IADC/SPE-178771-MS

Low Solids Shear Dependent Fluid System to Plug Zones for Preventing
Fluid Influx and Loss
Urdaneta Javier, Ravi Krishna, and Pacheco Jaime, Halliburton; Jaramillo Oscar and Patiño John, Emerald

Copyright 2016, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition

This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 1–3 March 2016.

This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s).
Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
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Abstract
Lost circulation and influx from sections of high-pressure zones is a recurrent challenge and high-cost
event within the oil industry, particularly in mature fields or weak-fracture-gradient zones. These can
significantly increase operational costs, non-productive time (NPT), the possibility of stuck pipe, and well
integrity challenges. Lost circulation can be defined in a variety of ways, from partial to total loss, and
in a variety of formations, including highly-permeable, fractured, or cavernous formations. Loss circu-
lation materials, such as particulates, have been successfully used to plug smaller fractures and permeable
zones. Challenges arise when the losses cannot be stopped using particulates because of the loss
magnitude. The industry has used various chemical solutions to overcome this challenge with mixed
results. Particulates are usually unsuccessful in terms of plugging high-pressure zones to help prevent fluid
influx.
This paper presents a low-solids loss circulation solution that develops rapid gel strength when shear
rate decreases. The gel strength buildup is based on polymers and nanomaterials in the fluid system. This
helps prevent fluid from continuously flowing into the zone or being expelled from the zone. Once gel
strength has developed, the system develops nominal compressive strength to adhere to the formation and
thus helps prevent displacement during subsequent well operations. The fluid is shear thinning and hence
easily enters the formation zone and does not flow continuously, as it gels upon entering the formation.
The low solids and low rheology under shear means that it can be easily pumped through the drill bit
without having to pull out of the hole (POOH).
This paper describes a system that was pumped into a high-pressure zone to isolate an unconsolidated
sand formation. Initial attempts to isolate the zone included a bradenhead squeeze operation, which was
unsuccessful, and fluid influx from the zone was observed during subsequent well operations. The fluid
system and process described in this paper should help the industry in terms of shutting off streaks of
high-pressure zones and curing fluid lost into the formation.

Introduction
Lost circulation is a serious problem within the industry. It is difficult to reach the planned top of cement
(TOC) when the fluids pumped into the well are lost to the formation. The economic loss from lost
2 IADC/SPE-178771-MS

circulation could exceed be enormous when the lost time and lost production are taken into account. The
industry has used different particulate materials to cure losses during drilling and cementing. However,
these particulates are typically only able to cure seepage or moderate losses. When the losses become
severe, it is difficult to cure the losses using particulate materials.
Some philosophies involve curing the loss using small- and medium-sized particle-based materials.
Depending on the severity of the loss, the concentration of these particles may be adjusted. Other coarser
materials may also be added until the drilling is stopped and a new strategy is necessary before resuming
operations. At this time, a second factor also begins to play an important role—rig time and logistics for
materials (Castro et al. 2011).
Generally, loss of circulation is presented in a dynamic state as a reflection of the ECD. When ECD
exceeds the fracture limits of the formation, the rock yields, fluid admission is presented, and loss occurs,
as described by Suyan (2007).
The drilling industry has a severity classification based on the volume rate for loss of circulation:
● Lost circulation by filtration (1 to 10 bbl/hr)
● Partial loss (10 to 500 bbl/hr)
● Total loss (500 bbl/hr or greater)
Fractured, vugular, cavernous, or highly-porous formations generally have high permeability and/or
large openings that can accept considerable volumes of drilling fluid. If fractures and voids are large, they
will not be plugged by the particulate materials typically used.
Losses can be reduced using specific treatments, a combination of treatments, or after setting many
cement plugs.
There are challenges to be considered with cementing squeeze operations that can influence the success
of a zonal isolation treatment. The permeability of the formation, lost circulation, presence of formation
fluid (gas/oil/water), fracture gradient, well fluid, injection rate into the troubled zone, and temperature are
some of the primary parameters to be reviewed when designing a fluid system and pumping technique for
the remedial strategy. Even when these considerations have been taken into account, a thorough analysis
should be performed to determine the most beneficial solution based on a cost-vs.-time strategy.
Losses during a cement operation usually lead to a detrimental effect on zonal isolation, such as
formation fluids communication, or water production from upper reservoirs; all of these are consequences
of a poor annular sealant. For such situations, it is necessary to cure the severe losses preparing the
wellbore to receive cement for long-term zonal isolation.
The industry has used different polymers in an attempt to cure losses. However, these polymers are
almost always designed to crosslink or react as a function of temperature, time, and the amount of
crosslinker/activator. These solutions have been a hit and miss because of uncertainties associated with
temperature and the time necessary to place the polymer.

