Description
Abstract:
Lost circulations during drilling and cementing operations are a common issue within well constructions in the Permian Basin. Conventional methods to reduce losses have been pills with typical lost circulation materials such as nut shells, granular, fibers, flakes, gunk, or cement plugs placed across the critical zones. All these methods have disadvantages like uncertain results, damages to producing zones, or temperature limitations, causing failures, additional efforts, or complications with delays in rig times and so increased costs.
New technologies and practices have been developed over the past years to provide advanced solutions. As an example, an innovative fluid system has been successfully applied to seal lost circulation zones and to strengthen the wellbore wall for improved cement slurry placement in highly permeable, fragile, and unconsolidated wells with low frac gradients. The fluid system, which contains a nano-engineered sealing material, has several operational and technical advantages (e.g. user friendly, environmentally compliant, consistent results, effective up to 400°F, non-damaging to producing formations). The favorable properties of the sealing fluid in combination with its operational simplicity have resulted in a huge success rate: Since 2007 over 63,000 bbl were already pumped in more than 1,500 occasions. In this presentation causes for lost circulations issues and suitable solutions with case histories are presented.
This is a SPEGC Permian Study Group Luncheon.