Expanded Glass Granules in Oilfield
Expanded Glass Granules (beads) are applied in the oil and chemical industries for thermal insulation of pipelines and storage tanks. Expanded Glass Granules are essentially the glass foam. Therefore, its chemical resistance is identical to that of glass, i.e. the material is inert in all media except strong alkali solutions and hydrofluoric acid. Its chemical resistance coupled with rigidity, non-combustibility, and light weight makes it an essential material for use as thermal insulation in aggressive media.
Moreover, apart from the usual conditions this material can be effectively applied in cases, where the application of other thermal insulation materials is constrained, inefficient, or even impossible. It should also be noted that glass is one of the most durable and inert inorganic materials.
Today, the application of cement grouting mortars with the addition of ensures the lifting of grouting mortar to an intended level with a reduction of drilling costs (well casing preparation costs are reduced) and an increase of cementing quality.
Grain properties offer a series of advantages for grouting mortar applications:
• Low density:
o Reduction of specific gravity of the cement mortar to 1.1-1.3 g/cm3 (for conventional lightweight gel-cement mortars – 1.52-1.54 g/cm3),
o Reduction of reservoir overbalancing,
o Reduction of filtrate ingress into the productive zone,
o Maintenance of the specified cement lifting height,
o Significant reduction of the density of oil-well cement,
o Shrinkage resistance during cement sheath formation
• Strength: provides low mortar shrinkage, respectively, thereby improving bonding between the formation and well casing pipes.
• Spherical shape: facilitates mixing. Lightweight cementing can be prepared directly on the drilling site by mixing grains with dry cement, which also requires less resin, binder, water, etc.
• The rigid glassy surface of the grains provides high erosion resistance.
• Easy application;
• Provision to use single-stage cementing instead of multi-stage cementing;
• Remedial cementing costs are eliminated;
• Drilling site operation time is saved;
• Reduced risks of unsatisfactory cementing;
• Reduced risks of wellbore leakage;
• No risk of exterior string corrosion ;
• No risk of damage to the producing formation during cementing ;
• Well output is increased due to a lower impact on the reservoir;
