4-1 - Horizontal Well Design - Wellbore Stability

4.
Horizontal Well Design –

Wellbore Stability
(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo
Wellbore Stability Issues
Wellbore should not collapse during production

operation at designed drawdown.
Wellbore should not breakdown during
stimulation/workover operations
(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 1

Well Stability Window 1
90
75 COLLAPSE FRACTURE
Inclination
60 REGION REGION
45
30 STABLE REGION
15
0
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2
MudFluid
Equivalent Specific Gravity Gravity
Specific
Well Stability Window 2
90
75
FRACTURE
Inclination
60 COLLAPSE
REGION REGION
45
30
15 STABLE REGION
0
1 1.1 1.2
1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2
MudFluid
Equivalent Specific GravityGravity
Specific

Question ?
Both curves are for:

Same depth
Same formation
Same rock model for calculations
Same well !
So why are they different?
1. Wellbore Stresses – Cause of

Wellbore Stability Problems
Insitu stresses
Removal of rock to form the borehole
Thermally induced stresses
Chemically induced stresses

Principal Insitu Stress Components
σv
σh
σH
Usually σv > σH > σh

What happens when rock is removed from

the formation?
Vertical σv
Wellbore
σh
σH
Horizontal
Wellbore

Vertical Wellbore Cross Section
σH
σh σh
σH
Horizontal Wellbore
σv
σh σh
σv

Results of Wellbore Deformation
σv
decreased
compression
σh σh
increased
compression
σv
Resultant Stress Field

σ max
deformed
borehole
extensional
strain zones
σ min
collapse
high shear
stress zones

What is the best direction to place a
horizontal well?
σv
σv
σH σH
σh σh
σv
σv In direction of
Minimum Hz Stress
In direction of
Maximum Hz Stress
The best direction to place a

horizontal well for optimum
borehole stability is in the direction
of the minimum horizontal insitu
stress component

Origin of Techtonic Stress
B
Water
psw
Techtonic Stress and Fractures
Faults and natural fractures
σH
σh

Stress Example
Rock stresses
– Before drilling borehole
– After drilling borehole
Insitu stress data:
– Vertical Stress: 10000 psi
– Maximum Horizontal Stress: 7500 psi
– Minimum Horizontal Stress: 7000 psi
Tangential Stress - Vertical Well
σH σH
σΘ σΘ
Θ σh Θ

Tangential Stress - Vertical Well
20000
Natural
Before status
Drilling
15000
Stress (psi)
Production
After Drilling
10000
5000
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Theta (degrees)
Tangential Stress - Horizontal Well
σv σv
σΘ σΘ
Θ σh Θ

Tangential Stress - Horizontal Well
20000
Natural
Before status
Drilling
15000 Production
After Drilling
Stress (psi)
10000
5000
0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Theta (degrees)
How do we control this?
We have only one means of controlling

changes in the stress field:
Wellbore Pressure

High Drawdown Condition
σv
pw = σh
σh σh
compressive
failure
σv
(collapse)
High Pressure during Workover
σv
pw = σv
σh σh
tensile failure
(fracture)
σv

Insitu stress affects:
Orientation of induced hydraulic

fractures (always)
Orientation of natural fractures (always)
Orientation of permeability (often)
Fractures: Induced and Natural
Induced hydraulic fractures: always

perpendicular to the minimum
principal stress component
Natural fractures: perpendicular to the
minimum principal stress component
at the time the fracture was formed

Permeability
Permeability in sedimentary formations

tends to be orthotropic: kH > kh > kv
Maximum permeability direction tends

to be perpendicular to the least principal
insitu stress components (exceptions?)
Thermal Stresses
Rocks are in thermal equilibrium before

well is placed
Hot fluid production causes thermal
expansion of the formation
Cold fluid injection causes thermal
contraction of the formation
Formation failure occurs due to thermal
stresses

Chemical Stresses
A result of :
– Osmotic flow
– Chemical reactions
Caused by chemical imbalance
between completion fluid and formation
2. Wellbore Stability Analysis

Method
Wellbore stress calculations

Failure criteria
Maximum allowable drawdown
Maximum allowable wellbore pressure

In-Situ Formation Stresses
A. In-situ Principal Stresses:

zo
σzo
σ z = σV
o
σ x = σ H max
o σyo
σ y = σ H min yo
o σxo
xo
Overburden
Stress
H
ρH
σv =
144

