Renaissance Worthington Hotel, Ft. Worth, TX

Subcommittee 10

General Session

Chairman: Dan Mueller

Renaissance Worthington Hotel, Ft. Worth, TX

Dan Mueller called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, January 23, 2008.

Approval of Minutes from San Francisco

The first order of business was to approve the minutes from the 2007 Summer Meeting at San Francisco, CA. Dan Mueller read the minutes. A motion to approve the minutes was moved and seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

2008 SC-10 Task Group/Work Group/Liaison Charges

Dan Mueller reviewed the 2008 charges. Details about each charge may be found on the SC-10 website.

Charge / Chairperson(s)
TG on Cooperative Testing / Bill Carruthers
WG on Compressive Strength / Scott Saville
TG on Cement Monogram Program / Bill Carruthers
TG on Publications / Ron Crook/Tom Griffin
Resource Group – ISO Liaison / Dan Mueller
TG on Fluid Compatibility / Tom Griffin
TG on Mechanical Behavior of Cement / Ken Gray/Dan Mueller
Resource Group – API RP65 Task Group Liaison / Dave Stiles
WG on Compositional Analysis of Cement / Heiko Plack
TG on Mechanical Cementing Plugs Used in Casing, Tubing and Drill Pipe / Hank Rogers
WG on Procedures for Sample Collection and Preparation for API Cooperative Testing / Jack Haugom
WG on Test Methods for Determination of Dynamic Settling / Robert Beirute
WG on Evaluation of NAF Removal and Water Wetting by Spacers / Tom Griffin
WG on Performance Testing of Well Cementing Composites / Heiko Plack/Dan Mueller

During the discussion, Ken Gray discussed his upcoming Technical Report concerning rock mechanics principles in the context of cements. The document will be in nine parts, without extensive equations. Gray noted that the mathematical expressions will be two-dimensional, and will assume that the cement is homogeneous and isotropic. This may cause some difficulty. He expects to provide a complete draft in time for the 2008 Summer Meeting.

The TG on Publications completed a preliminary editorial review of 10TR1 concerning cement-sheath evaluation. At present, work is underway to incorporate high-quality graphic material and make the document stylistically consistent.

2007 Steering Committee Review

Dan Mueller read the minutes from the Steering Committee meeting that took place in Tomball, TX on November 16th, 2007. The complete minutes are available on the SC-10 website.

During this General Session there was discussion about the WG on Performance Testing of Well Cementing Composites.

Dan Mueller plans to perform some tests with a prototype system modeled after a 50:50 Class C fly ash/Portland cement blend. Tom Griffin expressed some concern about using Class C instead of Class F, because Class C is more reactive and compositionally variable. Bill Carruthers remarked that the availability of Class F fly ash is diminishing, and using Class C fly ashes has become standard practice in the US and Canada; therefore, it may be best to investigate systems that will exist in the future.

Bob Carpenter commented that, because slag and pozzolan blends are already used extensively, using composite systems from cement manufacturers may not significantly alter the carbon footprint of well cementing. Dan Mueller replied that investigating composites is justified because government regulations may place limits on Portland cement production, thereby forcing increased use of blended systems by both the construction and well cementing industries. Bill Carruthers remarked that LaFarge is already developing and testing blended systems.

Old Business

No old business was brought to the floor.

New Business

Liaison with Mexican Committee on API 10A

Mr. Jesus Ruiz, coordinator of the Mexican Committee on API 10A, has requested a liaison role to interface with SC-10. Dan Mueller will work to expedite this request.

Task Group Disbandments

Motions were introduced to disband three Task Groups:

TG on Centralizers,

TG on Fluid Compatibility, and

TG on Temperature Determination.

All three motions were approved unanimously.

Performance Difference between Beneficiated and Unbeneficiated Bentonite

Kelly Soucy (TRICAN) agreed to present work at the Summer Meeting in Calgary comparing the performance of beneficiated and unbeneficiated bentonite in well cements. Tom Griffin commented that it may also be useful to review the work performed by SC-10 in 1986 that sought to adopt a bentonite specification mirroring that of SC-13.

Pressurized Mud Balance Modification

Terry Dammel commented that pressurized mud balances should have a line etched along the circumference of the cup that could be used to verify that the cap is in the correct position. Often, obstacles such as coarse particles prevent the cap from reaching its proper position.

Adjournment

After no additional business was proposed, Dave Stiles moved that the meeting be adjourned. Tom Griffin seconded the motion. Dan Mueller then adjourned the meeting at 1:41 PM.