Problem Description
Well C-1 is located at the Llanos basin in Colombia. Because of water and sand production from the upper
formation ⬙G,⬙ a workover operation was planned to isolate the water/sand production zone. Initial
attempts to isolate the zone included a Bradenhead squeeze treatment, which was unsuccessful and water
influx/lost circulation was observed during the next trip of drillpipe. Attempts to control the water
production increased brine density. Density was increased until water influx was controlled, but subse-
quent losses were observed. To avoid losses, lower brine density was necessary and water influx and sand
production was observed. An imminent solution to isolate the zone taking into consideration of losses and
high contamination of the system because of the water influx was necessary to control the well and
complete with the workover operation. Seven days were expended trying to isolate the zone without
success.
IADC/SPE-178771-MS 3

Low-Solids Shear-Dependent (LSSD) Cement System as a Solution

The LSSD cement system is specifically designed to help cure losses through near-wellbore (NWB)
screenout to enable further drilling and to help achieve the intended TOC. The solution can be easily
applied to losses ranging from seepage to a complete loss of returns. However, this solution is most
applicable for partial to total losses that cannot be cured using particulate materials alone (Urdaneta et al.
2015).
The advantage of the LSSD system is that it is less dependent on the time and temperature necessary
to place the system. It is mainly dependent on the amount of shear that the fluid is subjected to under
downhole conditions. When the LSSD is under shear, the fluid is thin and flows readily. However, when
the shear is reduced, the system develops rapid gel strength. This is what happens when the LSSD enters
loss circulation zones. The rapid development of gel strength helps prevent the fluid system from
continuously entering the loss circulation zone. As LSSD develops rapid gel strength upon entering the
loss zones, it prevents further fluid from entering and thereby arrests the losses.
In addition to developing rapid gel strength, the LSSD fluid system also develops compressive strength
quickly. The compressive strength is of the order of 200 psi in less than 24 hours and is sufficient to
provide a weak bond to the formation surfaces. The gel strength and compressive strength of LSSD help
prevent the system from being extruded out of the zone during subsequent drilling and cementing.
The system is acid soluble and hence can be used in reservoir zones and the fluidity can be regained
over a few cycles by reapplying shear. The system contains nano materials and polymers and very low
solids content. These features provide the benefit that the system can be pumped through the drill bit and
help prevent POOH. The benefits and applications are discussed as follows.
Benefits and Applications
The LSSD system provides the following benefits:
● It has a low density compared to previous thixotropic cement designs and thus reduces drill
string/casing hydrostatic overbalance caused by the cement. Having low solids and low rheology
under shear means it can be easily pumped through the drill bit without requiring POOH (during
wellbore construction).
● Early static gel strength coupled with compressive strength helps plug thief zones and mitigate
further lost circulation.
● Minimizes NPT resulting from losses during drilling.
● Decreases the need for remedial cementing operations.
● Minimizes lost fluids and maintains drilling efficiency, helping manage operational costs.
● Helps maintain well control.
● It is acid soluble.
● Because of its low rheology and low solids content, the LSSD system can be pumped through a
BHA.
4 IADC/SPE-178771-MS

Laboratory Testing
The laboratory preparation and testing of LSSD consists of the following steps, illustrated in Fig 1

Figure 1—Three main stages of LSSD system.

● Add the weighed amount of polymer into the blender containing measured amount of water.
Continue mixing till the polymer is hydrated.
● Add the weighed cement and specific nanomaterials to the blender containing the hydrated
polymer. Mix the slurry at low RPM and pour a portion of the slurry to a bottle with lid till the
bottle is about half full and close the bottle tightly.
● After five minutes turn the bottle upside down and check if the slurry is mobile. Usually, the slurry
should be immobile after five minutes.
After desired results for the LSSD design from the gelation point demonstration is confirmed,
complementary laboratory testing may be performed to achieve the necessary parameters according to the
field application.
Laboratory equipment was used to reproduce similar wellbore conditions, illustrated in Fig 2. High
permeability was achieved using spheres inside the cylinder. Different tests were conducted using the
following procedure:

Figure 2—Formation permeability simulator for lost-circulation system tester.

IADC/SPE-178771-MS 5

● A cylinder and valve were prepared, cleaned, inspected, and tested with water before runing the
LC system.
● Solid spheres were used to simulate a high permeability reservoir—1800 Darcy.
● The LSSD system was mixed in accordance with the previous described procedure.
● With the bottom valve closed, fluid was poured into the cylinder.
● The piston and cap of the cell were put in position and secured.
● 50 psi of Pressure was applied at the top of the piston.
● The LSSD system quickly developed gel strength and was capable of withstanding the differential
pressure, avoiding communication or fluid lost circulation.

