®

DELIVERING KNOWLEDGE. DEVELOPING COMPETENCE.

Casing Design
Objectives

Casing program
Purpose
p and function
Design loads
Design
g Calculations

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 Casing Setting Depth Objectives

Maintain life-of-well integrity

Protect the environment

Possibly the most critical step in well design

– allowing well to achieve design objectives

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Casing Strings

Structural Casing – provides structural stability

to land surface equipment and other strings.
Conductor Casing – fitted to wellhead and
utilizes gas diversion for well control.
Surface Casing – First string to support a BOP for
controlled circulation of kicks. Target a shoe strength
greater than 11 ppg.
I t di t Casing
Intermediate C i – Casing or liner set
between surface and production. Isolates formations or
allows for higher mud weights.
Production Casing – casing or liners that the
production equipment and tubing will be set inside.
Must allow for enough room below the target zone to
install completion.

© 2009 PetroSkills, LLC. All rights reserved. 4

Casing Programs

•30” Structural

•20” Conductor

•13 3/8” Surface Casing

•9 5/8” Intermediate Casing

•7” Production Liner

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Concentric Casing String Configurations

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Casing Diameter / Hole Diameter Combinations

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 Setting Depths
•L80
L80 S
Sour S
Service
i

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 Setting Depths
• Formation (Pore) Pressure
• Fracture Pressure
• Kick Tolerance
• Formation isolation
• Wellbore Stability
• Squeezing salts
• Time sensitive formations
• Other Formation Issues
• Aquifer isolation
• Shallow gas
• Corrosive Zones
• Set shoe in competent formation
• Cuttings Injections
• Regulations / Company Policy
• Directional Work
• Hole cleaning
• Differential sticking
• Hook load limitations
• Future Sidetracks

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Formation Pressure

Normal Pressure
– Hydrostatic: fresh or seawater
Abnormal Pressure
– Pressures greater than hydrostatic
Subnormal Pressure–Low
– Pressures
P l
less th
than h
hydrostatic
d t ti

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Abnormal Pressure Causes

Abnormal Pressures
– Under-Compaction
Under Compaction
– Long Hydrocarbon Column
– Artesian Flows
– Thermal expansion
– Cross Flow during production
Subnormal Pressures
– Depleted zones
– Outcrops
– Fractured or vuggy formations

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Kick Tolerance

The ability of a well to handle an influx at the

weak point (many times that is the shoe)
shoe).
– The weak point will see hydrostatic pressure from
above and the pressure of the influx as it arrives.
Tracked throughout the drilling of a hole
section. It changes as the MW changes.
Type of influx is important.
– The lower the density of the influx, the smaller the
volume
l must b
be.
– If the gas composition is unknown, 0.1 psi/ft is a
common estimation.
estimation

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Kick Tolerance Inputs

Shut In Drill Pipe

Pressure (SIDPP).
Casing and Open Hole
Sizes and Depths Shoe Fracture
Pressure from LOT
and Current MASP.
Drill String and BHA
Information

Influx Volume and

Maximum Anticipated Gradient.
Formation Pressure.

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Kick Tolerance Calculation

Kick Tolerance = Max BHPEMW − MW

Max BHP
Max BHPEMW =
TVD(.052)

Max BHP = (L Influx )(g Influx ) + (TVD − L Influx )(.052)(MW) + (MASP)

Max BHP = Maximum Bottom Hole Pressure (psi)

Max BHPEMW= Equivalent Mud Weight Equal to Max BHP (ppg)
MW = Mud Weight g Currentlyy in Well (ppg)
LInflux = Length of Influx (ft)
MASP = Maximum Allowable Surface Pressure (psi)
TVD = True Vertical Depth of the Open Hole (ft)
g = Influx Gradient (psi/ft)

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Kick Tolerance Calculation (2)
Is the influx volume greater than the BHA annular volume?

⎛ D 2h − D 2BHA ⎞
VABHA = ⎜⎜ ⎟L BHA
⎟
⎝ 1029.4 ⎠
If yes
yes, If no
no,
⎡ (VInflux − VABHA ) 1029.4 ⎤ ⎡ 1029.4 ⎤
L Influx = L BHA + ⎢ ⎥ L Influx = VInflux ⎢ 2 ⎥
⎣ (D 2
h − D 2
DP ) ⎦ (D
⎢⎣ h − D 2
BHA
) ⎥⎦

LBHA = Length of BHA (ft)

VInflux= Volume
V l off Influx
I fl (bbl)
VABHA= Volume of BHA Annulus (bbl)
Dh= Diameter of Open Hole (in)
DBHA= OD off BHA (in) (i )
LInflux = Length of Influx (ft)

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Kick Tolerance Calculation (3)
Can the shoe handle the shut in pressure?

