Lost Circulation-A Major Problem

in Exploration and ~ e v e l o p m e n t ~
ABST ZACT
It is the thesis of this paper that the major drillexceeded. The field procedures and materials for
ing problem of lost circulation can be avoided or
combating lost circulation are then critically examminimized by the study of possible losses and the
ined.
programming of treating procedures in advance of
It is concluded that when a well is planned, the
drilling. Not only must there be openings in the
possibility of lost circulation should be considered
formation of sufficient s i z e to accept and store the
and the behavior of similar wells in the vicinity
lost mud, but excessive pressures must act to force
studied s o that a program to properly handle losti t away. The nature of l o s s zones, their formationcirculation occurrences can be prepared. Important
fluid pressures, and the hydrostatic and mechanical
considerations are the use of the minimum safe mud
pressures that can be imposed are discussed. The
weight; the handling of the rig to avoid all pressure
hypothesis is presented that many serious losses
surges; the taking of full advantage of waiting peare to naturally occurring fractures which are norriods; the proper choice of treatments; and, finally,
mally impermeable, but which open and accept
the change from one type of treatment t o another a s
whole mud when a critical hydrostatic p r e s s u e is
indicated by results in the well.
INTRODUCTION
Lost circulation i s a problem a s old a s rotary
drilling. In the interior United States and Canada
it i s the major factor in most high drilling-cost
wells. Where the average well may have a mud cost
of $4,000, the lost-circulation well will have one
of $8,000 to $ ~ ~ , o o oT.o the cost of lost mud materials must be added that of the rig time consumed
and the cost of the occasionally accompanying stuck
drill pipe, lost hole, blowout, or abandonment. There
are also c a s e s of missed production chargeable to
lost circulation, from failure to secure production
t e s t s and samples; and of decreased productivity
from the plugging of productive zones. The problem
i s presently highlighted by the search for product ion from fracture reservoirs, i.e., from lost-circulation zones.
Lost circulation a s a problem has not received
the consideration it merits because i t s study has
fallen between the fields of geological, reservoir,
and drilling engineering. The literature, therefore,
until very recently1 has not contained a well-reasoned general discussion of the subject. The past three
years have, however, seen what can be called an
industry-wide attack develop on the problem.
The purpose of this paper i s to review and extend
the thinking that i s being carried on and to recom-

* Shell Oil Company, Houston, Texas.

t Presented a t the

sprlng rneetlng of the Southwestern District,

Divrsion of P r o d u c t ~ o n ,Fort Worth, T e x a s , March 1953.

References are a t the end of the paper.

mend the institution of certain procedures that are

helpful with lost-circulation problems.

CAUSES O F LOST CIRCULATION

Lost circulation i s defined a s the loss of whole
mud, in quantity, to exposed formations. This plainly requires the presence of permeable zones with
openings of sufficient s i z e to permit the entrance
and storage of lost mud. Consideration indicates
that another equally important factor i s that a certain hydrostatic pressure must be exceeded before
the formations will accept the lost mud. knowledge
of the type of loss zone, i t s formation-fluid pressure,
and the hydrostatic and mechanical pressures to be
imposed are essential t o consideration of the problem.
Seepage losses of mud are not-included in the
foregoing. In many parts of the interior United
States, particularly in West Texas, low-solids muds,
even dirty water, having very poor wall-building
properties are used to considerable depths. The
seepage loss of such muds to permeable beds can
amount to several barrels per hour. The addition to
the circulating fluid of such materials a s flake mica,
leather fiber, and cellophane fragments can effectively reduce these losses.

PROCEDURES FOR LOST CIRCULATION

The available procedures for dealing with lost
circulation can be summarized a s follows:
1. Avoidance or correction by the correction of
drilling practices or mud properties. A long list of

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLEM IN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

both areally and in section, mud l o s s to fissures

can be assumed.
A range of formation permeabilities exists from
those a t one extreme, with formation openings large
enough to be practically unpluggable, to the other
extreme where the formation face can be readily
sealed with a cake of mud and fiber and flake lostcirculation material. The nature of a l o s s zone i s
rarely known with certainty, but study of lost-circulation occurrences in an area can narrow the range
of possibilities.

procedures and considerations can be made, but

all are directed a t lowering the pressures on the
formations.
2. Adoption of a drilling method such a s drilling
blind, with or without a floating mud cap; drilling
under pressure with the well flowing; or drilling
with air.
3. Correction by use of waiting periods-the pulling of the drill pipe into the casing and allowing
the well to stand while the formations, or the
formation blocks, adjust themselves to withstand
the new pressure conditions.
4. Placement of a soft plug, batches of mud thickened with fiber and flake materials, in the loss
zone. There i s a decided trend away from circulating these materials and to the practice of spotting
them in batches a s plugs.
5. Placement of a bridging-particle plug, batches
of mud loaded with grave1, expanded perlite* ground
plastic, walnut shells, or formation cuttings, in the
loss zone. If possible, some squeeze Pressure is
applied. T h i s can sometimes be accomplished by
blind drilling where the cuttings are carried into
and bridge in the loss zone.
6. Placement of a plug that hardens or stiffens in
the l o s s zone. Such plugs include gel cement,
gypsum cement, oil-base mud, oil-bentonite, and
time-setting clay, ~ 1 1may have admixtures o f
thickeners or bridging particles. If possible, moderate squeeze pressure i s applied to the plug.
A s a broad statement, it can be said that watering
weight i s the universal treatback to lower the
ment for lost circulation.

Coarsely Permeable Formations

The order-of-magnitude permeability of a granular
formation of
permeability to accept whole
mud can be calculated.
appreciable portion of
the solids present in natural muds have diameters
of 70 microns or larger. A formation with openings
which would permit such muds to p a s s would probably have pore diameters three times greater than
the mud-particle size, or 210 microns.
can be
shown that the average pore diameter d, in microns,
i s related to the permeability k , in dmcys, and
porosity f, in fractional percent (percent+lOO) by
the following equation:
d = 5.63[-/-]*
wherein: 1 i s the distance a fluid moves in traversing a length l c of the porous medium. The ratio 1/lC
i s always greater than unity but, in general, approaches one a s permeability increases and grain
size becomes more uniform. For the present calculation, the value of 1.3 for this ratio can be used.
If a 40-percent porosity i s assumed for a rock with
210-micron diameter pore openings, the limiting permeability i s found to be 325 darcys. Muds generally
have an appreciable sand and fine-cuttings content
and such particles will bridge on a coarser, more
permeable formation than this. It i s recalled that
extremely few formation-permeability values are as
great a s 3 darcys.
The circulation of the conventional fiber and.
flake lost-circulation materids a s a treatment very
frequently gives disappointing or no results. One
answer i s that g a v e l s and similar coarsely permeable l o s s zones are rare in the subsurface and
that serious l o s s e s are generally to formations with
openings of relatively large size.

DISCUSSION O F CAUSES
T h i s section includes discussions of the formations that can take whole mud, their formation-fluid
pressures, and the hydrostatic and mechanical pressures that are or can be imposed on them.
The Formations
The formation types which can take whole mud
can be summarized under three headings: I, cavernous and open-fissured formations; 2,
pep
meable formations; and 3, faulted, jointed, and
fissured formations. Cavernous and vugular beds,
reefs, g a v e l s , and other coarsely permeable formations are generally single sedimentary units and
the geologic correlations of circulation l o s s e s in
wells to such zones within a field, or even within
a province, should be quite exact. Old, weathered
surfaces, such a s that of the Devonian in the northern Canadian plains, also provide comelatable l o s s
zones. Faulted and fissured zones are, however,
structural in origin and can extend across several
stratigraphic units. In those fields where the l o s s
zones in wells have no pattern and are scattered

15

Faulted, Jointed, and Fissured Formations

There are innumerable wells in which lost circulation i s experienced, where no cavernous or coarsely ~ e r m e a b l eformations are exposed in the open
hole and the l o s s e s are obviously to fissures. Fissure systems occur in all formations-sands, shales,
limes, dolomites-and are not generally confined to
single beds but can extend across several. Spinner

