Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) technology has effectively proven that it can overcome the operational obstacles encountered when drilling difficult and challenging wells. MPD has helped many operating companies reach target depth by accurately managing the annular pressure profile of the wells in which it is deployed. However, well construction operations do not stop when target depth is reached. The well still has to be cased, cemented, and completed in order to produce and returns the initial spend on these investments.

In high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) well conditions where very narrow margins between the pore and fracture pressures are prevalent, conventional cementing operations become a complicated task. The tendency of inducing losses is very common, specifically during running of casing or liners, which is then further aggravated during the displacement of the cement slurry.

This was the case in one of the HPHT wells in Vietnam where losses were encountered during previous liner running operations. This situation led the operating company to decide to utilize MPD technology to improve, enhance and optimize the cementing operation. Pre-modeling to determine the correct parameters and the utilization of MPD technology allowed the mud weight to be reduced while managing equivalent circulating density (ECD) through the application of surface backpressure (SBP) to stay within the limits of the well. The application of MPD closed loop cementing on this HPHT well proved effective and provided correct parameters to successfully complete the cementing operations.

This paper will discuss the application of MPD closed loop cementing on this HPHT well in Vietnam. Specifically, it will examine the following: (1) reasons and concepts associated with MPD closed loop cementing; (2) MPD closed loop cementing pre-planning and engineering; (3) MPD closed loop cementing execution; (4) MPD closed loop cementing challenges; and (5) lessons learned and best practices.

The paper will also detail how the MPD closed loop cementing technique can be further refined and improved to be able to address other pertinent concerns experienced by other HPHT operations in Vietnam, thereby realizing the full potential and impact that the technology can help bring about in terms of drillability, efficiency, and above all safety.

This content is only available via PDF.
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.