1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

Introducing Extreme Lost Circulation Materials and Application of such Materials in Varavi Gas Field of NICOFC
K. Tahmasbi , Y. Soleymani Petroleum University of Technology

Abstract : Lost circulation or lost return is defined as the partial or total loss of whole drilling fluid to subsurface formations. Probably the most problematic situation is naturally fractured formations where the operator may face total loss with no mud return in the annular. The voids or large fractures encountered in this case are often too large to be plugged with conventional Lost Circulation Materials (LCM). Hence, massive lost circulation is a major and costly drilling problem. New approaches to cure extreme losses are settable plugs. This term is used for slurries which gel or solidify in seal zones. When these fluids are being lost to the formation they should gel quickly as it travels away from the wellbore, as the fluid velocity decreases. Some examples of such plugging products are gunks or crosslinked polymers. The objective of this paper is to explain extreme lost circulation problem and introduce different solutions in addition to recently developed materials to cure or mitigate this problem. And finally, the application of a polymer based wellplug is studied in one well of the Varavi Gas Field (National Iranian Central Oil Field Company) and the reasons of unsuccessful trial of this material with regard to future recommendations are examined. Introduction : Lost circulation is an extremely undesirable and potentially hazardous situation when encountered during drilling operation. Lost circulation is defined as partial or total loss of circulation mud within the annulus escaping into formations
[ 3] [14 ]

. The

strata considered in this paper as so called thief formations . During drilling operations, drilling fluids account for over 5-10% of total costs. Therefore, any mud loss increases the total cost i.e. 25-40% of total cost and contributes to non-productive time of drilling jobs. Moreover, detrimental effects of mud losses such as stuck pipe, blow outs and frequently, the abandonment of expensive wells, should not forget. Moreover, lost circulation has even been blamed for minimized production tests and samples, while the plugging of production zones led to decreased productivity. Lost circulation problems may be encountered at any depth when the total pressure exerted against the formation exceeds the formation breakdown pressure. Generally, four types of formation are responsible for lost circulation phenomena;

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

Natural or induced fractured formations Vugular or cavernous formations Highly permeable formations Unconsolidated formations
[8]

Practically naturally fractured formations are the most problematic situation where total drilling fluid may loss and no mud return to surface. Many products and techniques have been used to attempt to restore circulation while drilling. The problem is normally addressed through the application of conventional lost circulation materials (LCMs), such as calcium carbonate, mica, and salt pills. In spite of their formation productivity damage effect, they are not effective in fractured and/or cavernous formations due to their small size in contrast with fractures opening to plug and also these types of materials increases the probability of pay zones damages of reservoir. Recently, treatments based on chemically activated crosslinked pills have shown their effectiveness to plug large fractures under downhole conditions of pressure and temperature . These pills are activated by crosslinking agents, time and temperature and when set; they produce a substance described as rubbery, spongy and ductile that shows a good sealing effect that does not let to drilling fluid to enter loss zones. In spite of this property, it can easily removed by acid treatment, therefore this material types will not damage the formations. Main advantages of this crosslinked polymer system are firstly, no risk of bit nozzle plugging, and secondly, the ability of penetrating into wide range of fracture widths. The main disadvantage of the crosslinked pills lies in the placement of the fluid because the crosslinking reactions initiated on surface. Therefore, a premature gelation can occur far before to penetrate the loss zones
[14 ] [14 ]

Extreme Lost Circulation Phenomena : The most problematic situations in drilling fluid losses are the naturally fractured formations which may cause total loss with no mud return in the annular. The voids or large fractures encountered in this case are often far too large to be plugged with conventional LCMs. Formation damages due to use of conventional LCMs are another point. Therefore many big oil companies invest on finding different solutions to remedy this problem. New approaches to cure severe losses are settable plugs. This term is used for slurries which gel or solidify in seal zones. Main advantages of the settable fluids are, firstly, no risk of bit nozzles plugging, and secondly, the ability of invading a wide range of fracture widths contrary to conventional Lost Circulation Materials. When these fluids are being lost to the formation they should gel quickly as it travels away from the wellbore, as the fluid velocity decreases. Some examples of such plugging products are gunks or cross-linked polymers
[14 ]

