Cementing:

The application of a liquid slurry of cement and water to various points inside or outside the casing.

2.

To prepare and pump cement into place in a wellbore.

Cementing operations may be undertaken to seal the annulus after a casing string has been run, to seal a lost circulation zone, to set a plug in an existing well from which to push off with directional tools or to plug a well so that it may be abandoned.

Before cementing operations commence, engineers determine the volume of cement (commonly with the help of a caliper log) to be placed in the wellbore and the physical properties of both the slurry and the set cement needed, including density and viscosity.

A cementing crew uses special mixers and pumps to displace drilling fluids and place cement in the wellbore.

see primary cementing, secondary cementing.

Terms Related to Cementing

• Secondary cementing

  Any cementing operation after the primary cementing operation. Secondary cementing includes a plug-back job, in which a plug of cement is positioned at a specific ...

• Cementing head

  An accessory attached to the top of the casing to facilitate cementing of the casing. It has passages for cement slurry and retain chambers for ...

• Opening/closing plug

  A rubber plug used in primary cementing operations to displace cement slurry from the casing into the borehole annulus.

• Cement squeeze

  A remedial cementing operation designed to force cement into leak paths in wellbore tubulars. The required squeeze pressure is achieved by carefully controlling pump pressure. ...

• Plug-back cementing

  A secondary-cementing operation in which a plug of cement is positioned at a specific point in the well and allowed to set.

• Cement plug

  A portion of cement placed at some point in the wellbore to seal it. See cementing.

• Cement retainer

  A tool set temporarily in the casing or well to prevent the passage of cement, thereby forcing it to follow another designated path. It is ...