Lost Circulation

Lost Circulation

• Definition: the significant and continuing

loss of whole mud or cement slurry to a
formation
• Effect: If the wellbore-fluid level drops far
enough and fast enough, the drop can
allow fluid to enter the wellbore from a
higher-pressure formation.
• When this influx or kick does occur, it
makes well control all the more difficult
because of the inability to circulate kill
fluid (Ivan et al. 2003).
Causes of Lost Circulation.
CAUSES
• (1) a formation with flow • (2) an overbalance or positive
channels that allow passage of pressure differential between
hole fluid from the wellbore and the wellbore and the formation.
CAUSES

• Permeable Zones.
• Natural Fractures.
• Induced Fractures.
• Caverns.
Permeable Zones.
• Some types of rocks, because of their high
primary porosity and permeability, almost seem
to be designed to cause lost-circulation problems.
• Unconsolidated formations, gravel beds, loose
conglomerates, and shallow or highly depleted
sandstones have long been recognized as having
natural lost-circulation tendencies. (see Fig. 10.1,
the sections marked with an “A”).
• Lost circulation in these rocks most often
manifests itself as a gradual drop in pit level,
although continued drilling time and additional
exposure to the wellbore may result in partial or
complete mud losses
Natural Fractures.
Occur in :
• naturally fractured sandstones, shales, and
carbonates—are also conducive to lost circulation
Natural fractures may be either horizontal or vertical
depending on a rock’s depth, mechanical
characteristics, and stress environment.
• In a horizontal fracture network, lost circulation may
first manifest itself as a gradual lowering of the pit
level, with a complete loss of returns occurring as
additional fractures are encountered.
• Vertical fractures, on the other hand, will take
progressively increasing amounts of mud as drilling
progresses and more of the fractures are exposed.
Natural Fractures.
Induced Fractures.
• If lost returns occur in an area where
offset wells have not experienced lost
circulation, then the problem is likely
induced fracture
Most induced fractures are related to :
• drilling-fluid or cementing programs
• well architecture: surface or intermediate
casing string is set too high.
• Tripping speed
Induced Fractures.
Caverns.
• The most severe lost-circulation problems
occur in cavernous or extremely vugular
formations These are typically limestones
that have been leached by water.
• The void spaces in these formations can be
large enough that when they are
encountered, the drillstring may actually
drop by as much as several feet preceding a
sudden, complete loss of returns.
PRACTICAL GUIDELINES TO
COMBAT LOST CIRCULATION
WHILE DRILLING
SEEPAGE LOSSES
DEFINITION:
• The rate of loss is in the range of 1-
10 bbl/hr.
• They occur in any type of formation.
Seepage loss can be caused by a
number of factors resulting from:
• the drilling operations
• perceived loss.
SEEPAGE LOSSES
REMEDIAL ACTION:
• Ignore the Problem and Drill Ahead:
• when the drilling operation is good and close to a casing setting depth
with an in-expensive drilling mud
• drill ahead with the intention that the accumulated solids would seal the
loss zone and stop the seepage loss
• Pull up and Wait
• This technique can be used to solve seepage losses resulting from
induced vertical fractures.
• Pretreat the Active Mud System with LCM
SEEPAGE LOSSES
Pull Up and wait procedure involves :
• pulling the pipe into a protective casing or a secure portion of
open hole,
• shutting down the mud pumps for a minimum of six to eight
hours,
• attempting to fill the hole with water,
• gradually resuming circulation in stages.
PARTIAL LOSSES
DEFINITION
• severity of the loss is in the range of 10-500 bbl/hr.
Occur in:
• gravels;
• small, natural horizontal fractures; and
• barely opened induced vertical fractures
REMEDIAL ACTION:
• The use of LCMs in the mud can be used to prevent and
cure partial losses in all the formations mentioned above.
SEVERE AND TOTAL LOSSES
DEFINTION
• Sever: when the rate of loss is greater than 500 bbl/hr.
• Total losses : no fluid returns is seen through the annulus.
• Occur in long (Nayberg, 1987):
• open sections of gravels;
• large, natural horizontal fractures;
• caverns;
• interconnected vugs; and
• widely-opened induced fractures
SEVERE AND TOTAL LOSSES
REMEDIAL ACTION:
• Blind Drilling (Drilling Without Returns)
• where a cure might not be possible or where economic
analysis of the treatment process is not favorable, to cross
the loss zone in order to set casing.
• Drilling with Aerated Mud
• LCM
• Plug
• Squeezing the interval with cement
• Setting pipe across the interval
• Abandoning or sidetracking the loss interval
LOST
CIRCULATION
CONTROL
LOSS PREVENTION
LOSS PREVENTION