A lot of remedial products have been developed to cure severe lost returns. The required properties of lost circulation pills are numerous:

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

It should provide an effective seal under both low and high differential pressure conditions It should not have harm effect on mud chemistry It should not plug bottomhole assembly or any circulation devices Final plug shear strength should be high enough to support fluid column, but low enough to ensure removal by washing or jetting It should have workable/controllable set time and should be functional in oil-, synthetic- or water-based systems It must allow permeability recovering of production layers : Cement Plug The cement plug is designed to penetrate into the loss zone, consolidating and sealing the voids but also filling the open wellbore. If cement plug fails, the other options may consider. This technique is costly to drilling contractors, not only in drilling fluid lost to the formation but also the time (tripping in and out of the wellbore and waiting-on-cement) and money lost for remedial action. : Reactive Pills (Gunk) Gunk is a mixture of diesel oil; bentonite and water. Water causes the mixture to swell, therefore it will add at final stage. Many of these reactive pills come in the form of dual injection fluids. This practice uses two fluids. One reactive fluid is pumped through the drillstring at a high flowrate, while the second reactive fluid is displaced down the annulus at a similar high flowrate. The interface of the two fluids is designed to occur near the formation where losses are occurring. At this interface the turbulent flow allows the fluids to mingle, normally resulting in the rapid formation of a viscous and rubbery solid mass (commonly known as a gunk). Then pressure is applied on the annulus to squeeze the gunk into the loss zone. Gunk is a mixture of high concentration of bentonite with diesel oil. This fluid hydrates when mixed with water to form a hard plug. Gunks present some disadvantages. First, there is sometimes difficulty in spotting them at the right location. And secondly, the use of diesel oil may not be environmentally friendly and might be against environmental regulations. : Crosslinked Polymer Gels A simple crosslinking definition is the linking of two independent polymer chains by a grouping (crosslinking agent) that spans or link two chains. This pill is activated by cross-linking when set; it produces a substance described as rubbery, spongy and ductile (Figure 1.1). The final set time is defined as the time required for the fluid to exhibit hard, viscoelastic properties. This is the time taken for the polymer complex to reach maximum shear strength. The setting time is fully controllable by using either a retarder or accelerator that is based upon the thief formation/bottomhole temperature. For losses in large natural fractures or vugular zones, the crosslinking polymer has been designed as a blend of high molecular weight cross-linking polymers, cross-linking agents, and fibrous medium-to-coarse lost circulation materials. When activated with time and temperature, it produces a
[ 28 ] [ 20 ] [ 20 ]

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

soft-to-medium strength, rubbery ductile, spongy, set gel. For a natural fracture or vugular thief zone at the bit, the polymer placement is a straightforward spotting technique across the thief zone, requiring rapid setting after the slurry leaves the bit. Thus, the polymer designed for natural fractures or vugs incorporates the crosslinker in the pre-blend of products and for maximum agitation is mixed at the same time as the cross linking polymers. For induced fractures or matrix losses (i.e., micro-fractures network or permeable formations) the crosslinking polymer system has been re engineered for maximum penetration and higher strength. In this case, the blend consists of medium molecular weight cross-linking polymers and fine sized fibrous materials. When added with biopolymer and activated with a combination of cross-linking agent, time and temperature, it produces a medium-to-hard strength, rubbery, ductile plug (Fig. 1.1).
Figure 1.1 crosslinked polymer gels

