SPE 108647
Preventing Lost Circulation Requires Planning Ahead
Donald L. Whitfill, Max Wang, Dale Jamison, and Adrian Angove-Rogers, Halliburton Fluid Systems
Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2007 International Oil Conference and
Exhibition in Mexico held in Veracruz, Mexico, 27–30 June 2007.
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Abstract
“Pay now, or pay later” fits in many industries and
circumstances. In well construction, ideally the operator
wishes to be in a position to decide which of these alternatives
is the most economic. Engineered solutions, designed to
improve wellbore strength and reduce drilling non-productive
time due to lost circulation, are directed at managing wellbore
stresses (WSM). This fully engineered approach should
include means to help prevent lost circulation as well as stop
losses. Prevention of lost circulation by improving the
wellbore strength is accomplished by designing and applying
borehole stress treatments that increase the hoop stress around
the wellbore.
The technology development within the industry that led to
the applications of these concepts will be discussed.
Proprietary hydraulic design software (HDS) can predict the
equivalent circulating density (ECD) over an interval in one
module, calculate the width of a fracture that may be initiated,
and select and design a proper material and particle size
distribution that can efficiently prop and plug that fracture in a
second module. A third module then predicts the change in
rheology resulting from the addition of the specialized lost
circulation materials, which then is cycled full circle back to
update the ECD calculations.
Contingency chemical sealant (CS) treatment applications
are systems designed to react with the drilling fluid itself to
create highly viscous and cohesive sealants in the wellbore
that are displaced into the lost circulation fractures. Drilling-
fluid-reactive systems are not dependent on temperature or
pressure, thus removing a significant amount of placement
uncertainty present with cross-linked systems.
This combination of planning and application tools allows
the operator to make decisions ahead of time during the
“drilling the well on paper” phase as to which approach is the
most economic – prevention (pay now) or remediation (pay
later).
Overview
Lost circulation is one of the biggest contributors to drilling
non-productive time (NPT), and it is the most difficult
segment of drilling in which to make economic decisions.
Estimations of economic impact in this segment vary widely,
but it is safe to say that it represents a very large portion of the
total non-productive expense for drilling a well. As rig rates
increase, the economic impact of NPT increases as well.
Therefore, any technology that reduces drilling NPT can
translate into millions of dollars in reduced drilling costs.
To address this problem, engineered solutions designed to
improve wellbore strength and reduce drilling NPT caused by
lost circulation were developed. This WSM service provides a
fully engineered approach to lost circulation problems that
incorporates both unique planning software and materials.
Lost circulation planning includes both prevention and
remediation methods. While it is critical that losses be stopped
once they occur, it is equally important that they be prevented
because problems prevented represent money never expended.
One important part of the preventive plan is the design of
“borehole stress treatments”. The goal of these treatments is to
increase the “hoop stress” in the near-wellbore region to
improve the wellbore pressure containment ability.
Wellbore Stress Theory
Conventional fracturing theory predicts that lost circulation
may occur when the tangential stress at the borehole surface
exceeds the tensile strength of a rock. However, this
conventional theory could not explain why lost circulation
occurs more frequently when oil-based drilling fluids are used.
Based on results from joint industry project DEA 13
conducted in the mid-1980s to answer this question, it was
proposed that a stable fracture containing drilling mud with
solid and gel components can exist and that lost circulation
occurs when the fracture becomes unstable.1 This ultimately
led to the conclusion that lost circulation mitigation could be
enhanced by carrying materials in the drilling fluid that were
of a proper size, concentration and type.2
The most significant result was not that lost circulation
could be controlled by these treatments, but that the resistance
to lost circulation (increased wellbore strength) could be
enhanced significantly.3
In 2001, a paper was published that reintroduced these
concepts as applied to drilling depleted reservoirs.4 A second
paper was published later that year that concluded “the
pressure integrity of respective types and layers of rock can be
2 SPE 108647
restored and/or increased where the wellbore pressure may
then exceed expected fracture initiation pressures” (Fig. 1).5
In 2004, a third paper demonstrated methods to put these
concepts into practice and coined the phrase “stress cage” to
describe the wellbore strengthening phenomena.6 A
subsequent paper further described the concepts and discussed
numerical modeling results that demonstrated how high
concentric stresses can be developed in the near wellbore
region by inducing short fractures and plugging and sealing
them with particles.7
Lost circulation treatment methods to improve the
wellbore’s ability to sustain a pressure higher than that which
