163

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik
Application of Solid Expandable (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin)
UDC: 622.2
Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14

Original scientific paper

Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec1; Pavao Mesarić2

1
Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Pierottijeva 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
ENSOLX d.o.o., Hebrangova ul. 30, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract
The development of solid expandable tubular (SET) technology and products (open hole liner, open hole clad, cased hole
liner, liner hanger, internal casing patch, etc.) has enabled operators to plan well design in a new way and solve various
problems that arise during drilling and exploitation on land and offshore. By including an expandable open hole liner,
monobore open hole liner or monobore openhole clad in well design, it is possible to achieve a slim hole design and/or
resolve unwanted situations that occur during the drilling of problem zones with minimal hole size reduction and reach
hydrocarbon reserves which cannot be achieved economically by conventional technology. By installing an expandable
cased hole liner or internal casing patch in production wells to cover the intervals of a corroded casing or to close old
perforations, it is possible to extend the life cycle of a production well and increase the final hydrocarbon recovery and
speed up the return on investment. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the relevant literature and give an
overview of solid expandable tubular technology and its applications in the petroleum industry, as well as the cementing
technology of open hole expandable liners. The available data for 21 case studies of SET application in onshore and off-
shore wells were analyzed in detail. Based on an extensive review of the literature and analyzed data, it can be concluded
that SET technology is being successfully applied worldwide and that expandable liners with a diameter of 114.3 mm to
339.72 mm are being run in wells to ever greater depths (up to 5166 m) and in ever more extreme downhole conditions.

Keywords:
expandable tubulars; cone expander; liner; liner hanger; cementing

1. Introduction ning phase, to mitigate drilling hazards in drilling and

completion phase, and to overcome mature-field chal-
During drilling, operators occasionally encounter un- lenges in the production phase (Demong and Riven-
planned situations (lost circulation zones, sub-salt rub- bark, 2003; Escobar et al., 2003; Rivenbark et al.,
ble zones, formation-related wellbore instability, high 2004; Carrillo et al., 2016; Ben Aissa and Benabdel-
pressure zones, differential or mechanical pipe sticking, hafid, 2017).
fractured reservoirs) that are usually resolved by running The application of the solid expandable tubular (SET)
a standard casing, which in turn results in a reduction of technology in the subsurface environment has the poten-
the diameter (Gaurina-Međimurec, 2005; Simon et tial of significantly reducing surface and subsurface
al., 2005; Gaurina-Međimurec et al., 2006, Pašić et costs and increasing the return on operating companies’
al., 2007; Shiri and Shiri, 2021). Running an expanda- investments (Filippov et al., 1999; Owoeye et al., 2000;
ble liner in the wellbore prevents or reduces the tele- Dupal et al., 2000; Ruggier et al., 2001; Gusevik and
scopic (narrowing) effect of conventional casing pro- Merritt, 2002; Demong et al., 2004; Ruan and Mau-
grams and allows the running of one or two additional rer, 2005; Morrison et al., 2005; Miessner et al., 2006;
strings in the well. By introducing expandable tubulars Schultz et al., 2008; Al-Abri and Pervez, 2013; Mc-
into drilling practice, existing wells could now be com- Cormick et al., 2013: Kupresan, 2014). Expandable
pleted by including an additional casing without increas- tubulars offer the potential for a “monoborehole” (or
ing top-hole design or compromising on the planned monodiameter borehole) and drilling to depths no longer
completion size (Stewart et al., 1999; Stringer and limited by the initial hole diameter (Benzie et al., 2000;
Farley, 2013). Solid expandable tubular (SET) technol- Campo et al., 2003). Certain critical wells, in which the
ogy has been used to improve well design in the plan- drilling environment requires more casing points than
there are casing sizes (e.g., ultra-deepwater wells), can-
Corresponding author: Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec not be drilled to their objectives without solid expanda-
[email protected] ble tubular technology (Dell et al., 2019).

163-180
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 164

SET technology refers to methods involving the ex- reduce the risk of a kick or causing lost circulation while
pansion of continuous tubulars, without slots or perfora- drilling the horizontal hole below it (Morrison et al.,
tions, applying a fixed cone expansion tool or rotary ex- 2005). The solid expandable open hole liner replaced the
pansion tools with fixed or compliant roller systems 177.8 mm (7 in.) conventional liner and allowed for the
(Innes et al., 2004). continuation of drilling a 155.58 mm (6⅛ in.) hole using a
The first commercial running of Solid Expandable 138.7 mm x 155.58 mm (5½ in. x 6⅛ in.) bi-center bit to
Tubulars (SET) was performed by Chevron in a well in a measured depth (MD) of 3657.6 m (12,000 ft). Simulta-
the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico in November neous use of a solid expandable open hole liner and bi-
1999 (Grant and Bullock, 2005). The objective of the center bit in the original drilling plan resulted in a reduc-
first commercial use of solid expandable tubulars was to tion of the typical well design by an entire casing size and
lower costs by decreasing casing and hole sizes com- the total well cost by 23%, with a reduction of the overall
pared to conventional technology. A 300.23 m (985 ft) environmental impact and a reduction of total rig time by
length of 193.68 mm (7⅝ in.) SET liner was run on an 9 days (Morrison et al., 2005).
88.9 mm (3½ in.) by 127 mm (5 in.) tapered inner string The world’s first 406.4 mm (16 in.), 1678.3 N/m (115
to a measured depth of 4,002.33 m (13,131 ft). The well lbf/ft) expandable open hole liner (OHL) system was in-
was circulated, and cement pumped, followed by the stalled in April 2012 in a well in the Uthmaniyah Field, in
latch-down plug (dart). Once the latch-down plug land- Saudi Arabia, thus launching a significant change in the
ed, the expansion process took about 4½ hours, with application of large diameter liners from deeper contin-
pressures averaging 27.58 MPa (4,000 lbf/in²), and a gency applications to planned hole-conservation designs
maximum pressure of 33.09 MPa (4,800 lbf/in²) when in the upper wellbore (Shaikh et al., 2013). The purpose
the hanger joint was expanded against the 244.475 mm of running the OHL was the zonal isolation of reservoirs
(9⅝ in.) casing. The initial liner length of 300.23 m (985 with different pore pressure, while minimizing the loss of
ft) shortened to 288.341 m (946 ft), as a result of the hole diameter to maintain the original wellbore design
expansion process, putting the top of the SET liner at a and drilling tools. An expandable open hole liner was run
measured depth (MD) of 3,714 m (12,185 ft) (Dupal et to a depth of 520.6 m (1,708 ft) (pre-expanded length),
al., 2001). anchored into the 473.075 mm (18⅝ in.) casing and suc-
Gupta and Banerjee (2007), with the aim of reduc- cessfully cemented and expanded. In addition, other ben-
ing the very high rig costs, presented the idea of apply- efits have been achieved, such as an increase in rate of
ing expandable tubulars in casing while drilling (CwD) penetration, the elimination of the need for two-stage ce-
in extended reach wells, mainly in deep waters. In addi- menting, and a reduction of hook load associated with
tion to deep-water applications, expandable products long casing strings (Shaikh et al., 2013).
can be used to rejuvenate land-based or cased-hole wells In Kazakhstan, the first expandable open hole liner was
too. The advantage of using expandable tubulars in land- installed in 2016 (Aidoo et al., 2016). 138.7 m (5½ in.)
based, cased-hole oil wells is that it allows the restora- expandable OHL was selected and applied in an old well
tion of these old wells that might have been abandoned (in the side-track, below the existing 177.8 mm (7 in.)
in the past (Brunner, 2002; Nor et al., 2002). production casing shoe) as a contingency option. The ob-
Over the years, casing corrosion occurs in oil and gas jectives were to abandon the existing openhole reservoir
wells, so companies that own them are looking for ways section, isolate the zones of different pressures, avoid loss
to extend their productive lives. This is now made pos- of circulation in low pressure zones, and allow well deep-
sible by lining the corroded casing from the inside using ening to reach the Pre-Tula reservoir. The open hole sec-
expandable pipes (Al-Umran et al., 2008; Badrack et tion cased with the 138.7 m (5½ in.) expandable liner was
al., 2005; Bargawi et al., 2005; Benzi et al., 2018). 1,300 m long, and the OHL was installed to a depth of
After its first commercial application in 1999, for 5,167 m. The total length of the OHL before expansion
more than 20 years, SET technology has achieved sig- was 1,403 m (post expansion length was 1,366 m due to
nificant application in the oil industry (Owoeye et al., shrinkage), so it was considered at the time of running the
2000; Waddell and Schuurmans, 2004; Marketz et longest 138.7 m (5½ in.) expandable OHL globally (Aid-
al., 2005; Jennings, 2008; DeLange et al., 2011; oo et al., 2016). After cementing, the expandable OHL
Mason et al., 2011; Tao, 2015; Wold et al., 2020). The was expanded, leaving a 132.08 mm (5.2 in.) internal di-
solutions currently offered by SET technology are based ameter ID (129.89 mm (5.114 in.) Drift ID) which al-
on extensive analytical modelling, laboratory tests and lowed for the drilling of a reservoir section with a 127 mm
large field tests. (5 in.) bit to the planned total depth, and facilitate running
In the Ghawar oilfield of Saudi Arabia, in the Ain Dar- and cementing of the 88.9 mm x 114.3 mm (3½ in. x 4½
497 well, Saudi Aramco has successfully applied a 152.4 in.) production liner. The objectives were achieved with
mm x 177.8 mm (6 in. x 7 in.) bi-center bit to drill the no operational or safety incidents, and the field life was
build section in which the 138.7 mm x 177.8 mm (5½ in. extended (Aidoo et al., 2016).
x 7 in.) solid expandable open hole liner was run and ce- The world’s first 177.8 mm (7 in.) expandable isola-
mented across the gas cap to avoid gas production and to tion system was successfully installed in 2005 in a trial