16

J. M. BUGBEE

and other surveys have established, in the Gulf

Coast, that l o s s e s to fissured s h a l e s are a s frequent
a s l o s s e s to fissured sands. Fissure systems are
structural in origin rather than sedimentary. F i e l d s
are known where fissure l o s s zones are related to
axial faulting and flank wells have little trouble:
but, in general, correlation with known faulting i s
not evident.
The writer's consideration of lost circulation and
the related phenomena of pressure fracturing,
squeeze cementing, and pressure break-through in
water flooding has suggested the hypothesis2,3.4
that the crust of the earth in many fields and prospects i s faulted, jointed, and fissured; and that
such fissures are impermeable (will not take mud)
a t certain pressures, but will open and take whole
mud, i. e., the formation blocks will shift slightly,when a critical hydrostatic pressure i s exceeded.
For the present subject, the question can be considered academic whether the fissures occur naturally or are actual ruptures induced by increases in
hydrostatic pressure. This, however, can be important and the growing literature on pressure fracturing should be reviewed; s e e , for example, references
4, 5 , and 6.
The question i s often asked about l o s s e s to noncavernous formations: "Where does the mud go?"
A linear fissure t/, in. in width and with a circular
area of 1 acre centering about a well has a volun~e
of 81 bbl and the radius i s only 118 ft.
L o s s e s to fissures vary greatly in occurrence.
Sometimes a half pit (50 to 150 bbl) of mud i s lost
rather suddenly, but drilling can continue with no
further loss. In Gulf Coast wells, using high gelstrength muds, l o s s e s of mud to formation have
been noted as circulation was started after trips.
After two or three circulations which reduced pressure on the formation by breaking the gel of the
mud, the lost mud had returned to the system. Such
squeeze l o s s e s are not uncommon. There are many
fields where l o s s of circulation with a 9.7 lb per
.gal (72.5 lb per cu ft) mud i s complete but where,
if a 9.5 Ib per gal (71 Ib per cu ft) mud i s used, a
well can be drilled as if the lost-circulation problem did not exist. Some f i s s ~ esystems can be
sealed by 0-ne or a s e r i e s of lost-circulation plugs;
others are best handled by a special drilling method.

Shallow Losses
In many fields circulation l o s s e s are discussed
in two groups, viz., shallow and deeper losses. In
most discussions of shallow losses, they are attributed to the "unconsolidated" nature of the nearsurface formations. The writer believes that "uncemented" i s a better descriptive term because

ordinary sands are never unconsolidated, inasmuch

a s the normal deposition of sand grains results in
an assemblage that i s practically in i t s final s t a t e
with insignificant later compaction effects. Further,
unconsolidated i s an unsuitable descriptive for
clays and shales. It appears, however, that there
i s a valid point here, viz., that near-surface formations are generally checked and jointed, and lost
circulation can be incurred with only slightly excessive pressures. Frequently, when the shallow
formations are broken down, i.e., the joints and
fissures are opened, the l o s s e s are extreme enough
s o that the largest concentrations of lost-circulation materials will not plug them and recourse i s
made to such a plug a s oil-bentonite. In general,
these l o s s e s can be avoided by watering the mud to
hold low weight, and by the control of drilling pract i c e s to prevent balling-up or packing-off of the
drill stem s o that full pump pressure i s not applied
to the formations. The shallow formations are drilled in big hole with generally high drilling rates,
and the mud velocities in the annulus are low. It
i s possible to pack off the bit in a soft formation
because the circulation does not properly clear the
cuttings. In fields where these l o s s e s occur, a warning regarding them should be posted on the bulletin
board of drilling wells.
An example of this type of l o s s i s recalled in
the North Port Neches Field, in the upper T e x a s
Gulf Coast. The contractor's water well went off
production, but the drilling crew did not suspend
drilling and drilled ahead in uncemented sands.
The mud weight built up rapidly, the last measurement was 11.8 Ib per gal (88 Ib per cu ft), and returns were lost. Something over 24 hours' rig time
and about $1,000 worth of purchased clays were required to regain circulation in this unnecessary
occurrence.

Formation-fluid Pressures
Reservoir engineers, geologists working with
problems of migration and accumulation of oil, and
drilling engineers find that charts showing depths
from surface to oil-water contact vs. initial reservoir pressure (psig) for various geological provinces
or areas are of great interest. See, for example,
Fig. 1 of reference 7. Not enough such displays of
regional formation-fluid pressure gradients are available. Frequently, such charts show only the subsea
depths and pressures; and they are, of course, an
abstraction to the drilling engineer who works with
the pressure from the surface, both for formationfluid and hydrostatic pressures.
A normal-pressure reservoir i s defined a s one with
a pressure, measured or calculated at the oil-water
or gas-water interface, which i s equal to the pres-

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLE

sure of a water column to the surface. Most Gulf

Coast reservoirs are under a norn~al salt-water
column pressure and have a depth-pressure gradient
of 0.465 psi per ft. hlany West T e x a s fields and
those in the foothills belt of Canada are also generally normal. It i s also known that the Spraberry
fields of West Texas, many Mid-Continent fields
and those of the Canadian plains have subnormal
pressures with gradients ranging from 0.24 to 0.38
psi per It of depth. On a world-wide basis, abnormally high formation-fluid pressures are very uncommon.
Generally, when the fluid level i s not a t the s u r
face the drilling crew will record the fluid level
whenever drill pipe i s pulled by noting the wetting
level. This will not always be accurate and can be
confusing. Running through the drill pipe of a float
or short piece of spinning chain attached to the
measuring line will accurately locate a fluid level.

Hydrostatic Pressures
In a very broad way, the commonly used muds
have densities ranging between 9.5 and 10.5 Ib per
gal (71 to 78.5 lb per cu ft) with pressure g a d i e n t s
from 0.494 to 0.546 psi per ft of depth. Clay-water
muds are three-part systems having gel and inert
fractions and the fluid phase. Generally, the balance between these fractions i s most easily maintained in the 9.5 to 10.5 Ib per gal weight range.
Muds of lesser weight need attention to maintain a
fair gel fraction with constant watering, and muds
above 10.5 Ib per gal need attention because of
high solids-to-water ratio.
Because a primary function of drilling muds i s to
confine formation fluids to their native strata, it i s
axiomatic that the hydrostatic pressure of the mud
must always be greater than the formation-fluid pressure. Additionally, there i s the pressure reduction
in the withdrawal of drill pipe, or swabbing effect,
which must be overbalanced. The necessary overbalance i s provided by an increase in mud weight
and this can cause loss of circulation. The amount
of swabbed pressure reduction i s governed chiefly
by the gel strength of the mud and clearance between hole and drill pipe. Ordinary tool joints and
rubber casing protectors increase swabbing effect
by contributing decreased clearances. Little attention i s paid to swabbing effect with the low-solids,
inherently low gel-strength muds of the interior
United States and Canada; but in the high-solids
mud territory of the Gulf Coast and California low
gel strength i s an essential mud property. A s to
the effect of hole clearance when low gel-strength
mud i s in use, it i s known.that 200 to 500 psi overbalance is adequate with 4'4-in. drill pipe in 8'4-in.
hole and that 800 to 1,200 psi i s required with 3%in. drill pipe in 6-in. hole.

