Casing is the major structural component of a well. It is a tubular steel product used to line the wellbore (maintain borehole stability), prevent contamination of water sands, isolate water from producing formations, and control well pressures during drilling, production, and workover operations. Casing provides locations for the installation of blowout preventers, wellhead equipment, production packers, and production tubing.
The cost of casing is a major part of the overall well cost, so the selection of casing size, grade, connectors, and setting depth is a primary engineering and economic consideration.
Casing Strings:
Since the well is normally drilled in segments, multiple concentric casing strings are usually installed in the well. There are six basic types of casing strings:
