Thermal-well operations come with significant additional complexity in regard to maintaining wellbore integrity and hydraulic isolation from other formations. This is because of the extreme loads that may be placed on the well casing and liners, caused by the wide set of operating temperatures and pressures the wellbores may experience. To ensure that the wellbores can fulfill their anticipated operating need safely, careful design of the casing, liners, connections, and cement during the project-development phase is an absolute requirement.
Background
Wells designed for heavy-oil thermal-recovery projects will be exposed to a potentially wide range of operating temperatures. These can exceed 340°C for the deepest heavy-oil-bearing formations and can be as low as 5°C during well workovers.