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
165 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

well in south Texas (ULR 9). The longest openhole sys- take full advantage of expandable open hole liner tech-
tem installed to date was a 193.67 mm x 244.47 mm (7⅝ nology, a successful cementing job is critical (Schultz et
in. x 9⅝ in.) system of 2,114 m (6,935 ft) (ULR 2). al., 2008).
The risk of an expandable liner getting stuck during Kupresan et al. (2014) investigated the potential ef-
its running in the borehole, to isolate a zone of total loss fect of expandable-casing technology on the cement
circulation and tight spots, can be successfully prevent- sheath and remediation of the sustained casing pressure
ed by adding expandable bow-spring centralizers. In (SCP) caused by microannular gas migration. Based on
February 2014, the addition of expandable bow-spring the laboratory tests, they concluded that casing expan-
centralizers provided, to a major operator in the Middle sion proved to be a successful technique for the mitiga-
East, the solution with pre- and post-expansion stand-off tion of microannular gas migration under the tested con-
that allowed the 138.7 m (5½ in.) open hole expandable ditions. The seal of the microannulus was apparent im-
liner (liner length was 751 m; 2,464 ft) to be run, in the mediately post-expansion and was still effective even 60
side-track/whipstock well type, to its full setting depth days after the expansion. With the growth of the SET
(2,336 m; 7,664 ft), cemented, and expanded (ULR 1). technology and experience, solid expandable tubular
To install an expandable open hole liner, it is first neces- jobs are becoming routine for use in wells, both onshore
sary to drill an over-gauge hole. After the liner is low- and offshore.
ered to the setting depth with a cone expander in the This paper provides an overview of solid expandable
launcher at the bottom of liner, it is cemented and ex- tubular technology and its applications in the field prac-
panded. Expanding the open hole liner into the unset ce- tice with an emphasis on cementing technology of open
ment slurry helps ensure a good bond of the liner to the hole expandable liners.
set cement and the set cement to the wellbore (Schultz
et al., 2008). According to Schultz et al., for operators to
2. The basic concept of expandable
tubular technology
The concept of expandable solid tubular technology
is based on cold-working steel down hole. This process
deforms the tube beyond its elastic limit, within the tu-
bular’s plastic region resulting in permanent deforma-
tion and increase in the diameter of the pipe (Filippov et
al., 1999; Haut and Sharif, 1999; Cameron et al.,
2013; Park et al., 2015). Figure 1 shows the stress/
strain curve of solid expandable tubular and expansion
window inside the tubular’s plastic region. After linear
expansion of the pipe, its strength increases and its duc-
tility decreases (Cameron et al., 2013).
The liner expansion process takes place thanks to the
use of an expansion tool (see Figure 2) for which differ-
ent names are used in literature, such as pig (Bybee,
2000), mandrel (Daigle et al., 2000), cone expander
Figure 1: Stress/strain curve of solid expandable tubular (Ruan and Maurer, 2005), cone (Cameron et al.,
and tubular’s expansion window 2013), mandrel or conical mandrel (Al-Abri and Per-

Figure 2: Fixed cone expander (a) and rotary compliant expansion tool (b) (Innes et al., 2004)

