Research progress and prospect of plugging technologies for fractured formation with severe lost circulation

By reviewing the mechanisms of drilling fluid lost circulation and its control in fractured formations, the applicability and working mechanisms of different kinds of lost circulation materials in plugging fractured formations have been summarized. Meanwhile, based on the types of lost circulation materials, the advantages, disadvantages, and application effects of corresponding plugging technologies have been analyzed to sort out the key problems existing in the current lost circulation control technologies. On this basis, the development direction of plugging technology for severe loss have been pointed out. It is suggested that that the lost circulation control technology should combine different disciplines such as geology, engineering and materials to realize integration, intelligence and systematization in the future. Five research aspects should be focused on:(1) the study on mechanisms of drilling fluid lost circulation and its control to provide basis for scientific selection of lost circulation material formulas, control methods and processes;(2) the research and development of self-adaptive lost circulation materials to improve the matching relationship between lost control materials and fracture scales;(3) the research and development of lost circulation materials with strong retention and strong filling in three-dimensional fracture space, to enhance the retention and filling capacities of materials in fractures and improve the lost circulation control effect;(4) the research and development of lost circulation materials with high temperature tolerance, to ensure the long-term plugging effect of deep high-temperature formations;(5) the study on digital and intelligent lost circulation control technology, to promote the development of lost circulation control technology to digital and intelligent direction.

Analysis of the Lost Circulation Problem

The well-known“lost circulation”problem refers to the uncontrolled flow of whole mud into a formation.In order to address the problem related to the paucity of available data,in the present study,a model is introduced for the lost-circulation risk sample profile of a drilled well.The model is built taking into account effective data(the Block L).Then,using a three-dimensional geological modeling software,relying on the variation function and sequential Gaussian simulation method,a three-dimensional block lost-circulation risk model is introduced able to provide relevant information for regional analyses.

Preparation and properties of magnesium oxysulfate cement and its application as lost circulation materials

Loss of drilling fluids in large porous and fractured zones inevitably up-regulates the overall cost of drilling.As a type of acid-soluble cement,magnesium oxysulfate(MOS)cement is arousing huge attention for the less hygroscopic nature and less damaging to steel casings compared with magnesium oxychloride(MOC)cement.The present study developed MOS cement as a fast setting,high strength and acid-soluble lost circulation material to reduce the problem of losses.As suggested in this study,a higher strength of MOS cement at 70℃could be achieved by elevating M_(g)O/MgSO_(4)·7 H_(2)O molar ratio or downregulating H_(2)O/MgSO_(4)·7 H_(2)O molar ratio.Boric acid and borax could act as effective retarders.Plugging slurry based on MOS cement could effectively block the simulated porous loss zones exhibiting a diameter from 1.24 mm to 1.55 mm,as well as the fractured loss zones with a width from 2 mm to 5 mm and bearing a pressure difference up to 8 MPa.Permeability recovery test demonstrated that it facilitated future oil and gas production.The successful field application in the Junggar Basin,Xinjiang,China verified the significant plugging effect of MOS cement for severe loss problems.

Structural failure mechanism and strengthening method of fracture plugging zone for lost circulation control in deep naturally fractured reservoirs

Focused on the lost circulation control in deep naturally fractured reservoirs, the multiscale structure of fracture plugging zone is proposed based on the theory of granular matter mechanics, and the structural failure pattern of plugging zone is developed to reveal the plugging zone failure mechanisms in deep, high temperature, high pressure, and high in-situ stress environment. Based on the fracture plugging zone strength model, key performance parameters are determined for the optimal selection of loss control material(LCM). Laboratory fracture plugging experiments with new LCM are carried out to evaluate the effect of the key performance parameters of LCM on fracture plugging quality. LCM selection strategy for fractured reservoirs is developed. The results show that the force chain formed by LCMs determines the pressure stabilization of macro-scale fracture plugging zone. Friction failure and shear failure are the two major failure patterns of fracture plugging zone. The strength of force chain depends on the performance of micro-scale LCM, and the LCM key performance parameters include particle size distribution, fiber aspect ratio, friction coefficient, compressive strength, soluble ability and high temperature resistance. Results of lab experiments and field test show that lost circulation control quality can be effectively improved with the optimal material selection based on the extracted key performance parameters of LCMs.