The smaller particle-size distribution of the bridging material enhances the ability of the crosslinking polymer slurry to penetrate a porous or induced fractured zone. Pressure is another factor that can effect on polymer setting time. Higher pressure reduces the setting time of polymer system and it gels sooner. The most efficient gel plug correspond to the formulation with the highest viscoelastic properties (relating to the consistency of the gel) and shear strength. If we consider the flow of a Bingham fluid between two plates in order to simulate the invasion of a fracture by sealing fluid. It can be seen that the shear stress is maximum at the walls. The equation relating the shear stress at the wall, wall , the pressure drop by fracture length unit and the fracture width, w is:
| wall |=

w p 2 x
[14 ]

Therefore, to ensure an efficient plugging, the shear stress at the wall must not exceed the yield stress. The higher the yield stress, the higher the value of pressure drop that can be sustained by gel . Other factors that may cause unsuccessful polymer application to seal fractures opening can be mentioned as pH, salinity and polymer ratios/concentrations. These properties should be compatible with target formations.

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

A major disadvantage of this system lies in the placement of the gel. Because the reaction of this mixture is initiated at surface, therefore gelation time should be at fluid loss zone. As mentioned before, gelation time depends upon three variables: bottomhole temperature (BHT), crosslinker concentration and mixing time. Transmitting and placement of these materials are very important. Therefore a good program and methods to place the materials before dealing the loss zone is necessary. As planning and establishing a strategy prior to drilling a potential lost circulation zone is critical for preventing and controlling mud loss, it is imperative that the right process in decision making takes place. Three methods can be mentioned about the placement of the polymers; 1. Injecting (squeezing) 2. Pump and pull and, 3. Bullhead the pill According to loss zone and well condition a method can be used. But the last two methods are risky and are not recommended as standard procedures. Nowadays these materials are used in most extreme lost circulation problems, due to easy applications and effectiveness. For example an operator in the Algerian desert experienced severe loss of returns with a KCl/Polymer system. Attempts to cure the losses with calcium carbonate and various fibrous materials failed. While drilling from 4,990 ft to 6,230 ft, a total of 2,300 bbl of fluid was lost. Five cement plugs were pumped, but could not stop the sustained losses. At 6,230 ft, a 100-bbl of a crosslinked polymer generation weighing 10.0 lb/gal was displaced through a 12 in. bit, fitted with three 16/32-in nozzles. After drilling out the polymer pill, the operator circulated at full returns. Drilling continued at 33 ft/hr ROP to 9,016 ft with no additional losses. The density was increased at 7,628 ft from 10.0 lb/gal to 10.4 lb/gal with no further losses. : A Shear-Sensitive Plugging Fluid (SSPF) The SSPF is a fluid designed to gel rapidly after passing through the BHA in normal drilling operations, thus forming a solid mass and curing heavy mud losses. The SSPF consists of a single loose or shear sensitive invert emulsion (water-in-oil). The term loose or shear-sensitive is defined as meaning that the prepared emulsion has a degree of instability to high shear forces. It is this instability of the emulsion that is exploited to create the new technology. The SSPF is fabricated from encapsulation of the crosslinker in the continuous oil medium and a water soluble polymer in the water phase. The emulsion is maintained by a low concentration of a lipophilic surfactant, or emulsifier. In this loose state, the surface of the crosslinker is oil wet and remains in the oil phase. Although the water droplets are large, the surfactant enables good curvature around the water droplets. Therefore minimal transfer, or migration, of the crosslinker from the oil to the water phase occurs (Figure 1.2).
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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

Figure 1.2 Image of loose emulsion state before deformation by high shear

To exploit this new fluid technology a minimum shear threshold must be achieved to initiate the chemical reaction between the two reactive species. Upon exposing the SSPF to a pressure drop greater than 400 psi across a small orifice, the loose invert emulsion undergoes very rapid deformation. The high shear forces experienced as the emulsion is displaced through the drill bit triggers a rupture in the interfacial membrane of the emulsion, causing the emulsion to flip to a more stable direct state (oil-in-water). The emulsion inversion at this point releases the crosslinker into the now water continuous phase initiating the crosslinking reaction (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3 image of emulsion state after deformation by high shear

