Patent ID: 8672057
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: C09K,E21B

Abstract:
1. A method for drilling a borehole into a subterranean formation, the method comprising: determining a width of a fracture in a wellbore wall of a wellbore in a formation; preparing a drilling fluid, the drilling fluid comprising an initial solids content of at least about 10 percent by volume in a carrier fluid, wherein the solids content and the carrier fluid are selected such that carrier fluid spurt loss is enhanced concentrating the solids content of the drilling fluid into an immobile mass in the fracture; wherein the solids have a size distribution selected based at least in part on the determined width of the fracture; and wherein at least 50 percent of the solids (1) have a size less than the determined width of the fracture and (2) are permeable to the carrier fluid; and drilling the wellbore into the formation using the drilling fluid.