PShoe = SICP + (TVD)(MW)( .052)

SICP = (SIDPP + (L Influx )(g Mud − g Influx ))

SIDPP = FP − (MW)(.052)
(MW)( 052)(TVD)
SIDPP = Shut In Drill Pipe Pressure (psi)
SICP = Shut in Casing Pressure (psi)
FP = Formation Pressure (psi)
MW = Mud Weight (ppg)
TVD = Total Vertical Depth (ft)
gMud = Mud Pressure Gradient (psi/ft)
gInflux = Influx Pressure Gradient (psi/ft)
LInflux = Length of Influx (ft)

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Casing Design Phases
•Installation
Installation •Drilling
Drilling •Production
Production

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Load : Phase : Case

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Burst : Installation : Cementing

Formation instability causes a

pack off just as the spacer
reaches the shoe.

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Burst : Installation : Plug Bump

Burst force created

by bumping the plugs
on a conventional
cement job.

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Burst : Drilling : Pressure Test

Burst force created

by the pressure test
required prior to
drilling out the shoe.

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Burst : Drilling : Gas Kick (Evacuated)

A gas kick is encountered at TD of

the next hole section. The casing
is evacuated to gas balanced
against fracture pressure at the
previous shoe or pore pressure at
the TD of the open hole; which
ever is
i weakest.
k t

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Burst : Drilling : Gas Kick (Limited)

A gas kick is encountered at TD of the next

hole section. A predetermined kick volume
is circulated out of the well using the
drillers method. The maximum surface
pressure is limited by fracture pressure at
the shoe or pore pressure at TD of the
open hole, which ever is weakest.

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Limited Kick

Estimates the maximum surface pressure

reached using the drillers method.
1/2
−S
S2 K×MW×.052 ⎤
⎡
Psurf = +
⎢ ⎥
2
⎢
⎣ 4 ⎥ C ⎦

Where :
S = (TVD DOH )(MW )(.052 ) + PInflux − BHP
PInflux = Height gas × Gas Gradient
BHP assumed to be highest PP in open hole.
C = Annular capacity below wellhead
K = BHP × V
V = Initial Influx Volume

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Burst : Production : Tubing Leak

A leak appears near

surface in the production
p
tubing while producing
the well

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Collapse : Installation : Cementing

Following the plug bump on

a conventional cement job,
the displacement pressure
is bled off the inside of the
casing creating a collapse
force from the full column of
cement on the outside.

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Collapse : Drilling : Lost Circulation - Void

A lost circulation zone is

encountered while drilling g
ahead. The fluid level in the
well falls until the entire casing
volume is void
void.

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Collapse : Drilling : Lost Circulation - Balanced

A lost circulation zone is

encountered while drilling ahead.
The fluid level in the well falls, with
no effort to fill the hole from surface,
until the hydrostatic pressure of the
fluid column balances the pore
pressure in the lost zone.

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Collapse : Production : Packer Failure

The production packer fails on a

producing
p g well. The kill fluid falls
until it balances the lowest
expected pore pressure of the
reservoir once it is fully depleted.
depleted

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Tension : Installation : Running Casing

Shock loads are created as

casing
g contacts wellbore ledges.
g

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Shock Loads

Fshock = 1780 × V × As
Where :

As =
(
π OD − ID 2 2
)
4
Fshock has units of lbf
V has units of ft/sec
OD and ID have units of inches
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Tension : Installation : Overpull

Overpull on a stuck string of

casing
g creates additional
tension in the string.

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Tension : Installation : Plug Bump

The final plug bump pressure

during
g a cement jjob creates
additional tension in the string.

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 Design Factor vs Safety Factor
•“Inflate the Load” Approach

Adjusted Load
•Adjusted

•Calculated Load •Design Factor

•Load Capacity

Adjusted Load = Calculated Load x Design Factor

•Adjusted

•Safety Factor = Load Capacity / Adjusted Load

•DFburst = 1.1
•DF
DFcollapse = 1.1
11
•DFtension = 1.6 •Safety Factor must be ≥ 1.0
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 Design Factor vs Safety Factor
•“Derate
“D the
h CCapacity”
i A Approach
h

•Load Capacity

Derated Load Capacity

•Derated Design Factor
•Design

•Calculated Load

•Derated Capacity = Load Capacity / Design Factor

•DFburst = 1.1
•DFcollapse = 1.1
11 •Safety Factor = Derated Load Capacity / Calculated Load
•DFtension = 1.6
•Safety Factor must be ≥ 1.0
© 2009 PetroSkills, LLC. All rights reserved. 35
 Design Factor vs Safety Factor
•“Direct Comparison” Approach

Load Capacity
•Load Capacit

C l l t dL
•Calculated Load
d

•Design Factor = Load Capacity / Calculated Load

Load Capacity / Calculated Load > DF Req

•Load Req’ts
ts

•DFburst = 1.1 •No differentiation between

•DFcollapse = 1.1 •“Design Factor”
•DFtension = 1.6 d
•and
•“Safety Factor”
•Terminology
© 2009 PetroSkills, LLC. All rights reserved. 36