From between 30 seconds to 30 minutes after this trigger event the fluid crosslinks into a rigid gel structure. The rapid setting of the crosslinked gel makes the setting time virtually temperature-independent. The SSPF is a cement free, low-solids fluid which has a rehology similar to many drilling fluids. Therefore it flows easily into the areas of high permeability (loss zones). The flipped emulsion quickly penetrates into the loss zone before demonstrating any properties of gelation. After the designated set time for the gel it

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

is expected that the gel will have sealed the loss zone enabling normal drilling to continue. One of the successful experiences of this material was established in a fractured formation at 5054-5215 ft depth at 8.5 inches wellbore diameter in a Middle East well. Total loss of greater than 720 bph was observed and blind drilling was continued to 5220 ft. The cement plugs were placed unsuccessful. Eighty barrels of SSPF was displaced at 8.5 bbl/min to generate a pressure drop of 500 psi across the drill bit nozzles. Stable returns were observed through the entire displacement. The last 60 bbls of SSPF was hydraulically squeezed at 100 psi for 7 minutes. The drill bit was pulled one joint and all pumps were shut down. The well was left static for 60 minutes. The losses were measured at 120 bph (a better than 80% improvement) and finally one cement plug applied to consolidate the loss zone. Crosslinked Cement : Cross linked Cements (CC) can help to seal temporarily or indefinitely critical intervals where drilling and cementing operations are very difficult to be successfully accomplished due to extreme lost circulation. CC is a combination of cement and frac products mixed as regular cement slurry in a gelled fluid. In downhole conditions CC acquires highly cross linked frac fluid characteristics and can be engineered to set rapidly once the fluid is in place. This system may be subsequently removed with a simple hydrochloric acid treatment, restoring the original permeability of the zone of interest. CC has a Bingham fluid behavior before cross linking however its behavior changes on crosslink resembling a sand laden frac fluid. An example of CC usage is in Neuquen basin in Argentina. Sever lost circulation were observed in some wells in this field. Due to non producing interval of loss zones, RCC was chosen. Drill pipe was run to 50 ft across the loss zone. In one batch mixer tank 25 bbls of gelled water were prepared by adding to the water 35 ppt of gellant and allowing it to hydrate for 15 minutes. The other batch mixer tank was loaded with the required fresh water along with 1.2% of buffer (calculated by gel volume) and agitated for 10 minutes. Subsequently, 0.8% crosslinker, 0.2% foam preventer and finally the quantity of Class A cement required to prepare 25 bbls of slurry were added. Gelled water and slurry were pumped separately at 3 bpm, with both fluids mixing and crosslinking along the discharge line. Seven bbls of water was used as preflush and the slurry displaced with 5 bbls of water followed by mud. The drillpipe was pulled out to observe the treatment theoretical top the treatment allowed setting. After waiting for three hours operations resumed and circulation was obtained. This application allowed drilling to continue to the programmed well depth. Acid Soluble Diesel Oil Bentonite 2 Cement Sacks (AS-DOB2C) : This is a downhole mixed gunk type treatment which has proven very effective in curing extreme losses in fractured and vugular formations. The components and nomenclature are listed below. Although various mix ratios of cement to bentonite are possible for different applications, the most successful ratio (for most applications) has been found to be DOB2C which uses two sacks of cement to one
[7] [16 ]