Effective Stress
σ v' = σ v − αp p
Biot constant α ≈ 0.7
pp
Horizontal
Stress
ν
σ h' = σ v'
1 −ν
σ h = σ h' + αp p
pp

Max. and Min. Horizontal Stresses
σ h ,max = σ h ,min + σ tech
So we have principal insitu stresses
⎡σ H 0 0⎤
{σ } = ⎢⎢0 σh 0 ⎥⎥
⎢⎣0 0 σ V ⎥⎦

B. In-situ Stresses Transformed to Wellbore
Orientation:
σv
zx0
3
x0x1 y
σH β x02
σh
α y
z
θ
x
Highest
point x
z σz
τ zy
σy
τyz
y
τzx
τyx
τ xz
τ xy
x
σ
x

So we have insitu stress components
⎡σ x σ xy σ xz ⎤
⎢ ⎥
{σˆ } = ⎢σ xy σy σ yz ⎥
⎢σ σ yz σ z ⎥⎦
⎣ xz
Orthogonal Transformation Matrix
⎧∧⎫
⎨σ ⎬ = [Q ]{σ }[Q ]
T
⎡σ H 0 0⎤
⎩ ⎭ {σ } = ⎢⎢0 σh 0 ⎥⎥
⎢⎣0 0 σ V ⎥⎦
⎡cos β cos α sin β cos α sin α ⎤

[Q] = ⎢⎢ − sin β cos β 0 ⎥⎥
⎢⎣− cos β sin α − sin β sin α cosα ⎥⎦
⎡cos β cos α − sin β − cos β sin α ⎤

[Q]T = ⎢⎢sin β cos α cos β − sin β sin α ⎥⎥
⎣⎢ sin α 0 cosα ⎦⎥

Individual insitu stress components
σ x = (σ H cos 2 β + σ h sin 2 β ) cos 2 α + σ V sin 2 α
σ y = (σ H sin 2 β + σ h cos 2 β )
σ z = (σ H cos 2 β + σ h sin 2 β ) sin 2 β + σ V cos 2 α
τ xy = τ yx = −0.5(σ H − σ h ) sin 2β cos α
τ yz = τ zy = 0.5(σ H − σ h ) sin 2β sin sα
τ xz = τ zx = −0.5(σ H cos 2 β + σ h sin 2 β − σ V ) sin 2α
C. Wellbore Stresses during Production
σ r = pw
σ θ = (σ x + σ y − pw ) − 2(σ x − σ y ) cos 2θ − 4τ xy sin 2θ
σ a = σ z − 2 μ (σ x − σ y ) cos 2θ − 4 μτ xy sin 2θ
τ ra = τ ar = 0
τ rθ = τ θr = 0
τ aθ = τ θa = 2(τ yz cos θ − τ xz sin θ )

Principal Wellbore Stresses
σθ + σ a ⎛σ −σ a ⎞
2
σ1 = + ⎜ θ ⎟ + σ a2θ
2 ⎝ 2 ⎠
σθ + σ a ⎛σ −σ a ⎞
2
σ2 = − ⎜ θ ⎟ + σ a2θ
2 ⎝ 2 ⎠
σ3 = σr
D. Failure Criteria
- Mohr-Coulomb Criterion
- Drucker-Prage Criterion
- Von Mises Criterion

The maximum and the minimum stresses among the
three principal presses are expressed as:
σ max = max(σ 1 , σ 2 , σ 3 ) σ min = min (σ 1 , σ 2 , σ 3 )
The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion can be written as:
⎛ π + 2φ ⎞ 2 ⎛ π + 2φ ⎞
σ max
'
≤ 2 S o tan ⎜ ⎟ + σ min tan ⎜
'
⎟
⎝ 4 ⎠ ⎝ 4 ⎠
where So is cohesive strength and φ is friction angle.
Exercise with Program
Mohr-Coulomb Collapse Gradient.xls

