One of the primary problems in horizontal shales is that the harsh environments in subterranean basins require lighter slurries to prevent breaking down the formation during the cement job.
A secondary issue is preventing lost circulation, which occurs when the slurry flows into the formation rather than returning up the annulus to the desired top-of-cement location.
In 2011, Halliburton went to work engineering a lighter but stronger cement that would become known as NeoCem cement.
The
