Methods and compositions for volcanic ash lost circulation materials
Materials may be used for mitigation of lost circulation in a subterranean formation. Example methods of lost circulation mitigation may include: introducing a lost circulation material to a zone of interest in a subterranean formation via a wellbore, the zone of interest including depleted zones, zones of low pressure, lost circulation zones, fractured zones, or any combination thereof; wherein the lost circulation material includes: volcanic ash, an activator, and a resinous composition; and solidifying, at least partially, the lost circulation material such that the solidified material at least partially blocks the wellbore from the zone of interest.
1 . A method comprising:
introducing a lost circulation material to a zone of interest in a subterranean formation via a wellbore, the zone of interest comprising depleted zones, zones of low pressure, lost circulation zones, fractured zones, or any combination thereof;
wherein the lost circulation material comprises:
volcanic ash,
an activator, wherein the activator comprises sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide, or any combination thereof, and
a resinous composition, and
solidifying, at least partially, the lost circulation material such that the solidified lost circulation material at least partially blocks the wellbore from the zone of interest,
wherein solidifying the lost circulation material comprises forming sodium aluminosilicate hydrate by a polycondensation reaction between the volcanic ash and the activator, followed by curing the resinous composition.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein introducing the lost circulation material to the zone of interest comprises:
introducing a first fluid comprising the volcanic ash and the activator;
introducing a second fluid comprising the resinous composition; and
contacting the first fluid and the second fluid within the subterranean formation so as to mix the volcanic ash, the activator, and the resinous composition.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the first fluid comprises a slurry.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein introducing the lost circulation material to the zone of interest comprises:
forming a first fluid comprising the volcanic ash and the activator;
forming a second fluid comprising the resinous composition; and
contacting the first fluid and the second fluid to form a combined fluid prior to introduction to the subterranean formation so as to mix the volcanic ash, the activator, and the resinous composition; and
introducing the combined fluid to the subterranean formation.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the resinous composition comprises 50 wt % to 97 wt % resin, and wherein the resinous composition comprises 0.1 wt % to 20 wt % curing agent, the weight percentages based on a total weight of the resinous composition.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein solidifying, at least partially, the lost circulation material comprises:
curing the resinous composition; and
binding the resinous composition with the volcanic ash.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lost circulation material comprises 10 wt % to 90 wt % of the volcanic ash, by total weight of the lost circulation material.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lost circulation material comprises 10 wt % to 85 wt % of the activator, by total weight of the lost circulation material.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lost circulation material comprises 20 wt % to 99 wt % of the resinous composition, by total weight of the lost circulation material.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the volcanic ash comprises Saudi Arabian volcanic ash.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the volcanic ash comprises: SO3, CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, and K2O.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the volcanic ash comprises:
42 wt % to 46 wt % SiO2,
13 wt % to 17 wt % Al2O3, and
10 wt % to 15 wt % Fe2O3.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide are present in a weight ratio of 0.30:1.00 to 0.90:1.00.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sodium aluminosilicate hydrate has a formula of
wherein n represents a degree of polymerization ranging from 1 to 50, z represents an amount of silicate ranging from 2 to 10, and y represents a molar amount of water ranging from 2 to 15.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the resinous composition comprises a resin, wherein the resin comprises an epoxy resin, and wherein the epoxy resin comprises bisphenol-A-(epichlorohydrin) epoxy, 2,3-epoxypropyl-o-tolyl ether, C12-C14 alkyl glycidyl ether, 1,6-hexanediol diglycidyl ether, butyl glycidyl ether, cyclohexanedimethanol diglydicyl ether, or any combination thereof.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the resinous composition comprises a curing agent, and wherein the curing agent comprises an amine, a polyamine, an amine adduct, a polyamine adduct, an alkanolamine, an amide, a polyamide, a polyamide adduct, a polyamide imidazoline, a polyaminoamide, a phenalkamine, a polymercaptan, or any combination thereof.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lost circulation material further comprises a weighting material, and wherein the weighting material comprises sand, barite (barium sulfate), hematite, calcium carbonate, siderite, ilmenite, silica sand, manganese oxide (MnO), hausmanite, manganese tetraoxide (Mn3O4), zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, iron oxide, or any combination thereof.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lost circulation material is a component of a wellbore fluid, a drilling fluid, a drilling pill, or any combination thereof.
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein introducing the lost circulation material comprises injecting a drilling pill into the subterranean formation, and wherein the drilling pill comprises a mixture of a drilling fluid and the lost circulation material.