SPE 108415

Cement Bond Evaluation

Eddie H. Shook, Gary J. Frisch Halliburton, Tony Lewis, Centurion Exploration

Copyright 2008, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2008 SPE Western Regional and Pacific Section AAPG Joint Meeting held in Bakersfield, California, U.S.A., 31 March2 April 2008.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Because of increasing rig rates, the costs associated with the cement bond evaluation are now subject to scrutiny.
Traditionally, the cost of the service and interpretation were linked to the value of the information provided, i.e. the quality of
data gathered was directly related to the necessity of zonal isolation. The daily rig cost must now be considered, specifically
costs directly related to the operating time required to acquire the cement evaluation data. The cost of operating rig time is
often an order of magnitude higher than that of the cement bond logging service and should be a critical factor in the
determination of the service provider and type of equipment run.
The correct logging tool and evaluation method provides the best process for evaluating the cement sheath. Several
wellbore factors should be considered when selecting the proper tool for optimal results, including casing size, well
deviation, fluid type, and fluid weight during the logging operations. However, the reservoir and the chosen completion
should also influence the selection of the cement evaluation tool. Reservoir properties to consider include water contacts in or
near zone of interest, drive mechanisms and isolation between production zones. The completion design, including
perforation strategies, stimulation method, and sand control, should also influence the cement sheath evaluation process.
The challenges of a cost efficient and complete cement sheath evaluation required the development of a new cement
evaluation tool. The FASTCAST tool expands the capabilities of CAST-V and existing analysis software. The new
ultrasonic tools increase the logging speed up to five times, significantly reducing logging time, rig time, and costs. The tool
provides cement evaluation and casing evaluation during the same logging pass. The existing software packages for cement
and casing evaluation were updated to provide a complete analysis package for the new tool. The paper presents case
histories to provide details about the economic advantage from using this new technology and processed logs showing both
casing and cement evaluation.

Traditional Cement and Casing Evaluation Tools

Traditional cement evaluation uses standard tools and methods to determine the presence and integrity of the cement
sheath. These tools include the sonic or standard cement bond log (CBL), and the newer ultrasonic tools, which consist of the
multi-transducer ultrasonic tools and the new generation of rotating, single-transducer ultrasonic tools. Several previously
published papers in the bibliography Frisch et al.12345 provide more detail about tool theory and applications. When
combined, these two types of tools provide an accurate determination of the cement sheath and cement to pipe and cement to
formation coupling. Unfortunately, the standard logging speed of cement evaluation tools are 15 FPM to 30 FPM. Since the
cost of a typical remedial cement operation can be as much as $2,000,00 in Deepwater US, it is time to seriously evaluate
cement evaluation tools and techniques to reduce needless remedial cement expenses and cement evaluation logging time.

Cement Bond Log (CBL) Tools

In conventional CBL tools, a transmitter is pulsed to produce an omnidirectional acoustic signal that travels along various
paths through the borehole fluid, pipe, cement, and formation, to a set of receivers. The logging system records the received
waveforms and displays them on the log along with a pipe-amplitude curve. Interpretation of the CBL uses these two
measurements to evaluate two bonds; the first bond measures the cement-to-pipe bond, and the second measures the cement-
to-formation bond. These tools include cement bond (CBL), segmented bond (SB), and the radial bond (RB). Traditionally
the pipe amplitude curve has been used to determine the quality of the pipe to cement bond, while the waveform display is
used to determine both the pipe to cement bond and the cement to formation bond. The classic interpretation of the waveform
display is that straight traces indicate there is no cement in the borehole, while any variation in the acoustical waveform
indicates that some cement is present.
2 SPE 108415

Ultrasonic Cement and Casing Evaluation Tools

Instead of a separate source and receiver, the ultrasonic source and receiver are manufactured together as a transducer. This
ultrasonic scanning or imaging acoustic tool uses a single rotating ultrasonic transducer to produce an ultrasonic signal that
will allow evaluation of the casing condition and cement sheath in the annular space next to the casing. From the ultrasonic
waveform analysis it is possible to determine the two way travel time from the transducer to the casing, the frequency of the
signal, and the die down response of the signal. From these measurements the casing radius, casing thickness, and impedance
of the material behind the casing can be determined. Using this information a detailed analysis of both the casing and cement
sheath can be made. Combining the CBL and ultrasonic tools allows for recording all the data in one pass of wellbore to save
valuable rig time.

