MWCNT for enhancing mechanical properties of oil well cement for HPHT applications

Growing demand to drill High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) wells requires improved technology to overcome the HPHT challenges. Oil well cementing has a greater impact on the production potential of a well as compared to other operational actions. A successful cementing job is dependent on how quickly and efficiently cement achieves strength. Achieving desired mechanical properties of cement becomes harder and complex at HPHT conditions. A wide variety of admixtures are commonly mixed with the oil well cement slurries to deal with the extensive range of pressure and temperature to acquire enhanced mechanical properties depending on the combination of admixture used. Carbon Nanotubes (CNT), declared as "Miracle Material", have been one of the most recent admixtures being used to achieve the desired mechanical properties of cement slurries. This paper highlights the study carried out to examine the mechanical properties comprising compressive strength of oil well cement slurries integrating chemical additives and CNT under high pressure high temperature (HPHT) conditions. Three different percentages of functionalized multi-walled CNT's (MWCNT), at 0.1%, 0.25% and 0.5% bwoc, were mixed with Type-G oil well cement together with other additives used in HPHT applications. Compressive strength investigations (Destructive and UCA) were carried out on those slurries. SEM investigations were also conducted on selected MWCNT mixes. The study indicated that incorporation of MWCNT, at a very small percentage, in cement slurries resulted in a significant increase in the compressive strength values.