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Drilling Fluid-
Complication Liquidation

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STUCK PIPE
In drilling operations the drill pipe is considered
stuck when it cannot be raised , lowered or rotated
Hole Pack off
Hole geometry
Stuck pipe Types
Differential stuck up
Mechanical stuck up
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Mechanical stuck
1.caused by a physical obstruction or restriction.
2.usually occurs when the drill string is moving.
3.indicated by obstructed circulation. Occasionally , however, a
limited amount of up/down mobility or rotary freedom is evident ,
even when the pipe is mechanically stuck.
Differential Stuck
1 caused by differential pressure forces from an overbalanced
mud column acting on the drill string against a filter cake
deposited
on a permeable formation.
2. usually occurs while pipe is stationary, such as when
connections are being made or when a survey is being taken.
3. indicated by full circulation and no up/down mobility or rotary
freedom other than pipe stretch and torque.
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Mechanical sticking
A. HOLE PACKOFF AND BRIDGES
Settled cuttings. encountered often in overgauge sections,
where annular velocities are reduced.
Causes
Excessive ROP for a given circulation rate.
Inadequate annular hydraulics.
Failure to suspend and carry cuttings to the surface -
inadequate mud rheology.
Highly deviated well paths. High angle wells are more difficult
to clean,
Formation sloughing and packing off around the drillstring.
Not circulating enough to clean the hole before tripping out or
making connections.

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major warning signs and indications of cuttings settling are:
Fill on bottom after connections and tripping.
Few cuttings returning at the shakers relative to the drill rate
and hole size.
Increase in torque, drag and pump pressure.
Over pull on connections and while tripping out.
Increase in Low-Gravity Solids (LGS) and possible mud
weight and/or
viscosity increases.
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Preventive measures
Maintain proper mud rheology in accordance with hole size,
ROP and hole inclination.
In near-vertical wells, sweep the hole with high-viscosity mud.
In highly deviated wells, sweep with low-viscosity/high-viscosity
pills.
Always circulate until the sweeps have returned to the surface
and the shakers are clean.
Use optimized hydraulics compatible with the respective hole
size, inclination and ROP. Higher circulation rates always provide
improved hole cleaning.
Control drilling in high ROP or marginal hole-cleaning situations.
Use aggressive drill string rotation for improved hole cleaning.
Make a wiper trip after all long motor runs.
Use drill string motion (rotate & reciprocate), while circulating at
max rate to disturb cuttings beds & reincorporate them into flow
stream.
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B.Shale instability. Unstable shales can cause packing
off and sticking when
they fall into the wellbore. They may be classified as
follows:
C.Reactive shales. These are water sensitive shales
drilled with insufficient
inhibition. Shales absorb water, become stressed and
spall into the
Wellbore.The main indication that reactive shale has
been drilled are increases in the funnel viscosity, yield
point, gel strengths, Methylene Blue Test (MBT) and,
possibly, the mud weight. This will be reflected by
increases in torque,drag and pump pressure.
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D. Pressured shales. These shales are pressured and
mechanically stressed
by several different factors - the weight of overburden, in-
situ
stresses, angle of bedding planes and tectonic stresses.
When drilled with insufficient mud weight, these shales will
slough into the well bore
E. Fractured and faulted formations. These are fragile
formations which
are mechanically incompetent. They are particularly
unstable when the
bedding planes dip at high angles
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Large quantities of splintery or blocky shale will be
encountered when
pressured shales are drilled underbalanced or when
fractured formations
slough. Pump pressure, torque and drag will increase
when the hole becomes
overloaded with caving shale.
Control of formation instability should start during the
planning phase of the well. An inhibited mud system, matched
to the formation with the proper mud weight, will minimize shale
instability. To balance mechanical stresses, highly deviated
wells require higher mud weights than vertical wells.
Although the first priority of a casing design is to ensure that the
well can be drilled safely, casing points may have to be
adjusted so that troublesome formations can be cased off.
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Needless to say, suitable mud properties must be maintained
to ensure good
hole cleaning. If formation caving is detected, respond
immediately:
1. Stop drilling.
2. Sweep the hole with viscous mud.
3. Increase the viscosity to improve the carrying capacity.
4. Increase the mud weight, when applicable.
5. Implement drilling practices to improve cuttings transport
and to reduce the possibility of pipe sticking.
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F. Unconsolidated formations.
These formations cant be supported by hydrostatic overbalance
alone.
Problems also occur if insufficient filter cake is deposited on
loose, unconsolidated sand to prevent it from flowing into the
wellbore and packing off the string.
Usually encountered at shallow depths or drilling production
zones. common indicators are Torque, drag & fill on connections.
To drill these formations, the mud should provide a good-quality
filter cake to help consolidate the formation so that hydrostatic
pressure can push against & stabilize formation.
Treatments with seepage-loss material will help seal these
formations
avoid excessive flow rates & avoid any unnecessary reaming or
circulating with BHA opposite unconsolidated formations to
minimize erosion. hole should be swept with viscous gel sweeps
to ensure good hole-cleaning, and filter-cake building
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G. Mobile formation. The overburden weight or tectonic forces
can squeeze plastic salt or soft shale into the wellbore, sticking
or jamming the BHA in the undergauge hole. The magnitude of
the stresses and hence the rate of
movement will vary from region to region, but generally is
greater for formations below 6,500 ft (2,000 m) and for salt
formations with temperatures
above 250F (121C)
H. Ledges and micro-doglegs. These are formed when
successive hard/soft interbedded formations are encountered.
The soft formations become washed out for various reasons (i.e.
excessive hydraulics, lack of inhibition),
while the hard rocks remain in gauge. This situation is
aggravated by dipping formations and frequent changes in angle
and direction. The stabilizer blades may become stuck under the
ledges during tripping or picking up for connections
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Differentially Stuck Pipe
For differential sticking to occur, two conditions must exist:
1) Hydrostatic pr of mud must exceed pr of adjacent formation.
2) A porous, permeable formation must exist.

