Engr.

Jude Odo
CASING PROGRAM
1.0.​INTRODUCTION
1.1.​Definition of casing and its importance in oil and gas well construction:
Casing is a critical component in oil and gas well construction, consisting of steel
pipe segments that are installed and cemented in place to line the borehole. The
importance of casing in well construction lies in its ability to serve multiple
essential functions which include:
-​ Well control: Casing provides a barrier between the wellbore and the
surrounding formations, allowing for proper control of formation fluids
and pressures during drilling and production operations.
-​ Structural integrity: Casing strings provide the necessary structural
support to prevent borehole collapse or formation intrusion, particularly in
unstable or over-pressured formations.
-​ Zonal isolation: By cementing the casing in place, different formations are
isolated from one another, preventing fluid migration between zones and
ensuring effective reservoir management.
-​ Protection and support: Casing protects the wellbore from corrosion,
erosion, and other potential damage caused by formation fluids, drilling
fluids, or production operations. It also supports and protects downhole
tools and equipment during various well operations.
-​ Conduit for operations: Casing serves as a conduit for various well
operations, including drilling, cementing, completion, and production. It
provides a pathway for fluids to be circulated, equipment to be run, and
hydrocarbons to be produced.

Fig: Component of a casing string (Schlumberger, 2022)

1.2.​Objectives of a standard casing program:

A standard casing program is conducted to serve these major specific objectives:

-​ Well Control: Designing of casing strings to withstand anticipated

formation pressures and provide sufficient kick tolerance during drilling
operations.
-​ Wellbore Stability: Selecting casing sizes, weights, and setting depths to
maintain borehole integrity and prevent collapse or formation intrusion in
unstable formations.

-​ Zonal Isolation: Isolating different formations and zones to prevent fluid

migration and enable effective reservoir management.

-​ Production Requirements: Accommodating desired production rates,

fluid types, and completion methods by the selection of appropriate casing
sizes and configurations.

-​ Well Integrity: Ensuring long-term well integrity by providing a secure

and durable conduit for drilling, completion, and production operations.

-​ Environmental Protection: Complying with regulations and industry

standards to protect groundwater aquifers, contain formation fluids, and
prevent environmental contamination.

-​ Cost Optimization: Designing an efficient casing program that balances

technical requirements with economic considerations, minimizing
non-productive time and unnecessary costs.
Ultimately, a well-designed casing program aims to safely and effectively
construct a well that can be drilled, completed, and produced while
maintaining well control, zonal isolation, and structural integrity throughout
the well's life cycle.

2.0. CASING STRINGS

A casing string consists of individual joints of steel pipe which are connected
together by threaded connections. The joints of casing in a string generally
have the same outer diameter and are approximately 40ft long. A bull-nose
shaped device, known as a guide shoe or casing shoe, is attached to the
bottom of the casing string and a casing hanger, which allows the casing to be
suspended from the wellhead, is attached to the top of the casing. Various
other items of equipment, associated with the cementing operation, may also
be included in the casing string, or attached to the outside of the casing e.g.
float collar, centralisers and scratchers.
The casing strings are broadly classified into conductor casing, surface casing,
intermediate casing, production casing and liners.
 Fig: A standard casing program

''
A.​ CONDUCTOR CASING (30 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟):
The conductor is the first casing string to be run, and consequently has the largest
diameter. It is generally set at approximately 100ft below the ground level or seabed.
Its function is to seal off unconsolidated formations at shallow depths which, with
continuous mud circulation, would be washed away. The surface formations may also
have low fracture strengths which could easily be exceeded by the hydrostatic
pressure exerted by the drilling fluid when drilling a deeper section of the hole. In
areas where the surface formations are stronger and less likely to be eroded the
conductor pipe may not be necessary. Where conditions are favourable the conductor
may be driven into the formation and in this case the conductor is referred to as a
stove pipe.
 Fig: Conductor casing

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B.​ SURFACE CASING (20 𝑂𝐷):
The surface casing is run after the conductor and is generally set at approximately
1000 - 1500 ft below the ground level or the seabed. The main functions of surface
casing are to seal off any fresh water sands, and support the wellhead and BOP
equipment. The setting depth of this casing string is important in an area where
abnormally high pressures are expected. If the casing is set too high, the formations
below the casing may not have sufficient strength to allow the well to be shut-in and
killed if a gas influx occurs when drilling the next hole section. This can result in the
formations around the casing cratering and the influx flowing to surface around the
outside of the casing.

Fig: Surface Casing

C.​ INTERMEDIATE CASING 138 𝑂𝐷 : ( 3''

)
Intermediate (or protection) casing strings are used to isolate troublesome formations
between the surface casing setting depth and the production casing setting depth. The
types of problems encountered in this interval include: unstable shales, lost circulation
zones, abnormally pressured zones and squeezing salts. The number of intermediate
casing strings will depend on the number of such problems encountered.
 Fig: Intermediate Casing

5''
D.​ PRODUCTION CASING (98 𝑂𝐷)
The production casing is either run through the pay zone, or set just above the pay
zone (for an open hole completion or prior to running a liner). The main purpose of
this casing is to isolate the production interval from other formations (e.g. water
bearing sands) and/or act as a conduit for the production tubing. Since it forms the
conduit for the well completion, it should be thoroughly pressure tested before
running the completion.

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E.​ LINER (7 𝑂𝐷)
A liner is a short (usually less than 5000ft) casing string which is suspended from the
inside of the previous casing string by a device known as a liner hanger. The liner
hanger is attached to the top joint of the casing in the string. The liner hanger consists
of a collar which has hydraulically or mechanically set slips (teeth) which, when
activated, grip the inside of the previous string of casing. These slips support the
weight of the liner and therefore the liner does not have to extend back up to the
wellhead. The overlap with the previous casing (liner lap) is usually 200ft - 400ft.
Liners may be used as an intermediate string or as a production string.

