Recommended Procedures for

Conducting Extended Leak-off Tests

(XLOT)

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XLOT testing is of importance for calibration of minimum horizontal stress. It is suggested
to have this XLOT in all zones of reservoir in order to identify the stress contrast as well as
in the problematic shale formations.
It is recommended to perform the XLOT: to leak-off, followed by breakdown, followed by
fracture propagation and switch off the pump; so that it can be possible to measure
fracture closure pressure (FCP).
The details are given in the forthcoming sections.

Test Procedure:
 After cementing, drill ~10 ft of new formation. Quality of cementing and cement
integrity near shoe should be performed with the help of CBL-VDL logs before
pressure testing.
 Circulate mud until mud in and mud out are of uniform properties.

 Install variable choke on cement unit flow back line. Ensure the choke components
are changed out to new cone and seat prior to XLOT.

 Install level sensor (from Mud loggers) in the cement unit holding tanks.
 Pressure test lines with the drilling fluid.
 Close BOP, pump mud slowly (1/4 bbl/min to 3/4 bbl/min) in the well. Do not vary
rate after XLOT has started.
 Flow rate and pressure should be recorded as a function of both time and volume
pumped. Use digital recorder to collect data at as high a sampling rate as possible
and reliable surface or down-hole gauge (down-hole preferred).

 Allow formation to fracture and continue pumping until the pressure is neither
increasing nor decreasing.

 Cut off pumping by shut in valve. Isolate wellbore and continue recording pressure
until pressure levels off (may be 10 minutes or more).

 Bleed pressure via choke. Don’t change choke position during flow-back. Note the
final volume of fluid pumped and returned.

Are XLOT Fracs dangerous?

• Limited penetration length (2-5 m)

• Experience shows that they are not:

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 – Don’t lead to more lost circulation
– No evidence of more systematic hole problems
– Give better MW control data (shmin at shoe)

• Analysis shows they are not

– A stress barrier around hole is generated against free propagation in any
case
– If MW < shmin at shoe, no lost circulation can occur

Illustration with explanation

Details:
 An idealized extended leak-off test is shown. The pumps are turned on and the
pressure down hole increases linearly with increasing volume of fluid pumped.

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  If the test is stopped before there is a deviation in the linear trend it is called a
Formation Integrity Test (FIT). An FIT does not provide any information about the
least principal stress. The FIT can be either above or below the least principal
stress because of the stress concentration around the wellbore.
 If the test is continued then at some point volume will be created down hole as a
result of either a pre-existing fracture opening, or a new fracture being created. At
this point there is a deviation from the linear trend and the beginning of the
deviation is called the Leak-Off Point (LOP). If the test is stopped at this point, the
LOP can be a reasonable estimate of the least principal stress.
 If the test is continued beyond this point, then the formation will break down at the
Formation Breakdown Pressure (FBP) and the fracture will propagate away from
the wellbore at the Fracture Propagation Pressure (FPP). The FBP is an
unpredictable number that depends on the tensile strength of the rock, the stress
concentration around the wellbore, the complexity of the fracture being created, and
the frictional losses of the fluids moving from the wellbore into the fracture. The FPP
is a combination of the fracture toughness, the fluid invasion to the tip of the
fracture, the tensile strength of the fracture, and the frictional losses of the fluid
moving through the fracture. If the well is shut in and the pressure decline is
monitored, then the two most accurate measures of the least principal stress can be
obtained. The Instantaneous Shut-In Pressure (ISIP) is measured immediately after
the well is shut in and there is still fluid propping open the fracture.
 The Fracture Closure Pressure (FCP) is measured after the fracture closes by
extrapolating the steady-state pore pressure back to the intersection with the ISIP
line. The ISIP is typically taken as the upper bound of the least principal stress and
the FCP is the lower bound of the least principal stress. The idea is to measure the
far field stress away from the local wellbore effects.

Further Reading
Oort, v. E., and Vargo, R., 2007. Improving formation strength tests and their interpretation.
SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, February 20-22 2007. SPE #105193, 13 p.

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