Engineering everywhere…
In the 1997 movie Volcano, the following dialogue happens between the two main characters:
Geologist Dr.: I’ve never tracked lava under a city before. I don’t know what it will do with man-made tunnels to travel through.
The Head of the city’s Office of Emergency Management: It doesn’t matter. I have to deal what’s in front of me right now. I don’t have time to read a file on geological theory.
Geologist Dr.: Well, somebody has to.
The Head of the city’s Office of Emergency Management: I can only fight what I can see.
Parallels with well cementing
The movie wasn’t that good, and the special effects weren’t all that great, but being an engineer and a movie fan, I like to see plots where some form of engineering or knowledge is used to solve impossible situations.
When I watched the dialogue mentioned above, I realized that the argument in the Volcano movie could as well be pretty much applicable in a well construction environment. For sure, we can picture who is who!
Now, I have used this movie’s argument to help me define the role of the well cementing technical expert.
A cement technical expert needs to bring to the attention of the man in charge of well operations, what is not apparent to him. We, as cement experts, do that before (during design), during (execution) and after (evaluation) the cement job and it goes beyond knowing what is written in books.
It demands that we play a role similar to a character in a book that is being written. A book, with a series of chapters where the scientific method shall be continuously applied, sometimes filling the gaps in experimentation with case histories and educated guesses… Nonetheless, we create questions that require a conclusion.
Well cementing support for all
One of the cementing expert’s most important responsibilities, (sometimes forgotten), is to ensure a team improves their knowledge of cementing…
I have said many times before, my target at each job site is to become obsolete. I believe that in well construction we have to be increasingly effective and more efficient every day. That is only possible by helping others quickly reach stage 3 of the learning curve, and then by providing proper programs and leadership to either maintain motivation or kick off a new learning process.
At stage 3, the cementing expert should be no longer required. However, in the oil industry as a whole but particularly in drilling (a little less frequent in work-over) there is a tendency to ‘reset’ the learning process, but that is another topic.
Consistent with my beliefs about this essential task, I have created this site to support people looking for answers in cementing. This includes anybody in a drilling or work-over team, students, trainees, etc.
My commitment to you:
- I will answer questions and provide guidance in cementing within reach of my abilities and time. All questions and answers will remain private unless specifically authorized by the submitting person to allow public publishing.
- I do not intend to alleviate your responsibility to improve your knowledge of cementing, by reading books, articles, training, etc.
- If I do not know the answer, I will let you know and help you find it.
- I will liaise with my friends, including drilling engineers, operations leaders and drilling fluids experts, to provide an integrated approach to any problem (your authorization will be required).
- Public answers will be open to comments by anybody willing to participate.
- I do not intend or want to remove your responsibility for whatever you do.
- If you are employed, be aware that I would keep all conversation confidential unless you say otherwise. However, please be mindful of your confidentiality agreement with your company or agency.
We offer a free service, and it is open, and it is available to anybody. However, I do appreciate your contribution by any of the following means:
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If I invite you, help me providing the best possible answer to an user's request. -
Be a contributor (only by invitation). -
Making suggestions. -
Support with a monetary contribution.
I love what you are doing here! You have a vast knowledge of cementing operations, and to offer a free service where people can get the help they need is remarkable. I am sure you are helping many people with your sharing! What skills do you need to have in well cementing?
Thanks for your comment and thank you for visiting this site. I would say that the most important skill is to never lose the capacity to learn. People talk a lot about experience and I consider experienced myself, but what I loved about experience is effectively keeping yourself open to productive interactions with others. That is how you develop more experience for yourself and your team.
Hey Lenin,
Great info on cementing! I am glad to see that you are getting this resource available to the industry!
This really has been a long time coming! I can’t believe that there hasn’t been a resource like this available before now.
The information you are sharing is imperative to our industry! I will be certain to rely on the advice you offer on this site!
Great work!
Tom
Thanks Tom. I will keep updating the site and adding new topics. I appreciate your feedback.
Lenin,
As a Civil Engineer myself, I really respect what you’re doing for the community. I’ve only been working for a little over 3 years and am planning to take my PE exam next year. I’ve always been interesting in Geotechnical Engineering and have learn a bit about drilling bedrock wells (although not very deep, 600 ft max) and other well operations.
I look forward to what your site has to bring. I will definitely be checking back for interesting topics!
Thanks for your comment Wing. Helping others and having the opportunity lo learn from that experience is the real motivation of this site.
Lenin, I have had a great deal of contact with cement in concrete, grout and render. I have never used it alone. My one question is when you say you are a cementer is what you work with just cement or a combination of these other products?
Why don’t you do a short post on how one of the gas wells is created? Show a good descriptive diagram of the well.
Whatever you used I also used a lot of precast units as my well type work was with water and sewer pumping stations.
One funny tale is when I arranged the design and installation of a deep sewage pump station. My soil driller was in fact blind! He did his soil categorisation by feel. And he was excellent, getting all the samples right (we sent them off for sampling).
As he drilled water started coming up. He told me I should put a well there instead of a pumping station. After the project finished a local old timer told me that our site had been a water well for an old baker!
I believe your site will give many people a good picture of what is entailed.
See you around.
Ciao
Helen
Hi Helen, thanks a lot for your contribution. A “cementer” is a term used in the oil industry (drilling / Well Construction) to describe anybody working or being in charge of the well cementing process.
In the gas and oil wells cement is placed primarily between the casing (pipe) and the borehole to provide isolation, structural integrity and protection. Cement is placed as cement slurry, which is a combination of oil well cement (Typically API Class G or H – more resistant to sulphates) and other chemicals called, cement additives that provide the cement with enhanced properties to make it suitable for the different well conditions. In general the deeper the well the more chemicals/technology is necessary as part of the cement slurry. The more important of all is to keep the cement liquid for as long as it is necessary to place it.
It is a good idea to create a post to describe how wells are created, I will do one soon. Thanks
Cheers
L. Diaz