CHAPTER 3: CASING DESIGN & SELECTION

1. FUNCTIONS OF CASING

Isolate porous formations w/ Isolate troublesome zones

different fluid-pressure (high pressure zone, weak,
regimes & allow isolated fractured formation, Prevent hole from caving in
communication w/ unconsolidated, sloughing
selectively perforated shale) & allow drilling to
foemations of interest. total depth.

Prevent near-surface fresh Provide connection &

Serve as high strength flow
water zones from support of wellhead
conduit to surface for both
contamination w/ drilling equipment & blowout
drilling & production fluids
mud preventer

2. TYPES OF CASING

The outermost casing string

Onshore (40-500ft), Offshore(up to 1000ft)
CONDUCTOR CASING Shallow wells OD 16”, Deep wells OD 20”
Isolates very weak formations
Prevents erosion of ground below rig
Provides a mud return path
Support weight of subsequent casing string
Depth vary from 300 to 5000ft
10-3/4 in & 13-3/8 in common sizes
Setting depth determined by government & company
policy
SURFACE CASING Provides a means of nippling up BOP
Provides a casing seat strong enough to safely close in a
well after a kick
Provides protection of fresh water sands
Provides wellbore stabilization

By: Mutia Kharunisa

 Protective casing (technical casing)
Length varies from 7000ft to 15000ft
Provides isolation of troublesome zones (abnormal P,
INTERMEDIATE CASING
unstable shales, lost circulation zones & salt)
Provides integrity to withstand high MW necessary to
reach TD/ next casing seat
Set through the protective productive zone
Designed to hold maximal shut-in pressure of producing
formations
It is designed to withstand stimulating pressures during
completion & workover operations
7in OD often used
PRODUCTION CASING Provides zonal isolation (prevent migration of water to
producing zones, isolates different production zone)
Confines production to wellbore
Provides the environment to install subsurface
completion equipment
Provides protection for the environment in the event of
tubing failure during production operations & allows for
the tubing to be repaired & replaced.
Casing that do not reach the surface
Mounted on liner hangers to the previous casing string
LINERS
Set to seal off troublesome sections of the well/ through
the producing zones for economic reasons.

3. CLASSIFICATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED

a. Outside Diameter (OD)

• Prevent the pipe from being undersized to ensure adequate thread run-out
when machining a connection.
• 0.75 (75%) of the tolerance & slightly oversized

b. Inside Diameter (ID)

• Wall thickness & drift diameter
• Maximal ID is controlled by the combined tolerances for the OD & wall
thickness
• Minimal permissible pipe wall thickness is 87.5% of the nominal wall
thickness.

By: Mutia Kharunisa

 c. Length (range)

Range Length (ft) Average Length (ft)

1 16-25 22
2 25-34 31
3 >34 42

d. Connections

CSG Short round threads & couplings – no pressure seal at internal pressure,
threaded surfaces get further separated.
LCSG Long round threads & couplings- greater strength & greater joint
efficiency. Reliable, easy & cheap.
BCSG Buttress threads & couplings- nearly 100% joint efficiency. Not 100%
leakoff
XCSG Extreme line threads- integral joint, has box & pin ends. (expensive)
CSG & LCSG also called API 8-Round threads- hv 8 threads per inch
e. Weight
• Weight per unit length in lb/ft
• Nominal Weight: Threaded & coupled casing joint
• Plain-end Weight: Joint of casing without the threads & couplings

f. Grade
• Relates to the tensile strength of the steel from which the casing is made.

TENSION
Under axial tension, pipe body may suffer 3 possible deformations:
1. Elastic- the metallurgical properties of the steel in the pipe body suffer permanent damage &
it regains its original form if the load is withdrawn.
2. Elasto-plastic- the pipe body suffers a permanent deformation which often results in loss of
strength.
3. Plastic
Pipe body strength is the minimal force required to cause permanent deformation of the pipe.
𝐹𝑎 = 𝜎𝑦 𝐴𝑠

Bending force,
𝐹𝑏 = 63 𝑑0 𝑊𝑛 𝜃

BURST PRESSURE
Minimum expected internal pressure at which permanent pipe deformation could take place, if the
pipe is subjected to no external pressure / axial loads.
API BURST RATING:
𝜎𝑦 𝑡
𝑃𝑏𝑟 = 0.875
𝑑0

By: Mutia Kharunisa

COLLAPSE PRESSURE
Minimum expected external pressure at which the pipe would collapse if the pipe were subjected to
no internal pressure/axial loads.
API COLLAPSE RATING:
𝐷
(𝑡) − 1
𝑃𝑐𝑟 = 2 𝜎𝑦 [ ]
𝐷 2
(𝑡)

COMBINED STRESSES
𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
𝜎𝑍 =
𝐴𝑠

𝜎𝑦,𝑒𝑓𝑓 + 𝑃𝑖 𝜎𝑧 𝜎𝑧
= √1 − 0.75( )2 − 0.5( )
𝜎𝑦 𝜎𝑦 𝜎𝑦

CASING DESIGN CRITERIA

• Casing costs- largest cost of drilling project

• Proper selection of casing strings & setting depths- optimal & safe well at minimal costs.