CAUSES
When the pipe becomes differentially stuck, the following
conditions exist:
The hydrostatic pressure of the mud exceeds the adjacent
formation pressure.
The formation is permeable (usually sandstone) at the point
where the pipe is stuck. Excessive drill solids and high fluid loss
increase filter-cake thickness and the coefficient of friction,
making it more difficult to pull
or jar the drill pipe free.
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Mechanics of Differential Sticking
When drilling a well bore with permeable exposed
formations, generally well bore pressure is greater than
formation pressure
Drilling fluid enters formation and deposit a cake on hole
wall
As filter cakes are permeable, most of the solids are
filtered out at the cake and only clear filtrate passes
through the cake
Filter cake grows in thickness as new solids deposited until
rate of deposition equals the rate of erosion.
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PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Reduce the overbalance pressure by keeping the mud
weight as low as
good drilling practices allow.
Reduce the area of contact between the wellbore and the
pipe by using the minimum length of drill collars needed for
the required bit weight.
Reduce filter-cake thickness. Filter-cake thickness can
be reduced by lowering filtration rate & drill solids content.
Maintain a low filtration rate.
Control excessive ROP
Minimize the muds coefficient of friction
Keep the pipe moving when possible
Run drilling jars when possible.

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PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Watch for depleted pressure zones, where differential
sticking occurs frequently. Seepage-loss materials such as
asphalt, gilsonite , M-I-X II fiber and bridging agents such as
sized-calcium carbonate have been used with success to
drill depleted zones with high differential pressures .
Depleted zones should be isolated with casing whenever
possible.

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FREEING STUCK PIPE WITH SPOTTING FLUIDS
Carry Surveys to determine the free point accurately, but
running such surveys often takes a significant amount of
time.
A pipe-stretch method is a quick way to estimate the depth
of the stuck zone.
the spotting fluid should be applied as soon as possible.
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The following procedure is recommended to free stuck drill
collars:
1. Determine volume of soak solution required to fill annular
space around the collars. Annular volume opposite collars can
be calculated by multiplying annular volume (bbl/ft) by length of
collars (ft).
Example:
500 ft of 6-in. Collars in 978-in. hole (0.06 bbl./Ft.)(500 ft) = 30
bbl
2. This volume should be increased enough to compensate for
hole enlargement and leave enough solution in the pipe so
additional volume can be pumped periodically to compensate
for migration of the spotted fluid. The extra volume usually
ranges from 50 to 200% of the annular displacement volume,
depending on hole conditions.
3. PIPE-LAX/oil solution is mixed by adding 1 gal of PIPE-LAX
per barrel of oil in the spot. The solution should be mixed
thoroughly before spotting.
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4. Determine the pump strokes and barrels of spotting fluid and
mud to be pumped to displace the entire drill collar annulus with
soak solution, leaving the reserve volume inside the pipe. Spot the
slurry, then shut the pump down.
5. After the PIPE-LAX/oil solution is spotted, the pipe should be
worked by putting it in compression. Slack off 10,000 lb below the
weight of the pipe and take 12 round of torque per 1,000 ft with
tongs or the rotary table. Release the torque and pick up the
10,000 lb of weight. Repeat this cycle about once every five
minutes. The pipe usually will come free on
the compression cycle. It should be noted that working the pipe in
tension or pulling 10,000 to 50,000 lb over the indicated weight of
the drill string could cause the pipe to become stuck further up the
hole in a key-seat or dogleg. These hole conditions are common
at shallow depths.
6. Periodically, pump 1 to 2 bbl of soak solution to keep the collars
covered. Continue to work the pipe as outlined above.
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Mud Loss
1. Prevent
2. Early identification
3. Cure
Knowing and understanding why a loss has occurred
helps in determining and selecting the:
Best suited LCM to use
The probable position of the loss zone
Whether any changes to mud weight, mud
properties or drilling practices are necessary.

