Providing lost circulation material to cure fluid losses in a well

Abstract

A system includes a drilling sub-system configured to form a wellbore from a terranean surface toward a subterranean formation by rotating a drill bit on a drill string; a drilling fluid circulation sub-system configured to circulate a drilling fluid downhole through the drill string, to and through the drill bit, into the wellbore, and uphole toward the terranean surface while the drilling sub-system drills the portion of the wellbore; and a lost circulation sub-system including a plurality of lost circulation material (LCM) pills configured to circulate, with the drilling fluid, through the drill string and the drill bit and into the wellbore in an inactive state. Each of the LCM pills is set to adjust from the inactive state to an active state to reduce at least a portion of the drilling fluid circulated into the wellbore that is lost to the subterranean formation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a drilling sub-system configured to form at least a portion of a wellbore from a terranean surface toward a subterranean formation by rotating a drill bit on a drill string;   a drilling fluid circulation sub-system configured to circulate a drilling fluid downhole through the drill string, to and through the drill bit, into the wellbore, and uphole toward the terranean surface while the drilling sub-system drills the portion of the wellbore; and   a lost circulation sub-system comprising a plurality of lost circulation material (LCM) pills configured to circulate, with the drilling fluid, through the drill string and the drill bit and into the wellbore in an inactive state, each of the LCM pills set to adjust from the inactive state to an active state based on at least one wellbore criteria at a location of the wellbore in which a portion of the drilling fluid circulated into the wellbore is lost to the subterranean formation to reduce the portion of the drilling fluid circulated into the wellbore that is lost to the subterranean formation.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of LCM pills is configured to adjust from the inactive state to the active state by expanding from a contracted state to an expanded state to expose a lost circulation material mesh of the LCM pill from a housing of the LCM pill. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of LCM pills is configured to expand from the contracted state to the expanded state to expose the lost circulation material mesh of the LCM pill from the housing of the LCM pill by expanding a framework from within the housing to expose the lost circulation material mesh from the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the lost circulation material mesh comprises an acid-dissolvable fiber material. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the acid-dissolvable fiber material is configured to dissolve in the wellbore based on exposure to hydrochloric acid. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wellbore criteria comprises a wellbore temperature at the location in which the portion of the drilling fluid circulated into the wellbore is lost to the subterranean formation, and each of the plurality of LCM pills is configured to adjust from the inactive state to the active state based on a temperature sensor of each of the plurality of LCM pills sensing a temperature of at least the wellbore temperature at the location. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wellbore criteria comprises a wellbore depth at the location in which the portion of the drilling fluid circulated into the wellbore is lost to the subterranean formation, and each of the plurality of LCM pills is configured to adjust from the inactive state to the active state based on a depth sensor of each of LCM pills sensing a depth of at least the wellbore depth at the location. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the LCM pills comprises a controller configured to be set with the at least one wellbore criteria at the terranean surface. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one wellbore criteria comprises a signal, and the lost circulation sub-system comprises a signal generator configured to circulate through the drill string and the drill bit and to the location in the wellbore with the drilling fluid and activate the signal to adjust the plurality of LCM pills from the inactive state to the active state. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one wellbore criteria comprises a time duration, and each of the plurality of LCM pills is configured to adjust from the inactive state to the active state based on a timer of each of LCM pills reaching the time duration. 
     
     
         11 . A lost circulation material (LCM) pill, comprising:
 a housing;   a framework coupled to the housing and configured to adjust from a retracted state enclosed within the housing to an expanded state outside of the housing; and   a fiber material that forms a mesh across and coupled to the framework, the mesh exposed from the housing when the framework in the expanded state.   
     
     
         12 . The LCM pill of  claim 11 , wherein the housing is spherical. 
     
     
         13 . The LCM pill of  claim 11 , wherein the fiber material comprises an acid-dissolvable material. 
     
     
         14 . The LCM pill of  claim 11 , further comprising a controller coupled to at least one of the housing or the framework. 
     
     
         15 . The LCM pill of  claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises a programmable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag configured to adjust the framework from the retracted state to the expanded state upon receipt of a signal. 
     
     
         16 . The LCM pill of  claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises at least one sensor configured to sense a value of a wellbore parameter, the controller configured to adjust the framework from the retracted state to the expanded state based on the sensor sensing the value of the wellbore parameter.