Improved Ultrasonic Scanning Tool

Improving upon Halliburtons existing ultrasonic scanning tool the CAST-V it is now possible to log up to 5 times faster with
the FASTCAST tool than the traditional ultrasonic tools. Both the FASTCAST and CAST-V ultrasonic tools consists of two
transducers, one rotating to provide casing and cement evaluation data, and another fixed transducer to provide fluid
properties inside the wellbore.6 The improvements consisted of upgrading the tool electronics and waveform picking
algorithms. The FASTCAST tool data acquisition system is both versatile and programmable at the wellsite which allows
speed optimization based on the customers requirements and the characteristics of the borehole. The FASTCAST tool allows
100% horizontal coverage with a vertical sample rate of 1, 3 or 6 inches (12,4,or 2 samples per foot) in the vertical plane. A
job planner allows the wellsite engineer to select the proper transducer frequency and position to provide optimum results for
both cement and casing evaluation. The tool itself has two different modes, cased hole and image mode. The cased hole mode
is run the majority of the time and provides information about the casing internal diameter (id), casing thickness, and acoustic
impedance of the material behind pipe. The image mode is logged at 100% horizontal coverage with a vertical resolution of
1/5 inch (or 60 samples per foot). This mode provides a highly detailed image of the interior casing defects, however the pipe
thickness and the impedance values are not measured.

Cement Evaluation
Since the FASTCAST is an upgrade to existing tools, it was possible to upgrade the existing software to provide a detailed
analysis of the cement sheath. The Advanced Cement Evaluation (ACE) software, which has been described in previous
publications, allows evaluation of both complex and standard cement slurries. Since ACE was designed for the CAST-V,
only slight modifications were necessary to allow ACE to process the data from the FASTCAST toolstring. ACE highlights
the subtle changes in the impedance in order to distinguish solid and liquid phases, especially in lightweight or foam cements.
This sped the development time for post-processing programs, and increased the customer confidence in both the raw data
and processed results.

Casing Inspection
It was decided that with the new casing inspection tool an improved analysis product was required to allow easier
understanding of the casing inspection data. The FASTCASE software provides detailed description of the casing damage
including interior and external wear, 3 dimensional images, along with spreadsheets listing both depth by depth damage
along with joint damages. These outputs allow easy monitoring of casing damage over time, and evaluation of riser wear with
minimal effort.

Case History #1 Gulf Of Mexico Shelf well

The first example is a GOM well on the shelf that had a rig cost of $225,000 per day. The main emphasis for this log was
cement evaluation using the CBL/FASTCAST combination tool string. An ACE analysis was also included.

Normal/Max/Acquired
Wellbore Maximum Feet Total Time Total Cost
Casing Size Logging Speed
Fluid Deviation Logged Savings Savings
(ft/min)
7 5/8, 29.7
11.9 WBM 33 30/150/102 9850 3.9 Hours $36,500
lb/ft
SPE 108415 3

GR
0 100

ECCE TT
0 1 260 160 AMPLITUDE
OVAL 0 100
0 .2 AMPLIFIED AVERAGE
MFTT AMPLITUDE WMSG IMPEDANCE IMPEDANCE
220 170 0 10 -2500 2500 10 0 0 6.15

Mainly
Free pipe

X100

Transition
Zone

X200

Pipe to pipe
contact
Apparent top
of cement

Figure 1: This is the raw cement evaluation log for the 7 5/8 inch casing for case history #1. Both the CBL and FASTCAST data
indicate the cement top is at approximately X250. Above this depth the amplitude and average impedance both indicate a transition
to free pipe. This transition zone extends up to X150 and probably contains a mixture of mud, spacers, and lead cement. On most
cement evaluation logs this phenomenon is recognizable but with the ACE processing it is more enhanced. At approximately X100
the log indicates free pipe. The tools are well centralized as indicated by both the eccentricity curve and the tt curve. The knothole
affects visible in the lower section indicate pipe to pipe contact but also indicates a thin cement sheath.
4 SPE 108415

