Evaluation of the performance of local cement for oil well cementing operations in Algeria

Abstract

The cementing of oil wells is done using special cement called ‘’class G cement’’, whose properties should meet the requirements of the American Petroleum Institute (API). Algeria, which ranks high among the oil and gas producing countries, has recently begun production of petroleum cement. The aim of this work is to characterize and evaluate the performance of a locally manufactured cement sample intended for oil and gas well cementing operations in Algeria. In this paper, significant properties (thickening time, compressive strength and free water) as well as the rheological behavior of the cement slurry under specific conditions have been experimentally examined. Apart from the initial consistency, which could be resolved by incorporating additives, the results indicated that the locally produced cement meets the requirements of the API standards and can therefore be used for cementing oil and gas wells