hole size is 12 in.
This makes a surface area of 462 square inches per foot
of length. The fluid-loss test is done in the laboratory
through a grid of roughly 2 in.
2
. So one could imagine
that the amount of fluid the slurry could lose with an
API fluid loss of 62 ml is very important. This very
large amount of water to the formation will create bulk
cement shrinkage. This shrinkage, if high, can induce
the formation of radial cracks (tensile failure) along the
cement column. Those cracks could allow the flow
(from formation fluids or gas) from the formation to the
interface cement/casing (once the cement is set) and
affect the cement bond quality as seen on the cement
evaluation logs.

The changes in the ultrasonic log versus depth are
abrupt (i.e., that within a foot, the log quality changes
from good to bad and vice versa). This indicates that
those changes are induced by phenomena occurring
after the placement of the slurry. The log variations
would be smoother and occurring over hundreds of feet
if those changes were induced by the placement (mud
removal, channeling, or bad centralization).

Across a zone where there is a high differential pressure
between the annulus hydrostatic and the formation
pressure, during the period where the cement is static
until it sets, fluid (water) is lost from the slurry into the
formation. This creates bulk shrinkage and radial
cracks. Once the cement is set, the cement pore
pressure has dropped to a value well below the
equivalent water density. Therefore, formation fluids or
gas will then flow from the formation to the slurry.

If radial cracks are present, then formation fluids or gas
can enter a microannulus and induce potential loss of
zonal isolation. When the differential pressure is not
large enough to generate radial cracks, formation fluids
or gas will still migrate through the set cement matrix
(set cement is not an impermeable material), and a
microdebonding (heterogeneous cement) was seen on
the log.

SOLUTION ATTEMPTED

A few options were available to improve the quality of
cement bond and therefore zonal isolation.

One solution would have been to use light-weight
cement. This would reduce the differential pressure
and, if the mechanism is correct, prevent the formation
of a microannulus. This was not done for economic
reasons. The cost of light-weight cement was found to
be excessive.

Another option would have been to improve
dramatically the fluid-loss control. If the amount of
fluid lost to the formation is reduced, bulk shrinkage
should also be reduced and the formation of radial
cracks and microannulus prevented. Preliminary
laboratory testing showed that it is possible to reduce
the fluid-loss value to less than 10 ml/30 min. However,
the amount of fluid-loss additive required excessively
increased the costs of the slurry, making it uneconomic,
similar to the case of light-weight cement.

The third option, used on the next four wells, was to
include expanding additive into the cement slurry. The
expansion takes place after the cement is set and is
induced by a chemical reaction in between the additive
and the water from the cement.

The expansion was measured in the API expansion cells
in water and oil baths. The results are presented in
Figure 9. They indicate that the expansion can take
place in presence of water and oil.



Fig. 9 Expansion tests in water and oil baths.


RESULTS

The well logs from well drilled after the first well
showed very good results. The short section shown in
Figure 10 is a log example across the oil zone. Both
ultrasonic and sonic logs confirmed the cement bond
quality is excellent.

The bond index does not correlate with total water
saturation. The trend observed in the first well does not
exist in the subsequent wells. The cement bond quality
has been improved in hydrocarbon bearing zones.
SPWLA 53
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Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012
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Fig. 10 Good cement bond across oil reservoirs.

All four wells are displayed in Figure 11. The overall
cement bond is good. The occasional low bond index is
related to gas reservoirs. The gas was trapped in gas
block cement. The zonal isolation is obtained in those
wells.



Fig. 11 Combined display of water saturation and bond
index.
CONCLUSIONS

A correlation in the first well shows good cement bond
in water sands and poor cement bond in hydrocarbon-
bearing reservoirs. The poor cement bond was caused
by the development of a microannulus in depleted
reservoirs.

Microdebonded cement was present in less depleted
reservoirs. Across gas reservoirs, gas was trapped in gas
block cement.

A detailed analysis of the log and of the cement job
execution (slurry placement and post-placement)
indicates that the loss of fluid from the slurry into the
formation (due to the extreme differential pressure)
would create cement bulk shrinkage. The shrinkage
would generate radial cracks allowing the flow of
gas/liquid through the cement to the casing/cement
interface. When the differential pressure is lower,
heterogeneous cement is seen with no loss of zonal
isolation.

The use of an expanding additive on four wells has
improved the quality of the cement bond and of zonal
isolation supporting the proposed mechanism.

NOMENCLATURE

A = filtration surface area, m
2

K
fc
= filtercake permeability, m
2

K
dep
= deposition constant, unitless
p = differential pressure, Pa
SWT = total water saturation, unitless
t = time, s
V = cumulative filtrate volume, m
3

filt
= filtrate viscosity, Pa.s

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd and
Schlumberger for permission to publish this paper.