AMPLITUDE
0 100
AMPLIFIED
GR AMPLITUDE
0 100 0 10
FASTCAST
ECCE BOND IND.
0 1 1 0
CEMENT
AVG Z BOND IND.
WMSG WMSGT IMPEDANCE VARIANCE CEMENT
10 0 1 0 -2500 2500 0 2500 0 6.15 0 1.2 0 1

Chevron
indicate
Free pipe
X100

Transition
Zone

X200

Apparent top
of cement

Chevron
indicate
Bonded pipe

Figure 2: This is processed ACE log for Well #1. The FASTCAST Bond Index and Cement Bond Index are calculated from the
Impedance and Cement images shown. Above X100 there is about 50% bonding to the casing and in the lower section the bond is
closer to 90% as indicated by the Cement Bond Index. The change in the WMSGT chevron signature indicates the lower section has
more cement than the upper section. ACE processing can help determine the presence of a cement sheath in the annular space and
help determine both the cement bond to casing and formation.
SPE 108415 5

Case History #2 Gulf Of Mexico Deep Water well

The second well consisted of a GOM deepwater well with a 7 production liner, a 9-7/8 production liner, and a 9-7/8 tie-
back liner. The original specification requested a cement evaluation over the 7casing with an additional pass over the 9-7/8
production liner. The rig cost for this well was $156,000 day or $6,500/hr. Prior to the logging run, a pressure test on the
casing had failed, and the leak path had been located in the vicinity of the tie-back receptacle. During the cement evaluation
pass for the 9-7/8 liner, there was a noticeable change in the log response at the tie-back receptacle for the 9-7/8 tie-back.
An imaging pass was then made over this interval to try and determine the cause of the response. With the FASTCAST, it is
not necessary to change the transducer to switch to the imaging mode so approxiamelty 2 hours of rig time were saved.
The processing on the high resolution imaging pass showed tie-back liner seals were not engaged into the tie-back receptacle
as shown by the large ID change in figures 4 & 5. This confirmed the reason for the failed pressure test on the casing string,
and eliminated earlier concerns that the leak may have been due to casing wear.

GR
0 100

ECCE TT
0 1 260 160 AMPLITUDE
OVAL 0 100
0 .2 AMPLIFIED AVERAGE
MFTT AMPLITUDE WMSG IMPEDANCE IMPEDANCE
220 170 0 10 -2500 2500 10 0 0 6.15

Good
Bond

Liner Top

Very High
Eccentricity

X200

Figure 3: This is the cement evaluation log for the 9 7/8 production tie-back. The CBL data shows a consistent good bond over the
entire interval from above the liner top to X220. while the there is a noticeable change in the impedance map.
6 SPE 108415

One benefit with this tool string is the ability to capture both cement and casing information in the same logging pass.
This may allow unusual log readings to be evaluated with the other evaluation. In this case changes in the casing sizes and/or
types can account for some of the changes in the cement log response seen in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows the casing evaluation
presentation over the same depths as Figure 3.

Figure 4: This is the FASTCASE output presentation is designed to provide a total description of casing condition over the zone in
question which shows different casing sizes in the tieback area. The casing above X154 and below consists of the standard 9 7/8
inch casing, while the casing in between consists of pipe joints featuring several different weights and IDs. The pipe thickness is
about 40% less than expected which results in apparent damage as shown in both the pipe thickness and pipe damage images. The
liner top region shows a larger radius than expected thus showing interior damage of 100 %. These calculations are based on the
known radius and thickness of the 9 7/8 62.8 lb casing. It appears that there are at least four different casing sizes over this zone
based on the measured pipe radius and thickness. A complete description of the log tracks are found in the appendix.

