Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Third Stage
Borehole
Instability
2015-2016
Table of Contents
Abstract:...................................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction:.............................................................................................................................................................2
Important Terminology.............................................................................................................................................3
Elasticity...............................................................................................................................................................3
Stress................................................................................................................................................................3
Anisotropy and Isotropy...................................................................................................................................4
In-Situ Stresses.....................................................................................................................................................4
Determining the overburden (vertical) stress v:...........................................................................................5
Determining the maximum and minimum horizontal stresses (Hmax and Hmin):.......................................6
Far-Field Stresses.................................................................................................................................................6
Normal Faulting:..............................................................................................................................................6
Reverse Faulting (Thrust Faulting):.................................................................................................................6
Strike-Slip Faulting:.........................................................................................................................................7
Factors leading to borehole instability:....................................................................................................................8
Impact of mud on borehole instability:....................................................................................................................9
Choosing the appropriate mud weight:................................................................................................................9
Choosing the proper mud type:..........................................................................................................................10
Discussion..............................................................................................................................................................10
References..............................................................................................................................................................11
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Abstract:
Borehole instability is the unwanted condition in which an uncased, noncemented wellbore (open hole) does not maintain its desired size and/or
shape. This report discusses the factors that cause it, whether it be
uncontrollable (natural) or controllable factors, some theories and methods of
determining stresses that lead to the instability of a borehole. Even though
borehole stability problems are much more common in deviated or horizontal
wells, the focus of this report will mainly be about vertical wells. Possible
prevention methods and techniques will also be discussed.
Introduction:
Borehole instability is one of the major technical problems encountered
during drilling. Starting in the exploration phase and continues through the
development and production phases. Predicting the location of the vulnerable
region(s) of the underground formations, although not so accurate and
usually unexpected, is a fundamental step in reducing the risks associated
with borehole instability. Drilling a hole causes the pre-existing stresses in a
rock to be released, which causes elastic deformation of the rocks The risks
associated with wellbore instability include: loss of time, waste of money on
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Important Terminology
Before how borehole instability can be possibly prevented or its effects minimized, one should be
familiar with certain terms related to stress determination of rocks.
Elasticity
Most materials possess the ability to withstand and recover deformations caused by forces, this
property is called is elasticity. It is the fundamental basis of all rock mechanics. When it comes to
petroleum related rock mechanics, the focus is mainly on rocks with a significant amount of
porosity and permeability rather than solid materials. Thus, the concept of poroelasticity must be
taken into account. (Fjr, et al., 2008)
Stress : is the force acting per unit area and can be formulated as shown below :
F
A
The SI unit for Stress () is the Pascal (Pa= N/m2) indicating that if the area decreases while
having a constant force acting on an object, the stress will increase, which leads to eventual
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failure of any object. Stresses and the determination of stress orientations will be discussed in
more detail in the later sections of this paper.
Isotropic materials are those types of materials whose response does not depend on the
ii.
Types of Stresses:
In-Situ Stresses
Formations deep under the ground are under the influence of numerous
stresses caused by the weight of overlaying formations. Although the number
of stress vectors on a certain point might be infinite if all three axes are taken
into consideration, only three of the stresses are significant enough to be
used in calculations for estimation of stress on a single point or defined area.
These three stresses are (Hmax, Hmin and v) which stand for maximum
horizontal stress, minimum horizontal stress and the vertical stress (also
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called the
overburden stress)
respectively.
illustrated below:
Figure 2 Wellbore
stresses in and around
the borehole (Pai, et
al., 2007)
calculated as follows : v =
gz
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gravitational acceleration , and z is the depth. Meaning the stress will increase as depth and density increase.
However, if the density changes with depth, the vertical stress at a given depth (D) will become:
V = ( z ) gdz
0
Notice here that the z-axis is pointing vertically downwards. And z = 0 at the surface of the Earth. However, to
find the pore pressure, the previous equation must be modified even further. See the equation below :
Pfn = f ( z ) gdz
0
Determining the maximum and minimum horizontal stresses (Hmax and Hmin):
The most simplified version of determining these stresses is using Kirsch equations
Minimum Horizontal Stress:
Hmin =
v
( p p ) + p p
1v v
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Far-Field Stresses
These are the types of stresses formed in the earth naturally by the activities of the tectonic plates.
These stresses are most significant in regions near plate boundaries, they are mainly faults and
are of three types which are listed below.
Normal Faulting:
Is a fracture in a rock volume, in which a rock layer or (strata) has been significantly displaced
because of tectonic movement. This type of faulting happens when the layers above slip down.
(see figure 3)
Strike-Slip Faulting:
Horizontal displacement parallel to fault trace are the dominant feature of this type of fault.
By incorporating the knowledge obtained from the equations above and knowing what type of
tectonic activity is happening or has happened in the region, borehole instability problems and
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fracture initiation can be predicted. The figure below shows the tendency of breakouts and
fractures in the three different kinds of faulting scenarios.
Generally, a combination of factors cause borehole instability, these factors may be roughly
categorized as being either uncontrollable (natural) or controllable in origin. The main causes
divided into the main two categories can be seen in Table1 below:
Controllable Factors
Bottom Hole Pressure (Mud Density)
Well Inclination and Azimuth
Transient Pore Pressures
Physico / chemical Rock-Fluid Interaction
Drill String Vibrations
Collapse Erosion
Temperature
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As it can be seen in table 1, there are numerous factors that lead to borehole instability, however
the focus of this report will mainly be the pressure differential of the bottom hole pressure (which
refers to the density of the mud) and pore pressure, and hydration of clay materials in shale.
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Discussion
Borehole stability issues strongly depend on the difference between the principal horizontal
stresses and mud weight differential in the case of break outs. So if we take as an example, a mud
pressure of 30MPa, and a pore pressure of 25MPa, this will induce accidental hydraulic
fracturing. If the mud weight is 27 MPa and pore pressure is 30 MPa, then the probability of
kicks will increase significantly. The difference, between this and a break out is that, breakouts
happen because of the difference in the principal stresses in the earth, SHmax and SHmin. When
drilling is in process and parts of the formations are removed, pressure is released and this extra
stress to be put on the zone where horizontal stress is max, this will support that half of the
borehole arc, and the remaining arc will break out.
References
1. Fjr, E. et al., 2008. Petroleum Related Rock Mechanics. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
2. Jia, Q., Schmitt, D., moeck, I. & Kofma, R., 2014. Improving Borehole Instability Analysis by
Investigating the Impacts of Stress and Rock Anisotropy. GeoConvention2014 :Focus, p. 7.
3. Pai, B., Gaurina-Meimurec, N. & Matanovi, D., 2007. WELLBORE INSTABILITY: CAUSES
AND CONSEQUENCES. Volume 19, p. 12.
4. PetroWiki, 2015. Borehole Instability. [Online]
Available at: http://petrowiki.org/Borehole_instability
[Accessed 13 November 2015].
5. Rabia, H., 2002. Well Engineering and Construction. 1st ed. s.l.:Entrac Consulting .
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