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 166

Figure 3: The process of expanding the open hole liner (a) and the cased-hole liner (b)

vez, 2013), expansion cone/mandrel (Park et al., 2015) The process of expanding the open-hole (a) and the
or expansion cone (Benzie et al., 2018; Dell et al., cased-hole liner (b) from bottom to top is shown in Fig-
2019). The name cone expander is used in this paper. ure 3. It is also possible to push the cone downward,
The expansion assembly as well as the float assembly using hydraulic pressure and/or push force, to expand
are in the chamber (housing) known as the launcher, the liner from top to bottom. In this case, the expansion
which is placed at the bottom of the expandable liner. of the open hole liner will result in its shortening from
The launcher is constructed of thin-walled, high-strength the bottom to the top, so the expanded liner may not
steel. The outside diameter (OD) of the launcher is the cover an adequate interval at the bottom of the hole (Dell
same or less than the drift of the previous casing, and the et al., 2019).
thickness of its wall is less than that of the expandable
liner (Dell et al., 2019). 2.1. Scope of solid expandable tubulars
The upward movement of the cone expander, which is
connected to the inner string, through the expandable Solid expandable tubulars (SET) have a wide applica-
liner is achieved hydraulically (by the action of the hy- tion in the petroleum engineering and enable the solu-
draulic pressure on the cone expander itself) and/or me- tion of various problems encountered during the drilling
chanically (by pulling the inner string upwards). The process, well completion and workover or production
hydraulic pressure on the cone expander is applied by (see Table 1). Initially, three expandable tubular prod-
pumping mud through the inner string. During the ex- ucts (OHL, CHL and ELH) have been identified and de-
pansion process, the enlargement of the pipe diameter veloped by Enventure Global Technology for commer-
causes the overall pipe length to shorten from the top as cialization. Later, other SET products were developed,
a result of material balance. As the liner is expanded, its so today this company is the world’s leading provider of
outer diameter (OD) increases significantly, while the SET® and ESealTM solid expandable technology solu-
wall thickness decreases only slightly. In this way, the tions for the energy industry. These systems are used in
greatest possible values of post-expansion burst and col- openhole and cased-hole environments to mitigate trou-
lapse are preserved. Depending on the pipe diameter, it ble zones, add casing points, remediate damaged casing,
is possible to achieve an expansion of over 25%, based and cover perforations. SETs have built a reputation of
on the ID of the pipe. However, most applications use being an enabling technology with over 600 installations
88.9 mm to 406.4 mm (3½ in. to 16 in.) expandable lin- in the first seven years (Heathman et al., 2007).
ers and require less than a 20% expansion (Filippov et Besides EnventureGT, some other companies, such as
al., 1999; Dell et al., 2019). A typical expansion rate for Weatherford and Halliburton also provide SET products.
solid expandable tubulars is approximately 2.4 m/min Weatherford’s MetalSkin technology has been used ex-
(7.8 ft/min) (Fanguy et al., 2004). tensively to address wellbore isolation challenges. In
The propagation forces required to expand the liner 2002, Weatherford deployed its solid expandable liner
depend on the liner’s size and mechanical properties and hanger system for the first time (in Asia), and its Metal-
can reach for example 1,330 kN (300,000 lbf) when ex- Skin cased-hole remediation system (in California)
panding 339.7 mm (13⅜ in.) casing (Dell et al., 2019). (ULR 9).

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
167 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

Table 1: Solid expandable products and the area of their application

Solid Expandable Examples of commercial

Area of application/Benefits
Product products (name/company)
· Mitigate mud loss and/or solve lost-circulation problems.
Expandable · Seal off trouble zones, such as shallow water flows and subsalt
Openhole Liner rubble zones. SET® Openhole Liner system/
(OHL) · Isolate high-pressure zone. EnventureGT (ULR 2)
(Filippov et al., 1999; · Preventively mitigate risk in exploratory drilling. SameDrift Openhole Liner
Grant and Bullock, · Replace a conventional drilling liner and provide a larger ID. (provide the same drift as the
2005; Shaikh et al., · Provide an additional casing string while conserving hole size. casing string above the
2013; Cameron et al., · Slim down the entire wellbore. expanded liner)/EnventureGT
2013; Park et al., · Preserve completion size in challenging drilling applications. (ULR 3).
2015; Aidoo et al., · Extend reach. MetalSkin® openhole liner/
2016; Benzie, et al., · Reach reservoirs with larger casing to increase production. Weatherford (ULR 4).
2018; Zhu et al., 2020) · Maximize recovery in side-tracking operations.
· Reach the reservoir faster and more economically.
· Repair long corroded casing intervals.
Expandable Cased-
· Isolate/repair existing damaged or worn casing. ESealTM Liner/ EnventureGT
Hole Liner (CHL)
· Seal off unwanted (or old) perforations. (ULR 5).
(Filippov et al., 1999;
· Provide permanent casing repair with minimal inside-diameter MetalSkin cased-hole liner/
Bargawi et al., 2005;
(ID) restriction. Weatherford (ULR 6).
Cameron et al., 2013;
· Reinforce casing to enable stimulation treatments, wellbore
Benzi et al., 2018)
treatments, and hydraulic fracturing operations.
Expandable Liner
· Reduce risks associated with liner deployment, setting and Hanger (ELH) System/
sealing. EnventureGT
Expandable Liner
· Eliminate potential leak paths and create a leak free liner hanger. VersaFlex® expandable liner
Hanger (ELH)
· Work in a variety of cemented and non-cemented applications. hanger (ELH) system /
(Filippov et al., 1999;
· Hold in tension and compression during the life of the well. Halliburton (ULR 7)
Hayward et al., 2014)
· Set in deviated wellbores. VersaFlex® GT expandable
· Reduce operating steps. liner hanger (ELH) system/
Halliburton (ULR 7)
Open Hole Clad · Isolate zones without the need to tie-back into previous casing.
Openhole Clad (OHC™)
(Grant and Bullock, · Isolate unstable formation/s salt water flow.
System/ Enventure GT
2005) · Shut off water influx in an openhole completion.
· Restore tubular integrity with a permanent steel seal in FlexClad™ System/Enventure
production, disposal storage, and injection wells. GT
Internal Casing
· Repair collar and casing leaks, unwanted perforations, and worn HOMCO casing patches/
Patch
casing with minimal ID restrictions Weatherford (ULR 8)
(Wright et al., 2003;
· Provide a permanent repair for short- and medium-length tubing Note: To date, over 12,000
Cameron et al., 2013;
or casing intervals. Weatherford’s HOMCO casing
Tao, 2015)
· Provide long-lasting alternative to temporary cement squeezes. patches have been installed
· Isolate open frac sleeves to enable fracturing below patch. worldwide (ULR 8).
· Multizone Openhole Frac-Packs.
Slotted Expandable Slotted expandable
· Expand against the formation wall to eliminate the requirement
Liner completion liner (ECL™)/
for perforating.
(Mason et al., 2011) Weatherford (ULR 9)
· Applicable where downhole sand control is not required.
Expandable · Threaded connections in solid expandable liners are designed to
Connections have better strength and sealing properties than their -
(DeLange et al., 2011) conventional equivalents - before, during, and after expansion.
· Cost-effectively maximize production.
· Minimize sand infiltration.
ESS® expandable sand
Expandable sand · Eliminate or reduce openhole/screen annulus.
screens/ Weatherford (ULR 9)
screen · Stabilize the formation, reduce the completion skin, and
PoroFlex ® Expandable
(ULR 9; ULR 10) minimize frictional pressure losses.
Screen/ Halliburton (ULR 10)
· Improve the range of remedial options over traditional gravel
pack.