iIN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

17

In the planning of a well in the Gulf Coast and

California, the provision of low gel-strength mud,
a s large diameter protective casing a s possible,
external-flush drill pipe for the lower portion of the
string, and the omission of rubber casing protectors
on the lower part of the drill pipe are important considerations with lost-circulation problems in highpressure territory.
A normal-pressure sand a t 1O;OOO ft in the Gulf
Coast will have a pressure of about 4,650 psi. If a
low-gel mud i s in use and there are sufficient drilling clearances, e.g., 4'4-in. drill pipe in 9%-in.
hole, an overbalance of 300 to 400 psi i s adequate.
Thus,a 9.7 Ib per gal (72.5 lb per cu ft) mud can be
safely used. If there i s no lost-circulation problem,
however, the mud weight will be allowed to range
between 10 and 10.5 Ib per gal (75 to 78.5 lb per
cu ft). In southern Oklahoma, some reservoirs have
pressures with a subnormal gradient of approximately 0.37 psi per ft. Thus, to use approximate round
numbers, the reservoir pressure i s 3,700 psi at
10,000 ft. The commonly used mud weighs 9.5 lb
per gal (71 Ib per cu ft); i t s pressure i s 4,940 psi
a t 10,000 ft; and the ordinary well drills the deeper
zones with an overbalance up to 1,240 psi. Because
there i s frequently a lost-circulation problem, lower
mud weights could be used, inasmuch as it i s evident that a weight of only 7.9 Ib per gal (59 Ib per
cu ft) would provide a 400-psi overbalance.
In lost-circulation territory the mud weight should,
of necessity, be constantly checked and controlled
by watering a t the lowest value a study of the area
has shown to be suitable. When a mud system i s
loaded with lost-circulation material, drilling proceeds with the shale screen bypassed and rapid
weight increases can result from the re-circulation
of cuttings, and control of the weight i s much more
difficult. In many c a s e s holding the weight down i s
disregarded because of faith in the efficacy of the
lost-circulation materials. Occurrences such as
the following are not infrequent: A lost-circulation
zone i s encountered and after considerable mud i s
lost one of the lost-circulation plugs i s displaced
into the loss zone. A fresh bit i s then run and,
using newly made light-weight mud, drilling proceeds with full returns; but after further drilling
circulation i s again lost. The drillers generally
assume that a new l o s s zone was encountered when
actually it was the build-up in mud weight while
drilling that broke down the original zone to cause
the second loss.
A new tool to combat lost circulation i s available, viz., the very low-weight drilling fluids made
possible by the development of oil-emulsion muds.
A 7.8 Ib per gal (58 Ib per cu ft) emulsion mud or
an 8.2 Ib per gal (61 Ib per cu ft) saturated salt-

18

J. M. BUGBEE

emulsion mud can be built. T h e minimum weight of

a n oil-base mud i s c l o s e t o 7.5 Ib per g a l (56 Ib
per cu ft).
I t continues to be s a i d that oil-emulsion muds
a r e expensive; that it i s cheaper t o u s e a 9.5 Ib per
g a l ( 7 1 Ib per c u ft) bentonite and chemical mud
and a c c e p t the c o s t s of l o s t circulation than i t i s
t o u s e a 9.0 or 8.5 l b per g a l (67.5 or 63.5 Ib per
c u ft) emulsion mud. T h e r e i s s t r o n g opinion, however, t h a t the emulsion muds will prove t o be cheape r because of f a s t e r drilling rate a n d longer bit
life. D a t a a r e accumulating that the low-solids
emulsion, muds are even f a s t e r drilling fluids than
water. Also, inasmuch as they d o not take up s o l i d s
a s do- clay-water muds, oil-emulsion muds are p r o b
a b l y cheaper to maintain than the comparable, but
higher weight, clay-water muds.

Mechanically Imposed Pressures

In March 1951, W. C. Goins and a s s o c i a t e s pres e n t e d a paper, "Down-the-Hole P r e s s u r e Surges
and T h e i r Effect on L o s s of Circulation"* ( s e e
a l s o references 9,10,11, and 12). T h e work reported
i s widely recognized as a notable contribution t o
the drilling art. By means of pressure recorders
mounted in the drill stem, measurement w a s made
of t h e magnitudes of pressure s u r g e s developed
while running drill pipe a t different r a t e s , from
opening the pumps quickly or g a d u a l l y , and from
spudding with the pumps running. I t a l s o w a s evid e n t that running in with a plugged bit or with a
float in the drill s t e m increased the pressure s u r g e s
and that pumping with a balled-up bit and drill
collar threw the full pump pressure on the formation. Consideration a l s o i n d i c a t e s that ' t h e cleara n c e between drill pipe and c a s i n g or hole i s important. Larger c l e a r a n c e s minimize both the press u r e reductions in withdrawing the drill pipe (swabbing) and the pressure i n c r e a s e s (surges) in running and handling the drill pipe. T h e e x t e n t of t h e
measured pressure s u r g e s i s b e s t r e a l i z e d in terms
of i n c r e a s e d mud density. Rapid running in of the
drill pipe gave s u r g e s equivalent t o a n i n c r e a s e in
mud weight of 1.3 Ib per gal (10 Ib per c u ft). Spudding with the pump running gave s u r g e s equivalent
t o an i n c r e a s e in mud d e n s i t y of 2.3 Ib per gal (17
I b per cu ft): When the pump w a s kicked open to
s t a r t circulation, s u r g e s equivalent t o a n i n c r e a s e
of 0.36 l b per g a l ( 3 l b per c u ft) in mud d e n s i t y
were noted, as compared with t h e p r e s s u r e when
t h e pump w a s opened gradually. It i s a l s o evident
that reduction of pump p r e s s u r e t o d e c r e a s e t h e
annular velocity will lower t h e p r e s s u r e on the
formations.
, After t h i s
s t u d y w a s made, i t s t e a c h i n g s were
applied t o a new weli in t h e T e x a s Gulf C o a s t . Oil-

emulsion mud w a s used t o eliminate balling-up and

t o s e c u r e a low-gel, s t a b l e mud. Increased cleara n c e s were secured by u s e of streanilined drill pipe
and the elimination of t h e rubber c a s i n g protectors.
A no-spudding rule w a s enforced, as w a s a requirement for g a d u a l opening of the pump after t h e kelly
w a s lowered t o near bottom. No drill-pipe float w a s
u s e d and the s t a n d s were lowered a t about 4 0 s e c
per stand rather than the common 11 t o 15 s e c per
s t a n d . T h e w e l l w a s completed without a s i n g l e
circulation l o s s , a s compared with 7 9 l o s s e s in the
three prior w e l l s in the s a m e field.
Many w e l l s c a n be recalled where circulation h a s
been continuous until a certain round trip when,
with t h e fresh bit on bottom, returns could not b e
secured. Such l o s s e s a r e probably c a u s e d by the
effect of the pressure s u r g e s while running in or
in s t a r t i n g t h e pumps.
A s s t a t e d , a difficulty in studying l o s t circulation i s that in many fields there i s no pattern to t h e
location of t h e l o s s wells; they a r e simply s c a t t e r e d over the field. Many of t h e s e l o s s e s c a n be attributed to mechanically imposed p r e s s u r e s , and educational programs with the drilling c r e w s will corr e c t them. In the p a s t two years, very encouraging
understanding and cooperation from company and
contract crews have developed along t h e s e lines.

Location of Loss Zone

I t i s evident from the foregoing that it i s often
of prime importance to l o c a t e the l o s s zone in a
well. An upper zone drilled with full circulation
c a n be later broken down or a s u c c e s s f u l l y treated
zone c a n l a t e r fail. T h e location c a n be made1' with
temperature, spinner, or resistivity-temperature(hotwire) surveys. T h e s e s u r v e y s are not entirely s a t i s factory b e c a u s e mud must be pumped into t h e l o s s
zone while running them, and their interpretation is
frequently inconclusive; nevertheless,their s u c c e s s ful application must be considered.

DISCUSSION O F PROCEDURES
When the a n a l y s i s of t h e lost-circulation problem
a t a well location h a s proceeded through the review
of t h e nature of the zone and t h e pressure conditions, a procedure or s e q u e n c e of procedures b e s t
s u i t e d to the problem should be s e l e c t e d .

Special Drilling Methods

T h e r e i s no way to s u c c e s s f u l l y plug a highly
cavernous or open-fissured zone t o permit conventional rotary drilling. E x a m p l e s of t h i s would b e
drilling into a cavern s u c h as t h e Carlsbad in New
Mexico or a n abandoned c o a l mine, a s h a s happened
in Illinois. T h e method of blind drilling, where
water i s pumped down the drill pipe t o cool the bit
and carry t h e cuttings into t h e l o s s zone and no

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLEF INEXPLORATION ANDDEVELOPMENT

returns are secured at the surface, has been developed for these conditions. An important variation,is
the use of a floating mud cap when drilling blind.
Generally, each such l o s s zone i s cased oiY after
penetration. A recent paper13 describes these drilling procedures in Saudi Arabia, and s t a t e s that their
adoption was the chief cause for the reduction in
average drilling time from 120 days to 40 days. As
much a s 20,000 bbl per day of water are pumped
down the drill pipe to cool the bit and carry the
cuttings into the l o s s zone. It i s noted that the
Hoating mud cap method requires careful balancing
of formation-fluid pressures with drilling and hydrostatic pressures.
llecently, blind drilling in several wells in the
Denton Field, New Mexico, has successfully penetrated an apparently unpluggable zone occurring
below 9,500 ft. In one case, the cuttings rather
quickly bridged in the l o s s zone to give partial
returns. After some additional drilling, a gel-cement
plug was squeezed into the l o s s zone, and full returns were then secured during the further drilling
to some 12,000 ft.
One objection to blind drilling in prospect wells
i s the absence of formation samples. T h i s can be
partially alleviated by the securing of occasional
conventional cores.
A related drilling method i s to drill under pressure, pumping water or oil down the drill pipe, and
permitting the formation fluids to Row from the annulus.
Floating mud-cap drilling has been used in only
one field in the United States, viz., Sunniland,
Florida. Seven or eight wells were s o drilled and
then the use of a low-pressure drilling head with
the well flowing was adopted. T h i s latter method
has been used where artesian flows have been encountered in shallow beds. The balance between
mud densities which cause l o s s or permit flow can
be very close a t shallow depths.
Where serious lost circulation occurs in formations located above the water table, air drilling14
has proved very successful for drilling the surface
hole.

