SOFTWARE ◊ CONSULTING ◊ TRAINING
WELLBORE STABILITY
AADE Houston Chapter Joint Committee Meeting - May 18, 2005
Deepwater Industry Group, Fluids Management Group and Emerging
Technologies Group
GeoMechanics International, Inc.
BP America
How Can Geomechanics Add Value?
● By reducing expensive drilling problems……………….
– Wellbore instability and Fracture Pressure Prediction
Reduce stuck pipe, losses, sidetracks, reaming, etc
– Underbalanced Drilling Feasibility
● By increasing reservoir performance……………….
– Production from Natural Fractures
– Sand Production Prediction
– Improved Frac Design
– Reduce Casing Shear and Collapse
– Compaction/Subsidence
● By reducing exploration risk…………….…
– Fault Leakage Analysis
Copyright © 2005 GeoMechanics International, Inc.
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Estimates of Wellbore Instability Costs
● AMOCO: $600MM to $1 Billion per Year
● ARCO: 17% of Total Well Cost
● MOBIL: Min. 10% of Total Well Cost
● Western-Atlas: >$6.4 Billion per Year
● HES & Shell: ~$8 Bil. ‘96 & ~30% Total Budget
● Soloman Bros: 15% of Total Drilling. Cost in ‘96
● API Survey: 19-24% Holes w/ Sign. Mud Loss
● GRI & OGS: $500-750MM/year in Shales
● SHELL: >$500MM/year in Shales
● BP(123 GOM): $167.6MM 1985-97
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Geomechanical Learning Curve
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The Geomechanical Model
The Principal Stress Tensor
Description of a geomechanical model for
a reservoir involves detailed knowledge of
• In situ stress orientations
• In situ stress magnitudes
• Pore pressure
Pp • Rock Mechanical Properties
Other considerations: Mud Chemistry,
Weak Bedding Planes, Fractures, Thermal
Effects
C0
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Building a Geomechanical Model
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Vertical Stress – Sv or Overburden
Overburden from integrated bulk density or pseudo-density from sonic
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Pore Pressure
Seismic-based
Log-based
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Least Principal Stress (Shmin) from XLOT
volume
(after Gaarenstroom et al., 1993)
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Rock Mechanical Properties from Log Data
UCS
Shale Interval
UCS
Sand Interval
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Observations of Borehole Failure to
Constrain the Stress State
The mechanical interaction of the borehole in a given lithology
with the current stress field governs borehole failure – hence,
borehole stability.
N
Breakout width/failure severity: Pp
• Stress magnitudes
• Rock strength
Breakout azimuth:
Pmq • Stress orientation
Tensile cracks
S Hmax Breakouts
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Examples of Instability
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Verifying and Calibrating
Geomechanical Model
Washouts
and
cavings
reported
Packed-off
Pipe stuck
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SOFTWARE ◊ CONSULTING ◊ TRAINING
Wellbore Stability Prediction
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Wellbore Stability
Aim: Reduce drilling costs by incorporating
geomechanics into the well planning and drilling
process
• Optimizing Mud Weights and mud properties
• Minimizing Casing Strings
• Optimizing Wellbore Trajectory
• Optimizing Surface Location
Copyright © 2005 GeoMechanics International, Inc.
Traditional Well Design
Is based on a pore and fracture
pressure estimate from
•Offset wells Mud
•Log-based analysis Window
This method is typically less Fracture
reliable when drilling Pressure
•Deviated wells
•In ‘tectonic’ areas
•Dipping weak bedded
formations
•Fractured or ‘rubbleised’
formations Pore
•In depleted reservoirs Pressure
In these cases we need to consider
Geomechanics in the well planning
and drilling process
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Importance of Drilling Direction – Wellbore Stability
Lower Hemisphere Stereo Net
Horizontal wells drilled perpendicular to the direction of SHmax
required the highest mud weight weights
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Shear Failure (Pressure Cavings)
Failure due to Stress in
Massive Shales
Solution: Raise Mud Weight
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Platy Cavings
Failure due to Stress Anisotropy
(weakly bedded or fissile)
Formations
Solutions: Raise Mud Weight,
Angle-of-Attack
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Blocky Cavings (‘Rubble’)
Sub-salt
‘rubble’
Failure due to Stress and Time-
Dependent Mud Penetration into
Fractures (Fractured Rocks,
Around Salt, Along Faults)
Solutions: Raise Mud Weight,
Prevent Mud Penetration
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Chemical Wellbore Instability
Failure due to Stress and Time-
Dependent Swelling and/or Water
Penetration into and out of shale
Solutions: Raise Mud Weight,
Alter Mud Chemistry, Change
mud Type
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Wellbore Stability Well Planning
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Improved Well Planning
Existing Profile New Lower Risk Profile
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Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) - Input
● Include uncertainties associated with the geomechanical model into the
wellbore stability analysis of problematic shale interval
Large uncertainty Large uncertainty Well constrained by wellbore
due to incomplete due to lack of failure observations from
density log reliable leak off image log
coverage tests
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QRA – Chance of Successful Drilling
Collapse
Frac Gradient
• In the problematic shales a 10.6 ppg gives a ~90% chance
of successful drilling for the main hole of XX-Y.
• As long as the bottom hole pressure does not exceed 11
ppg there is a 90% chance to avoid frac’ing of the casing
shoe.
Copyright © 2005 GeoMechanics International, Inc.
QRA - Sensitivity Analysis
Strong dependency
Probability for success (%)
SV [ppg] SHmax [ppg] Shmin [ppg] Pp [ppg] Strength [ppg] Hole azimuth
Predictions depend on better knowledge of
SHmax, Pp, rock strength, and Sv.
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Real-time Wellbore
Stability Monitoring
Collapse
Frac
Rock Gradient
Properties
Pore
Pressure
Mud Window
PWD
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Hole Enlargement
RT Imaging
Showing breakouts and orientations
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Pore Pressure, Fracture
Pressure, and Wellbore Stabilty
The Complete Picture
Available •Well planning and drilling
Mud should incorporate
Window Recommended
Geomechanics to reduce
Casing Design
wellbore stability and lost
circulation risk
•This is especially important
for high angle wells,
‘tectonic’ areas, and depleted
reservoirs
•Pore pressure and Wellbore
stability prediction should be
Depleted performed together
Reservoir
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Thank You
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