Over the last couple of years, oil prices have declined drastically. In July of 2014 WTI crude oil was at almost $105 per barrel. Within six months, this was cut in half. By February of 2016 the price was a little under $28 per barrel, a nearly 75% drop within a year and a half. Needless to say the oil and gas market was suffering drastically. To make oil production profitable was seemingly impossible. The question throughout the industry became “how can we do more with less?” With respect to oil well cementing, a new strategy surrounding this ideology was adopted. Typically in a cement slurry design, a number of different additives are utilized to give the proper performance desired. Some typical classifications of additives include dispersants, retarders, fluid loss preventers, suspension agents, extending agents, mechanical property enhancers and gas migration controllers. Some cement designs could comprise of up to 15 different components. As an innovative approach to address the issue, unique polymer chemistry was utilized to create an advanced cement additive that can provide multiple functions within the cement slurry helping to decrease the total additive count and still give the desired performance.

Utilizing polymer chemistry to do more with less: Strategic approaches for more efficient oil well cementing

255th National Meeting (2018)

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