Waiting Periods
In many areas merely allowing a well to stand
without pumping seems to permit the formations to
adjust themselves to new pressure conditions and
to allow full returns after the waiting period. One
operator, in a Gulf Coast well, made the following
tests12 of this time factor:
Waiting period, hours
0
1
2
4
8
Casing pressure at which
formation took mud, psi . 350 275 150 150 525
The elfect of waiting i s probably most notable in

19

the Gulf Coast, but it i s also taken advantage of in

North 'Texas and other areas.
The formations frequently strengthen, a s regards
mud losses, on exposure to mud and the drilling
operation. For example, in a well in coastal Loui-.
siana which was drilling with a 1 5 Ib per gal (112.5
Ib per cu ft) mud below a protective string, a pressure t e s t was made to s e e whether a 17 Ib per gal
(12.5 Ib per cu ft) mud could be circulated; the
formation took niud at the imposed pressure. Drilling was then continued with the 15 Ib per gal mud
for some 200 ft, at which time the mud was slowly
weighted up to 17 Ib per gal. T h i s was accomplished and drilling continued without loss. The practice
of "pressure conditioning," i.e., the iniposition of
pump pressures to determine whether higher weight
muds can be circulated, i s not generally deemed
helpful because it disregards this increase of
strength with exposure.
In a recent well in a coastal Louisiana field, there
were five l o s s e s while drilling with a 17 Ib per gal
(127.5 Ib per cu ft) niud below a protective string.
The first three were cured by pulling into the shoe
and letting the well stand 8 hours. The fourth
l o s s did not clear up after a waiting period and
a "soft plug," a batch of mud equal to twice the
volume of the open hole and loaded with about
15 Ib per bbl of fiber and flake material, was equalized on bottom. Drill pipe was pulled into the
casing, the well allowed to stand 8 hours, and
complete circulation was then secured. The lostcirculation material was not screened out but was
circulated and a fifth loss occurred, probably the
result of excessive pressure caused by the circulation of this material. A waiting period cured this
final loss.
The mechanism by which a waiting period or exposure to the drilling operation strengthens l o s s
zones i s obscure. Sometimes a balled-up bit and
drill collar are pulled and the cause i s , therefore,
removed. Generally, however, it i s believed that
the liquid mud entering fissures becomes dehydrated or thickens with time and serves a s a gasket to
strengthen the zone. T h i s latter explanation a l s o
serves a s an explanation of the s u c c e s s of "soft
plugs," batches of mud loaded with fiber and flake
material, when displaced into fissures.
Lost-circulation Plugs
Neat cement has no place a s a lost-circulation
plug because i t s density i s high, above 16 Ib per
gal (120 Ib per cu ft); i t i s very fluid and lacks
gelling or angle-of-repose properties. A long column
of such a fluid in the drill p"ipe in a well which has
lost returns with a light-weight mud, drops with
high velocity and i s likely to do nothing but make
the loss zone more open.

'

20

J. M. BUGBEE

Gel-cement plugs have been used for over 20

years in attempts to plug loss zones. Their main
application i s where the l o s s zone i s at bottom, a s
with the Devonian losses in the Canadian plains.
There are a number of reasons why gel cement i s an
unsatisfactory plugging agent. The density i s relatively high, about 14 Ib per gal (105 Ib per cu ft) i s
the minimum. It contaminates, both in placement
and while drilling out, all drilling fluids except the
lime muds. In placement there i s always the possibility of sticking the drill pipe and the plugs are,
therefore, rarely squeezed. In drilling out there i s
always the possibility of losing the hole by sidetracking the plug. Another unsatisfactory plug i s
the sodium silicate-clay plug which i s expensive
and difficult to place and has never been widely
used.
The effect of mud contamination from drillingd
cement should be further considered. When a gelcement plug has been displaced to a l o s s zone and
a good fill-up secured, the upper part of the plug
will be drilled out with full returns. Often, however,
a s the bit nears bottom returns are lost and it i s
usually assumed that the zone was not fully sealed.
In many instances, however, the second l o s s should
be attributed to the increased pressure resulting
from pumping out a long column of thickened, cement-contaminated mud. Oil-bentonite or time-setting clay plugs do not have this disadvantage.
It should not be concluded, however, that a gelcement squeeze i s not sometimes an important lostcirculation corrective. c a n n o n f i h a s described such
an application in a 16,255-ft E a s t T e x a s well having more than 11,000 ft of open hole, .a high-pressure sand "kicking" from bottom, and lost returns.
Some s u c c e s s e s with "burlap" plugs have recently
been reported in the Rocky Mountains. Squares of
burlap or canvas, one or two feet on a side, are
rolled up and lubricated into a gel-cement plug
through a lubricator located between the well head
and cementing truck. The cloth can be considered
to be reinforcing material and to increase the angleof-repose property.
In the past two years, three new types of plugs
have been developed. These have low densities,
will not stick drill pipe, and do not contaminate
drilling fluids. Oil-base mud of certain types will
thicken immensely when contaminated with water
or drilling mud. Displacement of about 5 bbl into a
l o s s zone, where it thickens on mixing with mud
and formation water, i s a useful lost-circulation
corrective. Diesel-oil spacers ahead of and behind
the oil-base mud could be used, but in most applications are omitted. I The diesel or crude oil-bentonite (approximately 300 Ib of bentonite suspended in each.btmel of oil) pluglO*ll i s a similar one.

The mixture i s very fluid when being displaced; but

when formation water and drilling mud contaminate
and mix with it, the material thickens to resemble
modeling clay. . Diesel-oil spacers are generally
used with these plugs. The time-setting clay plug
i s also a recent development and i s well described
in reference 16. This plug has rather quickly come
into wide use and many successful applications
have been reported.
Just how strong such plugs are or what strength
i s required of a lost-circulation plug i s not known.
Some preference for gel cement because of higher
strength will continue, but this should not be a
controlling factor in the selection of a plug.
Soft Plugs and Bridging-particle Plugs
The commercial lost-circulation materials are
generally well known and may be classified in two
groups, viz.:
1. Fibers and flakes
a. Plant, wood and bark, and synthetic fibers
b. Animal fibers such a s wool linters or leather
fibers
c. Cellophane and cork flakes
d. Mica
2. Bridging particles (some are sized)
a. Expanded perlite1' and coated coke fragments
b. Fragmented s e t plastic and walnut shells
c. Gravel pebbles
Howard and ~ c o t t , ' in a recent paper, present experimental work with a simulated fissure apparatus
connecting the concentration in mudr of the two
types of lost-circulation material with the width of
fissures a t which s e a l s across the face of the fissure (not within the fissure) can be accomplished.*
Their work indicates that a concentration of about
14 Ib of flake or fibrous material per barrel of mud
will bridge over fissures with widths up to 0.10 to
0.12 in. Increased concentrations will not bridge on
fissures of greater width and simply p a s s through.
The critical concentration with a bridging-particle
material was about 20 lb per bbl, and the critical
width of fissure was between 0.18 and.0.20 in. When
a serious loss i s encountered, a good practice would
be to mix 50 to 150 bbl of mud near the pump suction
to a concentration of 14 Ib per bbl of a mixture of
three of the fibrous and flake materials or to a concentration of 20 lb per bbl of walnut shells, and
then displace it to the l o s s zone a s a plug. Such
treatments can be repeated several times t o insure
that the batch of loaded mud has been displaced into the l o s s zone. If circulation i s not established,
recourse must then be made to a plug of the type
that stiffens in the l o s s zone. If circulation i s regained, the shale screen should be used to remove

or

convenience, the chart of these results i s included as

Fig. 1 herein.