CASING POINTS SELECTION

• Initial selection of casing depths- based on PP and FP gradients for the well
• Info on PP and FP gradients : from offset well data

WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS

TENSION DESIGN No buoyancy effect
Designed based on weight of entire casing string
COLLAPSE DESIGN Casing is empty on the inside, no pressure inside the casing, no
buoyancy effect
Designed based on maximum mud weight at casing depth
BURST DESIGN No backup fluid on the outside of the casing
Designed based on maximum pressure inside casing
The pressure is design for estimating PP at TD for production casing
and next casing depth

By: Mutia Kharunisa

EXAMPLE 1
Given: OD= 5 ½”, ID=5.012”, NW=14lb/ft, axial load=100000lbf, J-55 casing
Calculate collapse strength
𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 100000
𝜎𝑍 = =𝜋 = 24820 𝑝𝑠𝑖
𝐴𝑠 (5.5 2 − 5.0122 )
4

𝜎𝑧 𝜎𝑧 24820 2 24820
𝜎𝑦,𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝜎𝑦 √1 − 0.75( )2 − 0.5 ( ) = 55000 × √1 − 0.75 ( ) − 0.5 ( )
𝜎𝑦 𝜎𝑦 55000 55000

𝜎𝑦,𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 38216 𝑝𝑠𝑖

Here, the axial load decreased the J-55 rating to an equivalent J-38.2 rating

EXAMPLE 2
Given: OD=9 5/8”, Depth=8000ft, MW=12.5ppg, PP=6000psi
Design combination string

1. Calculate the burst and collapse pressure requirement

PB=PP x 1.1 = 6000psi x 1.1= 6600psi
PC= 0.052 x MW x 1.125 x depth = 0.052 x 12.5 x 1.125 x 8000= 5850psi

2. Compare the required burst and collapse pressure to the given burst and collapse rating

Burst OK
Collapse Fail

Burst OK
Collapse OK

Therefore, we are going to use N-80 with weight 47lb/ft and N-80 with weight 53.5 lb/ft

By: Mutia Kharunisa

3. Find the depth for N-80 with 47ft/lb can run (consider the collapse pressure)
𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒 4760
𝑃𝑐 = = = 4231 𝑝𝑠𝑖
1.125 1.125
𝑃𝑐 = 0.052 × 𝑀𝑊 × ℎ
4231
ℎ= = 6509 𝑓𝑡
0.052 × 12.5

4. Calculate the weight of below casing (heavier casing) can cause axial load to the lighter pipe.
At 6509ft, we have (8000-6509)ft=1491ft of 53.5lb/ft casing below. The weight of this pipe will
reduce the collapse resistance of 47lb/ft

53.5𝑙𝑏
𝑊= × 1491𝑓𝑡 = 79769𝑙𝑏𝑓
𝑓𝑡

The weight results in axial stress in the 47ft/lb pipe, therefore, the axial stress:
𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 76769
𝜎𝑍 = = = 5877𝑝𝑠𝑖
𝐴𝑠 13.572

The API tables show that the axial stress=5877psi reduces the collapse resistance from 4760 to
somewhere between: 4680psi (with 5000 psi stress) and 4600psi (with 10,000 psi stress).

5. Interpolate between the values from table to show the collapse resistance at 5877 axial stress is:
𝑃𝑐 − 4680 5877 − 5000
=
4600 − 4680 10000 − 5000

𝑃𝑐 = 4680 − 14.03 = 4666𝑝𝑠𝑖

With design factor:
4666
𝑃𝑐 = = 4148𝑝𝑠𝑖
1.125

6. The Pc=4148 psi is the pressure at depth,

4148
ℎ= = 6382𝑓𝑡
0.052 × 12.5

By: Mutia Kharunisa

7. Do another iteration until get the same depth.
Second iteration
Weight= 53.5lb/ft x (8000-6382) ft = 86563 lbf

𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 86563

𝜎𝑍 = = = 6378𝑝𝑠𝑖
𝐴𝑠 13.572

𝑃𝑐 − 4680 6378 − 5000

=
4600 − 4680 10000 − 5000

𝑃𝑐 = 4658 𝑝𝑠𝑖

With design factor,

4658 𝑝𝑠𝑖
𝑃𝑐 = = 4140𝑝𝑠𝑖
1.125

Pc=4140psi is the pressure at the depth

4140
ℎ= = 6369𝑓𝑡
0.052 × 12.5

Third iteration
The axial load,
W= 53.5 lb/ft x (8000-6369)ft= 87259 lbf

The axial stress,

𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 87259
𝜎𝑍 = = = 6429𝑝𝑠𝑖
𝐴𝑠 13.572
The collapse rating reduced,
𝑃𝑐 − 4680 6429 − 5000
=
4600 − 4680 10000 − 5000
𝑃𝑐 = 4657 𝑝𝑠𝑖
With design factor, Pc= 4657/1.125 = 4140 psi
With Pc=4140, the h= 6369ft.
Therefore, the height for N-80 43.7 lb/ft is 6369ft, N-80 53.5lb/ft is 8000-6369=1631ft

By: Mutia Kharunisa