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 168

Figure 4: Possible applications of expandable liner, clad and patch

(modified according to Stringer and Farley, 2013)

Figure 5: SET system enables a slim-well design (a) and running of additional OHLs
to isolate trouble zones (b)

Possible ways of applying solid expandable tubulars It can be concluded that the inner diameter of the in-
(liner, clad and patch) and the ratio of the inner diameter stalled monobore open hole liner and clad is the same as
of the previous casing (D0) to the inner diameter of the the inner diameter of the previous casing and that in the
expandable tubular (D1) are shown in Figure 4. case of openhole liner, cased-hole liner and internal cas-

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
169 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

Figure 6: Running and expansion process of expandable open hole liner system
(modified according to Brunner, 2002)

ing patch the inner diameter is slightly smaller than the 3.1. Expandable Openhole Liner
inner diameter of the previous casing (Tao, 2015). To
mitigate drilling hazards, operators in Norway, Oman, The expandable openhole liner allows the operator to
the Black Sea, Turkey, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and increase the casing length with negligible reduction in
Azerbaijan have successfully incorporated monobore diameter and to extend conventional casing programs in
open hole liners in the well design, enabling overcoming exploratory wells to reach promising zones that are
hazards and achieving well objectives (Stringer and deeper than expected. The diameter of the OHL at the
Farley, 2013). Petroleum Development Oman LLC total depth is larger than the otherwise possible when
(PDO) installed a 29-m section of expandable openhole using a conventional casing program and allows the in-
liner in the Fahud-335 well, 276 m below the 244.47 mm stallation of production equipment, and thus the conver-
(9⅝ in.) casing shoe, selectively isolating a problematic sion of an exploration well into a production well.
shale interval. The expandable openhole liner can be a useful, effec-
A comparison of conventional well design and slim- tive, and cost saving solution in operations where very
well design that includes OHL, as well as the running of large casing programs in the upper hole section are cost
additional OHL to isolate trouble zones, is shown in Fig- prohibitive. In addition to the above, OHL can be in-
ure 5. stalled to cover lost-circulation or shallow water-flow
zones in deepwater and subsalt environments. In older
fields undergoing redevelopment, the expandable open-
3. Running and expansion process
hole liner can help reach deeper reserves and can isolate
of expandable solid liner systems water zones that have penetrated horizontal re-entry
Expandable tubular technology must be considered as wells (Bybee, 2000). Liner length is weight dependent
a complete system as each expandable product has been and is calculated at the time of design (ULR 2). Running
developed as a system that includes application-specific and expansion process of expandable openhole liner sys-
hardware required, accessories, hardware installation tem takes place in several stages (Dupal et al., 2001;
services, and an expert team (Bybee, 2000). For the Brunner, 2002; Benzi, 2003; Kupresan 2014; Dell et
drilling process, the three most important expandable al., 2019).
products are: Expandable Openhole Liner (OHL), Ex- To install the OHL, it is first necessary to drill a sec-
pandable Cased-Hole Liner (CHL) and Expandable Lin- tion of the hole larger in diameter than the diameter of
er Hanger (ELH), so they will be discussed in more de- the previously installed casing or liner. The extra space
tail below. allows for a good cement job around the expanded liner.

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 170

Figure 7: Running and expansion process of expandable cased hole liner system
(modified according to Dell et al., 2019)

Once the open hole section is drilled, the inner string liner hanger expands, and the elastomer clads the two
(also called a work-string or drill pipe work string) is run pipes together. This seal typically forms a mechanical
with an expandable open hole liner, expansion assembly connection with a 305 kN/m (225,000 lbf/ft) pullout
and a launcher (shoe assembly) (see Figure 6). strength (Drilling contractor, 2001). After the liner and
After the expandable liner is run into the hole to the liner hanger are expanded, a drill string is run, and an
setting depth and anchored in the previous casing at its expandable liner float shoe is drilled. The material to be
lowest depth (shortening of the liner occurs in the over- drilled out is made of aluminum and composite material.
lap), the circulation of the mud is established for its con- Drill out time can range from <1 hour to 6 hours based
ditioning, followed by the pumping of a suitably de- on the type of bit utilized, rotation speeds, and weight on
signed cement slurry through the inner string, cone ex- bit (ULR 1).
pander and liner float shoe. Anchoring is achieved by After expansion, the outside diameter (OD) of the ex-
expanding the anchor hanger joints (expandable liner panded liner is greater than the outside diameter of the
joints with bonded elastomeric bands) inside the previ- launcher, while the internal diameter (ID) of the liner
ous casing. Once the open hole liner is cemented, after expands to the same internal diameter of the launcher.
pumping the calculated volume of the cement slurry, the
latch-down plug (displacement dart) is launched down 3.2. Expandable Cased-Hole Liner System (CHL)
the inner string to facilitate liner expansion. The dart
pumped by the displacement fluid pushes the cement Production from older fields can still be cost-effective
slurry out of the liner and finally lands in the liner float if expandable case hole liners are installed without the
shoe, seals off the float equipment, and creates a pres- use of new production liners that significantly reduce
sure chamber. The expansion assembly is then pressur- cross-sectional flow areas and production.
ized using the surface pumping unit up to 10.34 - 13.79 Expandable cased-hole liner can be used: (a) for re-
MPa (1,500 - 3,000 psi) (depending on system size) mediation work in older or damaged wells to repair over
(Drilling contractor, 2001). The hydraulic pressure several hundred meters of existing damaged or worn
blows out burst disks in the sub-assembly, transmitting casing with minimal casing-inner diameter (ID) reduc-
pressure to the base of the cone expander. The pressure tion; (b) for well conditions where a very long corroded
drives the cone expander up the expandable liner, caus- interval needs to be repaired for current production,
ing the OHL to expand. The inner string rises with the side-tracking, or for deepening, and (c) to seal off perfo-
cone expander out of the hole. When the expansion pro- rations, that cannot be sealed off using a cement squeeze
cess enters the previous casing string, the expandable job, for recompletion or allowing existing wellbores to

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
171 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

