Innovating Well Cementing Supply Chains Through Sustainable Material Sourcing and Advanced Contract Negotiation Practices

Abstract

Well cementing is crucial to the integrity of the wellbore, fluid migration, and the operational and environmental performance of oil and gas projects. Supply chain cementing, however, is becoming increasingly challenging in terms of sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and risk sharing. This conceptual paper examines the future development of innovation in the well cementing supply chain, incorporating sustainable material sourcing and best practices in contract negotiation. The review explains essential terminologies, such as cementing, sustainable supply chain management, green procurement, and performance-based contracting, and places them in the context of relevant theoretical perspectives, including Sustainable Supply Chain Management theory, Transaction Cost Economics, and the Diffusion of Innovations. The review of the available literature suggests the potential of environmentally friendly cementitious materials, the development of local content, strategies for resilience in supply chains, and the role of performance and risk-sharing contracting models, as well as digitally enabled contracting frameworks. Although the literature related to sustainable sourcing and contractual innovation is very rich, a conceptual gap remains in the view of integrating both concepts in the context of well cementing. The study proposes a unified model that helps connect material sustainability to contractual alignment through feedback mechanisms, data-driven surveillance, and cooperative supplier relations, thereby mitigating this issue. The framework has significant policy, practice, and future research implications since it provides directions on how to minimize non-productive time, enhance well integrity, and be environmentally responsible in the oil and gas industry.