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

sack of bentonite. This mix ratio can give the slurry a good combination of gel strength to plug the loss zone and compressive strength to keep it sealed. The above slurry is usually batch mixed and pumped down the drillstring. As the slurry leaves the drillstring, mud (the 'M' component) is bullheaded down the annulus at a rate calculated to give the desired ratio of mud to slurry. This ratio varies from 1 mud: 1 slurry (soft) to 1:3 (very hard), but a 1:2 ratio is most widely used. DOB2C is basically a cement treatment and therefore can damage the formation; however it can be made acidisable by the inclusion of an acid soluble bridging agent, such as calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), in the slurry. Mobil's work with acid soluble DOB2C (AS-DOB2C) suggests that the ideal ratio of CaCO 3 to cement is 50:50 by weight, i.e. 50% of the cement is replaced with CaCO 3 . Mobil have found that in order for acid to work its way through the DOB2C plug, the cement must have a minimum permeability to water of 0.08 md.
Table 1.1 The components and nomenclature of DOB2C components Letter M Description Mud or water diesel oil bentonite cement Function Hydration of slurry downhole Non hydrating carrier for bentonite & cement, replaced in slurry downhole by mud Slurry gel strength Slurry compressive strength

DO

B C

Case Study : Varavi field is a structural anticline which is located in coastal Fars area between Homa, Sanul, Nar and Tabnak anticlines. During drilling severe mud losses even no mud return observed, in order to highly fractured formations and low reservoir pressure. The mud which is used for drilling from surface to Dashtak-H is stiff foam so the mud system is open. But after running the 9 5/8" casing, mud will change to water based mud or oil emulsion mud and mud loss start while drilling the 8 1/2" and 6 1/8" hole section. Conventional Lost Circulation Materials could not cure the problem. Therefore a type of crosslinked polymer based material (WELLPLUG) is used to minimize drilling mud losses into reservoir formations. This polymer is subjected to a well in Varavi during eight days work on it. Unfortunately, wellplug could not cure this problem either. The reasons of this unsuccessful trial will be examined in this paper.

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

Application of Wellplug in Field : Wellplug System Here is the plugging material information which is used to provide a rigid crosslinked gel structure intended for extreme lost circulation problems in Varavi Gas Field fractured formations. The wellplug system is a blend of milled borate mineral and selected polymer designed to mix in water or recommended non-calcium brine. It can be mixed and kept as a premix and held for extended periods but may require treatment if used in hot climates. Particle size does not exceed 100 microns and can therefore be safely pumped through downhole motors, LWD & MWD tools etc. The table below is the summary of the basic components and their functions.
Table 1.2 Properties of wellplug system

PRODUCT

COMPONENT

FUNCTIONS

A combination of WELLPLUG biological polymers and ground borate mineral WELLPLUG H.T DELAYED ACTIVATOR

Viscosifier and crosslinking agents

Specially treated mixture of Halite & Alkaline earth metal oxide

pH control Cross-link activator and gel enhancer

The wellplug material was consisted of 640 sacks of wellplug and 320 sacks of H.T.Delayed Activator .The drillwater checked for Ca++ content and pH, which were respectively 1600ppm and 7.5.The drillwater temperature in mud pit was 27 C which was relatively low for Iran. The recommendation was to treat the ca++ with NaHCO 3 , sodium bicarbonate but only Na 2 CO 3 , sodium carbonate was available. To use Na 2 CO 3 meant that the final pH would be +/-11 compared with +/-9, if NaHCO 3 were used. The consequence of this is that it would require greater amount of Citric Acid to lower the neutral pH of 7.This was piloted tested in the mud lab and applied to the mix water for the Wellplug premix. For agreed 200 bbls of final well plug this required 168 bbls of D.W. Completed mixing the premix was 195 bbls (water+400 sacks wellplug, 168 bbls water+27bbls worth of wellplug).H.T.Delayed Activator accounts for 5 bbls volume when added. pH was 8 and ok.

