Obtaining Successful Shoe Tests in the Gulf of Mexico: Critical Cementing Factors

Abstract

Abstract Approximately one out of six casing shoes in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) require a cement squeeze job after primary cementing. Numerous theories exist regarding the causes of high shoe-test failure rates, but failure is often attributed to problems associated with the primary cementing job. A GOM database containing information about more than 4,000 shoe-cementing operations was reviewed to find correlations between the success/failure rate and industry-accepted best cementing practices. The results confirm some correlations between the cementing process and shoe-test success; however, no single cementing parameter has an overwhelming effect on shoe failure. Of the industry-accepted best cementing practices, the GOM database shows the following factors to be most important for shoe-test success: (1) pipe movement, (2) maintenance of circulation during cementing, (3) accurate displacement volumes, (4) centralization, and (5) application of foam cementing. The cementing parameters that appear to have less effect on shoe-test outcomes were (1) mud properties, (2) displacement rates, (3) spacer volumes, and (4) application of a hesitation squeeze at the end of the primary cement job. The review of the GOM database also showed that deeper casings are more susceptible to shoe-test failure, as are wells in deeper water. The data shows a constant rate in shoe-test failures since 1993 and a large variation in success between operators.