. .

lADC/SPE
lADC/SPE 14723

Laboratory Study of Lost Circulation Materials for Use in

Both Oil-Base and Water-Base Drilling Muds
by T.M. Nayberg and B.R. Petty, The Western Co. of North America
MembersSPE

Copyright19SS, IADUSPE 1SSS Drilling Conference

This papar was prepared for presentation at the 19s6 lADQSpE 0riltin9 Conference held In Dallas, TX, February 10-12, 1~.

TWapapar was aakctad for presentation by an lADC/SPE Program Committee followkrgreview of informationcontained in an abatracteubmittadby Ihe
author(a).Cvrttenta of the papar, as presented, have not bean reviewed by the Swiety of Petrofeum Engineers or InternationalAaeoclationof DriliirIE
Conlractoraand are aubjactto correctionby the author(a).The material, as presented, doas not necessarily reflect any positionof the IADOor SPE, itsof-
ficers, or members. PapaI% presented at lAOC/SPE mwtings are subject to publiffiationby Editorial Committees of the IADC and SPE. Pemtkaiort to
copy is raaIrkfad to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrationsmay not M copied. The abstract aftoufdcontaincortapkuousacknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper ie presented. write Pubfiiations Managar, SpE. p.o. *X s-, ~~hard=nt TX 75Q53_3535. Tetex, 7-
SPEDAL.

m ikeresting results m Cbservad duKing

/ this stqo Itwasfound thatthegranular~
IOSt,Circulatimproblemsencumbered in UM’s such as walnut*11 S-marae and thenmset
drillingare magnifiedwhen ustigexpensiveoil-base n@er7&iuttt amstins exhibitsa ~ *t
nuds. Th3reare my lostcirculati.ort materials we call a channelingeffect. The chanmling effect
(KM’s) tit performeffectivelyin water-base occwrswhen a high pressuredifferential and
drillingnuds,but vary few thatmrk well in insufficient solidsconcentratimin * mud (that
oil-basereds. ‘Ilmsethat do vmrk well are canmt Mldandsustam “ a bridgeat the fcmmticm
effectivein ccntxollingseepagelossonly. face,or withinthe formationmatrix)causesmany
channelsto formwithinthe XLM deposit,thus
A laboratmy studywas Un&mken toccmpmx? the leadingtmm@orgas migrationthroughths channels
performance of Comrenticnlal
lostCumulation and, finally,to a test failure. It was also found
mmerials with a new materialc.mpoaedof thermset in Scr@drillingnsldathathigh mncentratima of
rubber in both oil-baseand water+aae drilling walnutShellsor tmrmaet rubberCcntrimtesto
mda. Laboratorydata are presentedccmparingthe pmrer performnos thanatlc%erxnl concentrations.
effectivenezs of mica, cottcmaeedhulls,mdif ied
h@WUtms , cellulosefibers,groundwalnut The effectivemasof the thermosetrukberKM in
shells,a blendof fibers,flakesand granules,and both oil-baseand water-basenude is believsdto be
therlmsetrubberin Crxltrolling nld lossto due to: optimizedparticlesizediatrtitim, oil
sinulatedmsdhmsize fracturedformations. **ility, combinationof particlestrengthand
Incl* in the evaluaticmwere testsperformedin a &fornfability,therml stabilityand md
lcw toxicitymineral.oil-basemud, two invert compatibility.Raaedon the resultsof this study,
smlsion oil-basereds, two othsroil-basemuds (one a solutionto the prcblamof cmtrollingthe lossof
Ieavily*ighted) and two water-basemda. oil-basemda to fracturd formatims is proposed.
Comparativeperformancedatiare al.aopreaentedto
It is ahcwnthat tk LU4’sSpecifi-llydesigned facilitate* use of the conventional KM’s as Wll
to ccmbatlostcirculationin oil-basedrillingnnuis asthetlmmaet rukbarmaterialinbothoil-bsse
suchas mica,mdifiad hydrocarbmsSIM cellulose and watsr-basaIRU3S.W case historiesfnxn ths
fiherafailedat all testedconcentrationsin all ArbuckleFormationin Kansasare describedthat alm$
iiveoil-basereds. The otkr CcalWntional the effectivenessof * thermoset rubber in M&ly
nraterialssuch as walnutshells-coarse,a 2;1 fracturedand vugularformticmswith severe
blemIof walnutaklls-coaraeand walnutahells- Circulaticst
prcblem.
mdim perfcumd satisfaclmrily only at high
mwentratims in * fin oil-basemda. ‘ha mtm5Eticm
coarseblendof fibers,flakes@ granuleswn5ced
satisfactorily at high ccmcentraticmsin one nud Lostcirculationismeofthemst tmublescm
cnly. ~ tkxnmet rubberperformd effectively at and costlyprcblemsencounteredin drillinga well.
testedccmcentrationsin all fiveoil-basenude. Drillingfluidaare usuallylostto naturalor
Basimlly, * sam sqreriorperformance of * iduced fonlwttionfractures. Tksa fluidsmy also
tkrmset rubberwasdaerved intwowater+ase be lost throughhighlypexmeablafonnaticms.Lost
nsda. cimMioncan @Ceplacewhi ledrillin9 isin
progressor during“trips”,whanpn?ssLKW~
..cxxurdus*themmringof drillpipecm=S*-
mlf erenoss* illustratimaat end of paper. intothl%)leo After thelostcirculaticn
GE
““

.—

LABORATORY STUDY OF LOST CIRCULATION MATERIALS FOR
2 USE IN BOTH OIL-BASE AND WATER-BASE DRILLING MUDS
OCCIKS,the levelof the drillingfluidin the
annulusmay drcp and thn stiilize at a particular
leveldqmding qmn the formtion pressure.
FYactured,vugular,caverzms, or highlyporous
formationsgenerallyhave high pemeebilitiesarfl/or
MW CFeniWs that can acceptconsiderablevoh.xms
of drillingfluids. If fracturesSXM3voidsare
X ,q ~t be pluggedby the solidspresent
in drillingfluids,such as clays,formticm
cuttings,etc.
Lost circulation,
or lostreturns,is definedas
the lossof the drillingfluidsor cemnt slurries
into formtion voids. This lossmay vary fran a
graduall=ingofthemd level inthepits toa
cmplete loss of returns. M lossof drillingnnd
or cemmt slurryresultsin increaseddrillingtire,
10ssof expensiverind,pluggingof productive
fonmtions,and/orloss of hell control.
Even with the best drillingpractim,
circulationlossescan and will occur. IOes Zales
can be Classifiedas 1. ~ loss,when *
severityof the lossis 1-10bbl/hr;2. partial
loss,whsn tk severityof the loss is 10-500
bbmr; 3. CCn@ete loss,when the severityof the
loss is 500 bWhr and over.
seepage10S*S can ~ to any typ of loss
Zcme,in any type of formation,W&l the Lu4’sin
themdare not fineemughtocc@ete these&L.
PartiallossesCccurin gravels,mall natural
lmrizontalfracturesand barelycpewd induced
verticalfractures.Ccm@ete lossesoccurto lmg
cpen sectionsof gravel,largenaturalhorizcmtal
fractures,caverns,interammcted Vugs andto
tidelycpenedinducedfractures.
Imst circulatimprcblensin drillirqare not
confinedtoanycne area,tky may occurat any
depthwlmmthe ~1 pressureexertedagainstt&
formtion exceedsthe formationb~ pressure.
previousexpsrimntalmrk @ fieldexperience
hasehcwn thatthe wblemd cannotbe forcedintoa
rock formationwithcutfracturingit. Even gravel
mst have a ~ility of abcut 300 darciesbefore
thenudcan be forcedintmandthroqh the natural
-ms be- $pZdrls.
It has been established
that ti maxinun
allcwabledrillingfluidloss is on the orderof one
barrelperhuu, aemasured inthemxipits at the
surface. Remdial Keasuresmlstbataken W&n the
Itl.ldl ossexceedsonebar relperhmr.
In general,fairqpes of fqaticms are
respcrdble for lostcirculaticm : 1. Naturalor
inducedfracturedformations;2. Vugularand/or
Cavemma formticna;3itifi~lypx-_e
formatima;4. ibUlso ● beceusetheyarepmdmlnan tly mall flakesof *
When * *le nud is lost W a foxnaticm,it is
kecauseof cracksor pmmability largeenoughto
preventthelaying dcwnofa~ing filtercakecn
the Wllhore. If tk fonnaticnis fractured
mchmicdly, thesefractuxesmy seal thenselvee,
cmce the pressureis relieved. If, ~, ~ manytypes ofpacusformatime tOstcpthemdlQee
quantitiesof md are lost b tlwa fractures,thy
my bewaahed out, causi,ngvoid Spacessimilarti
m
● ✎
SPE 14723
naturallyoccurringhigh porosi~, h.ighpenneability
zones. Xnmstcases, axmissptted intheloes
zms. ~s, itisu=as apert oftinmxl
Systq. Many authorshave ccmtribuM preventive
ti%%%%!l~ %%?%17-’ 10” c-’”
Jmst Circulation CUltml Materials
A wide assmfmmt of bridgingor phqgiq
msterialsis availablefor reducinglost circulation
or restoringcirculaticmduringdrillingor
mnmting a vmll. The crieslistedh are anmg
the nmt effectiveand mst frequently used.
Others,rmt listed,possesssimilarprcprties and
qplications. For the gmpcses of classificaticm,
lostcirculation cmtrol rna~rialscan be divided
accordingto theirnmpholcgy intothreegroups:
fibers,flakesand granules.
Fibrous~’S
The fibrousKM’s inclu& raw cottm, cedarWcd
fibers,nylon fikers,bagasse,flax ahive,bark
fiber,textilefiber,Xrlimralfiber,leather,glass
fibex,peatnmss, feathersd beet pulp. me
fibrous@p? of IU4’s are generallyplant fibers,
thcughrepreeentitivesof Snimslawl mineralfibers
are also foundas =11 as qn~c fibers. The
filxcxlelostcirculationcontrolM?Lterialsexe *
mainlyin drillingh to lessentlus@ less inti
largefracturesor vugularformations.
Whenad&d tiadrilling nud, the fibrousICM’s
forma mat-likebridgemar porcnas formatims. Ms
mateffects areductiminti sizeoftkms
to * fonnstia-1,
pernlittlng* colloidal particles
in tk nud to rapidlydeposita filtercake. !Ilme,
Cm@etely sealingthe fcmnationthat~se
mightrequirea cemnt j~.
Themaximrn sizeofthef- andthegradaticn
ofsises ismreiqmrtant in theirperformancethan
tlw +itim. The physi~ and chemicalnature
of the material,however,has SmE limitatialsas to
tk sizegradatim CMainable,resistanceto
disintegraticm,and degradation
when cimil.atedin
the mlU3Systxsll.
The nlaxmmlsizeof leatherand
askestosfibers,for exanple,is cmsiderably
smsllerthan can b cbtainsdwith bagasseor bark
fiber. Bagasseand raw cot- exhibitmch greater
resistanceto disin@graticmthanpeat mse and beet
@p.
Flake~’S
Flak+ype U’S inclu& cellcphme,mica, cork,
corn cobs,cottcmseedhullsd vermiculite.
Almcugh cottmseed hullsalwaysCmtain Sam fibers
andgramles, theyare+ncludedin thisgrcup
hulls. @llophane flakes are ocqoaed of 3/8 in @
3/4 in gradedcelluloseor plyvinyl film flakes.
Both tbecelMphane andmicaarecUmerc
availablein coarseand fim gra&s. mHLGe-txle
LCM’Sem designedto bridge-andforma mat on ths
formtim face. - lmxlrialscm plug Srs3bridge
or establishan effectivesealovermany Perm4Me
formltials.
 .

-.,,”-

GranulsrKM’ s Test YSqlli

lment

GranularILM’siJlclu&groundwalnutshells, Z& laboratorytestswre performd US* &

gilsonite,cxushedcoal,perlite,cmrae kentcmite,
grUn@ plastic,asphalt,-, coke d _
tlMrmset rubber. The granularKM’s foxm&m types
of bridges: 1. at the formticm faoe,and 2.
withinthe fomaticm mtrix. The lattertypeof
sealingis preferred,becausea more psmenent
bridgeform withinthe fonnatim d the H’s do
not beam dislodgedeasilyas a resultof pipe
nmmmt in the wllbore. T&y are not subj~mti
asmchemsicm asa resultof fluidmvsmm.
effectiveness of granularILM’sdependsprimarilycm
PV partick size distributionb builda bridge
havingdecreasingpermeability, as it is baing laid
&mm. A blendof laqe, medim and smellp@XtiCkS
or a blendof relativelylargeand smallpsrt.icles
is nmst cmmnly used. It is believedthat the
larger~cles are trampmted intithe fometim
fire bridgingcccurs. ‘l’he mailer-sizeparticles
plug the mallm qxmings untilan inprmable
bridgeis fonmd. The granularSWs usuallywrk
betterin high solidsratiosystems,suchas cemmt
slurries,than in lwer solidsdrillingmud systems.
Bk.nded IR4’s
Blendsof two or mm of the precedhg W’s
haveprcwento be usefuland effectivein the field.
A ~ blendof VSXiOUS =’S fWIliSbS th
advantageof havinggradationof particlesizeand
variaticmof typesof mte.rialsbleriied in a me
sack”nuxtureto provideeffectivesealing. This
blend is a cmtdmationof granular,flakeand
fibrcusmaterialsvaryingin size,shspeand
~= This blerrl
will petwAxa= fractures,
mgs or extrmely permable zmes d seal tlm off
mm effectively.
lostCiXCUhtiCulWst cell describedin API I@ 13B,
April 1981,Section10, ‘Bridg@ &laterialsfor
*- c~ ~ ticmm.
Materials
Five oil-baseand tw water—bme drillingnude m
chosm for th study. The listof all drillhg muds
usedintMs vmrkisshcwn in Table 1. Mea,
cottonseedhulls,groundwalnutshells,a blendof
fibers,flakesand granules,nudifiedI@mcdxm,
and Oellulosefibershere tx?st&i
and Cmpared
with a groundthermset rubbermsdiun(5-30mesh)
anda2:l blendof themmet rub&r Xmdim:tknoeet
rubber-fine(10-200mesh),as a prospectivelost
circulationmaterial.
Test Procedure
Sincecm basicobjectivewas to developa
materialto -t lostcirmlaticmwhile drilling
in foxnetionswith ‘mdimsizew fractures
aslottestwasueed. Adiakwith aslot widthof
0.13 in (3.3m) and a slot lengthof 1.375h (34.9
lm)wasselectedforperfcming the=. The U24
cmcentratims in all testsr- frm 5 lb/kbl
to 25 3b/bbL AI.1testswre ~ormd in
triplicate.~tested blendratioaare basedcm
W2ight.
For ti pxrposeof quantitative pe.rfommce
evaluationof XK14’sfor drillingnuds, & following
criteriaare used:
TotalSudloss owxlo minutestestingtim

Fraotuxedformations,both naturaland induced, 1. O-350CC - SKcell.ent

Cmtrol
presentthe mst frequentcauseof lostcirmlaticm 2. 350-700CC - good Cultml
mlis lossmy vary fran ~ to Ccm@ete Ilutl 3. 7OO-105OCC - nmderatecmtrol
loss. M orderto solvemany diversifiedlost 4. 105O-14OOCC - fairCultml
circulaticmprcblens,a systemtic approachahmld 5. 1400-1750+ a - m Cultml
&applied. !Ihisa~~has tibebaaed on wide
fieldexperiencemM.ned with a strongtechnical
knwledge. Also, it shculdincapora- a provm Thesequantitative criteriaare a valid
correlationbem the type of IL24thatwill evaluaticmtool in laboratorysties.
succeednmst eccmmicallyand ti type and severity
of the loss Zcme. T&St Results

The cbjectiveof this studywas to dmelcp a Fiqms 1 and 2 presentthe bat Ci.XCllkt.b
lest circulationmaterial for use in both oil-base lx!stresultsfor the thrmaet dbr+edilallin ,
ti water-basemds ad ccmpare it againstthe xmst CUqarism with mica (f* and -* grades),
effectiveCcmventionalml’ s in Silnllated Cmttcmseedhulls,grolmdwalnut*US (fine,medim
medim-size fractmed formations. andmarss grades)tiablemloff~, flakee atd
granules (fine,nediul’a
and coarsegrades)in
LaboratoryStudies simlated mdim-size fracturedfonmtims in water
base drillinguuds.
Fieldexperienceand laboratmy studieshave
shcwn#at tigramlar ILZ5’s are themst effective Theresulaoftblostcixculatbxl tests
for pluggingfracturesand wit&tmMxq high sinulathgmdiun-size fractuxedformtims ad
pressuredifferentials.lW threebasictestsfor ~~ * thermset ~un versusmica
classi~ingKM’s acmrdhg m theirrelative ~ grades),modified h@mcdms,
~ing effestivenessare: the slottest - walnut *US (fire,mdiun ST@ msrae
(simulatinga fracturedformation), the BB shot -t grades),oellulosefibersSIX5a bhxl of f-,
(simlatinga highlypamable fomtatim) and the flakesaml granules(fine,nmdiunand mares -)
marblebed test (Simlatingan unccmeolidated inoil-basedriunxdsare shmmin Fi9ures3-7*
forlnatial) ●

K7
“r

LABORATORYSTUDY OF LOST CIRCULATIONMATERIALS FOR
4 USE IN BOTH OIL-BASE AND WATER-BASE
Discussion
Figure1 alxwsthatthe tbmsetrukber~m
perfomdexcellently in cxmxollingnud 10ss intk?
11.6 lb/galwateAwmd. All teStedoonventimal
KM’s auCh as mica (fineand came grades) ,
mttonseed hulls,gmnd walnutshells(finelmdim
and ccarsegrades)and a blendof fibers,flakesand
granules(fins,msdim and coarsegrades)failedin
thssamnnrl.
It is krrxn thst for a granularUM to function,
the materialshouldhave a sizeapprqxiate for the
fractmrecpeningto be pl~. Walnut
shells-coarse and thellmsetrubker-nlsdiun,
possess
thisprcpertyfor the slotused in this study. It
was fcundthat correctsizingaloneis not
sufficientin Sam water-baseand oil-basedrilling
mxls, particularly thosewith M solidscontent.
when a high pressuredifferential(600-1000 psi) and
insufficient solidsccmcmtrationin the sud cause
many channelsto formwithinthe IQU dqmsit, this
leadsto md or gas migrationthroughthesechannels
and finallyto a failure. This phmmmon
(channeling)was cbservedaftertest failureswith
walnutsklls-cceraeaml thexmset Milerlmdilnnin
a 9.7 lb/galWa- base sud (Figure2) where all
ot&r conventional JIM’s failedWitlxnltchanneling.
Channding WS furthercbsemed in two (outof five
tested)oil-basesuds (BeeFigures4-5). As a
rasultof this effect,it was &cided to test a 2:1
blendof tkmset rutber+mdiun:tl=xmset
rubber-fine and a 2:1 blendof grand walnut shells
-coarSe:gmundwalnutSMLls-m in tlxxa
drillingmla where groundwalnutshells-coerse or
tilermsetnlbber-rmdiun, alma, resultedin *
channelingeffect. The ideawas to &sign a sinple
bled of ommrcially availableL411’s that have
sufficient quantityof relativelylargeparticlesto
forma bridgeaxd a sufficient qusntityof
relativelyfinepzu%iclesto sustainthisbridgein
synergismwith the solidsin the nw%
PrelimixmyteStShad ahmn that ti 2:1 blend
of gmmd walnutshells-coarse: groundwalnut shells
-finedid not exhikutt& ~ling effect,but, at
the sem time,cmpletely failedin all testedxmds
in the concentrationrange fran5 lb/kblto 25
lb/kbl. It is seen in Figure2 that the 2:1 blend
of tkrlmset rukber-madilml:thexmeetrubber-f*
clearlyCx@erfonns tlM 2:1 blendof m wahut
shellsu3arse:grcmdwalnutshells-mdiumat all
caparable concentrations and wxks effectively even
at 5 lb/kbland 10 lkdbbl,tile & _ walnut
shellsblendat tlMS ~tratims failed.
Lcw to3cicity
mineraloil-basedrillingmds
have~xmre widelyusedintbe hdustry,
~=~ti=~wmaticms, becauseof
. Figure3 revealsthat
Cmventicxlal Ial’s; Such as mica (both grades),
$&mdwalnut atdla(fineandmditangm3es), a
blendof fibera,flaka and granules(allthree
grades)ax-deven tvm XIUaisls Specificallydesigmsd
for the use in oil-basenm.m5a
(mdifiedhydmcdm G
andcelluloe sfibera)didnotworkatallinthesc
tests. GrUIM walnutShll.s—a?arae performed
acce@bly in thismd cnly at high ~tratims
and with relativelyhighnud loss. While in the
5-15 lmbl cmcentraticmratqe,this Ull failed.
‘I’&best resultsin h *city mimral oil-base
UUdwerecbtaim dusingmthemeetrw’”
.
DRILLING MJDS SPE 14723
It isalsohxwn thatboth tlx?sizeof tlw
granularLGland its ccmcentraticminthenudalmg
with acmeother factorsdeterminetk effectiveness
of themterial. Fieldand I.akxxatory ~ience
hasalxxm thattihiglwrtk ccocentration
of XX
used in the md, the kettirthe KM’s perfmmsnce w
to acertain concentration.
Atxendis saenfran the test resultsin Figure
3: the thxsmet mt&Hmdil.ml performulceat 25
lb/Ml was poorerfhanat 1- cmcentratims.
This trendcontinuedfor grti walnutshellsand
~set ruktxxblemlsani can be obsemed in
Figures4-5. Thistrend is bsliewxitoke due toa
;09iwl propefies became Cf high
The test resultsHeated that * maxhmln
ocnosntrationof granularIU4’s shmld mt be
greaterthan 20 lb/bblb acmedrillixqnuda. ~y
increaseof * H’s ~traticm m the mxmaxn
will not inpruvetheirperfomlnce,butte*
cmtrq, mightbe a reasonfor trouble. Trouble
Wknpmpingt idrillingm M@trmble fran the
por @ propertiesas a resultof uve.rloadad IfM
concentration.Thus,tb cmclusions frm *
trend,discussedabove,are cbvicus:do not
overtmat thanudand usetheoptilm KM
concentrationfor a specificlost circulatim
prcblem.
Figure4 shcwathat a blendof fibers,flakea
SIM ~SllUkS (coarse~a@ , and & 2:1 bl- Of
groundwalnutshells-ooarse:gmaxx3walnut
shslls-mdim mrked poorlyin the 13.0 lb/gal
oil-basemm% even at high cmcentrations. While in
* 5 lb/bbl-15Ib/bblooncentraticm rangeboth
ILM’sdid network at all. Another Cmventional
KM’s suchas mica (bothgrades),grcundwalnut
shells (allthreegraks), a blendof fibers,flakes
and graxnd.es
(fineand mdius grades),the mdified
~, * cellulosef-s d the tkmoset
rubber-nediumfailedat all ccmcentraticma.But the
2:1 blerxl
of themmet XUbber-mdim:tklmset
rubber-finein t& 5 lb/bbl-25Udbbl Cmcentratim
rangeproducedthe best results.
Fras Figures5-6 it is again seen that tlM
~aet rdi)er~m by itselfard tk 2:1 bleml
of the tlwmmset rubbex-msdium:tlmmxetruMar-
finedefini~ly outperformed grcundwalnut
Shells—coarse by itselfand tlM 2:1 bl- of ground
walnutShells-coarse:groundwalnutShslls-mdim in
b two invertaulsion oil-basedrillingreds. It
is also seen franthesefiguresthat all other
CcmenticnalLLM’s, failed. Incltdedillth??se
failuresm =llul.oaefikrs d * Imdified
h@omrkm whichwere developadspsoifically to
help to cmtrol lostcirculation when usiq oil-base
drillingmxls. Alttmqh t& 2:1 blend of grami
walnutshells-===- walnutShellsmlsdiun
and the groundwalnutSklls-marse alcmaWrked
effectivelyin theseinvertenlleionoil- -
at 15 Ikdkblto 25 lb/bbl~tks?se 101’sprovedto be
ineffectiwirlbothnuasina Clxcentmtionq
fran 5 3.b/kblm 10 Il#kbl. Figure7 rewals that
tbtkzmaet mbbemmmun waasuperiorto the
- walnutslmalU—msrae%tlidlwas*best
CcslventicmalKM, tee@d in thissa&&yted
oil-base-0 All othercmven
incmM19* (bothgradea),groundwalnutshells
● (fineand mdiun grsdes), a blendof f-, flake$
.m
‘t 1+/<s ,. r,,
axxlgranules(allthreegrades),mdified
h@mx&Om and cellulosefiberscmpletely failed
illthismd in the cmcentratim rangefran 5 lb/bbl
to 25 ltdbbl.
The effectiveperformance of the ~t
rukbsrin cmtmlling the lossof the oil-baseand
~~t~+~ &ill@ b to Mae SjlIUldM
mediui-sizeformticn fracturesis believedto be
dm to: 1) c@mized particlesizedistribution,
2) cxxbinationof particlestrengthand
deformability, 3) md Ccqatibili.ty, 4) ~~
stability(400”F+)and 5) oil nettability.Its
particlesizedistribution was also designedto
avoidpluggingdrillbit nozzlesand dwnlmle
eW@$nt*
With the exceptionof the bp3 rme specified
inthepstent by Goinsand Na~ ard the work
pUbliShsd@=tiindti ,tkre isno
definitionas to what the cptiraized
distributionof
the granularLL24’sshculdbe. The widelya-
thSOKY1S basedcm th principlethat a br~ in
* lossZcnemay be initiatedby severalof *
largestparticlesof the granularKM whm they are
transported in a fracture.Mter the firstbridge
is fmmd, tbe smallerparticlesplug the cpnings
belweenthe larger,previouslybridgedparticles.
This processwill cmtinue untila permnent seal is
formsd. Thus,an Optinunprticle sizedistrilxltion
is me that contains prqer qumtity of properly
sizedms&xial b fill successivelyroller
voidsof the bridge.Y
Fran extensivelab and fieldexperienm, it is
concludedthat thereare fourbasic factors
affectingthe perfomanosof a gramlar IKM. They
are: 1. particlesizedistributim,2. KM
cmcentiatim in the @, 3. the sizeof the largest
particlesin the material,4. the quantityof the
largestparticles.
Case Histories
An cperatorwas drillingtwo similarwells in
Pratt(Xunty,Kansas. BothWlls were locatedin
closeproximity. Fieldexperiencehas sknm that
wkn drillingthe ArbuckleFormation(a fractured
carkmate) sericuslostcimulaticnprd21em are
enccmtered in this area. Bothwellswere drilled
usinga 9.3 lb/galwater-baseti to a totaldepth
of 4500 feet. sum of the lostCirculatimprcblcm
occurrd between400 feet and 1200 feet in the -r
-an Fomatim (SS@S Snd salt S--S). ‘l&
operatorexperiermd severelc5tcirculation when
exmrhg the pay m lx?twen4000 feet axxl4500
feet. The rate of mud lossat thisdepth internal
in the highlyfracturedand vugularArbuckle
l?tmnaticnwas very high. All attxmptsto control
the lostcirculation - unsuccessfulwith a blend
Ofoottcneeedhullsand cellophaneflakesin the
Xlad.ms-cperalxxtkl decidsdto utilizethe
tkrmoset rubber (mdim grade)in 80 barrelnnd
pillsti also in the nud system. The thmmset
rubber-mdiunconcentraticm in the pillsand in the
md was 10-15lb/bbl. - drillingjob resultswere
positiveon both wells as ~b-ly 85% nad
zeturnemm bined at the surface.
,s” ,”-..” .A “o ,.. .“. ., 3
In previcmsW1lS in this area it was difficult
toperform agocdcemntjcb. Dueto severelost
cixculatim,cemnt was lost to fracturesand vugs.
mthetww lls,whsret hethermset mMeHmdiun
wasused inthedrillingmd, cemntwasnot lostto
the foxnstionand an excellentCem!ntblxxilogwas
Cbtained.
Conclusims
1. l’h tkrmset rubber-m and a blendof
mdiun and finegra&s of thismaterial
perfoxmd excellentlyin ccmtrolling md loss
for both water-basemds in laboratorysimulated
mdhmsize fractures.Conventional lost
circulation materialssuchas mica (fineand
coarse), mttmmeed hulls,_ walnutshells
(fine,msdim and cwme) and a blendof fibers,
flakesand granules(fine,lmdiumQnd coarse)
failedto controlW loss for the ems mds at
cmparable conditions.
2. !Iiw!tkrmset~untia blendof
mdium and finegradesof thismaterialme
superiorto groundwalnutshells-mares,a blend
of cause and madim gradesof walnutShellst
and a blendof fibers,flakesawi granules
(coarsegrade)in omtmlling .mvllossin five
oil-bssedrillingmds testedin sinulated
mdiumsize fractures.All otherCmventicmal
lostCirculaticalmaterials,and twu lost
circulaticmmxials specificallydesignedfor
use in oil-basenude, failed.
3. The 2:1 blerdof thermset
rubber-lnsdiun:
tmrmxet r&ber-fiM Cnltp?rformd
t& 2:1 blerdof groundwalnut
Shellecoerse:grcund walnutShells-mdiumin
both water-baseand oil-basedrillingMs.
All cmventimal lost circulationmaterials
mated in thesem@s did not vnxk.
4. ‘rhemx.hmmlconcentration
of gianularlost
circulationmaterials,such as x“ walnut
Sklls-coarseS@ tixxmxet rubber-msdim,
shculdnot exceed20 Ib/kblin certainoil-base
drillingnude.
5. The granularlostcixulatkn materials,such as
groundWalmltSIMls-coarseand thermset
rubb~um, exhibiteda channelingeffectin
cemin low solidswater-baseand oil-basennxis.
t
Acknowledgemn
TIE authorswish to expresstheirq?xdatim
to * managemnt of the WesternCcqany of
NorthAnericafor permissicmto publishthis
~. ~fil th$nks~ M Dillenbeckfor hiS
help in dccnmentingfieldapplications.
y~:~ .; Houston,
alm -=s-
ms%as),steve8hiner,
@ mm ~
KathyWalker,Vien Bkmg,Dan Hollcmn, Steve
Porter,Mick MULkekxl, ml Schul,Wbert Moody
and Jim Seitzfor sugplyingthe drillingreds.
.—
60
 ... .