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Total mud loss was observed at depth of 2553m.and everything was ready to deal with problem but the decision is delayed to continue drilling 100 m. more in problematic zone without any usage of wellplug system. After continuing drilling blind and pumping water downhole, it was decided not to drill further and stop at 2553m. Afterward a 100 bbl pill of wellplug allowed to be pumped to attempt to cure the losses. But it seems that it could not prevent mud losses even after repeating the procedure adding Fibrous material to wellplug premix. Therefore the polymer wellplug trial in a well at Varavi Gas Field was unsuccessful and drilling continued blind with injection of water into well. Conclusions : Reasons of unsuccessful trial of crosslinking polymer in One well of Varavi Gas Field can be examined from different point of view. First point can be mentioned is whether the inherent properties of the polymer are working properly or not? For instance pH is ok for this material or not? Is polymer ratios/concentrations are good enough? The setting time is adjusted for this particular case or not with regard to reservoir temperature and pressure? Is amount of accelerator/retarder is adequate? Due to application of the wellplug in similar conditions in different reservoirs in different countries and successful results and preplanning of this crosslinking polymer system according to subjected reservoir, all above situation was satisfactory and acceptable; therefore the reason of failure should be investigated in other factors. There are also some another question may be important that it is better to know from the Wellplug System Contactor; 1. Does the wellplug affect the rock? Wellplug is a water based system that contains a portion of saline (NaCl) solution in the set material. The Wellplug System Contractors library has not seen detrimental effect of material on rock and should remain unimportant. 2. Is it possible that mud had an adverse effect on Wellplug setting properties? Generally speaking and based on the applied field experiences Wellplug has in so many occasion been used with both oil base and water based muds. According to the contractor best knowledge, it has been a complete satisfaction of compatibility between Wellplug and two mentioned mud systems. However, Wellplug has neither been tried with synthetic mud nor with silicated based mud system. In latter case, there might be an adverse effect of high pH of silicate mud on setting property. Hence, it can be concluded that no detrimental effect was reported on the effect of mud system on Wellplug or vice versa. All the components of Wellplug are listed as PLONOR for the North Sea Chemical Acceptance Scheme, meaning 'Poses little or No Risk'. Wellplug is listed as 'E' classification meaning it is safe to use by people and in the aquatic environment. It is all non-hazardous and non-toxic. According to accepted drilling practice through the world, when a well starts to lose drilling fluid in high volumes to adjacent formations the problem may be cured

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

by employing a cross-linking polymer plugging system like 'WELLPLUG'. Once the major loss zone has been encountered the first step is to stop drilling, assess the situation and prepare to attempt to seal off the zone. Continued drilling can only compound the problem which can lead to a) total failure to cure the problem and b) reduce the ability to learn more about the zone, is it one zone?, many zones?, a cavern?, how long might the zone be or how long might each zone be if there is more than one?. The second step would be to pump a prepared WELLPLUG mixture into the thief zone. One of the major decisions to make is 'what volume needs to pump? 10bbls? 50bbls? 200bbls? There are no real measurement guides as to how much volume is to be pumped, usually it depends on experience and to make a fresh start on a new location can be a bit of a guess. The historical knowledge also can help. However the losses can be categorized to some degree depending on the rate of loss and the nature of the formation someone may be in. In the Varavi case it would appear that there was very little previous data to go on and it had been intimated to Wellplug System Contractor, prior to the work being carried out on the rig, that although serious losses had been encountered before, total losses were highly unlikely. If it had been known that the conditions encountered were to be the case the trial would not have been accepted. If it had been known that drilling ahead after the losses had been encountered was to be carried out the trial would not have been accepted. After hitting the initial loss zone drilling continued ahead for a further 64 meters through formation known to have a high probability of encountering further losses. The result of this was only to compound the problem and make the situation worse as explained above. Additionally drilling ahead, which increased the length of formation encountered to loss, would cause a 'multi-loss zone' according to different interbedded layers and anisotropy of formation. In this situation theoretically the 'wellplug' should squeeze into the loss zone rather than just being just spotted in wellbore, and should cure the loss. The plug should find its own flow path of least resistance out of wellbore and into the open structure. To be successful under these conditions however, the key factor is to pump the correct volume of plug, to determine the right volume under these circumstances can be at best a 'good guess' which can only be improved on with experience. In some cases where the loss zone can be so large that the 'open volume' to be filled is cavernous. This can mean that it may take not hundreds of barrels of plug but thousands and perhaps tens of thousands of barrels!! (For example in Kazakhstan where one mud company pumped over 9000 barrels of their property product as a trial and it cost over $2,000,000!!!!) When the loss zone is as extreme as this and the volume required to fill the loss zone becomes impractical no chemical material can be the answer and the practical alternative, although not necessarily very safe, is to turn to 'MUD CAP DRILLING'. Mud cap drilling is a technique for managing severe lost circulation in an over pressured environment, without losing well control. In this technique drilling continues with a variable length of annular fluid column which is maintained above a formation that is taking injected fluid and drilled cuttings without returns to surface.

