Design and development of a lost circulation material testing apparatus for water-based drilling fluid

Abstract

Lost circulation is a challenging problem in the oil industry, particularly in drilling operations. If this problem is left unsolved , possible effects and consequences may be encountered like lowering of the fluid level in the well if there is lower hydrostatic pressure when the pressure in the well is less than the pressure of the formation fluid, which may be caused by the loss of drilling mud, formation fluids may flow into the wellbore. To address these issue in the drilling process, the researchers have come up to design and develop an apparatus that will evaluate the different lost circulation materials for water-based drilling fluids. The main objective of the study is to design and develop a lost circulation material testing apparatus for water-based drilling fluids. This study utilized engineering design, planning, and analysis to facilitate the development of the lost circulation material testing apparatus. The design was anchored from the existing Fann’s Permeability Plugging Apparatus and Fann’s Lost Circulation Material Evaluation Receiver found at the BatState-U Engineering Laboratory. Results of the study showed that among the three loss circulation materials (bamboo, rice hull and bagasse) used on the apparatus, bamboo showed significant result in sealing the three major thief zones (1mm, 3mm and 5mm). Rice hull and bagasse also have good result but can only be applied to a specific thief zones.