• Mud System.
• Equivalent Circulating
Density (ECD).
• Casing Setting Depth.
• Using Aerated Mud
• Casing While Drilling
Mud System.
• Keep filtrate losses to a workable minimum
and to maintain a thin, firm, impermeable
filter cake along the borehole wall.
• The mud specific density should be as low as
possible, but high enough to control the
formation pressure
• Pretreat the mud with solid LCM. In an area
where porous, permeable zones are a known
problem, and a low-weight, low-solids mud is
being used,
Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD).
Lost circulation can still result from a high ECD
caused by excessive pump pressure and poor
hydraulics practices.
High surge pressure is a major contributor to
lost circulation. Surge effects can be minimized
by:
• avoiding excessive speed when tripping in the
hole,
• breaking circulation gradually, and
• maintaining circulation at the minimum pump
rate needed to ensure adequate hole
cleaning.
Casing Setting Depth.
• Selection of casing setting depths is
crucial to preventing lost circulation and
is closely related to the design of the
mud program.
• In many wells, it is necessary to set one
or more strings of intermediate casing
to protect low-pressure zones from the
higher mud weights required for deeper
intervals.
• In selecting these casing points, the well
planner should ensure that they are not
themselves located in potential loss
zones (Moore 1986; Devereaux 1998).
Using Aerated Mud
• Aerated mud is defined as a fluid (in
the form of mists and foams)
consisting of liquid (usually water),
air, and drill cuttings (Guo and Rajtar,
1995).
• Aerated muds are low density fluids
that can be used to maintain a
minimum overbalance while drilling
probable loss zones such as depleted
formations that are competent and
low-pressured.
Casing While Drilling
• Developments in new drilling technology such
as expandable tubulars and casing-
whiledrilling (CwD) can serve as long term
methods that will mitigate the costly effects of
lost circulation while drilling (Davison et al.
2004).
• The casing is rotated from the surface with a
top drive.
• Drilling fluid is circulated down the casing
internal diameter (ID) and up the annulus
between the casing the wellbore.
LOSS CIRCULATION
MATERIALS
LOST CIRCULATION MATERIALS
DEFINITION:
• A wide range of bridging or plugging materials is available for
reducing lost circulation or restoring circulation while drilling or
cementing a well (Nayberg and Petty, 1986).

