Displacement Efficiency for Primary Cementing of Washout Sections in Highly Deviated Wells

Anywhere between 0%-80% of cemented wells have integrity failures, suggesting both geological and operational factors. One way geology affects cementing is via irregular wellbores, e.g. washouts. Here we study the effects of washouts on mud removal in strongly inclined wellbores, experimentally and via 2-D computational simulations, with aim of identifying key control parameters. Experiments were performed with 2 fluids with properties representative of drilling mud and cement (or spacer), displaced at constant flow rate through a 10 m long annular flow loop. A downstream "washout" section of the annulus had an enlarged outer diameter. Twenty-four conductivity probes tracked the arrival times of the displacing fluid by measuring the conductivity of fluids as they pass. The experimental matrix includes 8 experiments with 2 eccentricities (standoff = 1, 0.58), 4 angles of inclination and slightly variable rheology. The simulation study covered wider ranges of variables. The results of simulations and experiments agree qualitatively on the main effects, as shown in [7]. Here we extend the study using the 2D simulation to study the effects of washout length and diameter, for both concentric and eccentric wells, all oriented horizontally. The simulations provide detailed information on the evolution of the fluid-fluid interfaces as they pass through the washout, as well as information on the velocity fields and stresses. In any near-horizontal section there is a delicate balance of buoyancy and eccentricity influences, in both regular and irregular geometries. Under some circumstances an irregular section seems to have a positive stabilizing effect on the interface. However, this positive message is balanced practically by uncertainty of washout size and in-situ mud properties and the positive effects are not universal. We find that increasing the washout diameter always appears to decrease the displacemnt efficiency, for both concentric and eccentric annuli. Increasing the washout length is less clear in its effects. In all cases, the main risk from residual drilling mud in isolated washouts is that it can contaminate the cement slurry as it passes.