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1st National Iranian Drilling Industry Congress.

And finally drilling blind into loss zone and increasing the length of it, needs greater amount of wellplug material which in this case it seems that it was not adequate and the plug was not able to plug all loss zone intervals and the volume of material becomes one of the key factors. According to simple understanding of well condition, when a plugging material which will activated into wellbore condition is subjected into hole, the time must give to the material until it could start to get firm to show its plugging property. But in this case after pumping the second wellplug into troublesome formation, when the setting time was needed to give to crosslinked polymer based material to get hard, huge volume of water injected into the well to control the gas pressure into the well. Hence, the pumped water will probably wash away all the wellplug that was carefully placed into formation, and was now rendered useless. Therefore to summarize the reasons of not successful application of crosslinked type materials, it can be said that with regard to not properly usage of wellplug e.g. continuing drilling ahead in problematic formation without any adequate information about the stratigraphy of formation and lower volume amount of plugging material, it can not be judged that was it correct to use this materials again or it is better to shift directly to mud cap drilling method. Hence, if the material placed according to its procedure and it would fail, it was easy to choose mud cap drilling method in this field in future. Recommendation for Future Application of Extreme Drilling Mud Loss Materials : For future application of such material, one of the simple but important factors to get successful result in mud losses case is accurate planning procedure and coordination between all parties involved. And if it was necessary to change the procedure, all parties should involve and discuss about changes. Leave pill static after placement, it means that no water or mud must be pumped into the well behind the pill, unless circumstances change and matter discussed. After placement the pill must be allowed to set for recommended time. Another suggestion is about pit availability. Ensure small pit pill pit/slug pit is available for use in line with the mud system. Although the well is a very well equipped rig on the whole, it lacked a small pit of 100 bbl. This is really essential so that; Small volumes of activated plug can be utilized, i.e. 20-50 bbls pumpable. Pit/tank dead space volume is reduced to a minimum, thereby reducing waste of costly material. Because the well did not have such a pit each time a wellplug volume had H.T Delayed Activator added for use, a dead space volume of 10 bbls had to be discarded. With a pill/slug pit on site the dead space can usually be reduced to < 1bbl. Acknowledgment : I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Kourosh Tahmasbi, and especial thanks to Mr. Heidari and Mrs. Arsanjani, Pars Drilling Fluid (PDF) employees, and also my dear friend Mohsen Zeinali.

