Squeeze cementing of micro-annuli: a visco-plastic invasion flow

Abstract

Squeeze cementing is a process used to repair leaking oil and gas wells, in which a cement slurry is driven under pressure to fill an uneven leakage channel. This results in a Hele-Shaw type flow problem involving a yield stress fluid. We solve the flow problem using an augmented Lagrangian approach and advect forward the fluid concentrations until the flow stops. A planar invasion and a radial (perforation hole) invasion flow are studied. The characteristics of the flow penetration are linked to the channel thickness profile. The distribution of streamlines, flowing and non-flowing zones, evolves during the invasion flow. An interesting aspect of the results is the extreme variability in penetration metrics computed. These depend not only on the stochastic nature of the microannulus thickness, which has significant natural variation in both azimuthal and axial directions, but also on the ``luck'' of where the perforation hole is, relative to the larger/smaller microannulus gaps. This may explain the unreliability of the process.