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Mud removal and cement placement during primary cementing of an oil well – Laminar non-Newtonian displacements in an eccentric annular Hele-Shaw cell

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Abstract

A two-dimensional model is derived of the displacement flows that occur during primary cementing of oil and gas wells. The displacement geometry is a long narrow eccentric annulus, between the casing and the rock formation. The model consists of a series of first-order convection equations for the fluid concentrations and a quasi-linear Poisson-type equation for the stream function. Coupling is through the velocity field and the concentration-dependent fluid properties.

A range of computed results from this model is presented. One simulation illustrates how a channel of mud can be left behind on the narrow side of the annulus. Another shows that stable steady-state displacements can occur, although conditions under which this occurs are not yet understood. A third simulation captures some of the complexity that occurs in realistic cementing operations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schlumberger Cambridge Research, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0EL, England

    S.H. Bittleston & J. Ferguson

  2. Department of Mathematics and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2324 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    I.A. Frigaard

Authors
  1. S.H. Bittleston
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  2. J. Ferguson
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  3. I.A. Frigaard
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Correspondence to I.A. Frigaard.

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Bittleston, S., Ferguson, J. & Frigaard, I. Mud removal and cement placement during primary cementing of an oil well – Laminar non-Newtonian displacements in an eccentric annular Hele-Shaw cell. Journal of Engineering Mathematics 43, 229–253 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020370417367

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