Plugging performance and mechanism of an oil-absorbing gel for lost circulation control while drilling in fractured formations

Lost circulation of drilling fluid is one of the most common engineering problems in the drilling process of fractured formations.In this study,an oil-absorbing polymer gel synthesized using compound monomers with rigid and flexible chains was applied to control the oil-based drilling fluid loss while drilling.The microstructure,oil-absorbing performance,and plugging performance the gel was investigated.A large number of dense pores on the surface of the gel were observed,which allowed the oil molecules to enter the internal space of the gel.The initial oil absorption capacity of the gel was fast,and it increased with the increase in the temperature and decrease in the particle size,reaching 20.93 g/g at140℃.At a high temperature of 140℃,the bearing pressure capacity of the gel formula containing particles of different particle sizes reached 7.6 MPa for a fracture of a width of 3 mm,showing that the oil-absorbing gel have excellent plugging performance at high temperature.Plugging mechanism of the gel was investigated through visualized fracture plugging experiments.Results show that the dynamic migratio n,particle-swelling,particle-bridging,particle-aggregation,deformation-filling,and compaction-plugging contribute to the whole lost circulation control process,reflecting that the plugging performance can be effectively enhanced by improving the aggregation and filling degrees of the gel with different particle sizes.

A new robust predictive model for lost circulation rate using convolutional neural network:A case study from Marun Oilfield

A major cause of some of serious issues encountered in a drilling project,including wellbore instability,formation damage,and drilling string stuck e which are known to increase non-productive time(NPT)and hence the drilling cost e is what we know as mud loss.The mud loss can be prevented or at least significantly reduced by taking proper measures beforehand provided the position and intensity of such loss can be properly predicted using an accurate predictor model.Accordingly,in this study,we used the convolutional neural network(CNN)and hybridized forms of multilayer extreme learning machine(MELM)and least square support vector machine(LSSVM)with the Cuckoo optimization algorithm(COA),particle swarm optimization(PSO),and genetic algorithm(GA)for modeling the mud loss rate based on drilling data,mud properties,and geological information of 305 drilling wells penetrating the Marun Oilfield.For this purpose,we began by a pre-processing step to attenuate the effect of noise using the Savitzky-Golay method.The whole set of available data was divided into the modeling(including 2300 data points)and the validation(including 483 data points)subsets.Next,the second generation of the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm(NSGA-Ⅱ)was applied to the modeling data to identify the most significant features for estimating the mud loss.The results showed that the prediction accuracy increased with the number of selected features,but the increase became negligible when the number of selected features exceeded 9.Accordingly,the following 9 features were selected as input to the intelligent algorithms(IAs):pump pressure,mud weight,fracture pressure,pore pressure,depth,gel 10 min/gel 10 s,fan 600/fan 300,flowrate,and formation type.Application of the hybrid algorithms and simple forms of LSSVM and CNN to the training data(80%of the modeling data,i.e.1840 data points)showed that all of the models tend to underestimate the mud loss at higher mud loss rates,although the CNN exhibited lower underestimation levels.Error analysis on different models showed that the CNN provided for a significantly higher degree of accuracy,as compared to other models.The more accurate outputs of the hybrid LSSVM model than those of the simple LSSVM indicated the large potentials of metaheuristic algorithms for achieving optimal solutions.The lower error levels obtained with the CNN model in the testing phase highlighted the excellent generalizability of this model for unseen data.The more accurate predictions obtained with this model,rather than the other models,in the validation phase further proved this latter finding.Therefore,application of this method to other wells in the same field is highly recommended.

