I recently had the opportunity to present to a diverse group of oil and gas regulators and inspectors from different states about the importance of cement evaluation in oil and gas wells. The talk was part of a training program provided by TOPCORP, a consortium created to reduce the knowledge gap between oil and gas inspectors and operators. I introduced the basic cementing principles, their importance in wellbore integrity, and the main tools used for evaluation. In the end, we evaluated some well logs together. The interaction was also a great learning opportunity to see how things works from a regulatory point of view. For instance, some states only require that the operator run cement logs only if the well is not cemented to the surface.

On the same day, I attended talks about orphan and abandoned wells, methane emissions, and pipelines. It was interesting to find how each state deals with regulations and how difficult it is to promote changes. States like North Dakota, where the oil and gas activities are more recent are more flexible and seem to be doing a better job dealing with abandoned wells, for example. However, changes are inevitable if we want to build a more sustainable future.

Shape memory polymers (SMP) are fascinating materials. They are smart materials with the ability to change shape when triggered by external stimuli. SMPs can retain two or sometimes three shapes, and the transition can be permanent or temporary. My research group has been studying them for years in different applications in the oil and gas industry, such as lost circulation materials, cement additives, proppants for hydraulic fracturing, and diverters for refracturing. In all cases, the SMP was programmed to expand when exposed to high temperatures (reservoir temperature). Particularly for cementing, where I dedicated most of my time, expansion has to be carefully designed not to damage the properties of the cement. If done correctly, cement expansion can even inhibit the formation of microannulus.
Our findings were recently published in a chapter in the Elsevier Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering. These studies are still very incipient, but the low weight combined with tailorable properties and ease of process makes the material applications very promising.