Investigation of fracture-plugging wellbore strengthening: Large scale true tri-axial experiments and field tests

Lost circulation caused by developed natural fracture occurs frequently in tight sandstone formations located in Sichuan Basin, China. Fracture-plugging wellbore strengthening by lost circulation materials (FPWSLCM) is a widely applied fluid loss control technique globally. The upper limit of the pressure-bearing capacity treated using FPWSLCM and the relevant engineering influencing factors needs to be investigated further. In this paper, a self-designed large-scale true tri-axial cell was developed to simulate the fracturing and sealing processes in a cubic sandstone sample (30 cm × 30 cm×30 cm) under anisotropic stress to investigate the effect of lost circulation materials (LCM) and the experimental processes on the formation pressure-bearing capacity. Three homogeneous cubic tight sandstone samples taken from Xujiahe Formation in Sichuan Basin with a central hole were used for the wellbore strengthening experiments with FPWSLCM, which was used to eliminate the heterogeneity effect of the rock. SRIPE (SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering) bridge plugging materials were used as LCM. The results show that the formation pressure-bearing capacity after treatment by FPWSLCM was affected by the initial injection pressure, the intrusion amount of LCM, the pressure holding time, and the injection rate. The formation pressure-bearing capacity did not decrease consistently with the increase of plugging zone instability times, but showed an obvious characteristic of fluctuations; the formation pressure-bearing capacity exceeded the fracturing pressure in some cases. The experimental results could be explained by the stress cage theory. Finally, the modified FPWSLCM was applied as a lost circulation control approach by drilling into the tight sandstone formation in the Shunbei oil field, which has a history of severe loss of fluid circulations. The result of the field test indicated that the modified approaches were more successful than the previous approaches used in other wells in this block. The research results are of great significance for improving the success rate of lost circulation control and a reduction in drilling costs.