Experimental study on the controlling factors of frictional coefficient for lost circulation control and formation damage prevention in deep fractured tight reservoir

Working fluids loss is a major contributor to low productivity during production process of fractured tight reservoirs.Lost circulation control effect directly related to the tribological behavior between fracture surface and lost circulation materials(LCMs).In this study,the friction coefficient(FC)was investigated using typical clastic rocks and LCMs by considering multiple effect factors divided into external condition and internal condition.The results show that normal load had a relatively high effect on sliding model.A positive correlation was observed between FC and asperities heights.FC decreased induced by particle size degradation of rigid LCMs.Elastic LCMs manifested higher FC compared with rigid LCMs.Under the lubrication condition by working fluid,FC of rigid LCMs was mainly controlled by their surface wettability.FC of organic LCMs is more sensitive to high temperature aging than inorganic LCMs.Fracture plugging experiments show that LCMs optimized based on the research results can effectively improve the efficiency and strength of fracture plugging.

Application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and data mining approach to predict lost circulation using DOE technique (case study: Maroon oilfield)

Lost circulation is the most common problem encountered while drilling oil wells.Occurrence of such a problem can cause a lot of time and cost wastes.In order to drill oil wells,a fast and profitable way is necessary to predict and solve lost circulation problem.Expert system is a method used lately for problems that deal with uncertainty.In this paper,three approaches are carried out for prediction of lost circulation problem.These approaches include design of experiments(DOE),data mining,and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system(ANFIS).Data of 61 wells of Maroon oilfield are selected and sorted as the feed of the systems.Seventeen variables are used as inputs of the approaches and one variable is used as the output.First,DOE is conducted to observe the effects of variables.Plackett-Burman method is used to determine the effects of variables on lost circulation.After that,data mining is conducted to predict the amount of lost circulation.The class of regression is used to determine a function to model the data and the error of the model.Then,ANFIS is applied to predict the amount of lost circulation.The chosen data are used in order to train,test,and control the ANFIS.Furthermore,subtractive clustering is used to train the fuzzy inference system(FIS)of the model.The performance of the ANFIS model is assessed through the root mean squared error(RMSE).The results suggest that ANFIS method can be successfully applied to establish lost circulation prediction model.In addition,results of ANFIS and data mining are investigated through their prediction performances.The comparison of both methods reveals that ANFIS error is much lower than data mining.

Research on conversion time between lost circulation and overflow for the fractured stratum

A new model was established based on the flow model of the drilling fluid in one-dimensional radial fracture to research the influencing factors on conversion time between lost circulation and overflow for multi-pressure system in fractured reservoirs.And the equation of the conversion time between lost circulation and overflow is obtained by solving the mathematical model.The model were validated by reproducing the field data from Sichuan oil field and the simulation results of references.The influences of consistency index,liquidity index,dynamic shear force,drilling fluid density,drilling fluid intrusion depth,pressure of lost circulation layer,crack width,decreased height of annular liquid level,pressure of high-pressure layer were analyzed.Results indicate that conversion time between lost circulation and overflow increases with the increasing consistency index,liquidity index,dynamic shear force,drilling fluid density,drilling fluid intrusion depth,pressure of lost circulation layer.Conversion time between lost circulation and overflow decreases with the increasing crack width,decreased height of annular liquid level,pressure of high-pressure layer.The time interval of“Hang's Muddingoff”operating should be appropriately less than the conversion time between lost circulation and overflow.Under the premise of ensuring wellbore safety,appropriately increasing the consistency index,liquidity index and dynamic shear force of the drilling fluid can effectively increase the conversion time between lost circulation and overflow in large fractured stratum.

Experimental investigation of the application of Eucalyptus bark to prevent lost circulation in pay zones with acid dissolution capability

Loss of drilling fluid is a common problem during the drilling of wells and it restricts the appropriate functionality of muds.Drilling fluid loss significantly increases drilling costs and non-productive time as well as the drilling operation risks.Various investigations have been carried out in order to find appropriate mud additives that either block fractures and pores or reduce fluid loss by improving the fluid rheology.Cheap,environmentally friendly and effective additives are still required by the drilling industry.Hence,the application of available materials in each region,to produce appropriate additives,is a challenge for the oil industry.In this study,Eucalyptus Camaldulensis(EUC)bark powder has been chosen as a new,fibrous,cheap,environmentally friendly and available material to control fluid loss,particularly in southern Iran.Different characterization tests,such as acid dissolution and fluid loss control,were carried out to study the performance of the new proposed additive.Removal by hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid were studied at various acid concentrations and temperatures.Dynamic fluid loss was also measured at different EUC concentrations.Our study showed that EUC powder can reduce the final fluid loss by 88-97%,the initial fluid loss by 45-66%,and the total loss by 87e94%,which is a satisfactory level.

A comprehensive investigation on the performance of durian rind as a lost circulation material in water based drilling mud

Oil and gas operators worldwide are expecting service companies to deliver integrated techniques to minimize,if not prevent,drilling problems.Drilling fluids perform vital functions to ensure the success of drilling operations.The technical challenges often associated with water-based drilling fluids are loss of critical properties,such as fluid loss control and rheology,under demanding conditions,such as in drilling deeper,high-temperature and high-pressure wells.Fluid loss during drilling operations has a very significant effect in both reservoir formation damage and monetary terms.The use of durian rind(DR)as a new additive in controlling lost circulation would provide another opportunity to reduce waste and avoid pollution.Therefore,DR was used to improve the rheological properties of water-based mud,and it was prepared for use as a fluid loss additive.For a better understanding of the influence of pectin on drilling mud properties,the rheological evaluation of untreated DR was compared to that of mud samples containing treated DR.The pectin in DR was extracted using four different solvents,namely,ethanol,methanol,sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide,and the most effective solvent to remove the pectin was then determined.The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)results showed that NaOH was the best solvent for removing pectin from DR.Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)was used to determine the thermal stability of DR before and after treatments.The TGA results demonstrated that the treated DR had improved thermal stability compared to untreated DR.The sizes of DR used were coarse,medium,and fine.The untreated DR presented better rheological properties than the treated DR.The experimental investigation showed that a concentration of 20 lb/bbl of intermediate-sized DR was the best concentration among the tested samples.

Data–driven decision–making for lost circulation treatments: A machine learning approach

Lost circulation is an expensive and critical problem in the drilling operations.Millions of dollars are spent every year to mitigate or stop this problem.In this work,data from over 3000 wells were collected from multiple sources.The data went through a processing step where all outliers were removed and decision rules were set up.Multiple machine learning methods(support vector machine,decision trees,logistic regression,artificial neural networks,and ensemble trees)were used to create a model that can predict the best lost circulation treatment based on the type of loss and the reason of loss.5-fold cross-validation was conducted to ensure no overfitting in the created model.After using all the aforementioned machine learning methods to train models to choose the best lost circulation treatment,overall,the results showed that support vector machine had the highest accuracy among the other algorithms.Thus,it was selected to train the model.The created model went through quality control/quality assurance(QC/QA)to limit the results of incorrect classification.Two treatments were suggested to treat partial loss,four to treat severe loss,and seven for complete loss,based on the reason of loss.In addition,a formalized methodology to respond to lost circulation was provided to help the drilling personnel handling lost circulation in the field.

Research progress and application prospect of functional adhesive materials in the field of oil and gas drilling and production

By summarizing the composition,classification,and performance characterization of functional adhesive materials,the adhesion mechanisms of functional adhesive materials,such as adsorption/surface reaction,diffusion,mechanical interlocking,and electrostatic adsorption,are expounded.The research status of these materials in oil and gas drilling and production engineering field such as lost circulation prevention/control,wellbore stabilization,hydraulic fracturing,and profile control and water plugging,and their application challenges and prospects in oil and gas drilling and production are introduced comprehensively.According to the applications of functional adhesive materials in the field of oil and gas drilling and production at this stage,the key research directions of functional adhesive materials in the area of oil and gas drilling and production are proposed:(1)blending and modifying thermoplastic resins or designing curable thermoplastic resins to improve the bonding performance and pressure bearing capacity of adhesive lost circulation materials;(2)introducing low-cost adhesive groups and positive charge structures into polymers to reduce the cost of wellbore strengthening agents and improve their adhesion performance on the wellbore;(3)introducing thermally reversible covalent bond into thermosetting resin to prevent backflow of proppant and improve the compressive strength of adhesive proppant;(4)introducing thermally reversible covalent bonds into thermoplastic polymers to improve the temperature resistance,salt-resistance and water shutoff performance of adhesive water shutoff agents.

