PENG 305: DRILLING ENGINEERING I

LECTURE NOTES

Lecturer: Justice Sarkodie-Kyeremeh

Office: Lab 4
WhatsApp: +15754181165
E-mail: justice.sarkodie-kyeremeh@uenr.edu.gh
C Casing
Introduction
It is generally not possible to drill a well through all of the
formation from surface the seabed to the target depth in one
hole section.

The well is therefore drilled in sections with each section of

the well lined with steel pipe known as casing and filling the
annular space between the casing string and the borehole with
cement before drilling the subsequent hole section.

The casing string is made up of joints of pipe of approximately

40ft in length with threaded connections.
Depending on the conditions encountered, 3 or 4
types of casing strings may be required to reach
the target depth.
Great care must therefore be taken when
designing a casing programme which will meet the
requirements of the well.
Various other items of equipment associated with
the cementing operation may also be include in
the string or attached to the outside of the casing.
e.g centralizer, scratcher
Centralizer is a device fastened around the casing
which is designed to support and centralize the
casing in deviated wellbores.
Scratcher is a device fastened to the outside of the
casing which removes mud cake and thus promote
a good cement job.
 Functions of Casing
To prevent unstable formations from caving in
To protect weak formations from the high
mudweights that may be required in subsequent hole
sections. These high mudweights may fracture the
weaker zones
To isolate zones with abnormally high pore pressure
from deeper zones which may be normally pressured
To seal off lost circulation zones;
 When set across the production interval: to allow
selective access for production / injection/control the
flow of fluids from, or into, the reservoir(s).

One of the casing strings will also be required to

provide structural support for the wellhead and BOPs.
 Types of Casing

It would be much cheaper to drill a hole to total

depth (TD), probably with a small diameter drill bit,
and then case the hole from surface to TD.

However, the presence of high-pressured zones at

different depths along the wellbore and the presence
of weak, unconsolidated formations necessitates
running casing to seal off these troublesome zones
and to allow the drilling to TD.
Thus different casing sizes are employed and
this arrangement gives a tapered shape to
the finished well.
 The types of casing currently in use
are as follows:
Conductor Casing (30” OD)
Conductor casing is the first casing
string to be run, and consequently
has the largest diameter. It is run to
prevent washouts of near-surface
unconsolidated formations, to ensure
the stability of the ground surface
upon which the rig is sited.
 It is generally set approximately 100ft below the ground level
or seabed.
The conductor provides a conduit for mud returns.
Where conditions are suitable the conductor may be driven
into the formation with a pile driver and is then called ‘stove
pipe’(or foundation-pile for offshore drilling)
This pipe does not usually carry any weight from the
wellhead.

Surface Casing (26” OD)

The surface casing is set after the conductor casing, usually at
approximately 1000 to 1500ft below the ground level or
seabed.
The main functions of surface casing are:
to seal off any fresh water sands
to provide structural support for the blow-out preventer (BOP)
and wellhead equipment.

Intermediate Casing( 13 3/8” OD)

Intermediate, or ‘protection’ casing is used to isolate any
troublesome formations which would/could cause drilling
problems in the wellbore.
Lost circulation, and high pressure zones are just a few
examples.
Several strings of intermediate casing may be required
depending upon the number of problems encountered.
Production Casing( 9 5/8” OD)
This is usually the last string of casing to be run in the
wellbore and is either run through the pay zone (reservoir) or
set just above the pay zone for an ‘open hole’ completion.
The main purpose of production casing is to isolate the
production interval from other formations such as water
bearing sands, and to protect the completion tubing (through
which the reservoir fluids will be transported to the surface).
Production casing should be thoroughly pressure tested.
Usually the casing will be pressure tested to around 60% of
its specified burst pressure
If the casing withstands that pressure it is expected to be
capable of withstanding higher pressures
Liner ( 7” OD)
A liner is a short string of casing which does not extend back
to the surface.
It is run back inside the previous casing string to provide some
overlap.
Liners may be used either as an intermediate or production
string.
The liner has the advantage of being much cheaper than a full
length casing string.
If required, a tie back string can be run to extend the liner
back to the wellhead.
A liner is usually less than 5,000 feet long. Overlap is
somewhere in region of 200–500 feet and it is essential that the
liner overlap is gas tight.
TYPES OF LINERS
Basic liner systems are shown in Figure below
Drilling liners are used to isolate lost circulation or abnormally
pressured zones to permit deeper drilling.

Production liners are run instead of a full casing to provide

isolation across the production or injection zones.

The tie-back liner is a section of casing extending upwards

from the top of an existing liner to the surface. It may or may
not, be cemented in place.
 The scab liner is a section of casing that does not reach the
surface. It is used to repair existing damaged casing. It is
normally sealed with packers at top and bottom and in some
cases, is also cemented.
 disadvantages of liners
possible leak across a liner hanger
difficulty in obtaining a good primary cementation due
to the narrow annulus between the liner and the hole.