led to the lost circulation incident are described in another
paper in which the author points out that “fracture closure
stress” is increased by widening the fracture to compress the
adjacent rock.8 Closing stress determines the fracture
reopening pressure and losses cannot occur if the fracture
reopening pressure is greater than the equivalent circulating
density (ECD). Losses are not stopped by simple plugging.
Effective treatments should simultaneously isolate the tip and
achieve adequate fracture width.
Borehole Stress Treatment
These concepts and principles have been combined into a
borehole stress treatment (BST).9 BST is a wellbore strength
enhancing technology that increases the “hoop stress” (and
thus the wellbore pressure containment ability) in the near-
wellbore region. This is achieved by placing a plugging
material in an induced fracture to prevent further pressure and
fluid transmission to the fracture tip, while at the same time
widening and propping the fracture (Fig. 2).
Typically, the plugging material used in the induced
fracture is a correctly sized resilient graphitic carbon and/or
ground marble (Fig. 3). Examples of these materials include
the following unique products:
• Resilient graphitic carbon with differing particle size
distributions (d50 varies from 55 to greater than 1300).
• Sized ground marble with a particle size distribution d50
of 5, 25, 50, 150 and 600, respectively.
Chemical lost circulation treatments that form a
deformable, viscous and cohesive (DVC) material also may
have the ability to improve wellbore pressure containment as
long as they can increase compressive stress at the fracture
face. An example system (CS1) is shown in Figure 4 that can
react with a water base fluid or within a non-aqueous fluid
when a separate water pill is provided.
The chemical sealant systems are designed to react with
the drilling fluid to create highly viscous and cohesive sealants
in the wellbore that are displaced into the lost circulation
fractures. CS1 lost circulation treatment reacts over a wide
range of water-based fluid mixing ratios; a second system
(CS2) reacts with oil-based fluids. These drilling fluid-reactive
systems are not dependent on temperature or pressure, thus
removing a significant amount of placement uncertainty.
Hydraulics software with a near-wellbore fracture
modeling module is used to predict the ECD over an interval
(in one module), calculate the width of a fracture that may be
initiated, and select and design a proper material and particle
size distribution that can efficiently prop and plug that fracture
(in a second module) (Fig. 5).
A third module then predicts the change in rheology
resulting from the addition of the specialized lost circulation
materials, which is cycled back to update the ECD
calculations (Fig. 6)
In general, a complete set of solutions for a particular
drilling application may include a background pretreatment to
plug permeable pores and be present to potentially plug small
fractures that may be initiated; a sweep program with higher
concentrations and larger particle size distributions to limit
wellbore breathing and also be present to plug initiated
fractures; and finally, a static borehole stress treatment with
the largest particle size distribution and concentration that is
spotted across the entire open hole interval. Pressure is
applied to the wellbore containing this latter treatment pill that
is equivalent to the highest ECD expected prior to running and
cementing casing to protect this interval. A more detailed
discussion of these concepts and technology has been
presented previously.10
Gulf of Mexico Case History
An operator working in the East Cameron area of the Gulf of
Mexico wanted to sidetrack an existing well to increase
production rates by cutting a window in the existing 9 5/8-in.
casing and drilling to a total depth of 11,145 ft MD/ 10,515 ft
TVD using oil-based fluid (OBF). However, there was
significant risk of lost circulation in three severely depleted
sand sections.
After the operator provided the data relative to the sand
sections the hydraulics software, with the near-wellbore
fracture module, was used to design a borehole stress
treatment for pre-treating the entire system. This
determination was based on the anticipated permeability and
subsequent pore sizes of the depleted formations.
The software was also used to determine the proper lost
circulation treatment for each depleted sand package based on
the estimated elastic rock properties and potential fracture
widths initiated (Fig. 7). The recommendation was made to
treat the active drilling fluid system with two additives: 10 ppb
of a fine resilient graphitic carbon with a d50 of 80 microns
and 10 ppb of a sized ground marble with a d50 of 150
microns.
The treated system was also supplemented with 15-20 bbl
sweeps which were pumped every 100 ft. Each depleted sand
section required a different treatment regimen according to the
results determined by the borehole stress treatment design.
The first depleted sand was drilled with a 10.0 ppg fluid.
The sand package was depleted to a 5.7 ppg pore pressure.
The equivalent differential pressure was +/- 1,095 psi. This
section was treated with:
• 12.7 ppb ground marble with a d50 of 150 microns,
• 12.7 ppb ground marble with a d50 of 600 microns,
• 24.6 ppb resilient graphitic carbon with a d50 of 350
microns.
The second depleted sand was drilled with an 11.3 ppg
fluid. The sand package was depleted to a 1.4 ppge pore
SPE 108647 3

