Abstract
During the well-construction phase in the oil and gas industry, cementing materials are used to provide annular isolation between the casing and the wellbore. The methods and equipment used to place cementitious fluids in the annulus have evolved significantly over the last several decades. One specific area where significant changes in placement methods and equipment have occurred is in the offshore environment; specifically, cementing operations from mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). The benefits of traditional inner-string cementing (ISC) methods have not been available to operations in rough seas from floating platforms where the ocean swells exceed the capabilities of the compensators on the rig. As such, new equipment designs are needed to enable use of the inner-string cementing method from MODUs operating in rough seas.
This paper details the problems encountered when attempting inner-string cementing operations from floaters operating in the North Atlantic and newly designed equipment that enables MODU operators to benefit from the successful use of inner-string cementing methods in rough seas. Three case histories are presented that validate the successful use of the newly designed extended-length ISC equipment from a mobile platform operating in rough seas.
