An operator in the Permian Basin wanted to evaluate EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system as alternative to standard cement for a primary cementing job in the Permian Basin.
The evaluation of EcoShield system as an alternative to conventional cement-based systems for constructing oil wells included four critical phases: development of a repeatable slurry design in the lab, demonstration of oilfield equipment compatibility, evaluation for deployment in the field, and postjob evaluation. The laboratory work included an extensive product development and experimentation with various chemistries to obtain a slurry matching the performance of conventional cement-based designs. Trials verified mixability and pumpability using standard oilfield equipment and ensured that field-mixed slurry properties aligned with the slurry mixed in the lab. Next, EcoShield. system designs scaled up to match job volumes were mixed and pumped at the wellsite using conventional field equipment and following standard operational procedures. During postjob evaluation, pressure match and cement bond logs validated the placement and quality of bond.
EcoShield system fit into the oilfield cementing workflow without major changes to the job design process, including lab testing and job simulation using cementing software, onsite execution, and postjob evaluation. CEMENTICS™ zonal isolation software was used for cement job design and postjob pressure match to calibrate the simulated versus the recorded pressure data. Wireline cement bond logs showed that the presence of EcoShield system was comparable with that of conventional cements on similar wells. Results indicate that EcoShield system is an effective alternative to the traditional portland cement-based slurries. The system can be implemented for primary cementing applications using existing infrastructure for conventional cementing with portland cements.