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References : 1. Adach J., Bailey L., Schlumberger, Depleted Zone Drilling: Reducing Mud Losses into Fractures, IADC/SPE 87224, 2004 2. Aguilera R., Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, Second Edition, Pennwell Publication, 1995 3. Burton J. Catalin D., Heinz T., Lost Circulation Control: Evolving Techniques and Strategies to Reduce Downhole Mud Losses, SPE/IADC 67735, 2001 4. Canson B.E, Lost circulation Treatments for Naturally Fractured, Vugular, or Cavernous Formations, SPE/IADC 13440, 1985 5. Caughron D., Rentrow D., Bruton J., Unique Crosslinking Pill in Tandem With Fracture Prediction Model Cures Circulation Losses in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, SPE 74518, 2002 6. Chilingarian V., Vorabutr P., Drilling and drilling fluids, Elsevier Scientific Company, 1983 7. Davidson E., Richardson L., Zoller S., Control of Lost Circulation in Fractured Limestone Reservoirs ,SPE/IADC 62734, 2000 8. Fidan E., Babadagli T., Kuru E., Use of cement As Lost Circulation MaterialField Case Studies, IADC/SPE 88005, 2004 9. Gauthier B.D.M, Full Field Fracture Modeling: an Integrated Approach with Application to three Carbonate Fractured Reservoirs , AAPG Hedberg Conference, 2003 10. Gockel J.F., Gockel C.E., and Brinemann M., Lost Circulation: A Solution Based on the Problem, SPE/IADC 16082, 1987 11. Hettema M., Bostrom B., Lund T., Analysis of Lost Circulation during in Cooled Formations, SPE 90442, 2004 12. Ivan C., Burton J., Thiercelin M. Making a Case for Rethinking Lost Circulation Treatments in Induced fracture, SPE 77353, 2002 13. Kharrat R., Drilling fluids lecture notes, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran, 2000 14. Lecolier E., Herzhaft B., Inst. Franais du Petrle Development of a Nanocomposite Gel for Lost Circulation Treatment, SPE 94686, 2005 15. Lietard O., Unwin T., Guillot D., Hodder M., Fracture Width LWD and Drilling Mud / LCM Selection Guidelines in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, SPE 36832, 1998 16. Mata F., Veiga M., BJ Services, Crosslinked Cements Solve Lost Circulation Problems, SPE 90496, 2004 17. Morita N., Conoco Inc.; A.D. Black, Drilling Research Libratory; and G-F. Fuh, Conoco Inc., Theory of Lost Circulation Pressure , SPE 20409, 1999 18. Nayberg M. and Betty R., Laboratory Study of Lost Circulation Materials for use in Both Oil-Based and Water-Based Drilling Muds, SPE 14723, 1986 19. Power D., Ivan C.Brooks W., The Top 10 Lost Circulation Concerns in Deepwater Drilling, SPE 81133, 2003 20. Quinn D., Sunde E., J.F Baret, Mechanism of a Novel Shear-Sensitive Plugging Fluid To Cure Lost Circulation, SPE 50722 , 1999

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21. Romer S.N., Monory R.R., Preventing Lost Circulation Using Lightweight Slurries with Reticular Systems: Depleted Reservoirs in Southern Mexico, SPE 92187, 2004 22. Rueda F., Bonifacio R., In-Situ Reactive System Stops Lost Circulation and Underground Flow Problems in Several Southern Mexico Wells, SPE 59059, 2000 23. Samsuri A., Phuong T., Cheaper Cement Formulation for Lost Circulation Control, IADC/SPE 77216, 2002 24. Seright R.S. Gel Propagation through Fractures, SPE 59316, 2000 25. Seright R.S. Gel placement in fracture system, SPE 27740, 1995 26. Stowell J., Laubach S., Marrett R., Olson J., Holder J., Understanding Fracture Carbonate Reservoir, University of Texas at Austin, 1999 27. Vidick B., Yearwood A., and Perthuis H., Dowell Schlumberger, How to Solve Lost Circulation Problems, SPE 17811, 1988 28. Wayne Sanders W., Williams R., Ivan C.Powell D., Lost Circulation Assessment and Planning Program: Evolving Strategy to Control Severe Losses in Deepwater Projects, IADC/SPE 79836, 2003 29. Wang H., Engelman B., Deeg W., Whitfill D., The Key to Successfully Applying Todays Lost Circulation Solutions, SPE 95895, 2005 30. Whitfill D., Hephill T., All Lost Circulation Materials and Systems Are Not Created Equal, SPE 84319, 2003 31. Whitfill D., Wang H., Halliburton Fluid System, Making Economic Decisions To mitigate Lost Circulation, SPE 95561, 2005

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