Foamed gel employed as a drilling fluid, a lost circulation fluid, or a combined drilling/lost circulation fluid

摘要

A process employing a foamed gel in a wellbore as a drilling fluid, lost circulation fluid, or combined drilling/lost circulation fluid during the wellbore drilling operation. The foamed gel is formed from a crosslinkable carboxylate-containing polymer, a crosslinking agent containing a reactive transition metal cation, a surfactant, an aqueous solvent, and an added gas.