Rheology
The LSSD system exhibits low rheology values. Also, results show a similar rheology behavior at the
surface and at downhole temperature (Table 1). This characteristic is important, especially if the system
will be pumped through the drill bit. For rheological tests, a Fann® yield stress adapter (FYSA) was used
to achieve better shear stress because the thixotropic slurry system requires a larger area for measurements
to be recorded. A key advantage of using the FYSA is that it can also directly measure the yield point (YP)
of a fluid, which is particularly useful with complex fluids, such as foamed slurries or particulate-laden
fluids, compared to using a bob and sleeve configuration, where statistical regression might be necessary
to calculate the YP of the fluid (Gordon et al. 2007).

Table 1—Rheology behavior results of the LSSD system at different temperatures.

FYSA Viscosity Profile and Gel Strength

Test Temp (°F) 300 200 100 6 3 3 rev/min Decay 6 rev/min Decay Gel 10 seconds Gel 10 minutes
80 31 27 26 23 21 21 19 42 65
119 32 27 26 24 22 22 21 45 68

On/Off Testing
During this test, the paddle rotation of a consistometer was turned on/off several times to observe the
thixotropic behavior of the system under shear and static conditions to simulate field operation scenario
(Fig. 3). A high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) consistometer was used to perform the test.
6 IADC/SPE-178771-MS

Figure 3—On/off test of LSSD system using a HP/HT consistometer.

UCA Compressive Strength

These tests showed that the LSSD system began developing compressive strength quickly once the system
was in a static condition. A compressive strength of 120 psi provided sufficient strength to mitigate losses
after drilling operations were restarted (Fig. 4).

Figure 4 —Compressive strength results for the LSSD system.

Static Gel Strength. To evaluate the development of static gels, a Fann® MACS II® multiple analysis
cement system was used that allows for direct measurement of gels generated by a cement slurry under
downhole conditions. This practice complies with ANSI/API RP 10B-6/ISO 10426-6 (API 2010).
IADC/SPE-178771-MS 7

The static gel strength graph in Fig. 5 shows the rapid development of gel. Only 13 minutes were
necessary for the static gel strength to increase from 100 to 500 lb/100 ft2.

Figure 5—Static gel strength results for the LSSD system.

Field Application and Result

The cement retainer was run in the hole (RIH) and set at 6,000 ft measured depth (MD) and a squeeze
operation with Class G cement was performed to isolate the bottom zone from the upper zones. A
retrievable test treat squeeze (RTTS®) packer was RIH and set at 4,939 ft MD with open end drillpipe
at 5,257 ft MD (Fig. 6).

Figure 6 —Wellbore schematic.

8 IADC/SPE-178771-MS

A pressure test in the formation (injectivity test) was conducted, which showed a maximum pressure
of 2,180 psi at 6 bbl/min, indicating a high communication path in the formation (Fig. 7).

Figure 7—Pressure test before the treatment.

A total of 5 bbl of water as spacer was used and 40 bbl of LSSD system ahead of 40 bbl of Class G
cement were used as a fluid treatment. Five hesitation cycles were performed to help develop strong gel
in the formation, reducing losses and creating the necessary conditions to allocate the Class G cement in
the near wellbore zone. The initial pressure during the operation was near 0 psi and the final pressure
observed after the hesitation cycles was 350 psi (Fig. 8).

Figure 8 —Summary of the treatment.

TOC was found at 5,120 ft (137 ft over expected) after 15 hours of waiting on cement (WOC). The hard
cement was tagged, proved, and drilled successfully. No water influx was observed while drillpipe was
tripped, thus confirming good isolation. No sand production was observed after cement drillout. The
LSSD entered into the formation as a first front to help isolate the thief zone while the conventional Class
G cement was located in the NWB zone as a long-term zonal isolation system to accomplish with operator
procedure requirements (Fig. 9).
IADC/SPE-178771-MS 9

Figure 9 —Estimated treatment behavior into the formation.

Conclusions
The following conclusions are a result of this work:
● The LSSD system was used to successfully seal off the problematic zone. Because of the unique
properties of this system, it is applicable to cure a wide range of lost circulation and problem zones.
This subsequently enabled successful cementing.
● The LSSD system was successfully used to help cure and isolate a water/sand production zone in
a workover operation.
● The novel LSSD system helps reduce NPT time and mitigate deferred production.
● Based on its properties, such as low rheology, quick gel strength development when at low shear
rate, rapid compressive strength development, and short WOC, use of the LSSD system can be an
excellent strategy for mitigating partial to severe lost circulation during primary and remedial
cementing operations.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank Emerald and Halliburton for their support and permission to publish this paper.

References
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