REFERENCES SECTION

Butsch, R.J., 1995, Overcoming interpretation problems
of gas-contaminated cement using ultrasonic cement
logs: SPE 30509 presented at SPE Annual Technology
Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Jutten, J.J. and Hayman, A.J., 1993, Microannulus
effect on cementation logs: Experiments and case
histories: SPE 25377 presented at SPE Asia Pacific Oil
and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Singapore.

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Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012

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Outmans, H.D., 1963, Mechanics of static and dynamic
filtration in the borehole: SPE 491 presented at Drilling
and Rock Mechanics Conference in Austin, Texas,
USA.

Vidick, B., Krummel, K., and Kellingray, D.S., 2005,
Impact of formation type on cement bond logs: SPE
96022 presented at SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling
Technology Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, UAE.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Long Jiang joined Schlumberger as a field engineer in
November 1984, after graduating from the Petroleum
University in China with a BS degree. He has worked
in many areas including Asia, the North Sea, and
Canada. In 2000 he was assigned as senior
petrophysicist in Calgary. He moved to Bangkok in
2004 as senior petrophysicist for the region of
Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Long has been
principal petrophysicist in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
since October 2007. He is the author of SPE and
SPWLA papers and is a member of both societies.

Dominique Guillot is the Domain Manager for Well
Integrity/Cementing in Schlumberger. He received a
degree in civil engineering and completed his PhD
thesis on flow through porous media. Dominique has
more than 30 years with Schlumberger. He has had
various positions, mainly in engineering, during which
he contributed to the development of new technology
for cementing and hydraulic fracturing. He is the co-
editor of the Well Cementing book. He is currently
serving as a technical editor for the SPE Drilling &
Completion Journal and as the program chairman of the
SPE R&D Technical Section.

Milad Meraji holds his bachelors degree in civil
engineering from American University of Sharjah, and
his masters degree in petroleum engineering from
Herriot Watt University. His paper on Water
Resources and Possible Hazards Faced in UAE won
the third place in Green Gulf Conference and was
published in 2006. He joined Schlumberger in August
2006 as a wireline field engineer and worked in various
land and offshore locations throughout Indonesia and
Iran, including Jakarta, Papua, Central Sulawesi, and
Kish Island. He is currently one of the Lead Wireline
Field Engineers in Labuan, Malaysia.

Puja Kumari holds her bachelors degree in
mechanical engineering and masters degree in
chemistry from Birla Institute of Technology and
Science Pilani, India. She joined Schlumberger in
December 2007 as a cementing field engineer and
worked in various land and offshore (shallow and
deepwater) locations in Australia and Egypt. She
currently works as a technical engineer for cementing in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Benoit Vidick joined Schlumberger 25 years ago. A
chemical engineer with a PhD in chemistry, he has
worked in different parts of the world including the
North Sea, North America, North Africa, and Asia. He
holds different positions in between operations,
marketing, engineering, and research centres. He is now
an Advisor for Well Services Schlumberger in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. He was and is involved in HTHP
projects in the North Sea, North Africa, and Asia.
Benoit has experience in drilling fluid, cementing, and
sand control.

Bill Duncan graduated from the University of
Manitoba in 1976 with a BS degree in geological
engineering. After a 6-year stint with Schlumberger of
Canada as a Logging and Marketing Engineer, Bill
joined Canadian Superior Oil, subsequently Mobil Oil
Canada, in 1982. After 9 years working as an
Operations Log Analyst in the Geological Operations
Department of Mobil Oil Canada, Bill joined
PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd as a Senior
Petrophysicist in Miri, Sarawak, East Malaysia in
March 1991. After 15 years as Team Senior
Petrophysicist for numerous Asset Teams, Bill
transferred to Kuala Lumpur in March 2006 as Staff
Petrophysicist in the Production Enhancement Group in
PCSB. Bill is still in KL serving in the role of
Specialist Petrophysicist in the Logging Operations and
Production Enhancement groups.

Gamal Ragab Gaafar, PhD, is a staff Petrophysicist
with PETRONAS Exploration. He holds a BSc in
geology, MSc in sedimentology, and PhD in
hydrodynamics and reservoir evaluation. He has almost
26 years of experience in the oil industry in the area of
formation evaluation and petrophysics; currently, he is
the focal point of core analysis with PETRONAS. He
is a vesting professor with University Technology of
PETRONAS (UTP), teaching a formation evaluation
course for masters students. He published many papers
in the field of formation evaluation and reservoir
characterization. He is a member of SPWLA and SPE.

Salmi Sansudin joined PETRONAS Carigali (PSCB)
as a Petrophysicist in September 2006. He graduated
from University Technology of PETRONAS (UTP) in
2006 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After
two years of working as an Operations Petrophysicist in
many areas, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Northern
Africa, and Venezuela, he transferred to the Production
Enhancement Group in PCSB, where he working as a
Senior Petrophysicist.
SPWLA 53
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Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-20, 2012
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