Development and applications of solids-free oil-in-water drilling fluids

The increasing application of near balanced drilling technology to low-pressure and depleted fractured reservoirs requires the use of low-density drilling fluids to avoid formation damage. Solidsfree oil-in-water （O/W） emulsion drilling fluid is one type of low-density drilling fluid suitable for depleted fractured reservoirs. In this paper, the solids-free O/W drilling fluid was developed and has been successfully used in the Bozhong 28-1 oil and gas field, by which lost circulation, a severe problem occurred previously when drilling into fractured reservoir beds, was controlled, thereby minimizing formation damage. The O/W emulsion drilling fluid was prepared by adding 20% （by volume） No. 5 mineral oil （with high flash point, as dispersed phase） into seawater （as continuous phase）. Surfactant HTO-1 （as a primary emulsifier） and non-ionic surfactant HTO-2 （as a secondary emulsifier） were added into the drilling fluid system to stabilize the emulsion; and YJD polymer was also added to seawater to improve the viscosity of the continuous phase （seawater）. The drilling fluid was characterized by high flash point, good thermal stability and high stability to crude oil contamination.

Development and Evaluation of a New Nanometer Based Spacer NMS-I

In view of the inadequate cementing quality in the cementation for long isolation intervals ofoil and gas wells, and considering the field practice in Tarim Oilfield, a nanometer material LC-212 was introduced as the base stock to experimentally develop a new spacer system NMS-I, in combination with other materials, including a chemical gel plugging agent, carboxymethyl cellulose and barite. Experimental results indicated that the system had a wide adjustable range of density, good rheological property, static stability and compatibility with cement slurry. It also showed no flocculating or thickening effect on the water-base drilling fluid and low-density cement system. Meanwhile, the capacity of lost circulation control and the influence of the spacer on the second interfacial cementing strength were evaluated by a self-made lost circulation simulator and shearing test facility. The results showed that the spacer had favorable plugging and flushing effect, and the second interfacial cementing strength can be greatly improved. Moreover, based on the experiments, the mechanisms of spacer function were analyzed. The results obtained from the investigation offer a novel approach to resolving some practical problems in cementing jobs.

Experimental Study of Engineered Cement Plug to Effectively Cure Losses While Drilling in Iranian Oil/Gas Well

Mud losses are one of the most severe problems encountered in drilling. This is commonly known as lost circulation. It can occur in naturally fractured formations and also can be induced in formations through drilling. Mud losses while drilling leading to cost overruns and HSE concerns, primary cement job failure due to not getting the cement up to the desired height resulting in subsequent sustained casing pressure and corrosion, not able to perform work over activity on certain wells due to losses. The objective of this paper is to explain extreme lost circulation problem and introduce cement plug formulation to cure or mitigate this problem. In addition, the cement plug has certain compressive strength that this is proper for use to control lost circulation in field. And finally, the application of a cement plug is described in one well of the Gas Field (National Iranian Oil Company).

Structural formation and evolution mechanisms of fracture plugging zone

A coupled CFD-DEM method is used to simulate the formation process of fracture plugging zone.A photo-elastic system characterizing mesoscale force chain network developed by our own is used to model the pressure evolution in fracture plugging zone to reveal the evolution mechanism of the structure of fracture plugging zone.A theoretical basis is provided for improving the lost circulation control effect in fractured reservoirs and novel methods are proposed for selecting loss control materials and designing loss control formula.CFD-DEM simulation results show that bridging probability is the key factor determining the formation of fracture plugging zone and fracture plugging efficiency.Critical and absolute bridging concentrations are proposed as the key indexes for loss control formula design.With the increase of absolute bridging concentration,the governing factor of bridging is changed from material grain size to the combination of material grain size and friction force.Results of photo-elastic experiments show that mesoscale force chain network is the intrinsic factor affecting the evolution of pressure exerting on the fracture plugging zone and determines the macroscopic strength of fracture plugging zone.Performance parameters of loss control material affect the force chain network structure and the ratio of stronger force chain,and further impact the stability and strength of fracture plugging zone.Based on the study results,the loss control formula is optimized and new-type loss control material is designed.Laboratory experiments results show that the fracture plugging efficiency and strength is effectively improved.