be used to drill to new horizons (Filippov et al., 1999. As expansion occurs, the cement slurry fills the remain-
Bybee, 2000). ing annulus. Typically, the cement slurry is pumped into
The elastomer-wrapped hanger joints are located at the inner string at a low pumping rate, which does not
both the top and the bottom of the expandable cased- facilitate mud removal.
hole liner to enhance the hydraulic integrity of the liner. In addition to pumping the cement slurry through the
This elastomer fills the voids between the perfectly cir- inner string before the expansion of the liner, it is also
cular expanded liner and the existing casing, which is possible to inject it after the expansion as a simple shoe
usually not perfectly circular. The mechanical pullout squeeze, which is a more desirable method for short in-
strength is approximately 189.7 kN/m (13,000 lbf/ft) stallations (Heathman et al., 2007). In this case, opera-
without an elastomer and 305 kN/m (225,000 lbf/ft) with tors rely on planned squeezes to establish shoe integrity
an elastomer (Filippov et al., 1999). before drilling ahead. This method of liner cementation
To install CHL, the bit and the scraper assembly can greatly increase the cost of installing an expandable
openhole liner.
should first be run to clean the existing casing of scale
and corrosion. The integrity, inside diameter, wall thick- Experience with cementing expandable casing has
ness and ovality of the previous casing should then be now developed to the point that it has become possible
determined. Then begins the running of the CHL, simi- to write best practices for achieving zone isolation (Ow-
lar to the running of the OHL (see Figure 7). oeye et al., 2002; Sanders et al., 2003; Rahman and
Zulkafly, 2004; Fanguy et al. 2004; Morris et al.,
Once the expandable cased-hole liner has been run 2004; Merritt, 2005; Morrison et al., 2005; Heath-
into the hole and positioned, the latch-down plug (dis- man et al., 2007; Schultz et al., 2008; Hayward, et al.,
placement dart) is pumped to facilitate liner expansion. 2014; Bhaisora et al., 2015).
The expansion assembly is then pressurized, the liner
These best practices include not only conventional
expansion process begins from the bottom to up and methods like hole conditioning, but also novel means
ends with the expansion of the liner hanger. This is fol- such as the incorporation of settable spotting fluids
lowed by a pressure test of the expanded liner. At the end (SSFs), specialized extended-set cements, non-Portland
of the process, the liner float shoe is drilled out. cements, (Owoeye et al., 2002), gas-block cement
(Morrison et al., 2005), off bottom cementing (OBC)
4. Cementing expandable open hole liner system technology including a diverter (DV) tool (Hay-
ward, et al., 2014), a properly designed spacer system,
In general, good cementing practices include the four specialized tail and lead cement slurries based on com-
main issues: well conditioning, pipe centralization, mud bining chemical and physical solutions to obtain the goal
removal and cement slurry design (Rahman and Zulkaf- of expansion without a premature set of the cement, and
ly, 2004). An expandable open hole liner can be cemented modification of standard API laboratory cement slurry
in place like conventional liner (Heathman et al., 2007). testing procedures, especially for HPHT conditions
However, in the case of cementing an expandable liner, (Bhaisora et al., 2015) and cementing of the long open
certain limitations and specifics need to be considered. hole expandable liners (Schultz et al, 2008). In OHL,
Cementing expandable liners includes the challenges cementing operators use a premixed cement slurry/liq-
of achieving zonal isolation without the use of pipe move- uid cement premix (LCP) or mix cement slurry on the fly
ment or pipe centralization, which increases the probabil- on a cement-mixing unit, which is a widely accepted in-
ity for cement slurry channelling. If possible, the use of dustry practice. The LCP slurry is prepared in a mixing
ceramic centralizers is recommended to minimize chan- facility prior to transport to the well site (Rae and John-
nelling and achieve adequate centralization of the liner. ston, 1996; Fanguy et al., 2004). Bulk additives used in
The adequate cementation of an open hole expanda- the cement slurry are dry blended into the cement at the
ble liner is essential for long-term liner integrity, espe- bulk plant and the blended material is transported to the
cially under high-pressure (HP)/high-temperature (HT) rig site using bulk transport equipment. Liquid additives
are added into the slurry mix water. The alternative ap-
conditions, because there is no possibility for a remedial
proach to mixing on the fly is to batch mix the cement
cement job (Bhaisora et al., 2015).
slurry (Merritt, 2005; Rahman and Zulkafly, 2004;
To install an expandable system, it is necessary to Bhaisora et al., 2015). Batch mixing, where logistically
drill an over-gauge hole. The extra space allows for a feasible, no matter the cost, should be preferred because
good cement job around the expanded casing. An inner it allows better control of the cementing operation and
string (usually drill pipe) is run through the assembly to more efficient risk management.
avoid contamination of the cement slurry by other fluids
while cementing. After the string is run, an inner-string 4.1. Cement slurry design
cement job is performed with a specially designed ce-
ment slurry. The amount of cement slurry is calculated When designing a cement slurry, a whole range of in-
and then pumped so that the top of the cement slurry is put data are considered, such as expandable liner size,
about 50% of the liner length before expansion (ULR1). planned setting depth, liner length, hole size (under-

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 172

reamed), openhole caliper volume (to calculate volume ment and other additives. It can physically separate as a
of the cement slurry), drilling fluid weight and type, cement slurry sets and is therefore undesirable since
planned top of cement (TOC), bottomhole static tem- channels tend to form through the set cement, providing
perature (BHST)/ bottomhole circulating temperature potential gas migration paths. A cement slurry must have
(BHCT) and calculated liner expansion time. zero free water during a two-hour static test measuring at
Cement slurry design for expandable open hole liner 45° and 90° angles, and there should be no settling of
cementation differs to some extent from the conventional particles from the cement slurry to prevent the formation
design in that the cement slurry must have a sufficiently of a layer of water on top of the slurry, and a difference
long fluidity (pumpability) time, which depends on the in density along the column of the cement slurry (Heath-
time required for the expansion of the liner (Heathman et man et al., 2007).
al., 2007; Schultz et al., 2008). The calculation of the
actual cement slurry volume is based on the openhole 4.1.4. Thickening time
caliper volume considering the post-expansion outside di-
ameter of the open hole expandable liner. The thickening time of a cement slurry presents the
time during which a cement slurry remains in a fluid
Due to the long expansion time of the liner, special
state and is capable of being pumped. Thickening time is
attention should be paid to the stability of the cement
assessed under simulated downhole conditions in com-
slurry under downhole conditions and its properties in-
pliance with API standards using a consistometer (at-
cluding thickening time, a long zero gel time, short tran-
mospheric consistometer or HPHT (high-pressure/high-
sition time and delayed initial strength development.
temperature) consistometer) that plots the consistency of
a cement slurry over time at the anticipated temperature
4.1.1. Rheological properties
and pressure conditions. The end of the thickening time
A cement slurry should have the required rheological is considered to be 50 or 70 Bc for most applications.
properties that will allow it to flow through the narrow When the slurry reaches a consistency of 70 Bc, it is
part of the annulus around the expandable liner. A ce- considered unpumpable in the well. In the case of a con-
ment slurry should have a plastic viscosity (PV) of less ventional casing or liner cementation, the thickening
than 0.1 Pa∙s (100 cP) and a yield strength (YP) of less time encompasses mixing and pumping time, displace-
than 14.37 Pa (30 lbf /100 ft2) (Rahman and Zulkafly, ment time, plug release time and a safety factor (usually
2004). A cement slurry better displaces mud from the 30 - 60 minutes are used).
annulus if it has higher values of PV and YP than mud, Determination of the thickening time in the laborato-
with the difference in YP having a more pronounced ef- ry should be carried out using a HPHT consistometer
fect. It is therefore recommended that, whenever possi- and by simulating the actual conditions of cementation
ble, the YP of the cement slurry be at least 4.79 Pa (10 lbf (Bottom Hole Circulating Temperature-BHCT and ac-
/100 ft2) greater than the YP of the mud. This difference tual bottomhole pressure-BHP). Suitable retarders (e.g.
results in a more flattened profile of the cement slurry lignosulfonates, cellulose derivatives, hydroxycarbox-
velocities and enhances the displacement of the mud to- ylic acids, organophosphates, synthetic retarders, inor-
wards the surface, even when the standoff of the liner in ganic compounds, salt, and others) are added to the ce-
the channel is only 46% (Silva et al., 1996). ment slurry to prolong the thickening time.
In the case of cementing an expandable open hole
4.1.2. Cement slurry density liner, a longer thickening time is required because the
cement slurry must be fluid during the liner expansion
The required density of the cement slurry can be ad-
justed according to the conditions in the well by adding process and is often referred to as fluidity time.
suitable light-weight materials (extenders) (e.g. benton-
ite, expanded perlite, gilsonite, fly ash, microspheres,
4.1.5. Fluidity time
diatomaceous earth, sodium silicate and others) to pre- Fluidity time is defined as the time the static gel
vent circulation losses when a weak formation with low strength is below 48 Pa (100 lbf/100 ft2) (Rahman and
fracture gradient is present, or weighting agents for den- Zulkafly, 2004). This time is generally taken to be about
sities greater than 2000 kg/m3 (e.g. barite, hematite, il- twice the time for the actual operations to allow correc-
menite, Mn3O4). In any case, it is necessary to determine tive actions in case of any operational problems (Rah-
the equivalent circulation density (ECD), which must
man and Zulkafly, 2004).
always be within the limits of the safety margin to avoid
fracture of the surrounding rocks and loss of cement The required thickening or fluidity time is calculated
slurry in them (Gaurina-Međimurec et al., 2021). by summing the cement slurry mixing time, pumping
and displacement time, static period to rig down the ce-
4.1.3. Free water and settling ment head and start the expansion procedure, liner ex-
pansion time plus a safety factor of 2 hours. Typically, a
Free water is any water in the cement slurry that is 10 to 12 hour fluidity time is required to allow sufficient
more than what is required to fully hydrate Portland ce- time for the expansion operation and for the retrieval of

