A comparative study of lost circulation materials

In this article, the objective is to identify on alternative lost circulation material (LCM) to combat typical operational problems associated with drilling mud losses. These problems cost the local oil company significant downtime. In the oil industry, and, of course, to the local oil company, most of the commercial lost circulation materials have been tested with different levels of success. The trend now is to rethink different ways to better tackle the mud losses intricate problem and reduce drilling costs. The objective is to investigate possible gelling and bridging agents that are currently used by other industries. To start, an extensive literature search for possible LCM candidates from industries like construction, refrigeration, pleasure-boat manufacturing and others is embarked on. The next challenge would be to envisage a thorough chemical screening and testing program to come up with an LCM that could be effective if pumped through thief zones. The effectiveness yardstick could then be measured by: (1) solving the problems of placement, (2) temperature, (3) pressure, etc.