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Prevention
Analyzing offset well data - Discussed before
Mud policy
Mud parameters
Well planning
Formation strengthening
Good drilling practices
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Solid Control
Choosing the correct weighting material

Mechanical treatment

Gravity treatment

Chemical treatment

Dilution
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FILTER LOSS
Bridging particles availability
Base Particulate sizes (1/3 to largest pore size)
Colloidal particulate size - to plug small pore
openings and interstitial spaces
API filter loss all the time may not be correct if
particulate size do not match pore openings
Dynamic filter loss will be higher than static
filter loss
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INHIBITION
Potassiums based salts
Salts dosage are optimized through
LSM , CST AND CORE FLOW APPARATUS
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Control mud properties
( MW ,Viscosity,Gel strength) in the proper ranges.
Many times mud properties can not be kept at a level
which will provide adequate hole cleaning due to other
operational considerations. Higher flow rates and aggressive
drill pipe rotation are the best methods to improve hole
cleaning. High viscosity sweeps are recommended in such
cases where good hole cleaning is questionable
fluid loss and filter-cake thickness should always be controlled in the
proper range.
Drill with minimum mud density. This not only enhances the ROP
but also diminishes other mud-related effects.
v. A good selection of the proper size of bridging materials helps
reduce and eliminate whole mud losses into porous formations.
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FORMATION STRENGTHING
Two pre-requisites for formation strengthening
concept are knowledge of

1.Fracturing strength lot or pit.
The cause of low fracture gradient may be
either presence of
Microfractures ,
Or poor cementing material
Or rock fluid interaction

2. Pore pressure
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The formation strength can be increased by
Use of micro fractures sealing materials
Use of system loss controlling material
Use of non invasive fluids
Chemical treatment

How To Increase Formation Strength
Loss Prevention
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Formation Sealing Material
Bituminous Material- generic term for a group of
substances composed of mixture of hydrocarbons ,
commonly solids that are soluble in CS
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1. Sulfonated asphalt- Asphalt is found in native form but
most is produced as residue in petroleum refining. Hard
granular Asphalt is used in water base muds for hole
stabilization .Air blown asphalt in which asphaltene content
increases is used in oil base muds for providing sealing and
suspending property. Sulfonated Asphalt is produced by
treating it with sulfuric acid and SO
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and neutralization with
alkali.
2. Gilsonite -It is a mineral; a natural bitumen . Supposedly
originated from oil shales .It is also effective in hole
stabilization when drilling steeply dipping shales. Graded
according to MP , screen size , fracture size . Its Softening
point is 132-190 deg C.
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Both work by sealing micro-fracture.
They plasters the borehole wall .Both
strengthens weak formations and prevents losses
in such formations and thus stabilizes borehole
Appropriate dosages for Sulphoated Asphalt are
2% to 3% and for Gilsonite 2-6 lbs/barrel
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System Loss Material
Added to a drilling fluid while drilling through a known
or potential loss zone
Specially selected sized particulate matter.
Particle size distribution is based on expected width of
largest fracture.
The largest size of particle present in mud must be 1/3
rd of the pore openings size.
Generally, particles that are one-third to one-half the
square root of the permeability in millidarcies (md)
should be able to bridge such formations.
Forms an internal bridge in the natural micro-fractures.
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Benefits
Material is available in the fluid
When fractures are initiated
When borehole breathing is initiated
Where seepage losses is possible
Where natural fractures are encountered
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System LCM Materials