pressure. The equivalent differential pressure was +/- 5,221 Figure 1: Improved Wellbore Pressure Containment
psi. This section was treated with:
• 25.3 ppb ground marble with a d50 of 600 microns,
• 24.7 ppg resilient graphitic carbon with a d50 of 650
microns.

The third depleted sand was drilled with an 11.5 ppg fluid.
The sand package was depleted to a 4.0 ppge pore pressure.
The equivalent differential pressure was +/- 4,100 psi. This
section was treated as follows:
• 25.3 ppb ground marble with a d50 of 600 microns.
• 24.7 ppb resilient graphitic carbon with a d50 of 350
microns.

The operator was successful in drilling each depleted sand

package with no losses to the formation. The design software
virtually eliminated the “guess work” in designing the proper Figure 2: Increased Hoop Stress
preventative lost circulation treatment for the sand packages.

Conclusions
• Proper design of borehole stress treatments may prevent
lost circulation in some cases.
• Specialty resilient graphitic carbon and ground marble
have proven effective materials for these treatments. Figure 3: Borehole Stress Treating Materials
• Particulate treatments may not be effective for very large
fractures, requiring materials such as chemical sealants Material D50
that prevent further lost circulation by a different RGC 1300 LCM 1330
RGC 1100 LCM 1150
mechanism.
RGC 700 LCM 665
GM 600 LCM 600
References RGC 400 LCM 340
1
Morita, N., et al., “Theory of Lost Circulation Pressure,” SPE GM 150 LCM 150
20409 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 23-26 RGC 80 LCM 80
September, New Orleans, Louisiana (1990). RGC 50 LCM 55
2
Fuh, G. F., et al., “A New Approach to Preventing Lost GM 50 LCM 50
Circulation,” SPE 24599 SPE Annual Technical Conference and GM 25 LCM 25
Exhibition, 4-7 October, Washington, D.C (1992). GM 5 LCM 5
3
Fuh, G. F. et al. “Method for inhibiting the initiation and
propagation of formation fractures while drilling and casing a Figure 4: CS1 Chemical Sealant
well”, US Patent 5,207,282 (1993).
4
Alberty and McLean, “Fracture Gradients in Depleted Reservoirs –
Drilling Wells in Late Reservoir Life:, SPE/IADC 67740
SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, 27 Feb-1 Mar,, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands (2001).
5
Sweatman, R. et. al., “Formation Pressure Integrity Treatments
Optimize Drilling and Completion of HTHP Production Hole
Sections,” SPE68946, SPE European Formation Damage
Conference, 21-22 May, The Hague, Netherlands (2001).
6
Aston, M, et al., “Drilling Fluid for Wellbore Strengthening,”
SPE/IADC 87130 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, 2-4 March,
Dallas, Texas (2004).
7
Alberty, M. and McLean, M., “A Physical Model for Stress Cages,”
SPE 90493 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
26-29 September, Houston, Texas (2004).
8
DuPriest, F., “Fracture Closure Stress (FCS) and Lost Returns
Practices,” SPE/IADC 92192 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference,
23-25 February, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2005).
9
Wang, H, et.al. “The Key to Successfully Applying Today’s Lost-
Circulation Solutions”; SPE 95895, 2005 SPE ATCE, Dallas,
TX, 9-12 October.
10
Whitfill, D. et. al., “New Design Models and Materials Provide
Engineered Solutions to Lost Circulation,” SPE 101693 2006
SPE Russian Oil and Gas Technical Conference, Moscow,
Russia, 3-6 October.
4 SPE 108647

Figure 5: Near Wellbore Fracture Module

Figure 6: Predicted Rheology after LCM Addition

Figure 7: Borehole Stress Treatment Design