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLEM INEXPLORATION ANDDEVELOPMENT

WIDTH

OF

FISSURE

SEALED,

~nches

F i g . 1 -Performance of Lost-circulation Materials

in Sealing Fissures (After Howard and scott5)

any of the lost-circulation niaterial which has joined the circulating mud.

Change of Method-Plugs to Blind Drilling

In a recent well in the Denton Field, IUew Rlexico,

a loss zone occurring near 10,000 ft was fought for
5 3 days without success. A great number of plugs
of niany types, utilizing a total of 9,000 s a c k s of
cement and large quantities of other materials, were
placed without ellect. The fluid level stayed a t
1,000 to 1,400 f t throughout. Blind drilling was then
resorted to and, after drilling a few hundred feet,
7-in. casing was cemented.
In a more recent'well in Denton, a complete l o s s
occurred at 9,750 ft which was cured with 5 gelcenient and oil-bentonite plugs after pumping away
20 tons of bulk fiber and flake niaterial had no elTect.
Drilling continued and another l o s s zone was encountered a t 10,1.94 ft. Twenty-one varied plugs
were placed and some drilling was done to 10,550
ft, but circulation was never regained. Elind drilling with water was then comnienced, and within 1 2
hours partial returns were secured. h i l l i n g continued to 11,300 ft with seepage l o s s e s of 10 to 20
bbl per hour, which the circulating of fiber and flake
material did not decrease. A conibination oil-bentonite and gel-cement plug was then squeezed into
the l o s s zone, whereas previous plugs had gone
away under vacuum. The plug was then drilled out
and drilling continued to 12,100 ft with full returns.
It seems clear that the cuttings rising from the
bit and carried into the l o s s zone bridged and closed
the loss zone nearly completely. T h i s occurrence
r a i s e s the question whether a more practical procedure than long-continued blind drilling would be to
drill blind through the zone(in the foregoing example
to, say, 10,550 ft) and then displace through openended drill pipe in a thick gel-niud vehicle a quantity of a selected particle-size range of pea gravel,
fragmented plastic, and walnut shells. Of course a
great many such plugs have been used, but their
record of s u c c e s s i s not great and two suggestions

21

are therefore made: 1, that they be displaced from

below the loss zone s o that velocities are decreased in traveling up the annulus and out into the loss
zone; and 2, that larger quantities of bridging part i c l e s contained in the larger amounts of mud be
used than in older treatments.
A conclusion a s to change of method can be
drawn from the foregoing well history:
1. Soft plugs (large quantities of bulk fiber material) had no success; because this i s true generally in this field, such plugs should not he tried.
2. liard plugs (five oil-bentonite and gel-cement)
successfully sealed the zone a t 9,750 ft. l'herefore, a reasonable number of such plugs should be
used a s a first effort.
3. If these l>lugsare not successful, blind drilling
should be tried. Jt would seem that engineered,
bridging-particle p,lugs should be tried after only
a short interval of blind drilling.

Circulation of Lost-circulation Rlaterials, or Pretreatment

Howard and scotts report t e s t s in shallow simulated wells indicating that pretreatment, the aridition to the circulating system in advance of loss of
quantities of bridging niaterials, permits the iniposition of considerably higher pressures on the
formation before a breakdown or fracture occurs.
T h i s appears to be a dubious procedure with both
low-solids and high-solids niuds. Circulating lostcirculation materials requires that the niud bypass
the shale screen. kith the low-solids light-weight
muds of the interior United States, bypassing the'
screen permits quick build-up of solids to increase
weight and cannot, therefore, be tolerated. Certainly, any increased niud weight will contribute to
losses. With high-solids niuds, the addition of lostcirculation material will increase pressure against
the for~nationbecause of thickened niud cake, increased-viscosity gels, and increased balling tendencies. Fine wood fiber or fine mica in concentrations of 1 to 5 Ib per bbl of n~udare recommended
for pretreatment because they will p a s s through
shale screens. It i s difficult, however, to believe
that such fine materials a t such low concentrations
can have any beneficial effects.
More recent work6 by the same research group on
multiple-pressure fracturing shows that an induced
fracture may often be readily sealed by the displacement to it of a batch of niud thickened with
'bridging particles. Thus the use of bridging-particle plugs provides a way of "eating the cake and
having it tod." The circulation of heavy concentrations of lost-circulation material, with i t s attendant
bad effects, can be omitted; and, if a fracture i s induced, it can be remedied by the spotting of a
batch of' loaded mud.

22

J. M. BUGBEE

Proper Use of Lost-circulation Materials

From the preceding two sections the suggestion
i s plain that a completely new evaluation should be
made by the drilling industry of the use of these
materials for combating lost circulation. For example, the citing of successful applications of these
materials in wells drilled without any control of the
drilling practices which cause large surge pressures with muds having a density to give, for example, 1,250-psi overbalance on the l o s s zone,
would seem to be purely defensive. What i s needed
' i s to collect new experience with these materials
in wells using the minimum proper mud weight and
controlled drilling practices. It seems when the
facts are developed that the use of these materials
will be much restricted a s compared with the present.

'

Lost Circulation in the Leduc Field, Canadian

Plains
T h i s great field i s practically drilled up, but some
observations there may have application in other
fields. In wells located in the e a s t flank, the drilling fluid was generally pretreated with sawdust before entering the vugular Devonian formation. In
general, this was successful and l e s s than 24 hours
rig time was consumed with mud losses. Wells drilled in the central portion of the field frequently lost
about 48 hours rig time in displacing mud loaded
with sawdust and other lost-circulation materials
into the l o s s zone. Wells situated along the west
face of the reef frequently had real lost-circulation
difficulties which required much more than 48 hours
to clear up. In these wells the dropping of gel-cement plugs was resorted to; this procedure i s detailed in reference 1, p. 78. The common mud weight
in the field was 10.5 Ib per gal (78.5 Ib per cu ft),
the Devonian was under a subnormal pressure gradient of about 0.37 psi per ft, and the overbalance
was of the order of 800 psi. Inasmuch a s an 8.5 lb
per gal (63.5 lb per cu ft) mud would give about
325 p s i overbalance, i t would appear that decreased
mud weights might have nullified or minimized the
more difficult lost-circulation occurrences.
Drilling with Water
Much West Texas drilling i s done with water because it is the cheapest and fastest drilling fluid.
It i s understandable that l o s s e s to the formation
can be continuous and, for example, a l o s s of 15
bbl per hour i s not considered serious. When l o s s e s
increase, a leather fiberl8 circulated in the drilling
fluid has an outstanding record of success. An older
treatment i s to suspend scrap cellop6ane in the
fluid. Also, the oil-base, oil-bentonite, and timesetting clay plugs have been used with s u c c e s s in
seepage-loss zones.