Properties of Casing
Casing Size( Outside Diameter – OD)
The size of the casing refers to the outside diameter (OD) of
the main body of the tubular. Casing sizes vary from 4.5” to
over 40” diameter. The tubulars with an O.D of less than 4.5”
are called tubing. The sizes of casing used for a particular well
generally will be limited to the standard sizes available.

Length of Joint
The length of a joint of casing has been standardize and
classified by the API as follows:
 API casing length ranges

Although casing must meet the classification requirements set

out by API, it is difficult to manufacture it to a precise length.
Therefore, when the casing is delivered to the rig, the precise
length of each joint has to be measured and recorded on a tally
sheet. The length is measured from the top of the connector to
a reference point on the pin end of the connection at the far end
of the casing joint.
 Casing Weight
For each casing size, there are range of casing weights
available. The weight of the casing is the weight per foot of the
casing and is a representation of the wall thickness of the pipe.
For instance, there are four different weights of the 95/8” casing:
 Although there are strict tolerance on the
dimensions of casing set out by API, the
actual I.D of the casing will vary slightly in the
manufacturing process.
 For this reason the drift diameter of the casing
is quoted in the specifications for all casing.
 The drift diameter refers to the guaranteed
minimum I.D of the casing.
Casing Grade
The chemical composition of casing varies
widely, and a variety of compositions and
treatment processes are used during the
manufacturing process.
This means that the physical properties of the
steel varies widely. The materials which result
from the manufacturing process have been
classified by the API into a series of “grades”
Each grade is designated by a letter, and a
number. The letter refers to the chemical
composition of the material and the number refers
to the minimum yield strength of the material e.g. N-
80 casing has a minimum yield strength of 80000
psi and K-55 has a minimum yield strength of 55000
psi.
Hence the grade of the casing provides an
indication of the strength of the casing.
The higher the grade, the higher the strength of
the casing.
In addition to the API grades, certain
manufacturers produce their own grades of
material.
Both seamless and welded tubulars are used as
casing although seamless casing is the most
common type of casing and only H and J grades are
welded.
Casing Setting Depths
•The initial selection of casing setting depths is based on the
pore pressures and fracture gradients anticipated in the
wellbore.
Casing Seat Selection

Graphically represent the pore pressure and fracture pressure.
Safety margin must be applied. For this example, we will add 0.3 ppg for
safety for pore pressure and subtract 0.3 ppg from the fracture gradient.
The dashed lines are design range
which will be used for the design.
There are two ways to determine
casing setting depths which are
bottom-up and top-down method.

Bottom Up Casing Design

This design will start from the bottom
of the well up to surface and the
setting depths are designed within
the safety factor limits (dotted
lines).
Starting at the bottom (formation
pressure dashed line – Point A),
draw a vertical line upward to
fracture pressure dashed line –
Point B (Figure 3). Casing should
be set from 4,500’ TVD to 12,000’
TVD because you can reach TD
(12,000’ TVD) with highest
equivalent mud weight and you will
not break the formation at shallow
depth (4,500 TVD). We will apply
this same concept to another
string.
 The next casing string is determined
by drawing a horizontal line from
Point B to intersect the pore pressure
dashed line at Point C.
 Then draw a vertical line from Point C
to the fracture gradient dashed line at
Point D . The Casing must be set from
1,800’ TVD to 4,500’ TVD.
 With the same idea, the next casing
string is determined by drawing a
horizontal line from Point D to Point E
and a vertical line from Point E to
Point F (Figure 5).
 The Casing must be set from surface
to 1,800’ TVD.
Based on the bottom up design concept, we will need to have 3 strings of
casing set at 1800’ TVD, 4500’ TVD and 12,000 TVD (Figure 6)
Top Down Casing Design
 This design will start from the surface of
the well down to the bottom and the setting
depths are designed within the safety
factor limits (dotted lines).
 We start by drawing the vertical line from
the facture gradient dashed line (point A)
down to pore pressure dashed line (point
B). The first casing should be set from
surface to 3,000’ TVD.
 Draw the horizontal line from Point B to
Point C located in the fracture dashed line
curve. Then draw the vertical line from
Point C to intersect the formation pressure
dashed line curve at Point D. This is the
section casing string which should be set
from 3,000’ TVD to 6,000’ TVD.
 Applying the same concept to the next
string, draw the horizontal line from Point
D to intersect the fracture gradient with
safety factor chart at Point E and draw the
vertical line from Point E to the target
depth at Point F. The last casing string
should be set from 6,000’ TVD to 12,000’
TVD.
Based on the top down design concept, we will need to have 3 strings of
casing set at 3,000’ TVD, 6,000’ TVD and 12,000 TVD.