Chapter 6

Drilling Problems
 Lost Circulation
 When comparatively low-pressure subterranean zones are
encountered during a drilling operation, the hydrostatic pressure is
compromised because of leakage into the zones.
 This phenomenon is commonly known as “lost circulation.” So, lost
circulation is defined as the uncontrolled flow of mud into a “thief
zone” and presents one of the major risks associated with drilling.
 Definition: “The collective term for substances added to drilling fluids
when drilling fluids are being lost to the formations downhole” OR
“loss of circulation is the uncontrolled flow of whole mud into a
formation, sometimes referred to as a “‘thief zone.’” OR “the reduced
or total absence of fluid flow up the annulus when fluid is pumped
through the drillstring”
 The complete prevention of lost circulation is impossible. However,
limiting circulation loss is possible if certain precautions are taken.
 Failure to control lost circulation can greatly increase the cost of
drilling, as well as the risk of well loss resulting in potential damage
to the environment, fire and/or harm to personnel.
 The successful management of lost circulation should include
identification of potential “thief zones”, optimization of drilling
hydraulics, and remedial measures when lost circulation occurs.
 There are several situations that can result in lost circulation such
as
 formations that are inherently fractured,
 highly permeable zone,
 cavernous (i.e., hollow) formation,
 improper drilling conditions,
 induced fractures caused by excessive downhole pressures
and setting intermediate casing too high,
 improper annular hole cleaning,
 excessive mud weight, and
 shutting in a well in high-pressure shallow gas.
 There are four types of formation and/or zones that can cause
loss of circulation:
1. cavernous or vugular formations,
2. unconsolidated zones,
3. high permeability zones, and
4. naturally or artificially fractured formations.
 Whenever the loss of circulation crops up, it is noticed by the loss
of mud, and the loss zones are classified according to the severity
of the loss:
1. “Seepage” with less than 10 bbl/hour loss,
2. “Partial Loss” for 10 to 500 bbl/hour loss,
3. “Complete Loss” for greater than 500 bbl/hour loss.
 The lost circulation problem requires corrective steps by introducing
lost circulation materials (LCM) into the wellbore to close the lost
circulation zones.
 Many kinds of materials can be used as LCM. They include low-cost
waste products from the food processing or chemical manufacturing
industries.
 Drilling through and below salt formations presents a host of
technical challenges as well. The thief zone at the base of the salt
can introduce severe lost circulation and well control problems.
 Controlling losses in this zone has proven to be extremely difficult as
it involves matching the composition of the mud with that expected
downhole, in order to minimize leaching of the in-situ salt into the
drilling mud – a process that would create imbalance in the fluid
system.
 Also, the plasticity of the salt may cause shifting. Therefore, the mud
weight should be as close to overburden gradient, otherwise salt may
shift into wellbore, leading to pipe being stuck.
 Typically, a salt formation should be drilled with salt-tolerant water-
based drilling fluids or with invert emulsion fluids. Deeper salt zones
can be drilled with oil-based fluids that can be replaced with water-
based mud after the salt formation has been passed.
 When dealing with induced fractures the problem is even more
complicated because the shape and structure of induced formation
fractures are always subject to the nature of the formation, drilling and
mechanical effects, as well as geological influences over time.
 The design of the LCM treatment hinges upon particle size
distribution (PSD) as the most important parameter compared
various PSD methods and proposed one that is the most accurate.
 Common used additives for lost circulation
 In general, there are three types of basic agents used in the petroleum
industry to control the loss of circulation problem. These are:
 bridging agents,
 gelling agents, and
 cementing agents.
 The bridging agents are the ones that plug the pore throats, vugs, and
fractures in formations. Examples of such agents are ground peanut
shells, walnut shells, cottonseed hulls, mica, cellophane, calcium
carbonate, plant fibers, swellable clays ground rubber, and polymeric
materials.
 Bridging agents are further classified based on their morphology and
these can be: (i) flaky (ii) granular (iii) fibrous
 Gelling agents and cementing agents are used for transportation
and placement of the bridging agent at the appropriate place in
the circulation loss zone.
 Highly water absorbent cross-linked polymers are also used for
loss of circulation problem, as they form a spongy mass when
exposed to water.