OR; STUDY OF LOST I CULATION NATERIALS FOR

. Awulu

Tabla 1
10 Iiowar&G. C.; Scott? P. POI Jr.: ‘mmY~ia
and Ckxmrolof mst Cb=ulatial”,mm M. List of DrillingMuds Ussd in ths St@y
Bramh (M., 1951)171-182,=. = , MO.

2. Goins,W. C., Jr.; DaviscrhD. D, Jr.:

“Tsmx!ratun?Buwevs to Mcata Zma of Lost
Circhation”, Oil-&kiGas Journal(iRms22, Water—hsa 11.6
1953)170-171.
Water-basa 9*7
3. whita,R. T.: ‘IostCitmlatimMSterial.sand
Wirllvaluatim”, prasentadatthematingof Im tcncicity
mineraloil-base 9.5
tha Pacific@aSt District,API Divisicmof
Pmducticm,Ims kl@.C3S, May 10, 1956. oil-base 13.0

4. @ins, W. C., Jr.: “KM to Cm4x& Circuhticn Invartcmlsion oil-basa 13.5

Loss”, Oil and Gas Journal(June9, 1952)71-92.
Imvartemlsicm oil-base 15.1
s. Lmuus, T. L.: “AtlawLcok at Lost
Circulilticm”, Petmlaun %@.neer Oil-base 17.2
(WOV., 1967)63-73.

6. Green,B. Q.: “Eightstepsto stop Inst

Cixcnllati”, Patrol.aun
mimer
@!arch,1963)?4.

7. kssaqar, T. U.: “Ccmmn Rig ~~idS Ccmbat

SavereLost Circulate”, Oil SMGSS Jcnxnal
(Juns18, 1973)57+4.

8. MmI, B.: “mat CirmlatialCc@icates

Wall-Killing
Ogeraticms”,
Oil and Gas Journal
(M. 23, 1976)12i-126.
9. Chins,W. C.t Jr.;Nash?F.~ Jr.: ‘B@tbcd of
and Ccwositicm for wcovew C-tion of
Drilli@ Fluidsin =11s” , U.S. pa-t 2,815,079
(MC 3, 1957).
10. GatlinfC.; -? C.: “Sam Effectsof Size
cm PaM.cle Bridain9in Imt
DistritAAticm
cirad.atim and Filtratim ‘l&@! J. Pet. Tech.
(Jut=,1961)575-578.
11. i(elly~J., Jr.: “&St Circulaticxl
CuItrolw
,
U. S. Patant3,467,208(Sapt.16, 1969).

12. ~, T. U.: Lost Circulaticm,

_ Well
PublishingCcm@any,TUlsa (1981).

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