The cementing of oil wells is done using special cement called Class G cement, whose properties meet the requirements of the American Petroleum Institute (API). Although cements are not the ideal material for good sealing in drill holes, there is currently no alternative material available. Algeria, which ranks high among the oil and gas producing countries, has recently begun production of petroleum cement. The aim of this work is to characterize and evaluate an Algerian petroleum cement sample performance intended for cementing operations of the various oil wells in Algeria according to the American Petroleum Institute specifications. In addition to the microstructure study, compliance tests were carried out on several properties such as: thickening time, compressive strength, free water, and rheological behavior of the cement slurry under specific conditions. Apart from the initial consistency, which could be resolved by incorporating additives, the results indicated that the cement studied largely meets the requirements of the API standards and can therefore be used favorably as class G petroleum cement in Algeria.

Keywords: Petroleum cement, slurry, evaluation, cementing operations, rheology tests.