Machine learning for carbonate formation drilling: Mud loss prediction using seismic attributes and mud loss records

Due to the complexity and variability of carbonate formation leakage zones, lost circulation prediction and control is one of the major challenges of carbonate drilling. It raises well-control risks and production expenses. This research utilizes the H oilfield as an example, employs seismic features to analyze mud loss prediction, and produces a complete set of pre-drilling mud loss prediction solutions. Firstly, 16seismic attributes are calculated based on the post-stack seismic data, and the mud loss rate per unit footage is specified. The sample set is constructed by extracting each attribute from the seismic trace surrounding 15 typical wells, with a ratio of 8:2 between the training set and the test set. With the calibration results for mud loss rate per unit footage, the nonlinear mapping relationship between seismic attributes and mud loss rate per unit size is established using the mixed density network model.Then, the influence of the number of sub-Gausses and the uncertainty coefficient on the model's prediction is evaluated. Finally, the model is used in conjunction with downhole drilling conditions to assess the risk of mud loss in various layers and along the wellbore trajectory. The study demonstrates that the mean relative errors of the model for training data and test data are 6.9% and 7.5%, respectively, and that R2is 90% and 88%, respectively, for training data and test data. The accuracy and efficacy of mud loss prediction may be greatly enhanced by combining 16 seismic attributes with the mud loss rate per unit footage and applying machine learning methods. The mud loss prediction model based on the MDN model can not only predict the mud loss rate but also objectively evaluate the prediction based on the quality of the data and the model.

Estimation of the horizontal in-situ stress magnitude and azimuth using previous drilling data

Oil exploration and production,well stability,sand production,geothermal drilling,waste-water or CO_(2) sequestration,geohazards assessment,and EOR processes such as hydraulic fracturing,require adequate information about in-situ stresses.There are several methods for analyzing the magnitude and direction of in-situ stresses.The evaluation of tensile fractures and shear fractures in vertical oil and gas wellbores using image logs is one of these methods.Furthermore,when image logs are run in boreholes,they can be extremely costly and possibly stop the drilling.The data for this study were gathered from seven directional wells drilled into a strike-slip fault reservoir in southern Iran.Vertical stress,minimum horizontal stress,pore pressure,Poisson's ratio of formations,and 233 mud loss reporting points make up the entire data.This is the first time maximum horizontal stress direction has been calculated without referring to image log data.In addition,the points of lost circulation were categorized into natural and induced fracture.The results revealed that,the maximum horizontal stress direction of the reservoir was calculated at 65northeast-southwest.The error rate is roughly 10when comparing the results of this investigation to those obtained from the image log.The maximum horizontal stress direction is calculated precisely.In terms of tensile fracture pressure,the in-situ stress ratio identifies the safest as well as the most critical inclination and azimuth for each well.

Development and application of guar gum crosslinked gel with adjustable gelation time for total loss treatment

To remediate the problem of severe or total losses,and meet the requirements of borehole plugging and pumping at different well depths,a novel crosslinked polymer gel(named HPG/Zr gel)with controlled gelation time and high gel strength was developed as loss circulation material,which mainly comprised hydroxypropyl guar gum,zirconium compound and triethanolamine.The influence of hydroxypropyl guar gum concentration,zirconium compound concentration,triethanolamine concentration and temperature on the gelation time of HPG/Zr gel was evaluated.In addition,the performance of HPG/Zr gel was investigated in terms of temperature resistance and shear resistance property,plugging ability and supporting cement slurry ability.According to the results,HPG/Zr gel can form a viscoelastic body with a network structure,and its gelation time can be practically adjustable.The results of the plugging experiment at different temperatures,pressures and pore sizes of quartz sand revealed that HPG/Zr gel could effectively plug sand pores at 150℃,and its pressure-bearing capacity can be up to 5 MPa.Employing its flow resistance and ability of supporting cement slurry,HPG/Zr gel was successfully applied in two geological boreholes by combining with cement slurry.Overall,the results of laboratory research and field tests indicate that HPG/Zr gel is useful for mitigating the lost circulation,and it is of huge importance to engineering applications.