The advantages of running a liner, as opposed to a full string of casing, are that:
-​ A shorter length of casing string is required, and this results in a significant
cost reduction;
-​ The liner is run on drill pipe, and therefore less rig time is required to run the
string;
-​ The liner can be rotated during cementing operations. This will significantly
improve the mud displacement process and the quality of the cement job.

After the liner has been run and cemented it may be necessary to run a casing string of
the same diameter as the liner and connect onto the top of the liner hanger, effectively
extending the liner back to surface. The casing string which is latched onto the top of
the liner hanger is called a tie-back string. This tie-back string may be required to
protect the previous casing string from the pressures that will be encountered when
the well is in production.
 In addition to being used as part of a production string, liners may also be used as an
intermediate string to case off problem zones before reaching the production zone. In
this case the liner would be known as a drilling line. Liners may also be used as a
patch over existing casing for repairing damaged casing or for extra protection against
corrosion. In this case the liner is known as a stub liner.

Fig: North Sea Casing configuration

3.0. PROCEDURES OBSERVED IN RUNNING CASING STRINGS AND LINERS
DOWNHOLE
I. Casing Running Procedures:
i.​ Before the casing is run, a check trip should be made to ensure that there are no tight spots or
ledges which may obstruct the casing and prevent it reaching bottom.
ii.​ The drift I.D. of each joint should be checked before it is run.
iii.​ Joints are picked up from the catwalk and temporarily rested on the ramp. A single joint
elevator is used to lift the joint up through the “V” door into the derrick.

Fig: Casing Deployment

 iv.​ If the casing is run too quickly into the hole, surge pressures may be generated below the
casing in the open hole, increasing the risk of formation fracture. A running speed of 1000 ft
per hour is often used in open hole sections. If the casing is run with a float shoe the casing
should be filled up regularly as it is run, or the casing will become buoyant and may even
collapse, under the pressure from the mud in the hole.
v.​ The casing shoe is usually set 10-30 ft off bottom.

II. Casing Landing Procedures

After the casing is run to the required depth it is cemented in place while suspended in the
wellhead. The method used for landing the casing will vary from area to area, depending on
the forces exerted on the casing string after the well is completed. These forces may be due to
changes in formation pressure, temperature, fluid density and earth movements (compaction).
These will cause the casing to either shrink or expand, and the landing procedure must take
account of this. There are basically 3 different ways in which the casing can be cemented and
landed:
-​ landing the casing and cementing;
-​ suspending the casing, conducting the cement job and then applying additional
tension when the cement has hardened;
-​ landing the casing under compression;
The first case does not require any action after the cementing operation is complete.
The casing is simply landed on a boll-weevil hanger and cemented in place. Additional
tension (over and above the suspended weight) may however have to be applied to the casing
to prevent buckling due to thermal expansion when the well is producing hot fluids.
Additional tension can be applied, after the casing has been cemented, by suspending the
casing from the elevators during the cementing operation and then applying an overpull
(extra tension) to the casing once the cement has hardened.

The casing would then be landed on a slip and seal assembly. The level of overpull applied to
the casing will depend on the amount of buckling load that is anticipated due to production.
The third option may be required in the case that the suspended tension reduces the casing’s
collapse resistance below an acceptable level. In this case the casing is suspended from the
elevators during cementing and then lowered until the desired compression is achieved before
setting the slip and seal assembly.

III. Liner Running Procedures

 Fig: Casing Liner installation

Liners are run on drill pipe with special tools which allow the liner to be run, set and
cemented all in one trip. The liner hanger is installed at the top of the liner. The hanger has
wedge slips which can be set against the inside of the previous string. The slips can be set
mechanically (rotating the drill pipe) or hydraulically (differential pressure). A liner packer
may be used at the top of the liner to seal off the annulus after the liner has been cemented.
The basic liner running procedure is as follows:
(a) Run the liner on drill pipe to the required depth;
(b) Set the liner hanger;
(c) Circulate drilling fluid to clean out the liner;
(d) Back off (disconnect) the liner hanger setting tool;
(e) Pump down and displace the cement;
(f) Set the liner packer;
(g) Pick up the setting tool, reverse circulate to clean out cement and pull out of hole.

4.0. CASING DESIGN

I. Casing Grades:
The chemical composition of casing varies widely, and a variety of compositions and
treatment processes are used during the manufacturing process This means that the physical
properties of the steel varies widely. The materials which result from the manufacturing
process have been classified by the API into a series of “grades”. Each grade is designated by
a letter, and a number. The letter refers to the chemical composition of the material and the
number refers to the minimum yield strength of the material e.g. N-80 casing has a minimum
yield strength of 80000 psi and K-55 has a minimum yield strength of 55000 psi. Hence the
grade of the casing provides an indication of the strength of the casing. The higher the grade,
the higher the strength of the casing.
In addition to the API grades, certain manufacturers produce their own grades of material. Both
seamless and welded tubulars are used as casing although seamless casing is the most common type of
casing and only H and J grades are welded.

Fig: Casing Grade

II. Casing Design Data Sheet:

 Fig: Casing Data sheet
Key notes about the design data sheet:
-​ Summarizes key parameters for each casing string which include:
i.​ Casing size (OD, ID, weight)
ii.​ Grade and material properties
iii.​ Setting depths (shoe and top)
iv.​ Design factors (safety factors for burst, collapse, tension)
v.​ Load cases (mud weights, anticipated pressures)
vi.​ Calculated capacities (burst, collapse, tension)

-​ Serves as a reference for casing running and cementing operations.

-​ Ensures design criteria and safety factors are met.
-​ Reviewed and approved by all stakeholders before execution.