 Keyseats
 Key-seat sticking often occurs in hard formation stratum, where well
deviation and direction change abruptly, forming the sharp turn
(dogleg).
 In drilling process, drill string rotates next to dogleg scrapes wellbore
at dogleg section in the trip, forming a fine groove (like key seat). The
groove is larger than tool joint, but smaller than drill bit. In trip-out, the
drill bit will be pulled to bottom of key seat and get stuck, as shown in
the figure below.
 Before key-seat sticking occurs, the joint is eccentric worn. Tripping-in
is not hard, drilling process and pump pressure are normal, but when
tripping-out at dogleg position, there is resistance, and the
phenomenon is severer with the increase of well depth or may lead to
stuck.
 Keyseat sticking generally occurs while the pipe is moving upward. The
top of the drill collars, the uppermost stabilizer, and the bit are the most
likely parts of the drillstring to hang up in the keyseat, or slot, cut into
the dogleg by the downhole assembly.
 Complete circulation is nearly always present during keyseat sticking,
and the pipe is more likely to have freer movement downward than
upward.
 In order to prevent key-seat sticking, the quality of borehole must be
guaranteed first to avoid forming dogleg section.
 Ream the hole again and again at key-seat section when trip-out the
string or trip-in again to break the key-seat in time, and the speed must
be slow at key-seat section.
 High-speed trip-out is forbidden.
Keyseat
Sticking
 Free point calculations
 The first step in dealing with a pipe sticking problem is to determine
the depth at which the sticking has occurred.
 Conventionally, two methods are currently in use to determine the
location of the stuck point. They are: direct measurements and
calculations.
 Compared with the calculation method, free-point indicators, acoustic
log tools, radial cement bond tools, and other measurement tools
can be run down to determine the stuck point or interval with high
precision.
 However, these methods are time consuming, expensive, and
require special instrumentation down to the bottom hole and qualified
operators. Consequently, the calculation method is preferred and
more widely used to estimate the depth at the stuck pipe.
 The most commonly used method involves stretching the pipe under
a known amount of pull and measuring the distance traveled by the
top of the pipe during the stretch.
 Hooke’s law gives the relationship between the extension and axial
pull.
 This formulation, however, neglects wellbore friction and is valid for
vertical wells only, unless the pipe is stuck before the directional kick
point.
 In order to remedy this shortcoming of calculation methods, Aadnøy
et al. (2003) considered friction in curved sections and derived
equations to combine the effects of axial pull and torsion, which can
be determined through torsion tests.
 Overall, they included the following elements:
 the forces developed during differential sticking;
 pipe strength under combined loads: tension, torque and pressure;
 effects of buoyancy under various conditions like equal or different
mud densities in drill pipe and annulus; and
 wellbore friction as related to torque and drag.
where:
 SPL = Stuck Pipe Location
 = Derivation of Young’s Modulus for steel
 w = Drillpipe weight (lbs /ft)
 e = Length of stretch (inches)
 F1 = Force applied when pipe is in tension (lbs )
 F2 = Force applied to stretch pipe to “e” (lbs )
Borehole Instability
 The reasons of borehole instability can be categorized as:
(i) mechanical failure by in-situ stresses, (ii) erosion due
to drilling fluids, and (iii) chemical due to the interaction of
fluids and formations.
 In general, there are four types of borehole instabilities.
These are recognized as: (i) hole enlargement, (ii) hole
closure, (iii) fracturing, and (iv) collapse.
 Hole Enlargement
 It is also recognized as washout because the hole becomes
undesirably larger than expected. In general, most boreholes
enlarge over time.
 Hole enlargement is indirectly connected to lateral vibrations.
It should be known that drillstring vibrations could lead to
irreparable damage to the borehole, when having sufficient
lateral amplitude to hit the wall.
 Vibrations can lead to large fractured areas, resulting in rock
blocks falling into the well.
 Hole enlargement introduces problems such as:
i. difficulties in removing rock fragments and drilled cuttings
from the borehole,
ii. an increase in possible hole deviation,
iii. an increase in potential problems during logging operation,
and
iv. reduced quality of the cement placement behind casing string.
 It is caused by hydraulic erosion, mechanical abrasion
due to drillstring, and inherently sloughing shale.
Prevention and Remediation