Consequences
The consequences of lost circulation can be as little as the loss of a few dollars of drilling fluid, or as disastrous as a blowout and loss of life, so close monitoring of tanks, pits, and flow from the well, to quickly assess and control lost circulation, is taught and practiced. If the fluid in the wellbore drops due to lost circulation (or any other reason), hydrostatic pressure is reduced, thus allowing a gas or fluid, which is under a higher pressure than the reduced hydrostatic pressure, to influx into the wellbore.
Another consequence of lost circulation is called "dry drilling". Dry drilling occurs when fluid is completely lost from the well bore without actual drilling coming to a stop. The effects of dry drilling can be as minor as destroying a bit to as serious as major damage to the wellbore requiring a new well to be drilled. Dry drilling can also cause severed damage to the drill string, including snapping the pipe, and the drilling rig itself.
Read more about this topic: Lost Circulation
Famous quotes containing the word consequences:
“There is a delicate balance of putting yourself last and not being a doormat and thinking of yourself first and not coming off as selfish, arrogant, or bossy. We spend the majority of our lives attempting to perfect this balance. When we are successful, we have many close, healthy relationships. When we are unsuccessful, we suffer the natural consequences of damaged and sometimes broken relationships. Children are just beginning their journey on this important life lesson.”
—Cindy L. Teachey. Building Lifelong RelationshipsSchool Age Programs at Work, Child Care Exchange (January 1994)
“The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any mediumthat is, of any extension of ourselvesresult from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology.”
—Marshall McLuhan (19111980)
“The consequences of our actions grab us by the scruff of our necks, quite indifferent to our claim that we have gotten better in the meantime.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (18441900)