Advanced Simulation Tool Developed for Deepwater Well Cementing

_ This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 36193, “Development and Integrated Management of an Advanced Simulation Tool for Deepwater Well Cementing, ” by Iolanda S. Siqueira, Infotec Brasil, and Carlos P. C. Carvalho and Ingrid E. Silva, Petrobras, et al. Copyright 2025 Offshore Technology Conference. _ During deepwater well drilling, primary cementing plays a critical role in providing mechanical support to the wellbore walls and ensuring hydraulic isolation between producing zones. The complete paper presents the development of an advanced simulation tool aimed at providing a better understanding of the complex fluid-displacement phenomena present in well-cementing processes. The project involves the development of a 3D computational simulator capable of representing the transient process of displacing a sequence of fluids, considering different rheological properties, pumping rates, and geometric configurations. Project Conception and Collaborative Strategy Building on the foundation of a previously developed 2D simulator for evaluating fluid-displacement efficiency during cementing operations, a project was initiated to extend these capabilities into 3D. The goal was to develop a robust and computationally efficient 3D simulation tool capable of representing the transient displacement of multiple fluids—such as drilling muds, spacers, and cement slurries—under realistic wellbore conditions. For this purpose, experimental and numerical validation would be essential to ensure that the simulator would be as accurate as possible. Thus, the project was organized into the three following main development routes, each responsible for a specific set of tasks involving modeling, experimentation, and simulation, forming a coordinated multiroute collaboration framework: - Route A was responsible for the core development of the simulator, including mathematical modeling, numerical implementation, and the creation of a web-based interface. - Route B conducted large-scale experimental tests using a dedicated flow-loop setup test infrastructure designed to replicate annular and column geometries with varying eccentricities. - Route C contributed with computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) simulations, which served as an intermediate validation layer between the experimental results and the numerical outputs of the simulator. To ensure the reliability of the simulator under realistic and complex conditions, the project adopted a phased validation strategy. Although experimental validation was planned initially, it became evident that the short-length experimental setups from Route A could not be replicated directly in the early versions of the software developed by Route A. To address this limitation, Route C introduced CFD simulations as an intermediate validation step. These simulations were calibrated using experimental data from Route B and, once validated, served as benchmarks for verifying the accuracy of the models implemented by Route A. This approach enabled early-stage testing and refinement of the simulator, even before it was fully capable of reproducing small-scale experimental cases, ensuring that development could progress without compromising technical rigor. A key factor in the project’s success has been the integrated project-management model, which enabled close coordination between technical, experimental, and operational teams. While the development progressed, operational feedback was provided through pre-production testing environments, allowing for iterative refinement of the simulator based on real-world use cases. The first section of the complete paper, not summarized here, presents the simulation tool, outlining the evolution from the previous 2D version to the current 3D implementation. A section dedicated to a discussion of CFD route validation also can be found in the complete paper.