It was decided to make an imaging pass over the zone to try to determine the cause of the response. The image log was
recorded at 120 shots in the horizontal plane with a .2-inch vertical (60 samples per foot). With the FASTCAST it is not
necessary to pull out of the hole to change transducer to allow imaging so approximately 4 hours of rig time were saved.
Processing the high resolution imaging pass showed that the liner did not seat properly as shown in figures 5. Due to the
changes in ID, different scales are shown to provide the detail needed for visual inspection of the tie-back region. It was
determined that in this area fluid was leaking from the casing due to improper sealing.
SPE 108415 7

GR AVE. RADIUS
0 100 4 6
ECCENTRICITY MIN. RADIUS
0 1.0 PIPE CORRECTED 4 6 PIPE CORRECTED
OVALITY AMPLITUDE TRAVEL TIME MAX. RADIUS AMPLITUDE TRAVEL TIME
0 .2 1000 1200 53 63 4 6 300 1050 84 89

RESCALE SHOWING
LINER OVERLAP

Liner Top

X200

Figure 5: Both the pipe amplitude and corrected travel time images are the same image with different scaling used to detail the
interior portion of the casing. The calculated radiuses are shown to be about 1 inch higher in the liner top region than expected. The
pipe amplitude images allow detailed examination of the interior portion of the casing. Here the collars, pipe scratches and other
casing abnormalities are easily seen.

7 inch Riser
Figure 6 shows the cement evaluation log for the 7-inch riser. The blue channel that occurs from the top of the liner to Y450
appears to be casing to formation contact, not a true channel that will be easily squeezed. Below Y450, the cement appears to
have good bond to both the formation and casing except for a couple slight vugs around Y550 and Y600. In this case, ACE
was run but did not substantially change the interpretation.
8 SPE 108415

GR
0 100

ECCE TT
0 1 260 160 AMPLITUDE
OVAL 0 100
0 .2 AMPLIFIED AVERAGE
MFTT AMPLITUDE WMSG IMPEDANCE IMPEDANCE
220 170 0 10 -2500 2500 10 0 0 6.15

Y200
7 inch
Liner Top

Y300 Fair Cement to

Casing Bond
Pipe to
formation
contact

Y400

Y500

Y600

Good
Bond

Figure 6: This is the basic cement evaluation display for the combination tool string. The apparent channel appears to be pipe to
formation contact and remedial operations over this section are probably not necessary.
SPE 108415 9

Total Savings
The following chart provides details about the total logging program and associated savings to the customer by using the
FASTCAST compared to the previous generation of ultrasonic tools.

Casing Size Wellbore Maximum Normal/Max/Aquired Feet Total Time Total Cost
Fluid Deviation Logging Speed Logged Savings Savings
(ft/min)
7, 32 lb/ft 30 / 150 / 60 1245 0.4 Hours $2,600
14.0 ppg
9 7/8, 62.8 lb/ft 56 30 / 150 / 61 5820 1.6 Hours $10,400
CaCl2/CaBr2
9 5/8, lb/ft 10 / 10 / 10 300 4.0 Hours $26,000

Totals: 6.0 Hours $39,000

Summary and Conclusions

There are several reasons for the this advanced cement evaluation tool to reduce costs to the operator. Initially the drastically
increased logging speeds of up to five times faster than previous ultrasonic tools reduces rig time dramatically as shown in
the two examples from the Gulf of Mexico. Additional rig time savings are achieved due to the ability of the tool to make
cement evaluation and casing inspection passes at the same time. If a detailed pipe inspection is still needed, the ability of the
tool to record highly sampled image data without changing the tool will save rig time due to tool tripping. Waveform
recording parameters such as waveform length, waveform sampling interval and number of shots per horizontal scan can be
tailored to the specific well environment and changed by surface command. With both the tool and processing models the
operator can reduce rig time not only during the acquisition phase but also with remedial operations. With the use of the ACE
program, remedial cement operations may be reduced due to the increased knowledge of the cement sheath. For the two
examples in the paper the associated cost savings to the operator was over $75,000. This dollar amoun does not include the
saving of rigtime and other associated expenses with remedial or workover work that was eliminated by the using the
FASTCAST and associated analysis products.