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
173 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

Figure 8: Development of static gel strength of the cement slurry after its pumping into the annulus
and cement compressive strength (modified according to Li et al., 2016)

the expansion assembly. However, depending on the predominantly forced into the formation, and so parts of
project, the required fluidity time of the cement slurry the liner remain uncemented (Rahman and Zulkafly,
can be, for example, from 7 hours (Fanguy et al., 2004) 2004). Reducing the mutual attraction of particles re-
up to as much as 17 hours (Bhaisora et al., 2015). duces the gelling of the cement slurry and thus reducing
Determination of the fluidity time in the laboratory the likelihood of voids and channels in the set cement
should be carried out by simulating the actual conditions that can jeopardize the effectiveness of zonal isolation,
of cementation and the liner expansion schedule. Labo- the most important task of any cementation. The devel-
ratory testing consists of starting and stopping the motor opment of the cement slurry static gel strength after its
that turns the slurry cup in the consistometer. Determin- pumping into the annulus takes place through two peri-
ing the duration of the cycles is based on the expansion ods. The first is a period in which the slurry is complete-
time of each joint of liner, which coincides with the ce- ly fluid and the value of the gel strength is small (long
ment slurry static time and dynamic movement based on zero gel time), and the second is a transition period
pipe expansion downhole. Therefore, each cycle con- which should generally be shorter than 45 minutes to
sists of an ON/OFF schedule for the specific case. For avoid gas migration through a cemented annulus (Bhai-
the conditions described in the paper written by Schultz sora et al., 2015). Before early gelation, the hydrostatic
et al. (2008), the cycle duration is 4 minutes on and 6 pressure will overcome the formation gas pressure and
minutes off. The fluidity time of the cement slurry is in- prevent gas migration (see Figure 8).
creased by the addition of cement retarders. Gas can migrate into the cemented annulus of a well-
bore during early gelation when hydrostatic pressure
4.1.6. Static Gel Strength (SGS) within the cement slurry drops below the formation gas
The static gel strength of the cement slurry after its pressure (critical time). If the cement slurry has not de-
pumping into the annular space is essential for success- veloped sufficient strength to withstand the gas pressure,
ful cementation of expandable pipes. The gelling of the gas will invade the hydrating cement slurry and create
cement slurry after pumping into the annular space takes gas channels until the cement slurry develops sufficient
place due to the mutual attraction of the particles present cohesive strength (final time) to prevent the entry and
in it (Fanguy et al., 2004). During the expansion of the migration of gas or other formation fluids.
liner, a highly gelled cement slurry can cause its loss into The period between critical time and final time is de-
the surrounding rocks. Instead of the level of cement fined as the transition time. Therefore, the transition pe-
slurry in the annular space rising during liner expansion, riod should be as short as possible to minimize the risk
it can remain at the same level as it was before the pipe of gas migration. Static gel strength reflects resistance
expansion because the highly gelled cement slurry is development within a cement slurry but is not sufficient

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
 Table 2: Case studies with data on used expandable liners
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,

Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P.

