8/2/2016

Abbas Khaksar
Global Discipline Lead- Geomechanics & Subject Matter Expert for Sand Production Prediction and
Management
• Abbas has 23 years of industry and R&D experience in rock
mechanics and petrophysics with strong knowledge of
reservoir geomechanics.
• In the past 18 years, Abbas has worked extensively in
petroleum geomechanics consultancy roles and has been
involved in more than 250 consulting projects.
• He has more than 80 publications in peer reviewed journals,
SPE papers and conference presentations in areas of
petroleum geomechanics, rock physics and well log
interpretation.
• Abbas joined Baker RDS (formerly Helix RDS) in 2005 and
before that (2000-2005) he was with Geomechanics
International (GMI) as a petrophysicist, geomechanics
specialist and Manager of Consulting Services in Asia
Pacific.
© 2014 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

• In 1999-2000 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the

University of Adelaide, working on rock physics related
issues of abnormal pore pressure prediction and CO2
sequestration.
• He has a PhD in rock physics from the University of
1 Adelaide.

Baker Hughes Geomechanical Services

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Geomechanics…
… a specialised branch of engineering that applies rock mechanics, mathematics
and physics to quantify how rocks (& fractures) respond to:

￭ stress
￭ pressure
￭ fluid flow
￭ exploitation
￭ temperature
￭ other phenomena
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Deformation  Changes in properties  Failure

Foundation of the Geomechanical Model

The Principal Stress Tensor

Description of a geomechanical model

for a reservoir involves knowledge of:

 In situ stress orientations & magnitudes

 Pore pressure
 Effective rock strength

Sv – Vertical stress (overburden)

Pp SHmax – Maximum horizontal principal stress
Shmin – Minimum horizontal principal stress
Pp – Pore pressure
© 2014 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

C0 – Uniaxial compressive rock strength

and elastic properties

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C0

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Data Sources for a Geomechanical Model

z0

Vertical stress Sv  z0   g   ( z )dz

0
Measurements: RFT, DST, PWD
Pore pressure Log based: Sonic, resistivity, etc.
Seismic: ITT, velocity cubes
Least principal
stress LOT, XLOT, minifrac, lost circ.
incidents, ballooning
SHmax magnitude
Analysis of wellbore failure,
SHmax orientation “active” geological structures

Laboratory measurements,
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Rock strength logs, analysis of wellbore

failure

Where is geomechanics needed?

….. From appraisal-to-abandonment
….. 1D to 4D and well-to-field applications
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Wellbore Instability – How Bad Can It Get?

￭ ~50% of non-productive time (drilling) are due to hole stability problems-
a GoM study,

￭ “Estimates of the cost of borehole stability related problems to the

petroleum industry world-wide would easily run into the US$6 billion range
per year”-

￭ Packoffs, Excessive trip and reaming time, Mud losses, Stuck pipe & BHA’s,
Fishing, Loss of equipment, Sidetracks, Inability to land casing, Poor logging
and cementing conditions, bad hole conditions for completion, etc.
© 2014 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

Sand Production

“70% of the world oil and gas reserves are contained in reservoirs where
sand (solids) production is likely to become a problem at some point
during the life of the field…..” – SPE
“Majority of new reservoir plays will be developed in weak or
unconsolidated sands” and so identified sand management as one of 6
key technologies – BP

Areas where sand control often required:

• Australia, UKNSea, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Brunei, China, Nigeria, Venezuela, …..
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Subsidence and Compaction

￭ “Experience from the recent past – such as compaction and subsidence in the
Ekofisk and Valhall North Sea fields – has shown that remediation of problems
resulting form incomplete evaluation of geomechanical processes can be
extremely expensive”
￭ “The cost includes not only infrastructure and well replacement, but also the
greater cost of lost production”
￭ “Geomechanics has a rock-solid role to play in sustaining and increasing
hydrocarbon production now, and in the future”
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Applications
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Rules of thumb
￭ Every project is different:
• Exploration wells need Pore Pressure study
• Field development need Wellbore Stability & sanding evaluation studies
• EOR and 4D Seismic need 4D Geomechanics Modelling
• Unconventional projects need Data and Geomechanics

￭ For Major’s and some NOC’s 3D Geomechanics is mandatory

￭ To get the best long term value:

• Start at the exploration phase
• Strategic data acquisition
• Share knowledge between multiple disciplines
• Revisit applications and technology throughout project life cycle
© 2014 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

• Integrate local knowledge, regional perspective and global experience

• Collaborate with peers and service companies

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Global Track Record

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Conclusion

￭20 years and 4000 studies have shown us that there

are always benefits and something which can be done
to address critical business challenges:
• Reduce cost
• Reduce risk
• Technology advancement and exchange
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