Method of cementing using polymeric retarder

1. A method of retarding the set time of a cementitious slurry until placed in a desired location within a gas or oil wellbore, comprising:

introducing into the wellbore a pumpable cementitious slurry comprising water, a cement and a water-soluble or water-dispersible set retarder, the set retarder comprising a copolymer of (i) at least one polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer; and (ii) at least one alkoxylated sulfate, phosphate, or carboxylate salt, wherein the consistency of the cementitious slurry is between from about 2 to about 20 Bearden units of consistency and further wherein the amount of water in the cementitious slurry is between from about 30 to 150 weight percent based on the dry weight of the cement; and

allowing the slurry to harden to a solid mass;

the copolymer being present in the cementitious slurry in an amount sufficient to retard the set time of the cementitious slurry until the cementitious slurry is placed in the desired location within the wellbore.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein hardening of the cementitious slurry is delayed until the downhole temperature is greater than or equal to 500° F.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein hardening of the cementitious slurry is delayed until the downhole temperature is greater than or equal to 600° F.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer is acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one alkoxylated sulfate is of the formula:

wherein R2 is —(CH 2 CH 2 —O—) n or (—CH 2 CHCH 3 —O—) n or a mixture thereof, n is between from about 1 to about 100; and Z is H, or a water soluble cationic moiety which counterbalances the valence of the anionic radical X.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer is a C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid, C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of an amido carboxylic acid, a hydroxylated C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid or a C 1 -C 6 hydroxylated amido carboxylic acid ester.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer is selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylamide, methacrylamide, N-methyl acrylamide, N, N-dimethyl acrylamide, N- isopropylacrylamide, maleic acid or anhydride, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, styrene, sulfonic acid, vinyl sulfonic acid, isopropenyl phosphonic acid, vinyl phosphonic acid, vinylidene di-phosphonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the weight average molecular weight of the copolymer is between from about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the weight average molecular weight of the copolymer is between from about 1,500 to about 50,000 Daltons.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the copolymer is of the formula:

wherein:

E is at least one carboxylic acid, amido carboxylic acid, carboxylic acid ester, amido carboxylic acid ester, hydroxylated alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid or a hydroxylated amido carboxylic acid ester sulfonic acid, phosphonic acid or amide as well as mixtures thereof;

F is of the structure:

R1 is H or a C 1 -C 4 alkyl;

G is —CH 2 — or —CHCH 3 —;

R2 is —(CH 2 CH 2 —O—) n or (—CH 2 CHCH 3 —O—) n or a mixture thereof;

R6 is —CH 2 or —C═O;

R7 is —H or a C 1 -C 18 straight or branched alkyl chain or XZ,

R4 is H or a straight or branched chain C 1 -C 4 alkyl;

R5 is a hydroxy substituted alkyl or alkylene having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, (CH 2 CH 2 O) n , (CH 2 CH(CH 3 )O) n or a mixture thereof;

X is an anionic radical selected from the group consisting of SO 3 , PO 3 , and COO;

Z is H or a water soluble cationic moiety which counterbalances the valence of the anionic radical X;

c and d are positive integers;

e is 0 or a non-negative integer; and

n being an integer from about 1 to about 150.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein E is a C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid, C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of an amido carboxylic acid, hydroxylated C 1 -C 6 alkyl ester of a carboxylic acid or a C 1 -C 6 hydroxylated amido carboxylic acid ester.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein E is at least one member selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylamide, methacrylamide, N-methyl acrylamide, N, N-dimethyl acrylamide, N-isopropylacrylamide, maleic acid or anhydride, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, styrene sulfonic acid, vinyl sulfonic acid, isopropenyl phosphonic acid, vinyl phosphonic acid, vinylidene di-phosphonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein E is at least one member selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylamide, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid and water-soluble salts thereof.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein E is acrylic acid, methacrylic acid or a mixture of acrylic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein R1 is —H; n is between from about 1 to about 20; and X is SO 3 , Z is Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , NH 4 + or an organic amine.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein F is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol allyl ether, polypropylene glycol allyl ether, polyethylene glycol/propylene glycol allyl ether, hydroxyethyleneglycolmethyl methacrylate and methoxyethyleneglycolmethyl methacrylate.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the ratio c: d: e ranges from about 1-10:1-4:0-10.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein e is zero and the ratio c: d ranges from about 30:1 to about 1:20.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cementitious slurry does not contain an intensifier.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cementitious slurry further contains at least one additive selected from the group consisting of fluid loss control additives, strength retrogression additives, permeability reducers, weighting materials, permeability reducers and anti-settling agents.

21. (New.) The method of claim 1 , wherein the consistency of the cementitious slurry is from about 5 to 11 Bearden units of consistency.

22. A method of cementing pipes or casings in a wellbore, comprising:

pumping a cementitious slurry comprising water; a set retarder and a hydraulically-active cementitious material down the inside of the pipe or casing and back up the outside of the pipe or casing through the annulus between the pipe or casing and the wellbore, wherein the set retarder of the cementitious slurry is

a copolymer selected from the group consisting of:

and

wherein Z is hydrogen or a water-soluble cation, n is between from about 1 to about 100 and the molar ratio of c:d in formula (III) is between from about 30:1 to about 1:20 and the molar ratio of c:d:e in formula (V) is between from about 20:10:1 to about 1:1:20; and further wherein the amount of water in the cementitious slurry is between from about 30 to about 150 weight percent based on the dry weight of the cement; and

delaying the set time of the cementitious slurry, wherein the copolymer is present in an amount sufficient in the cementitious slurry to retard the set time of the cementitious slurry.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the cementitious slurry further contains at least one additive selected from the group consisting of fluid loss control additives, strength retrogression additives, permeability reducers, weighting materials, permeability reducers and anti-settling agents.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein the cementitious material is slag or a blend of hydraulic cement and slag.

25. The method of claim 22 , wherein the cementitious material is a Class A through Class H cement.