Geomechanics

Instructors: Dr. Michael Myers & Dr. Lori Hathon

Discipline: Multi-discipline

Course Duration: 5 days (Aug. 19-23, 2024) 

Teaching: In-person

Introduction: This course provides the participants with an understanding required to characterize and predict geomechanical responses of reservoir rocks in field management, and hydraulic fracturing. An integration of geological mechanics and reservoir engineering through class exercises and projects helps to improve understanding.

Who Should Attend: Geoscientists, petroleum engineers, drilling engineers, reservoir engineers, production engineers/technologists, and asset managers who are involved in petroleum asset exploration, appraisal, and field development. Engineers and technologists involved in matrix stimulation and hydraulic fracturing would find this course very useful.

Course Description: Geomechanics governs the safe drilling, effective stimulation, and production optimization of hydrocarbon reservoirs. This course covers subsurface stresses and their influence on safe operations in the oil and gas industry. It discusses the principles of geomechanics and its applications in conventional and unconventional reservoirs. It provides an understanding of the calibration of subsurface geomechanical models using laboratory measurements.

Course Content:

Day 1: Introduction to Geomechanics

Geomechanics governs the safe drilling, effective stimulation, and production optimization of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The course starts with an introduction to subsurface stresses and their influence on safe operations in the oil and gas industry.

1 – Importance of Geomechanics in Exploration and Production

1.2 – Introduction to Plate Tectonics

1.3 – Stress Orientations and Magnitudes, Stress Anisotropy

1.4 – Measuring Stresses in the Subsurface

1.5 – The Safe Drilling Window – Wellbore Stability

1.6 – Origins of Fluid Overpressure

1.7 – Identifying Fluid Overpressure While Drilling

1.8 – Well Testing and Stress Measurement

1.9 – Exercises/Workshop

Day 2: Principles of Geomechanics

Along with knowledge of the physics of rocks and fluids, understanding the principles of solid mechanics applicable to rock deformation is critical.

2.1 – Principles of Geomechanics

2.2 – Introduction to Constitutive Models

2.3 – Mohr-Coulomb

2.4 – Drucker-Prager.

2.5 – Modified Cam Clay

2.6 – Exercise/Workshop

Day 3: Laboratory Measurements

Subsurface geomechanical models are calibrated using laboratory measurements. Laboratory measurements supply good approximations for reservoir and seal behavior on production time scales. Lab Measurements can also be used to gain insights into rock properties' evolution over geologic time scales.

3.1 – Introduction to Testing Protocols

3.2 – Stress Path and Sample Response

3.3 – True Triaxial Testing

3.3 – Single Stage Triaxial Testing – Drained and Undrained

3.4 – Multi-Stage Triaxial Testing

3.5 – Isostatic and Uniaxial Testing

3.6 – Core Scratch Test

3.7 – Unconfined Strength Test

3.8 – Exercises/Workshop

Day 4: Application of Geomechanics in Conventional and Unconventional Reservoirs.

Geomechanics describes how subsurface rocks deform or fail in response to changes in stress, pressure, and temperature. The determination of a reservoir’s mechanical properties is critical to reducing drilling risk and maximizing well and reservoir productivity.

4.1 – Time Scaling Creep

4.2 – Controls on Pore Volume Compressibility

4.3 – Documenting Sample Response – Impact on Permeability, Fines Production

4.4 – Compressibility and Hydrocarbon Recovery

4.5 – Overburden Properties

4.6 – Water Flood and Stress Path Effects

4.7 – Hydraulic Fracturing

4.8 – Brittleness Versus Fracability

4.9 – Acoustic Properties

4.10 – Exercises/Workshop

Day 5: Integration and Quality Assurance

Laboratory measurements provide direct and quantitative measurements of “intact” oil and gas reservoir and seal properties. Building of a geomechanics model is demonstrated in detail with step-wise estimation of in situ stress, pore pressure, strength, and mechanical properties. Finally, a case study illustrating the construction of a wellbore-centered geomechanical model from laboratory measurements and wireline data is presented.

5.1 – Modeling In Situ Stress State

5.2 – Pore Pressure Prediction

5.3 – Rock Strength from Logs – Static/Dynamic Correlations

5.4 – Construction of 1D Models Incorporating Core and Log Data

5.5 – Exercises/Workshop