Cement slurry Expandable tubular
Previous Setting depth OD/ID, mm (in)
Case Well MD (m) / Well OH diameter Fluidity Overlap with OD/ID
Source Location casing OD Volume Density (shoe) / pre-
No. info mm (in) time Type previous casing Pre- Post- increase
mm (in) m3 (bbl) kg/m3 expansion length
hrs m expansion expansion %
m
N/A /Old shut-in well, 139.7/ N/A 152.9/ N/A
1 Owoeye et al., 2002 Nigeria 177.8 (7) 177.8 (7) 1.59 (10) 10.75 1893 OHL 3424/488 N/A 9.5/N/A
sidetrack (5 ½/ N/A) (6.021/ N/A)
2 1789 /810
N/A /Three gas 108/ 107.5 N/A /108.9
3 Wright et al., 2003 Texas 139.7(5 ½) Installed in CH No cement Patch 1494/449 Entire length N/A/1.3
producing wells (4 ¼/4.233) (N/A /4.287)
4 1509/245
N/A /Offshore
Rahman and Zulkafly, 193.7/174.6 217/198.9
5 Malaysia exploratory HT/HP 244 (9 ⅝) 254 (10) 5.25 (33) 13.75 1797 OHL 2527/485 60.96 12/14
2004 (7 ⅝/6 ⅞) (8.543/7.831)
well
219.1/ N/A
6 273.1 (10 ¾) 273.1 (10 ¾) 14.47 (91) 762/579 60.96
N/A /One well, two (8 ⅝/ N/A)
Middle East
installations 193.7/ N/A
7 219.1 (8 ⅝) 250.8 (9 ⅞) 14.63 (92) 1311/610 60.96
Rivenbark (7 ⅝/ N/A)
OHL N/A
et al., 2004 339.7/ N/A
8 406.4 (16) 3810/777
N/A /Two offshore (13 ⅜/ N/A)
Indonesia N/A N/A N/A
exploratory wells 193.7/ N/A
9 244.5 (9 ⅝) 4237/229
(7 ⅝/ N/A)
Gulf of 244/ N/A 270.7/ N/A
10 5204/Offshore 311.2 (12 ¼) 2.94 (18.5) 10 1965 N/A /211 11/N/A
Mexico (9 ⅝/ N/A) (10.657/ N/A)
152.4/ N/A 165.1/ N/A
11 Texas 4578/ N/A 177.8 (7) 2.07 (13) 8 2097 N/A /354 8/N/A
(6/ N/A) (6.5/ N/A)
Fanguy et al, 2004 N/A OHL N/A
152.4/ N/A 165.1/ N/A
12 Texas 3962/ N/A 177.8 (7) 0.95 (6) 7 1965 N/A /179 8/N/A
(6/ N/A) (6.5/ N/A)
Gulf of 244/ N/A 271.3/ N/A
13 4328/Offshore 304.8 (12) 8.74 (55) 11 2121 N/A/770 11/N/A
Mexico (9 ⅝/ N/A) (10.682/ N/A)
139.7/ N/A
14 Bargawi et al., 2005 N/A 177.8 (7) Installed in CH No cement CHL 1097/481 Entire length N/A
(5 ½/ N/A)
Morrison 3795/Exploratory well, 139.7/ N/A
15 Saudi Arabia 177.8 (7) 215.9 (8 ½) N/A OHL N/A /224 N/A N/A
et al., 2005 deviated (5 ½/ N/A)
Stockmeyer 203.2/185.7 235.7/ 219.1
16 Egypt 4425/Exploratory well 244.5 (9 ⅝) 260.4 (10 ¼) 7.95 (50) N/A 2037 OHL 2984/128 N/A 16/18
et al., 2011 (8/7.31) (9.28/8 ⅝)
1771/Deviated well 203.2/ N/A N/A /218.4
17 Velden et al., 2011 Middle East 244.5 (9 ⅝) 241.3 (9 ½) No cement OHC 503/47 None N/A
with problematic shale (8/ N/A) (N/A /8.6)
N/A /Offshore
Bhaisora 244.5/ 226.6
18 Egypt exploratory 298.5 (11 ¾) 311.2 (12 ¼) 12.08 (76) 14.08 2217 OHL 5624/861 79.25 N/A
et al., 2015 (9⅝/8.921)
eHT/HP well
N/A /Old shut-in oil 108/96 127.8/116.4
19 Glebov et al., 2015 Russia 146.1 (5 ¾) Installed in CH No cement CHL 1786/29 Entire length 18.3/21.3
well (4 ¼/3.78) (5.031/4.583)
5273 /Old well, 139.7/ N/A N/A /132.1
20 Aidoo et al., 2016 Kazakhstan 177.8 (7) 177.8 (7) N/A OHL 5166/1403 140.21 N/A
sidetrack (5 ½/ N/A) (N/A /5.2)
2237/Injection 88.9/76 99.1/ 86.8

174
21 Benzie et al., 2018 Saudi Arabia 114.3 (4 ½) Installed in CH No cement CHL 2162/96 Entire length 11.4/14
well (3 ½/2.992) (3.9/3.416)
175 Application of Solid Expandable Tubulars in the Petroleum Industry

to characterize the compressibility and permeability of as soon as possible. For this purpose, an additive for the
the cement matrix (Li et al., 2016). development of early compressive strength is added to
In the example of the cementation of the deepest ex- the cement slurry. When set Portland cements are ex-
pandable liner into a well of extremely high pressure posed to temperatures above 110°C, their properties will
(112.4 MPa; 16,300 psi), and temperature (BHST= change, porosity will increase and compressive strength
157°C; 315°F) in the Mediterranean Sea in the offshore will decrease (a phenomenon known as strength retro-
of Egypt described by Bhaisora et al. (2015), a static gel gression). Typically, the strength retrogression of set ce-
strength of 48 Pa (100 lbf/ 100 ft2) was achieved within ment is controlled by the addition of up to 35% silica
20 hours and 44 minutes from the start of the test, and a sand or silica flour (Gaurina-Međimurec et al., 1994;
static gel strength of 240 Pa (500 lbf /100 ft2) was re- Gaurina-Međimurec et al., 2017).
corded 21 hours and 26 minutes after the start of the test.
Consequently, zero gel time is 18 hours, and the transi- 5. Field examples of expandable tubular
tion period is 42 minutes.
application
When cementing an expandable OHL, the cement
slurry design should consider the long zero gel time re- Data for 21 case studies are shown in Table 2. The
quired to allow for open hole liner expansion without data includes, on a case-by-case basis, available location
degradation of the cement slurry. The static gel strength data, well measured depth (MD), previous casing outer
test is required to confirm a sufficiently long zero gel diameter (OD), open hole (OH) diameter, expandable
time for OHL expansion. tubular data (type, setting depth, pre-expansion length,
overlap with previous casing, pre-expansion and post-
4.1.7. Fluid loss expansion OD and ID, increase of OD and ID in %), and
cement slurry data (volume, fluidity time and density).
A cement slurry must have low fluid loss to prevent
The case studies given in Table 2 relate to the running
premature dehydration during cementing. This is partic-
of SET in onshore and offshore wells, including HPHT
ularly important when cementing highly inclined or
wells, deviated wells, re-entry/side-track wells.
horizontal sections of a borehole since in these cases,
longer intervals of permeable rocks are exposed to the Case studies cover different uses of SET and from dif-
cement slurry. The cement slurry fluid loss should nor- ferent parts of the world as follows: 3 examples of run-
mally be less than 100 ml/30 min/6.9 MPa, but in the ning of patch (Texas; three gas producing wells), 15 ex-
case of expandable OHL cementation, the recommended amples of running expandable open hole liner (OHL)
(14 cemented OHLs and 1 uncemented) (Malaysia, Mid-
fluid loss value is the maximum 50 ml/30 min/6.9 MPa
dle East, Indonesia, Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Saudi Ara-
(50 cc/30 min/1000 psi) (Heathman et al., 2007). Ex-
bia, Egypt, and Kazakhstan), and 3 examples of running
cessive fluid loss is neither desirable nor permissible as
cased hole liner (Russia, Saudi Arabia; for one case no
it will change the other properties of the cement slurry
location was specified).
(such as viscosity, thickening time, fluidity time, densi-
ty) and may jeopardize the cementation process itself.
The magnitude of change is directly related to the 6. Discussion
amount of fluid lost from the slurry. After the placement
of a cement slurry in an annulus, the fluid phase will fil- The expandable internal casing patches from Table 2
ter from the cement slurry to permeable formations, re- were installed in three gas wells that had been shut-in
sulting in a reduction in the slurry volume and effective due to corrosion leaks. The casing repairs were success-
hydrostatic pressure, creating the potential for the mi- ful and the wells were restored to production. This con-
gration of formation fluid into and through the cement firms that the internal casing patch can be used as a cost-
effective alternative to the standard practice of squeeze
column. Therefore, in order to prevent solid segregation
cementing to repair casing leaks.
during the placement of the cement slurry and to control
the rate of fluid leakoff in the static state, it is necessary Based on the available data shown in Table 2, an OHL
to control the fluid loss by adding appropriate fluid loss was installed after the running of the previous casing of
control additives (FLA) (eg. modified natural polymers, the following diameters: 406.4 mm (16 in.), 349.25 mm
cellulosics, and vinylinic-based polymers). (13¾ in.), 289.45 mm (11¾ in.), 273.05 mm (10¾ in.),
244.47 mm (9⅝ in.), 201.07 mm (8⅝ in.), and 177.8 mm
4.1.8. Compressive Strength (7 in.) (for four cases previous casing OD was not speci-
fied). Expandable OHLs had an outer diameter of 339.72
Determination of the compressive strength of cement mm (13⅜ in.), 244.47 mm (9⅝ in.), 201.07 mm (8⅝ in.),
is performed according to the standard API procedure 203.2 mm (8 in.), 193.68 mm (7⅝ in.), 152.4 mm (6 in.),
using an ultrasonic cement analyzer (UCA). To reduce 138.7 mm (5½ in.) or 114.3 mm (4½ in). OHLs were
wait-on-cement (WOC) and continue drilling, it is desir- installed in the open hole, after increasing the drilled
able to achieve the recommended minimum compres- hole diameter using an underreamer or bi-center bit. The
sive strength of set cement, which is 3.45 MPa (500 psi), depth of OHL running (depth of liner shoe) ranged from

