Method for inhibiting the initiation and propagation of formation fractures while drilling and casing a well
AssigneeConoco Inc.
InventorsGiin-Fa Fuh, Nobuo Morita, Donald L. Whitfill, David A. Strah
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Fracture initiation and propagation during drilling or running casing in a well are prevented or inhibited by including an effective amount of a specially sized solid particulate loss prevention material in the well fluid prior to encountering formation breakdown in a susceptible zone.
Claims10
A method of increasing fracture initiation pressure and fracture propagation pressure during well drilling with a circulating drilling fluid comprising adding to said drilling fluid, prior to encountering formation breakdown, a solid particulate loss prevention material having a size range of from 250 to 600 microns in an amount sufficient to prevent fracture initiation and fracture propagation.
In a method of running a casing string into a wellbore wherein the wellbore is filled with a well fluid and the casing string has a casing shoe at its lower end, the improvement wherein prior to running said casing string into said wellbore a solid particulate loss prevention material having a size range of from 250 to 600 microns is added to said well fluid in an amount effective to prevent fracture initiation and fracture propagation in said wellbore from pressure surges generated during lowering of said casing string through said wellbore.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.