Casing Cementation
A most annoying type of loss i s one where it i s
discovered, after much rig time has been consumed,
that the lost mud i s traveling back of surface or
protective casing because of a channeled cement*
tion. In any lost-circulation territory the use of the
scratcher-centralizer-reciprocation technique for cementing both surface and protective casings seems
justified.
A special type of lost circulation i s the failure
to secure proper fill-up in cementing casing because
the cement goes out into the formation rather than
rising in the annulus. The universal soluticn i s to
use lighter-weight cement slurries. A good neat
cement slurry will weigh a t least 16 Ib per gal (120
Ib per cu ft); one with a high bentonite concentration about 13 Ib per gal (97.5 lb per cu ft); and
current work i s being carried on with expanded perlite and pozzolans a s additives to gel cement t o
yield a density measured a t atmospheric pressure
a s low a s 10.5 Ib per gal (78.5 lb per cu ft). Pressure increases the density of perlite-gel cements
and they are generally used, therefore, only for
surface-string cementation.
Simultaneous Lost Circulation and Blowout
Occasionally a well drills into a high-pressure
zone with an insufficient mud weight and returns
are lost while weighting-up the mud. Generally, the
only satisfactory procedure i s to plug off the high.pressure sand and then a string of casing can be
s e t to exclude the loss zones. The placing of a
barite or cement plug may be required to shut offthe
high-pressure zone and the procedures and considerations for this are s e t out in reference 1, p. 61.
Barite plugs have been chiefly used in the Gulf
Coast, but they should be kept in mind as a useful
tool in any a r e a

Losses in the Gulf Coast

It i s commonly accepted that the deeper a surface
or protective casing string i s set, the higher will be
the mud weight that can be circulated without loss.
Generally, no heavier than a 14.5 Ib per gal (108 Ib
per cu ft) mud can be circulated in a deep well
which h a s only 1,500 to 3,000 ft of surface pipe.
L o s s e s a t lower weights than t h i s are encountered
often enough. No very successful way has been
found to strengthen these long sections of open
hole s o that higher mud weights can be carried.
Fortunately, normal-Pressure zones can be safely
drilled with mud weights from 9.7 to 10.2 lb per gal
(73 to 76 lb per cu ft). If circulation is lost with a
higherweight mud, one procedure i s to lower the
mud weight to that which will circulate and to drill
ahead t o just above the first abnormal-pressure sand

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLEM IN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

and cement protective c a s i n g . T h e s e t t i n g of prot e c t i v e c a s i n g a t 9,000 f t or d e e p e r generally perm i t s the circulation of 16 t o 18 Ib p e r gal (120 t o
135 Ib per c u ft) muds.
If a generalization must be made a s t o the location of l o s s z o n e s in Gulf C o a s t w e l l s , it c a n be
s a i d t h a t they a r e never, or rarely, a t bottom; and,
in general, are c l o s e t o t h e l a s t c a s i n g shoe.
Fihen circulation i s l o s t while drilling below a
protective s t r i n g with high-weight muds, the fluid
l e v e l generally remains a t t h e s u r f a c e and the press u r e in the annulus required for circulation, therefore, c a u s e s the l o s s . T h i s p r e s s u r e d e p e n d s upon
t h e c l e a r a n c e s , the v i s c o s i t y of t h e mud, and the
r a t e of circulation. \\here high-weight muds are to
be used, a s large c l e a r a n c e s a s p o s s i b l e should be
provided, the mud should be a lime-emulsion mud
for low v i s c o s i t y and gel s t r e n g t h , and should have
the minimum s a f e weight. If l o s s e s occur, circulation should be a t reduced r a t e s e v e n though t h e
tlrilling rate i s slowed. T h e r i g should be handled
t o avoid all p r e s s u r e s u r g e s . l \ a i t i n g p e r i o d s should
be used a s a first treatment. T h e n displacenlent of
one of the lost-circulation p l u g s should be u n d e r
taken. laost-circulation m a t e r i a l s should not be
circulated in the mud.
L o s s e s in C l a m L a k e F i e l d , U p p e r r e x a s Gulf C o a s t
l ' h i s field i s located on a medium-depth s a l t dome
and the n o r n ~ a lfault pattern conlnlon t o s u c h s t r u c t u r e s i s prominent. k\ r e c e n t well with s u r f a c e
c a s i n g a t about 1,000 ft drilled with a lightly treate d 9.8 lb per g a l (73.5 lh per cu f t ) mud to a b o u t
5,100 ft, which w a s a t or near t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n of
two prominent f a u l t s , when c i r c u l a t i o n w a s l o s t and
the fluid l e v e l dropped s o m e hundreds of feet. Apparently, t h e drop in fluid c a u s e d s o m e uncemented
s a n d near the c a s i n g s h o e t o fall in and f r e e z e t h e
drill pipe. Another well indicated t h a t t h i s occurr e n c e could recur and additional w e l l s in the faulte d a r e a have, therefore, been drilled below the surf a c e string with light concentration, 4 t o 6 l b per
bbl, of fiber and flake material in t h e 9.8 l b per g a l
mud. Such treatments c a n be c o n s i d e r e d a s insura n c e and, being of low c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , are inexp e n s i v e and d o not interfere with drilling.
CONCLUSION
\Yhen a well i s being planned, t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s
o l l o s t c i r c ~ ~ l a t i o should
n
be c o n s i d e r e d and the
circunistances of the l o s s or l o s s e s and procedures
u s e d in s i m i l a r w e l l s in t h e v i c i n i t y should be
s t u d i e d . A program to properly handle the lost-circulation o c c u r r e n c e s c a n t h e n h e prepared. Import a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n s in preparing s u c h a progranl are
t h e u s e of rnsnzn,utn s a f e mud weight; t h e handling
of the rig t o avoid a l l p r e s s u r e s u r g e s ; a n y p o s s i b l e

23

benefits should be taken from w a i t i n g .periods; lostcirculation material should not be c i r c u l a t e d exc e p t with we!l-understood conditions; lost-circulat i o a p l u g s of the type most likely to s u c c e e d under
t h e indicated conditions s h o u l d be s e l e c t e d ; and,
finally, s p e c i a l drilling methods should be institute d a f t e r other procedures have been given a reasona b l e number of applications.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
T h i s paper w a s written a f t e r s o m e three y e a r s '
a s s o c i a t i o n in the work of the API Southwestern
l l i s t r i c t Study Conlnlittee on Drilling F l u i d s , and
acknowledgment i s made of the stinlulation from
d i s c u s s i o n and the published work of other committee members on the s u b j e c t . Although t h e s t u d y
c o n ~ n ~ i t t ehea s sponsored the p r e s e n t a t i o n , the pap e r i s the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e author alone.
1

REFERENCES
20,23,47-52,59,61,
68,71,78, Petroleum Kxtension Service, Iln~versityof
Texas, :\ust~n, Texas, 1952, 9th Edn. (First appeared
In 8111E:dn., 1951.)
P r c n c r p l e s o f D r r l l ~ n gMud C o n t r o l ,

Hugbee, J. A l : D ~ s c u s s ~ oofn paper by A . J . Teplltz

and \V. E. Ilassebroek, An lnvestigat~onof Oil Well
Cenient~ng, D r i l l i n g and P r o d u c t r o n P r a c t i c e , 103
(1956).
Bugbee, J. R1. Quoted in C. R . Fettke, Influence of
Geological Factors on Secondary Recovery of Oil,
S e c o n d a r y R e c o v e r y o f 0 1 1 rn t h e U n z t e d S t a t e s , 209,
American Petroleum Institute, New York, 1950, 2nd
Edn.

'Rugbee, J . RI:

Discussion of paper by P. P. Scott, Jr.

and !V. G. Bearden, Hock Rupture a s Affected by
Fluid Properties, 7 ' r a n s . A m . I n s t . dlrncng Met. E n g r s .
( P e t r o l e u m D e ~ l e l o p m e n t and T e c h n o l o g y ) 198, 111
(1953).

Howard, G. (7. and Scott, P. P., Jr: An Analysis and

the Control of Lost Circulatron, T r a n s . A m . I n s t . Mcnrng ,\let. E n g r s . ( P e t r o l e u m D e v e l o p m e n t and T e c h n o l o g y ) 1 9 2 , 171 (1951).
6

Clark, J . R , Fast, C. F ; and Howard, C.. C: A hlultipleFractur~ngProcess for Increasing the P r o d u c t ~ v ~ tofy
n'ells, U r r l l c n g and P r o d u c t r o n P r a c t r c e , 104 (1952).

Cannon, G. E. and Craze, 11. C: F:xcessive Pressures

and Pressure Variations with Depth of Petroleum Reservoirs in the Gulf Coast Region of Texas and Louislana, T r a n s . .4m. I n s t . .llcnrng d l e t . E n g r s . ( P e t r o l e u m
D e v e l o p m e n t and T e c h n o l o g y ) 127, 31 (1938).

8 ~ o i n s\V.C.,
,
Jr; Eelchert, J . P , Burba, J. L., Jr; Dawson, I). D; and T e p l ~ t z A.
, J: Down-the-Hole Pressure
Surges and Thelr Effect on Lost Circulation, Drrllcng
and P r o d u c t i o n P r a c t c c e , 125 (1951); also O i l G a s J . ,
April 12 (1951); [I'orld O r [ , June (1951);Pet. E n g r . ,
Sept. (1951).
Cardwell, \V. T., Jr: Pressure Changes in Drilling Wells
Caused by Pipe Movements, L)rrlltng and P r o d u c t t o n
P r a c t r c e (1953) (In press).
1 ~ h u m a t e ,k1. J : Lost Circulation-Its Causes and What
to Do about It, 0 1 1 G a s I . , Oct. 18 (1951);Pet. E n g r . ,
Nov. (1951); A'orld 0 1 1 , Jan. (1952).