FUNCTION:
• To bridge across the face of fractures and vugs that already exist.
• To prevent the growth of any fractures that may be induced while
drilling.
Conventional LCM - Fibrous
• Fibrous: are used in drilling muds to lessen mud
loss in fractures and vugular formations.
• Can be forced into large openings, where they
bridge over and form a mat or base that acts to
• Wood fiber (shredded
seal off the formation when solids from the
wood, sawdust), drilling fluid deposit on it.
• paper pulp,
• glass fiber,
• If the openings are too small for the fibers to
• cotton fiber, enter, a bulky, easily removable external cake
• animal hair, may form on the walls of the hole.
• leather fiber,
• straw, and • Not recommended for oil-based muds.
• shredded tires
Conventional LCM - Flakes
• Flakes: are used to plug and bridge many types of
porous formations to stop the mud loss or to
establish an effective seal over many permeable
formations.
• Sealing action similar to that of fibrous materials.
• Cellophane products are not recommended for
• Cellophane, use in oil-based muds.
• mica (fine and coarse),
• plastic laminate,
• Not normally used in cement because :
• they tend to plug surface and downhole cementing
• wood chips. equipment.
• Also may contain organic chemicals that can seriously
extend cement-thickening time.
 Conventional LCM - Granular
• Nut shells (fine, medium,
coarse, and very coarse),
• ground plastics,
• seed grains,
• coarsely ground rock
materials (e.g., bentonite,
asphalt, limestone).
• Granular: form bridges at the formation face
and within the formation matrix, thus
providing an effective seal which depends on
the particle size distribution (PSD).
• Tend to form a bridge just inside the
opening of the pore.
• Must contain particles that approximate the
size of the opening, as well as a gradation of
smaller particles to form a seal.
• Granular materials may be used in oil-base
muds.
 CONVENTIONAL LCM - MIXTURES
• Mixtures: these are combinations of granular, flaky and
fibrous materials that will penetrate fractures, vugs, or
extremely permeable formations and seal them off
effectively.
• Blended products containing cellophane flakes are not
recommended for use in oil-based muds.
LCM
LCM SIZES
Slurries
• a high-filter-loss slurry, consisting of water mixed with conditioning
additives and bridging agents,
• To spot the slurry, a drill bit (without jet nozzles) is run to the top of
the loss zone, and the slurry is displaced to the end of the drillpipe.
• The slurry is then squeezed into the formation by closing the
blowout preventers (BOPs) and pumping at low pressure.
• As water is squeezed out of the slurry, the bridging agents form a seal
across the interval.
PLUGS
• In naturally fractured formations, a plug may be pumped across the
loss interval.
The two main types of plugs are:
• soft plugs (also known as reinforcing plugs, viscous pills, or gunk
squeezes),
• hard (cement) plugs.
Soft Plugs.
Soft plugs typically consist of a
• bentonite/diesel-oil base (for water-based muds) or a water base
(for oil-based muds),
• additives such: LCM, and polymers for special applications.
These plugs develop a viscous, gel-like consistency and offer the
advantage of deforming under pressure surges, which makes them less
likely to break down (Dawson and Goins 1953).
Conventional Gunk Squeeze is a hydration-type plug with a high
concentration of un-hydrated clay material (bentonite).
Hard Plugs.
• Cement often is added to PLUG mixture to add additional strength l, thus
forming Oil/Bentonite/Cement (OBC).
• OBC is a hydration-type plug with a high concentration of bentonite and
cement mixed with diesel where it hydrates when mixed with water or
brine to form a hard plug
• Hard plugs can also be used to seal off natural fractures.
• They have high compressive strength and enough flexibility to enable good
control of their flow and setting properties. However, they have a greater
tendency to break down under pressure surges than soft plugs and can be
harder to drill out.
• In soft formations, a hard plug may act as a whipstock and cause the bit to
sidetrack.
Location of the Loss Zone
Location of the Loss Zone
• Correctly identifying the position the theft zone is critical for the
proper placement of the lost circulation material.
• The theft zone may be located from previous drilling records, drilling
rates, drilling breaks, formation changes and various logging
techniques.
• For known areas, pore pressure/fracture pressure gradients or trends
provide important guidance in narrowing down the location of the
weakest zone or the formation most prone to lost circulation.
Location of the Loss Zone – On Bottom
• If the losses are experienced while
drilling, the loss zone likely is on bottom
and
caused by:
• natural fractures,
• caverns
• highly permeable formations.
Location of the Loss Zone
• If losses are experienced while either
tripping or increasing mud weight, it is
likely the loss zone is not on bottom
and is the result of induced fractures.
• Recognizing a loss while tripping back
into the hole requires attention to the
volume of fluid being displaced by the
pipe.
• This volume can be determined by
observation or from regular
examination of the pit level record.
Depth
Intuitively, one might expect lost circulation to occur at or near the
bottom of a well, where the ECD is at its highest or near casing shoe.
Techniques for finding lost-circulation zones commonly involve the use
of production logging devices including:
• spinners,
• temperature logs, and
• radioactive-tracer tools.
 Methods of Locating Lost-Circulation Zones:
Temperature Survey.
• A temperature-recording device is run twice
on wire and records the temperature at
various depths (Fig. 10.2).
• First, the device is run under static
conditions—when the mud temperature is
in equilibrium with the formation—to
provide a base log. Enough fresh, cool mud
is then pumped into the hole so that the
change in temperature can be recorded by
a second survey.
• The temperature above the loss zone will
be lower than that recorded in the first run.
Below the thief zone, the mud remains
static and its temperature will be higher
than that of the mud flowing into the
formation.
Radioactive-Tracer Survey
Two gamma ray logs are run to determine the exact position of the
thief zone. The first is recorded to establish the normal radioactivity of
the downhole formation as a basis for comparison.
Then, a small amount of radioactive material (e.g., carnotite) is
displaced around the hole where losses are suspected to occur. A
second gamma ray log is run and compared with the base log. At the
thief zone, a steep change of radioactivity can be seen. The precise
point of loss can be determined with this method, although it requires
special equipment and is expensive.