1. Sized Calcium Carbonate
2. Graphite Powder
3. Sized Dolomite
4. Proprietary Products
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System LCM
1. Never Use LCM Particles Of Maen Size Greater
Than 1/3 Of The Smallest Bit Nozzle Size
Nozzle Size Maximum LCM Diameter
12 3.17mm
14 3.70mm
16 4.23mm
18 4.76mm
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STEELSEAL (Baroid)
STEELSEAL is a resilient, angular, dual-composition
carbon-based material
It is insoluble in water
It can be compressed, tightly packed in pores and small
fractures
It can expand or contract without being dislodged or
collapsed due to changes in differential pressures.
It can be used with WBM as well as SOBM as lost
control material
It acts as solid lubricant for torque and drag
reduction
Proprietary Products
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Hollow Glass Sphere (HGS)
Hollow spheres of borosilicate glass.
Varying particle size distribution.
Low bulk density high strength material.
Inert and compatible with different types of
mud and mud additives.
Easy to prepare and maintain drilling fluid
with HGS
No adverse effect on mud properties


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No special infrastructure required for its
application
Easy handling and storage
Non abrasive
Non corrosive
The designed drilling fluids, of density as low
as 7.5 ppg showed good rheological and
filtration properties.
Shown retention of specific gravity even after
application of 4000 psi pressure at 90 deg C
for 8 hours.


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The sub-hydrostatic work over fluid up to
S.G.= .065 ( 5.4 ppg) was also designed
using hollow glass spheres.
These fluids are also expected to minimize
formation damage and shall enhance
productivity of the reservoir.
The sub hydrostatic work over fluids shall
prevent losses during well completions and
work over operations.


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Application In ONGC
1. First field trial in drilling fluid is expected in
western offshore
2. Three types of sub-hydrostatic drilling fluids
designed by IDT using HGS vis a vis NDDF
system, gel polymer system and KCl-PHPA-
glycol system for offshore
3. Initially it shall be used in non damaging
drilling fluid (NDDF) for drilling through
limestone reservoir

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1.Pull out and wait
P/o string to point of safety if well
condition permits
Wait for 4-8 hours
If loss stops, continue drilling.
If loss does not stop then check for available
lcm available at site and identify the best
suited

Loss Control
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Use Of LCM To Seal Loss Zone
Type of seal
Fracture seal at the face of borehole
Fracture seal within well bore
1. More effective bridge is formed
within formation
2. LCM does not dislodge easily as a result of
pipe movement and not eroded due to fluid
movement

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A- SEAL AT FACE
B- SEAL WITHIN FORMATION
SMALL LCM FAIL
LARGE LCM FORM INITIAL BRIDGE
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Types Of LCM
Fibrous material
Relatively little rigidity
Tend to be forced inside the large openings
If opening are small external bulky filter cake
forms
Can cause serious damage to formation
Cotton fiber, bagasse, saw dust , leather
,mineral fiber(asbestos), glass fiber, shredded
automobile tyre.


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Flaky material
Flat and tend to lie flat across the face of
formation
If strong make external cake otherwise may be
forced into the opening
Mica flakes, rice husk, plastic laminates, wood
chips
Granular material
Marble chips, ground plastic, nut shell hull



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Use Of Plugging/Bridging Material
Should be used against partial or seeping losses
Use open ended drill pipe for placement of plug if
practical or use watercourse bit or jet bits with nozzle
removed
If jet are to be used or MWD/LWD tool is in use
medium to fine sized material shall be used
A blend of flaky , fibrous and granular bridging material
is recommended for unconsolidated formations.
A blend of flaky and fibrous bridging material is
recommended for highly permeable formations
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A blend of fibrous and granular bridging material is
recommended for mud loss in fractures
Proper size and types should be mixed in drilling fluid for
squeezing into the loss zone.
The total amount should be between 20 to 50 lbs./Bbl .If
the severity of loss zone increases only the size of LCM
shall be increased not the concentration
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Preparation Of Pill
Add 10-20 lb/bbl of clay in 80 bbl water
Treat with Soda ash and Caustic soda to remove
calcium and magnesium
Prepare 100-250 bbl pill depending on hole size
.Add different size LCM to obtain 10-20 lb/bbl
concentration. Usually add 15 lb/bbl coarse nut
plug,5lb/bbl of fine to coarse to medium fiber
and 5lb/bbl of fine inch cellophane flake
Mix
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Squeeze
Set the bit/open end at top of loss zone
Pump lcm slurry and displace to top of string
at slow rate
Repeat once more if hole is not full
In case of seepage loss -if hole is full close ram
and gently squeeze(50 psig) at 1bbl/min and
hold pressure for 4-8 hour or till dissipate and
if hole is not full
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Squeeze Pressures
To avoid fracturing maintain safe squeeze
pressures in excess of hydrostatic pressures




Surface pressure plus mud column pressure
should never exceed 1 psi /ft (overburden
pressure)

DEPTH FEET SQUEEZE PRESSURE
0-1000 0-200 PSI
1000-5000 200-500 PSI
> 5000 500 PSI