Realtime Drilling Geomechanics Aids Safe Drilling through Unstable Shales and Channel Sands of Wara Formations, Minagish Field, West Kuwait

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.. Al Enezi ◽  
M.. AL Hajeri ◽  
S.. Gholum ◽  
S.. Nath ◽  
T.. Ahmad ◽  
...  

Abstract As part of any successful development plan of any hydrocarbon field, drilling boreholes safely is a key factor to make the entire process safe, economic and environmentally friendly. One of the main factors that dictates whether a borehole is going to be drilled safely or not is to understand the geomichanical behavior of the different formation to be penetrated. A definition of geomechanics could be stated as the science that studies the relationship between each of; in-situ stresses, rock mechanics, and the drilling fluid properties. In Kuwait and during the course of efforts to develop Wara channel sands in Minagish Field to the west of the country, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) realized that continuing to drill development wells using conventional drilling practices is not any more an easy task. Considerable non-productive time has been recorded due encountering events such as shale carvings and pack off leading to stuck pipe. In addition, partial to total lost circulation were faced while drilling through Mutriba Formation which added to the complexity of problem. This study involved gathering data from offset wells to build a mechanical earth model for the area where the new well is going to be drilled. The main objective of having the model built is to perform wellbore stability analysis (WBS) and compute the quantitative mud window values to insure stable and safe borehole drilling. As the case of any study, performing reliable WBS analysis requires accurate modeling of earth stresses and rock mechanical properties. This process is primarily based on sonic logs (compressional and shear slowness), formation bulk density and lithology distribution. The study started with an audit of the available data sets in the region to select the best offset wells and generating empirical correlations to fill- up any missing and/or poor-quality data zones. Initially,7offset wells were identified, based on the geological distribution and data availability.Out of them, only four wells were found to have compressional slowness and three with bulk density measurements. However, it is worth mentioning that no shear slowness measurements were available in any of the offset wells in the region. Due to this, a correlation based compressional-shear relationship from nearby wells was proposed for the pre-drill study. The mechanical properties were characterized using the tri-axial core test results available from Wara and Burgan Formations. Empirical correlations were developed to obtain static mechanical properties from the dynamical mechanical ones and log responses. In addition, horizontal stresses in the region were constrained with formation integrity test data to have better control on the model. Finally, after the WBS model was built,it was compared to the available caliper data from the offset wells for calibration purposes. The resulted pre-drill geomechanics model was used to advise on the drilling parameters (mud weight) to be used in drilling the new development well. Moreover, and being the first realtime drilling geomechanics (RTDG) job in in Kuwait, an LWD sonic was used while drilling to supply the pre-drill model with realtime compressional and shear slowness measurements. Having the model updated in realtime with data from the formation at the borehole location resulted in optimizing the mud weight window limits by the geomechanics engineers as the well was being drilled. Following these mud weight recommendations based on the updated pre-drill model resulted in a smooth landing and horizontal sections in which all the wiper trips until the final pull out of hole were smooth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1E) ◽  
pp. 88-102
Author(s):  
Qahtan Abdul Aziz ◽  
Hassan Abdul Hussein

Estimation of mechanical and physical rock properties is an essential issue in applications related to reservoir geomechanics. Carbonate rocks have complex depositional environments and digenetic processes which alter the rock mechanical properties to varying degrees even at a small distance. This study has been conducted on seventeen core plug samples that have been taken from different formations of carbonate reservoirs in the Fauqi oil field (Jeribe, Khasib, and Mishrif formations). While the rock mechanical and petrophysical properties have been measured in the laboratory including the unconfined compressive strength, Young's modulus, bulk density, porosity, compressional and shear -waves, well logs have been used to do a comparison between the lab results and well logs measurements. The results of this study revealed that petrophysical properties are consistent indexes to determine the rock mechanical properties with high performance capacity. Different empirical correlations have been developed in this study to determine the rock mechanical properties using the multiple regression analysis. These correlations are UCS-porosity, UCS-bulk density, UCS-Vs, UCs-Vp Es-Vs, Es-Vp, and Vs-Vp. (*). For example, the UCS-Vs correlation gives a good determination coefficient (R2= 0.77) for limestone and (R2=0.94) for dolomite. A comparison of the developed correlations with literature was also checked. This study presents a set of empirical correlations that can be used to determine and calibrate the rock mechanical properties when core samples are missing or incomplete.