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14
Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 176

762 m to 5166 m. The length of the OHL before expan- International Journal of Solids and Structures, 50 (2013),
sion ranged from 29 m to 861 m, while the overlap with 2980-2994.
the previous casing ranged from 60.69 m to 140.21 m. Al-Umran, M. I., Al-Amri, K. M., Ahmed, I., Qasim, M., Al-
The increase in the outer diameter (OD) of the OHL after Obaidi, I. A., Zhou, S., Sanders, T., Stephenson, D. and
expansion ranged from 8% to 16%. York, P. (2008): New 5 ½-in. Solid Expandable Systems
Data on the cement slurry shows that from 0.95 m3 to Provide Effective Technology for Successful Workover
14.6 m3 of the cement slurry, density from 1797 kg/m3 to Project in Saudi Arabia. SPE-120797-MS, SPE Saudi Ara-
2217 kg/m3 were used for the cementation of expandable bia Section Technical Symposium. Al-Khobar, Saudi Ara-
open hole liners. The fluidity time of the cement slurry bia, 10-12 May, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.2118/120797-MS
was from 7 to 14 hours. Badrack, R.P., Howie, W. and Hillis, D.J. (2005): Solid Ex-
pandable Technology? Testing and Application. NACE-
In the first of the three CHL cases listed in Table 2, a
05124. CORROSION 2005, Houston, Texas, 3-7 April.
138.7 mm (5½ in.) liner (482 m long) was installed in a 7
Bargawi, R. A., Zhou, S., Al-Umran, M. I. and Aghnim, W. A.
in. casing. In the second case, a 107.95 mm (4¼ in.) liner
(2005): Expandable Tubular Successfully Scab off Severe
(29 m long) was installed in a 146.05 mm (5¾ in.) casing
Casing Leaks. SPE-97357-MS, SPE/IADC Middle East
in an old shut-in oil well in Russia. In the third case, an
Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition. Dubai,
88.9 mm (3½ in.) liner (96 m long) was installed in a
United Arab Emirates, 12–14 September, 1-4. https://doi.
114.3 mm (4½ in.) casing in an injection well in Saudi
org/10.2118/97357-MS
Arabia. After running, the cased hole liner was expanded,
Ben Aissa, E. and Benabdelhafid, L. (2017): Resolving Trias
thus restoring the damaged integrity of the casing.
issue in Nezla Field (Algeria) Using the Expandable cas-
Although the analysis covers a small number of ex- ing (ABL), Case Study NZ-23. Dissertation: Professional
amples from practice compared to the actual number of Master, Faculty of Hydrocarbons, Renewable energies,
installed SETs worldwide, it nevertheless provides an and Earth and Universe Sciences, Uargla: Kasdi Merbah
overview of important information on the application University, 1-73.
and capabilities of this technology. Benzie, S., Burge, P. and Dobson, A. (2000): Towards a mono-
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be concluded that, after the first commercial running of Benzie, S., Huey, T., Cooper, C. and Bufkin, C. (2018): Ex-
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1999, this technology was successfully applied world- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium
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coming indispensable in resolving many situations, es- HP/HT Conditions in Mediterranean Offshore Egypt.
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Gaurina-Međimurec, N.; Mesarić, P. 180

SažETak
Primjena proširivih cijevi u naftnoj industriji
Razvoj tehnologije proširivanja cijevi i proširivih proizvoda (lajner za otvoreni kanal, obloga za otvoreni kanal, lajner za
zacijevljeni kanal, vješalica lajnera, unutarnja zakrpa zaštitnih cijevi itd.) omogućili su operaterima da na nov način pla-
niraju projektiranje bušotine i riješe različite probleme koji nastaju tijekom bušenja i eksploatacije na kopnu i moru.
Uključivanjem u dizajn bušotine proširivoga lajnera za otvoreni kanal, lajnera i/ili zakrpe za otvoreni kanal unutarnjega
promjera koji je jednak unutarnjemu promjeru prethodno ugrađene kolone, moguće je dizajnirati bušotinu manjega
promjera i/ili riješiti neželjene situacije koje se javljaju tijekom bušenja kroz problematične zone s minimalnim smanje-
njem promjera kanala bušotine te pristupiti ležištima ugljikovodika što ne bi bilo moguće ekonomično postići primje-
nom konvencionalne tehnologije. Ugradnjom proširivoga lajnera ili zakrpe u kolonu zaštitnih cijevi, radi izoliranja ko-
rodiranih dijelova kolone ili zatvaranja starih perforacija, moguće je produljiti životni vijek proizvodne bušotine, pove-
ćati konačni iscrpak ugljikovodika te ubrzati povratak ulaganja. Cilj je rada sustavno pregledati relevantnu literaturu i
dati pregled tehnologije proširivanja cijevi te njihove primjene u naftnoj industriji s posebnim osvrtom na cementiranje
proširivoga lajnera u otvorenome kanalu bušotine. Detaljno su analizirani dostupni podatci za 21 primjer primjene pro-
širivih cijevi u bušotinama na kopnu i moru. Na temelju opsežnoga pregleda literature i analiziranih podataka može se
zaključiti da se tehnologija proširivanja cijevi uspješno primjenjuje u cijelome svijetu i da se proširivi lajneri promjera od
114,3 mm do 339,72 mm ugrađuju u bušotine do sve većih dubina (do 5166 m) i u sve ekstremnijim bušotinskim uvjetima.

Ključne riječi:
proširive cijevi, vreteno za proširivanje, proširivi lajner, vješalica lajnera, cementacija

Author’s contribution
Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec (1) (PhD, Full Professor) provided an overview of solid expandable tubular technology
and its applications in practice. Pavao Mesarić (2) (Master of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering) provided an over-
view of case studies and participated in writing the paper.

Rudarsko-geološko-naftni zbornik i autori (The Mining-Geology-Petroleum Engineering Bulletin and the authors) ©, 2022,
pp. 163-180, DOI: 10.17794/rgn.2022.1.14