ARCTIC CEMENTS AND CEMENTING

W.C. CUNNINGHAM J.R. FEHRENBACH L.F. MAIER

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JCPT72-04-06 Arctic Cements and Cementing W. C. CUNNINGHAM, Halliburton Services Limited, Duncan, Oklahoma J. R. FEHRENBACH, Halliburton Services, Anchorage, Alaska L. F. MAIER, Halliburton Services, Calgary, Alberta ABSTRACT
Cementing operations in Arctic environments continue to require research on many unanswered problems. Labo- ratory studies and observation of field practices helped answer some of these questions. Areas of laboratory study were: (1) electrical resistivities of neat and drilling mud contaminated cement, (2) stability of cement to freeze- thaw cycles, (3) effect of
variations in concentration of freeze temperature depressant and (4) the volumetric expansion of neat and drilling mud contaminated slurry when frozen under hydraulic pressure.
Recent developments in cementing practices and tech- niques will also be discussed. INTRODUCTION MORE THAN THREE YEARS have now lapsed since the Prudhoe Bay discovery well focused attention on the Arctic oil potential. At the time of the Prudhoe Bay discovery, only a few wells had been drilled and ce- mented in Arctic regions - about 6 on the Naval Pe- W.C. CUNNINGHAM L. P. MAIER W. C. CUNNINGHAM attended
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College, Miami, Oklahoma, after serving in the armed forces in Germany (1945-46). He then enrolled at Oklahoma University, Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954 following service in the armed forces in Korea (1950-52), receiving a B.S. degree in chemical engineer- ing. After working with American Potash and Chemical Corporation, Trona, California in 1954-55, he joined Halliburton Services in 1955, being assigned to R&D in Fracturing Services at Duncan, Oklahoma. Mr. Cun- ningham was transferred to Corpus Christi, Texas, as division chemist in 1958, returning to Duncan
to work in Cementing Services R&D in 1964. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Oklahoma. L.
F. MAIER is vice-president-engineering
of Halli- burton Services Limited in Calgary, Alberta. He received a B.Se. degree in petroleum engineering from the Uni- versity of Alberta in 1956. Upon graduation, he joined Halliburton and has held various field and operational engineering and management positions in Western Can- ada, until assuming his present position in 1969. A member of several technical organizations, he is a patent bolder and author of numerous
published technical papers concerned with various phases of the petroleum service industry. Technology, October-December, 1972, Montreal troleiim Reserve No. 4 in northwestern Alaska, and ap- proximately 12 in northern Canada. Only one labo- rato r ' v study of cements specifically designed for the Arctic environment had been made at the time and it was mane 20 years prior to the Prudhoe Bay dis- covery. Several studies of the properties of cements under, low and freezing temperature conditions were made and published following the Prudhoe discov- ery,r' ' " however many questions and
problems have arisen since the appearance of these publications. It is the purpose of this paper to present more recent labo- ratory test data with on-site cementing practice so the oil industry may keep abreast of the latest develop- ments in cements for Arctic environments. FREEZE TEMPERATURE DEPRESSANTS
One of the initial requirements for a cementing ma- teria] for permafrost use was that the material be placed at low temperatures and allowed to hydrate properly without freezing, which could best be ae- complished by the addition of a freeze-point depres- sant such as sodium
chloride. Three cementing com- positions brave been used as the primary formulations for cement ' ing through the Arctic permafrost. These are Ciment Fondu, Ciment Fondu blended with fly ash an(i a -Formulation sold under the tradename "Per- mafrost" cement. Some work has also been performed with (lass G cement accelerated with calcium chloride.
The Ciment Fondu and Fondu - fly ash blend have been used both with and without small quantities of sodium chloride. Permafrost cement, which has emerged aE; the most commonly used material, normal- ly has sodium chloride as a dry blended
constituent, although it, could be omitted if so desired.
Permafrost cement is a blend of controlled set gyp- SLIM cement Class G cement, salt, a dispersant and chemical additives to control thickening time. For its relatively high early strength, i.e., over 500 psi, Per- mafrost cement utilizes the ability of gypsum cement to set and gain -strength rapidly, even at low tempera-