2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prahlad Kumar Yadav ◽  
Syed Shujath Ali ◽  
Najeeb Ahmed Al Tawat ◽  
Ali Abdullah Al Dhamen ◽  
Guodong Jin


Clay Minerals ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wensaas ◽  
P. Aagaard ◽  
T. Berre ◽  
E. Roaldset

AbstractIn the North Sea Tertiary section, wellbore instability problems are frequently reported in Palaeocene-Early Oligocene smectite-rich mudrocks. Analysis of the mechanical properties of these Tertiary mudrocks is generally hampered by the lack of suitable core material. This study represents an attempt to study the geomechanical behaviour of mudrocks by triaxial tests of side-wall cores obtained from the borehole wall. The tests performed include measuring the changes in pore pressure during shearing and undrained shear strength in specimens initially consolidated to in situ effective stress levels. The coefficients of permeability (kf), estimated from the consolidation time behaviour range from 2.6 x 10-11 to 2.4 x 10-12 m/s. The tested cores behaved like slightly overconsolidated to normally consolidated materials with an initial near constant volume (elastic behaviour) for low deviatoric load followed by an increasingly contractant behaviour approaching failure. Compared with results from onshore analogues, the strength properties of the investigated mudrocks appear to be related to their content of expandable clay minerals. A wellbore stability chart to forecast adequate drilling fluid pressures for future wells has been developed by the use of linear (Mohr-Coulomb) failure criteria based on the peak strength data. It is demonstrated that side-walt cores can provide satisfactory test materials for rock mechanical analysis, and their use may serve to improve our knowledge of the rock mechanical behaviour of typically troublesome mudrocks for which no conventional cores are available.



Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Houbin Liu ◽  
Yingfeng Meng ◽  
Shuai Cui ◽  
Haifeng Ye

The hard and brittle shale formation is prone to collapse and instability, and the penetration of drilling fluid along the bedding reduces the mechanical properties of rock near the borehole wall, resulting in serious downhole accidents. Therefore, in this paper, the geomechanical parameters of the reservoir in the Longmaxi formation of Jiaoshiba were determined by field hydraulic fracturing and laboratory experiments. Then, the stress distribution model of borehole wall under the condition of underbalanced seepage flow is established based on the experimental results obtained by mechanical experiments on underground cores. The instability zone of borehole wall under the condition of underbalance is calculated and analyzed. The results show that the two-way horizontal ground stress of the Longmaxi formation is higher than 2.2 MPa/100 m, and the original ground stress is high. Moreover, the mechanical parameters of the stratified shale stratum matrix and weak surface are significantly different. The cohesion (4.7 MPa) and the angle of internal friction (26.9°) of bedding plane are significantly lower than that of the matrix (7.77 MPa) and the angle of internal friction (46.7°). Hard and brittle shale is easy to be destroyed along the stratification. Under the condition of underbalanced seepage, the mechanical properties of borehole shale can be stable. It is found that when the borehole axis is vertically stratified, the collapse pressure is the lowest, while in other drilling directions, the drilling fluid density needs to be increased by 0.5 g/cm3 to maintain the borehole stability. With the increase of the inclination angle of bedding plane, the wall failure area increases. The results of this study can provide guidance and suggestions for drilling in Jiaoshiba block and other permeable hard and brittle shale formations.



Author(s):  
K.L. More ◽  
R.A. Lowden

The mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced composites are directly related to the nature of the fiber-matrix bond. Fracture toughness is improved when debonding, crack deflection, and fiber pull-out occur which in turn depend on a weak interfacial bond. The interfacial characteristics of fiber-reinforced ceramics can be altered by applying thin coatings to the fibers prior to composite fabrication. In a previous study, Lowden and co-workers coated Nicalon fibers (Nippon Carbon Company) with silicon and carbon prior to chemical vapor infiltration with SiC and determined the influence of interfacial frictional stress on fracture phenomena. They found that the silicon-coated Nicalon fiber-reinforced SiC had low flexure strengths and brittle fracture whereas the composites containing carbon coated fibers exhibited improved strength and fracture toughness. In this study, coatings of boron or BN were applied to Nicalon fibers via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and the fibers were subsequently incorporated in a SiC matrix. The fiber-matrix interfaces were characterized using transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM). Mechanical properties were determined and compared to those obtained for uncoated Nicalon fiber-reinforced SiC.



Methodology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Rutkowski ◽  
Yan Zhou

Abstract. Given a consistent interest in comparing achievement across sub-populations in international assessments such as TIMSS, PIRLS, and PISA, it is critical that sub-population achievement is estimated reliably and with sufficient precision. As such, we systematically examine the limitations to current estimation methods used by these programs. Using a simulation study along with empirical results from the 2007 cycle of TIMSS, we show that a combination of missing and misclassified data in the conditioning model induces biases in sub-population achievement estimates, the magnitude and degree to which can be readily explained by data quality. Importantly, estimated biases in sub-population achievement are limited to the conditioning variable with poor-quality data while other sub-population achievement estimates are unaffected. Findings are generally in line with theory on missing and error-prone covariates. The current research adds to a small body of literature that has noted some of the limitations to sub-population estimation.



Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021
Author(s):  
Yunzhao Li ◽  
Huaping Tang ◽  
Ruilin Lai

Resistance spot welded 1.2 mm (t)-thick 1400 MPa martensitic steel (MS1400) samples are fabricated and their microstructure, mechanical properties are investigated thoroughly. The mechanical performance and failure modes exhibit a strong dependence on weld-nugget size. The pull-out failure mode for MS1400 steel resistance spot welds does not follow the conventional weld-nugget size recommendation criteria of 4t0.5. Significant softening was observed due to dual phase microstructure of ferrite and martensite in the inter-critical heat affected zone (HAZ) and tempered martensite (TM) structure in sub-critical HAZ. However, the upper-critical HAZ exhibits obvious higher hardness than the nugget zone (NZ). In addition, the mechanical properties show that the cross-tension strength (CTS) is about one quarter of the tension-shear strength (TSS) of MS1400 weld joints, whilst the absorbed energy of cross-tension and tension-shear are almost identical.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitong Liu ◽  
Wanjun Li ◽  
Haiqiu Zhou ◽  
Yixin Gu ◽  
Fuhua Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract The reservoir underneath the salt bed usually has high formation pressure and large production rate. However, downhole complexities such as wellbore shrinkage, stuck pipe, casing deformation and brine crystallization prone to occur in the drilling and completion of the salt bed. The drilling safety is affected and may lead to the failure of drilling to the target reservoir. The drilling fluid density is the key factor to maintain the salt bed’s wellbore stability. The in-situ stress of the composite salt bed (gypsum-salt -gypsum-salt-gypsum) is usually uneven distributed. Creep deformation and wellbore shrinkage affect each other within layers. The wellbore stability is difficult to maintain. Limited theorical reference existed for drilling fluid density selection to mitigate the borehole shrinkage in the composite gypsum-salt layers. This paper established a composite gypsum-salt model based on the rock mechanism and experiments, and a safe-drilling density selection layout is formed to solve the borehole shrinkage problem. This study provides fundamental basis for drilling fluid density selection for gypsum-salt layers. The experiment results show that, with the same drilling fluid density, the borehole shrinkage rate of the minimum horizontal in-situ stress azimuth is higher than that of the maximum horizontal in-situ stress azimuth. However, the borehole shrinkage rate of the gypsum layer is higher than salt layer. The hydration expansion of the gypsum is the dominant reason for the shrinkage of the composite salt-gypsum layer. In order to mitigate the borehole diameter reduction, the drilling fluid density is determined that can lower the creep rate less than 0.001, as a result, the borehole shrinkage of salt-gypsum layer is slowed. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the salinity, filter loss and plugging ability of the drilling fluid to inhibit the creep of the soft shale formation. The research results provide technical support for the safe drilling of composite salt-gypsum layers. This achievement has been applied to 135 wells in the Amu Darya, which completely solved the of wellbore shrinkage problem caused by salt rock creep. Complexities such as stuck string and well abandonment due to high-pressure brine crystallization are eliminated. The drilling cycle is shortened by 21% and the drilling costs is reduced by 15%.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Vladimirovna Norkina ◽  
Sergey Mihailovich Karpukhin ◽  
Konstantin Urjevich Ruban ◽  
Yuriy Anatoljevich Petrakov ◽  
Alexey Evgenjevich Sobolev

Abstract The design features and the need to use a water-based solution make the task of ensuring trouble-free drilling of vertical wells non-trivial. This work is an example of an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the mechanisms of instability of the wellbore. Instability can be caused by a complex of reasons, in this case, standard geomechanical calculations are not enough to solve the problem. Engineering calculations and laboratory chemical studies are integrated into the process of geomechanical modeling. The recommendations developed in all three areas are interdependent and inseparable from each other. To achieve good results, it is necessary to comply with a set of measures at the same time. The key tasks of the project were: determination of drilling density, tripping the pipe conditions, parameters of the drilling fluid rheology, selection of a system for the best inhibition of clay swelling.



2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian H. Toby

The definitions for important Rietveld error indices are defined and discussed. It is shown that while smaller error index values indicate a better fit of a model to the data, wrong models with poor quality data may exhibit smaller values error index values than some superb models with very high quality data.



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