EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Workshop, 

March 10-11, 2011

Arlington, VA 22202

Theme 1: Well Construction

Cementing, Cement Quality Evaluation/Logs and 

Zonal Isolation for Hydraulically Fractured Wells

Talib Syed, P.E., TSA, Inc.

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Courtesy API 2009 2
Casing Setting and Design

• NORSOK 2004 lists factors to consider in casing 

design

- Casing must be designed to withstand tensile, burst 

and collapse loads

- Use safety factors (wear and tear) for casing 

deterioration 

- Axial and bending forces and shock load

- Casing design should also consider buckling, piston 

and thermal effects

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Function of Cements and Cement Components

• Restrict fluid movement between permeable zones within 

well

• Provide mechanical support for casing string

• Protect casing from corrosion from formation waters

• Support wellbore walls (in conjunction with casing) to 

prevent collapse

CEMENT COMPONENTS

• Main components are C3S and C2S

- C3S – shows faster rate of hydration; responsible for overall 

strength characteristics and for early strength 

- C2S – a slow-reacting component; shows gradual increase in 

cement strength.

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Properties of Cement Slurry

• Thickening time is equivalent to time required to keep the cement 

pumpable. It is critical that the thickening time exceed the actual 

cementing job to avoid cementing: surface pipes; cementing head; 

DP or inside of casing.

• Density-reducing additives result in a set cement of lower strength 

that can be obtained from a neat slurry. Examples: bentonite, 

diatomaceous earth, gilsonite and pozzolan

• Density-raising additives have the opposite effect. Examples: barite, 

ilmenite and hematite

• Compressive strength widely used as an index for quantifying

cement strength. Cement with compressive strength of 500 psi is

adequate for most cementing operations. Determined in lab prior

to running casing string.

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Cementing operation

• Open bottom wiper plug and direct slurry through top valve

• Slurry pushes bottom plug down casing until plug seats on 

the Float Collar

• Continued pumping ruptures diaphragm in plug and allows 

cement to pass through and be placed around casing. 

• After pumping complete volume, stop pumping and place 

top wiper plug in cementing head.

• Pump drilling mud through the top valve, pushing the top 

wiper plug down the casing. 

• When top plug seats on the bottom plug, well is shut in and 

slurry allowed to set.

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Courtesy API 2009 7
Methods of Cementing

• Single-stage cementing used for conductor pipe and surface 

casing. All tools are easily drillable

• Multi-stage ( 2-stage or 3-stage) cementing used for 

cementing long strings:

– Reduces total pumping pressure

– Reduces total hydrostatic pressure on weak formations (prevent 

fracturing)

– Allows entire length to be cemented

– Ensures effective cementing around shoe of previous casing

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Cement Evaluation

• Two classes of sonic logging tools: (1) sonic (CBL/VDL) or SBT and (2) 

ultrasonic (USIT/CAST-V)

• Acoustic cement bond logs do not measure hydraulic seal but instead 

measure loss of acoustic energy as it propagates through casing. This loss 

of energy is related to the fraction of casing perimeter covered by cement

• The Ultrasonic Imaging Tool (USIT) is a continuously rotating pulse-echo 

type tool with nearly 100% coverage of the casing wall. The transducer 

(“sensor”) rotates, emitting and receiving signals reflected back from the 

casing wall. Preferable to run CBL with it for overall well integrity picture

• The Segmented Bond Tool (SBT) measures the quality of cement 

effectiveness, vertically and laterally around the circumference of the 

casing. The SBT measures 6 segments around the pipe and uses high 

frequency steered transducers mounted on 6 pads. Each of 6 motorized 

arms positions a transducer and receiver against the casing wall. SBT is 

usually run with VDL

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Table 3 shows acoustic properties of various materials 

Material Density Acoustic Velocity Acoustic Impedance

(kg/m3) (m/sec) (MRayl)

Air 1.3-130 330 0.0004-0.04

Water 1000 1500 1.5

Drilling fluids 1000-2000 1300-1800 1.5-3.0

Cement slurries 1000-2000 1800-1500 1.8-3.0

Cement (Litefill) 1400 2200-2600 3.1-3.6

Cement (Class G) 1900 2700-3700 5.0-7.0

Limestone 2700 5500 17

Steel 7800 5900 46

Table 3 Acoustic Properties of Materials (Smolen, 1996)

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.

Example USIT Log run on injection well
Figure 13: Typical SBT/VDL tool configuration 

(Smolen, 1996)

Figure 14: An example SBT log. 

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Factors affecting CBL/USIT tool performance

• Microannulus is a very small (annular gap) between casing and cement sheath 

and can result in misinterpretation of CBL/VDL. Generally, pressure up casing 

to 1000 to 1500 psi to close the gap (if cement job was good). Ultrasonic tools 

less affected than CBL/VDL and SBT (pads) in the presence of liquid in the gap 

with opposite effect in the presence of gas.

• Eccentralization a potential concern in deviated/horizontal wells due to 

absence of cement on the low side and small distance between casing and 

formation face.

• Logging Tool Centralization is mandatory for USIT and CBL/VDL tools. The SBT 

pads with articulated arms are unaffected, although the CBL/VDL part may be 

affected.

• Fast Formations – acoustic signals from some formations reach the receiver 

ahead of pipe signal. Fast formations affect the CBL/VDLs/SBT logs but do not 

affect USIT interpretation.

• Lightweight Cement – lack of contrast in acoustic properties between 

lightweight (used in weak formations) and regular cement slurry.

• Cement Setting Time – important for CBL interpretation. If run too early before 

cement is set, may indicate poor bonding and an unnecessary squeeze 

operation. Use UCA to determine WOC time and when to log.

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Figure 17: Comparison of wavetrain, VDL, and amplitude for a variety of cement 

conditions (Courtesy Western Atlas, Ref. 2)

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Figure 18: Bond log showing cement top (Courtesy Western Atlas)

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Figure 19: Interval required for isolation with bond index = 0.8

(Courtesy SPWLA)

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.

Major problems with obtaining a good cement job in 

horizontal wells

• Hole cleaning and drilling-fluid displacement 

• Centralization of pipe

• Optimizing cement slurry designs, and

• Evaluation with acoustic tools
Zonal Isolation and Casing Shoe Integrity

 Placement of cement completely around the casing and at the proper height 

(cement top) above the casing shoe is critical in achieving zone isolation and 

integrity

 Pressure tests to verify isolation at casing shoe include Formation Integrity 

Tests (FIT) (also called LOT – leakoff test) and Casing Integrity Tests (CIT). 

Pressure up inside the casing until pressure at shoe exceeds the maximum 

hydrostatic pressure expected at that point during subsequent drilling 

operations. Failure at shoe is usually due to contamination (from either original 

drilling mud or from displacement fluid) and is a result of poor cementing 

techniques rather than poor quality cements

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.
Thank You

Questions?

EPA HF Workshop March 10-11, 2011 

Arlington, VA TSA, Inc.