A NEW CEMENT ADDITIVE TO IMPROVE THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OIL WELL CEMENT AND TO ENHANCE ZONAL ISOLATION

Abstract

The main purpose of cementing of the well is to provide effective zonal isolation for the entire life of wells. The standard cements cannot prevent loss of zonal isolation when the stress level in the well cement is severely fluctuated. Since elastic cements improve elastic properties, recently, a number of studies have been done in this area. For this purpose, a nanoparticle, named EX-RIPI, was designed as an additive to improve cement elasticity. A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of this additive on the elastic properties of the cement. The experimental results showed that the addition of EX-RIPI to the cement slurries decreased Young's modulus from 2.86 GPa to 1.94 GPa but increased Poisson's ratio from 0.04 to 0.25. Consequently, EX-RIPI can be used as a suitable additive for improving the mechanical properties of cement used for a long time zonal isolation. To illustrate the performance of this additive, the properties of the cement stone was compared with one of available additives in the market (i.e., Flexstone).