References
1. Frisch, G., Fox, P., Hunt, D., Kaspereit, D., Advances in Cement Evaluation Tools and Processing Methods Allow Improved
Interpretation of Complex Cements paper SPE 97186 presented at the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition
held in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., 9 12 October.
2. Frisch, G., Graham, L., and Wyatt, D.: Economic Evaluation of the Use of Well Logs for Diagnosing Conformance Problems,
paper SPE 40036 presented at the 1998 SPE Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1518 March.
3. Harness, P.E., Sabins, F.L., and Griffith, J.E.: New Technique Provides Better Low-Density-Cement Evaluation, paper SPE
24050 presented at the 1992 SPE Western Regional Meeting, Bakersfield, California, 30 March to 1 April.
4. Frisch, G., Graham, L., Griffith, J: A Novel And Economical Processing Technique Using Conventional Bond Logs and
Ultrasonic Tools For Enhanced Cement Evaluation, paper EE presented at the 2000 SPWLA 41st Annual Logging Symposium,
Dallas, Texas June 4 7.
5. Frisch, G., Graham, L., and Griffith, J.: Assessment of Foamed - Cement Slurries Using Conventional Cement Evaluation Logs
and Improved Interpretation Methods, paper SPE 55649 presented at the 1999 SPE Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, Gillette,
Wyoming, 1518 May.
6. Graham, W.L., Silva, C.I., Leimkuhler, J.M., de Kock, A.J. Cement Evaluation and Casing Inspection With Advanced
Ultrasonic Scanning Methods paper SPE 38651 presented at the 1997 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in
San Antonio, Texas, 58 October 1997.

Appendix
Track 1 contains the gamma ray (GR), eccentricity (ECCE), ovality (OVAL), average thickness (AVTHIK), and average
radius (AVRAD). The AVRAD and AVTHIK are both in inches, which will allow different casing sizes/weights to be
recognized on the log. The pipe amplitude image is in Track 2, which provides a detailed representation of the internal
wear/corrosion/damage of the interior wall of the casing. Damage may be revealed on the amplitude images that are not
present on the travel time and/or other logs. The total pipe damage is broken into internal damage (blue) and external damage
(magenta) measured in percent as shown in track 3.
For casing evaluation images, red normally indicates a decrease in the nominal casing thickness, either due to an increase
in the internal diameter or reduction in casing thickness. Blue is an indication of an increase in the nominal casing thickness,
due to a decrease in the internal diameter or increase in casing thickness. Normalization of the data is based on both the
measured and expected values. The difference between the expected pipe measurement and the actual measurement will
provide an accurate representation of either pipe erosion or scale. Pipe without any damage will have a normalized value of 0
while damage will have a decrease in thickness and an increase in radius. Track 4 contains the normalized average, maximum
10 SPE 108415

and minimum radius curves, (AVRADN, MAXRADN, and MINRADN) where the center of the track shows no damage.
Track 5 is the normalized pipe radius and track 7 contains the normalized pipe thickness which both uses the color-coding
described. Track 6 is the normalized average, maximum and minimum thickness curves (AVTHIKN, MXTHIKN, and
MNTHIKN) which, when the curves are in the center indicate no casing damage. Track 7 contains the damage image which
consists of the percent of pipe remaining, which is color-coded into internal and external damage, and grades based on total
damage. The following table explains the color-coding. Total damage is the summation of the interior and exterior damage.

Chart explaining the pipe damage colors as shown in figure 4.

Color Blue White Green Yellow Red Black Magenta Cyan

Grading or Interior Grade 1(A) Grade 2(B) Grade 3(C) Grade 4(D) Grade 4+(E) Outside Joint collar
Definition damage in damage in not used in
percent percent grading
Total <20 20< <40 40< <60 60< <80 >80
Damage