24

J. M. BUGBEE

11

Dawson, D. D: Lost Circulation in the Gulf Coast

Area, W o r l d P e t . , Oct. (1952).
12
Goins,W. C., Jr, Howto Combat Circulation Loss, O r 1
G a s I . , June 9 (1952).
1 3 ~ c ~ o n n e lP.
l , C: Drilling and Producing Techniques
in Saudi Arabia's Abqa~qField, 0 1 1 G a s I., Dec. 20
(1951).
14
Staff Writer: Compressed Air Drilling, P e t . E n g r . , June
(1952); Or1 G a s I.. May 19 and July 7 (1952).
15cannon, G . E: Improvements in Cementing Practices
and the Need for Uniform Cementing Regulations, Drr11rng a n d P r o d u c t r o n P r a c t t c e , 126 (1948).
1 6 ~ e s s e n g e r J.
, U. and hlcNeil, J. S., Jr: Lost Circulation Corrective: Tirne-setting Clay Cement, T r a n s . 4 m .
I n s t . Mznrng d f e t . E n g r s . ( P e t r o l e u m D e v e l o p m e n t a n d
T e c h n o l o g y ) 195, 5 9 (1952).
17

Sidwell, C. V: Trends in Combating Lost Circulation,

W o r l d Or2, Nov. (1949).

" ~ l e n n , E. E., Jr. and Jenklns, R : Lost Cuculation, A

New Fibrous Material for Its Correction, P e t . E n g r . , Oct. (1951).
DISCUSSION
Orien Van Dyke (Magnet Cove Uarium Corp.,
Houston) (written): I\lr. Bugbee h a s presented a very
thorough d i s c u s s i o n of the lost-circulation problem,
and I should like t o compliment him for describing
the various formation conditions which c a u s e i t s
occurrence. He h a s a l s o called attention to the importance of educating t h e personnel on t h e drilling
r i g in regard to l o s t circulation s o that both the
drilling fluid and t h e n ~ e c h a n i c a lp h a s e s of the drilling opkration c a n be controlled in order to prevent
n e e d l e s s c a s e s of l o s t circulation.
A s pointed out, s u r v e y s that have been run to
accurately determine the point of l o s s have in most
c a s e s shown the l o s s point to be above bottom. T h e
occurrence of s u c h l o s s e s i s baffling, b e c a u s e it i s
obvious that formation openings did not e x i s t a t the
time s u c h z o n e s were drilled. There i s the possibili t y that sometimes s u c h l o s s e s may be c a u s e d by
pressure s u r g e s or c h a n g e s in the weight of the
drilling fluid, a s s u g g e s t e d by the author. However,
in my opinion, s u c h l o s s e s often occur with no
c h a n g e s in p r e s s u r e conditions opposite s u c h zones.
In some a r e a s , the frequency of l o s t circulation h a s
been greatly reduced by drilling a l l of the hole below surface c a s i n g with a mud having r e a s o n a b l y
good properties. It a p p e a r s that the simple precaution of treating out the cement and conditioning
t h e mud prior t o drilling below surface c a s i n g will
retard water s o a k i n g of soft-shale formations s o
that z o n e s of w e a k n e s s , which a r e potential p o i n t s
of l o s s , will not develop. T h e c o s t of s u c h treating
i s very little, and i t i s something I should like t o
s u g g e s t a s a protective measure t o supplement t h o s e
recommended by Mr. Bugbee.

Rlr. 13ugbee w a s quite critical of t h e fibrous and

flake materials which are comn~onlyused a s a lostcirculation corrective. I d o not believe he went s o
far as to s a y they were of no value, but there were
numerous references t o c a s e s where they had proved
ineffective. I certainly agree that fibrous and flake
n ~ a t e r i a l shave limitations, but t h e f a c t remains that
most c a s e s of l o s t circulation a r e currently correcte d with s u c h additives, and it i s t h e few exceptions
t h a t are widely d i s c u s s e d . F i n e - s i z e mica which
will p a s s through a n ordinary s h a k e r s c r e e n i s proving t o be an easy-to-use protective measure a g a i n s t
l o s t circulation, and there are indications that i t s
u s e will allow the carrying of higher mud weights
without formation rupture. Alany c a s e s of l o s t circnlation have been very quickly corrected with a relatively s m a l l s l u g of fibrois material. In dealing
with a lost-circulation problenl, time i s an important
factor; and I would like t o s u g g e s t that, along with
t h e educational program which Alr. rjugbee h a s sugg e s t e d , consideration be given to the maintenance
of a s m a l l supply of a suitable fibrous n ~ a t e r i a la t
all rigs s o that, should l o s t circulation occur, a
s m a l l treatment could be spotted in the hole immed i a t e l y instead of the formation opening being enlarged by continued attempts to circulate while
deciding what action should be taken and getting
t h e n e c e s s a r y materials on the job.
T h e very fine work done by Itoward and Scott certainly s h o w s the limitations of fibrous, flake, and
granular additives. T h e i r laboratory work would ind i c a t e that a fissure having a width of 0.2 in. i s the
maximum s i z e that could be s e a l e d . hlr. Cugbee
pointed out that it i s probable that many of our
s e v e r e c a s e s of l o s t circulation are into relatively
large openings. Additives to n ~ u dhave a limitation
a s t o pumpability, and it i s not logical t o e x p e c t
bridging a g e n t s which can be circulated through a
4%-in. drill pipe and, in some c a s e s , through l-in.
bit n o z z l e s t o effectively bridge o p e n i n g s that a r e
larger, just b e c a u s e they a r e in the formation. T h i s
would certainly indicate t h a t there i s a limit to what
c a n be expected of materials that c a n be added t o
t h e drilling fluid and circulated through the drill
pipe t o the point of l o s s . In view of the obvious
l i n ~ i t a t i o n s of mud-additive bridging a g e n t s , our
only r e c o u r s e a p p e a r s to be the consideration of
m a t e r i a l s which change in p h y s i c a l properties after
being spotted in the l o s s zone. Mr. Bugbee h a s disc u s s e d a number of t h e s e materials, which he desc r i b e s a s "plugs that harden or stiflen in the l o s s
zone." F o r the past-year our company h a s been doing
work with the time-setting c l a y cement he mentions,
which i s mixed up a s a v i s c o u s fluid and gradually
c h a n g e s t o a very stiff gel after being s q u e e z e d into

the l o s s zone. A recent study of slightly more than

100 applications of time-setting clay cement showed
that approximately 64percent were successful. T h e s e
results are encouraging because most of the applications were in wells in which various other niethods for correcting the l o s s had previously been
tried without results. It appears that materials that
change state after being placed in the formation
otfer the most interesting prospects for the correction of severe types of lost circulation.

