Analysis of a chemically-bonded phosphate ceramic as an alternative oilfield cementing system for Arctic regions

• Main Author: Banerjee, Sudiptya
• Other Authors: Patil, Shirish L., Chukwu, Godwin A., Khataniar, Santanu, Chen, Gang
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Arctic; Fairbanks; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6027

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005 Traditional Portland cement has been used in the oilfield industry for over a hundred years in the United States. However, under the harsh cold of arctic conditions, cement has failed to provide the minimum standards of strength and safety required in the petroleum industry. Though there has been significant research to correct this shortcoming, no ideal solution has been found to improve the arctic performance of Portland cement. A chemically-bonded phosphate ceramic, known generically as Ceramicrete, has been developed which appears attractive as a cement replacement in arctic well construction. This material contains no Portland cement and does not have its limitations under cold conditions. It uses the same equipment in terms of storage and production as the Portland cement. In this research, Ceramicrete was vigorously tested according to industry-specifications in order to compare its material behavior against that of Portland cement as a viable alternative under arctic oilfield conditions.