Numerical Modeling of Gas Migration through Cement Sheath and Microannulus

Cement sheath is considered an important barrier throughout the life cycle of the well. The integrity of the cement sheath plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of wells. Cement’s ability to seal the annular space or a wellbore, also known as cement sealability, is an important characteristic of the cement to maintain the well integrity. It is believed that placing cement in the annular space or wellbore can totally prevent any leakage; however, that is debatable. The reason why cement cannot completely prevent fluid leakage is that cement is considered as a porous medium, and also flaws in cement, such as microannuli, channels, and fractures, can develop within the cement sheath. Furthermore, the complexity of casing/cement and cement/formation interaction makes it very difficult to fully model the fluid migration. Hence, fluid can migrate between formations or to the surface. This article presents a numerical model for gas flow in cement sheath, including the microannulus flow. A parametric study of different variables and their effect on the leakage time is carried out, such as the microannulus gap size, cement matrix permeability, cement column length, and cement porosity. In addition, it presents leakage scenarios for different casing/liner overlap length with the existence of microannulus. The leakage scenarios revealed that the cement matrix permeability, microannulus gap size, and cement length can highly impact the leakage time; however, cement porosity has a minimal effect on the leakage time. In addition, modeling results revealed that the casing/liner overlap length should not be less than 300 ft, and the casing pressure duration should be beyond 30 min to detect any leak.