11. W. Perkins (Sun Oil Company, Beaumont, Texas)

written): Mr. Bugbee i s to be complimented for his
excellent and conlplete summary of the current thinking on this serious problem in our drilling operations.
In addition, numerous references are included to expand the discussions in the paper which could not
be covered completely without making it too lengthy.
The paper should be especially helpful to those of
u s instructing company men in work on drilling
fluids, because it can be .used a s a text in discussing our present approaches to combating lost circulation.
Our most troublesome c a s e s of lost circulation
in the Gulf Coast area of T e x a s and Louisiana have
been those that occurred after setting protection
strings, and mud weights of 15 Ib per gal or higher
have been required to prevent intrusion of formation fluids. In these cases, a delicate balance of
0.2 or 0.3 Ib per gal in weight i s often necessary
to contain the formation fluids and yet not lose mud
to the formation. Such l o s s e s are believed to be to
the faulted, jointed, or fissured formations discusse d by Mr. Bugbee. T o explain the reason for this
delicate balance and to make the literature references still more complete, I believe that two additionalpapers should be included in the l i s t of references. One i s "Abnormal Pressures and L o s t Circulation," by P. E. Chancy.' T h i s paper proposes
a theory for abnormal pressures by which the formation-fluid pressures could be equivalent to the
strength of the formation. Therefore, when such a
reservoir i s drilled, the mud weight to prevent the
intrusion of fluid must be a s high a s the strength of
the formation. Any e x c e s s mud weight would result
in mud l o s s by breakdown of the formation. The
other paper i s "Mechanical B a s i s for Certain Familiar Geologic Structures," by M. King ~ u b b e r t . '
Dr. Hubbert in his paper shows that the s t a t e of
s t r e s s which results in normal faulting i s one in
which the horizontal s t r e s s i s l e s s than the vertical
stress. Under these conditions, which are believed
to exist in the Gulf Coast area, it i s necessary that
only the minimum or horizontal s t r e s s be exceeded
to induce fracturing. Mud weights required to exert
' ~ e f e r e n c e sare at the end of the d ~ s c u s s ~ o n .

pressures exceeding the niininiun~stresscould therefore be considerably lower than those required to
exceed the vertical stress, which i s the weight of
the overburden. The teachings of these two papers
would explain the reason that only 0.2 or 0.3 Ib per
gal over a wide range of niud weights may mean the
difference between niud loss and formation-fluid intrusion.
Of the recent advances in techniques for combating lost circulation, 1 believe we have had better
results with the waiting period and careful control
of both the drilling operations and mud properties.
T h e s e methods have been used successfully in
fields in the vicinity of Uiinnie, Texas, and Crowley,
Louisiana. The mud l o s s e s with high-weight muds
in these fields were believed to be caused by the
breakdown of the formation. The niud weight could
not be lowered because of abnormal pressures. A
study of the factors involved in such l o s s e s indicated that methods which lessened the pressure
surges on the formation would give the best chance
of reaching total depth with minimum mud costs.
Experiences in these fields thus far have supported
these conclusions.
I should like to thank Mr. Eugbee on behalf of
the API Southwestern District Study Committee on
Drilling Fluids for his acknowledgment to our conin ~ i t t e e and for permitting the presentation of the
paper to be sponsored by the committee.

W. C. Coins, Jr. (Gulf Oil Corp., I-louston): T h i s

i s a very fine paper, and I should like to conipliment
the author on it. He has covered the field very t h o r
oughly a s regards l o s s of circulation.
I should like to comment on this matter of engineered particle-size distribution of sealing materials which hlr. Bugbee mentioned. We frequently
hear the statement on the Gulf Coast that sealing
materials are not of any use at all, which i s not
quite true, because they do s e a l quite a few losses.
However, i t might be profitable to inquire just why
they frequently fail. Mr. Van Dyke has already
touched on that in part.
The work of Howard and Scott (reference 5 of the
paper) indicates that the largest opening one can
hope to s e a l with fibrous material i s about 0.14 in.
Soft materials can shear down and blow out of a
plugged opening of a larger s i z e when there i s a
pressure sslrge or if a large pressure differential
h a s been built up. T h i s explains the smallness of
openings sealed. If a good hard g a n u l a r material
i s used, an opening up to about 0.20 in. can be
sealed. The reason for this limitation i s that a
minus 4-mesh hard particle (about 0.22 in.) i s about
the largest that can be circulated with rig pumps.
In any event, the use of circulatable sealing mate-

26

J. Pvl. BUG

rials can be expected to s e a l what would be classed

a s only very small openings.
Then, too, with granular materials the matter of
engineering for particle-size distribution i s very
important. If mud were pumped through a container
filled with small marbles of equal size, it would
p a s s through without difficulty. However, if the
proper gradation of marble s i z e s were present, the
openings between marbles would be closed and a
seal would be obtained. Most of our sealing materials have been run into the well without c o n s i d e r
ation of the fact that there must be successively
smaller particles to bridge the openings between
large particles.
In summary, the use of circulatable sealing materials, even where proper particle-size distribution
and mechanical strength are present, would not be
expected to cure lost circulation except to very
small openings. If these fail, other techniques must
be used. It i s hoped that these concepts of the p e r
formance of sealing materials help to explain the
limitations on the usefulness of the materials and
further emphasize Mr. Bugbee's statements about
the use of properly engineered sealing agents.

D. E. Ramsey (Dowell, Inc., Midland, Texas)

(written): There are a number of points which the
author of this excellent paper brought up which I
should like to discuss briefly; or, better still, on
which I should like to encourage some more thought
and action along some of the lines h e mentioned.
Mr. Bugbee points out the tremendous expense
that lost circulation adds to any major exploration
or development program. Large mud bills, special
lost-circulation materials, lost holes, blowouts,
and lost rig time are some of the items of expense
that are always associated with major lost circulation. The oil industry a s a whole, and service companies in particular, have probably fallen far short
of the merited research and development of new
products and techniques for combating lost circulation.
There have been, a s the author indicates, several
recent developments such a s improved drilling practices that have lessened the frequency of lost c i r
culation. These developments are a result of better
understanding of the factors that provoke lost circulation. There have also been some new and improved materials developed and tested to combat
lost circulation once it occurs. These include timesetting clay cements, new soft plugs, and new
bridging-particle plugs. Better techniques for placing these plugs have been developed. All of these
developments came from planning and study of the
problems and conditions involved. The individuals
and groups, such a s the API study committee, re-

sponsible for these developments have performed

a worthy service t o the industry a s a whole.
The erratic occurrence of lost circulation was
pointed out by Mr. Bugbee. In formations where
weathered, vugular, or hacture porosity and permeability are present, lost circulation i s an everpresent hazard. Inasmuch a s lost circulation might occur
a t any point in such exposed sections, the problem
of shutting off these l o s s e s i s increased. In deep
wells there is the danger of contaminating large
volumes of mud, sticking drill pipe, and deviating
from the hole while drilling long unnecessary cement
plugs, if the control efforts are not directed a t the
thief zone. In 1951 and 1952 some 60-odd hot-wire
surveys and about 20 spinner surveys were run to
determine which part of the hole was thiefing the
circulation fluid. These surveys revealed the fact
that in about 65 percent of the ,wells surveyed the
fluid was being lost to some zone above the current
total depth of the hole. After the operator knew
which zone was taking fluid, h i s efforts t o shut off
the thief zone were more efficient. It i s impossible
t o definitely evaluate such surveys on a dollarwise
basis, but drilling could be resumed quicker, and
the shut-off was effected after spotting fewer plugs
in all of the difficult lost-circulation areas in West
T e x a s that have been studied. Although this i s not
a large number of surveys, these surveys are becoming more popular, indicating that there i s i n t e r
e s t in this type of work. Repeat surveys speak for
their advantage.
A recent development in locating zones of permeability which might have application in locating
zones of lost circulation involves spotting a small
volume of fluid containing a short-lived radioactive
material in the well bore. After pumping a few b a r
rels of mud into the well, the displacement of this
spot of radioactive material could be determined
with a Geiger counter or a gamma-ray tool. T h i s
method has not, to my knowledge, been used to
determine zones of lost circulation although it
would have several advantages over some of the
other methods. About 30 of these surveys have
been run on water-injection wells and producing
wells, and have checked very favorably with the
spinner surveys in the same wells.
Some recent developments in the equipment used
in mixing and spotting plugs to combat zones of
lost circulation are regular squeeze trucks equipped
with ball-type valves for pumping mixtures containing large solid particles, and 72-bbl. transports
equipped with power-driven paddles to mix and disperse lost-circulation plugs. Anyone who h a s tried
to mix a small plug with a jet hopper can appreciate
the value of this equipment.
In closing, I should like to urge those who are

LOST CIRCULATION-A MAJOR PROBLEM IN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

27

in the management group to appreciate the fact that

the engineer, foreman, or superintendent who i s
sitting on a well with lost circulation has the problems of the United Nations and an unsubsidized
cotton farmer. Your cooperation with these unfor
tunate individuals will certainly be appreciated if
not blessed.
Again, I should like to compliment Mr. Bugbee

on his excellent paper, and to express appreciation

for the fine job he and his committee have done.
REFERENCES

Chaney, P. E: Abnormal Pressures and Lost Circulation, Drilling and Production Practice, 145 (1949).

Hubbert, M. King: Mechanical Basis for Certain Familiar Geologic Structures,Ceol. Soc. America Bull.. 62,
355, April (1951).