Fracture Gradient
There are two basic formulas for fracture

– Frac fluid cannot enter pore spaces prior to
fracture
– Frac fluid can enter pore spaces prior to
fracture
Forluma 1: Frac fluid cannot enter pore spaces prior to

fracture
σσzz ++σσθθ ⎛⎛σσθθ −−σσzz ⎞⎞2 22

2
=
frac =
ppfrac −− ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ ++σσθθzz ++ Y
Ytens
22 ⎝⎝ 22 ⎠⎠
tens
Note: σθ will vary around well bore circumference

Formula 2: Frac fluid can enter pore spaces prior to
fracture
= σ + Ytens
frac = σhh + Ytens
ppfrac
Note: formula assumes that σh is the

minimum insitu stress
Exercise with Program
Fracturing Gradient.xls

3. Data for Wellbore Stability
Analysis
• Insitu stresses
–Magnitude & direction
• Pore pressure
• Rock elastic properties
–Elastic modulus & poisson’
poisson’s ratio
• Rock failure parameters
–Shear strength, tensile strength, friction angle
Many Data Sources Including
• Pilot hole
• Core analysis
• Acoustic logs
• Imaging logs

Pilot Hole Method
• Drill a pilot hole to Point 1

• Run density log to surface
• Perform a mini-frac
• Oriented core to Point 2
3 • Plug back to Point 3
• Kick off and drill to Point 4
1
4
2
Mini-Frac Procedure
Open Hole DST Packer
Perf Tail Pipe
Oriented
Mini-Fracture
Core
Edge

Mini-Frac Pressure Curve
Fracture pressure, pfrac

Bottom Hole Pressure Shut off pump
ISIP ~ σh
Time
Closing Pressure
σh
p = ISIP

Use of Oriented Core
• Induced mini-fracture is perpendicular to

minimum horizontal stress
• Additional data from rock lab analyses
–Rock Elastic Properties (e.g., elastic
modulus, Poisson’s ratio)
–Rock Failure Parameters (e.g., shear
strength, friction angle, tensile strength)
Determination of σH ?
• No reliable measuring method in well bores

• May be able to use focused sonic log

Other Data Sources
• ASR - anelastic strain recovery

• DSA - differential strain analysis
• UVA - ultrasonic velocity analysis
• Paleomagnetics
• Core eccentricity
• Borehole Breakout
• Logs
Anelastic Strain Recovery
Core expansion greatest in direction of

maximum load

Differential Strain Analysis
• Opposite of ASR - sample is compressed

hydrostatically
• Maximum deformation direction equals
maximum horizontal stress direction
• Can be used on old cores
Ultrasonic Velocity Analysis
Micro-cracks
from expansion
tmax σH
tmin σh

Paleomagnetics
• Sedimentary rocks have a magnetic orientation

when deposited
• Orientation can be measured in lab
• Magnetic poles move – must know geologic
age of rock
• Method proven reliable but not as simple as
described here because of secondary and
tertiary effects
Borehole Breakout
• Oriented 4-arm caliper and dipmeter logs,

some new MWD caliper logs
•Breakout aligns with horizontal stress directions
•Very reliable method
σh
σH

Data from Acoustic Logs
• Gives good relative values - not absolute

values
• Must have a reference measurement
• Some tools give average value for horizontal
stress
Other Logs Logs
• Imaging logs
–Locate natural fractures
–Breakout/failure
–Locate induced fractures

Acoustic Emissions - Not Reliable
Insitu State
Sound Level
Displacement
Summary on Borehole Stability Analysis
• Borehole stability analysis requires additional

data, effort, and cost
• It has proven worthwhile in many cases
• Valuable insight can be gained from some of the
data alone
• Knowledge of the principles can result in
considerable cost savings

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4.

Horizontal Well Design –

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Wellbore Stability Issues

Wellbore should not collapse during production

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 1

Well Stability Window 2

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 2

Both curves are for:

So why are they different?

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

1. Wellbore Stresses – Cause of

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 3

Usually σv > σH > σh

What happens when rock is removed from

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 4

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 5

Resultant Stress Field

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 6

The best direction to place a

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 7

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Techtonic Stress and Fractures

Faults and natural fractures

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 8

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Tangential Stress - Vertical Well

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 9

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Tangential Stress - Horizontal Well

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 10

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

How do we control this?

We have only one means of controlling

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 11

High Pressure during Workover

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 12

Orientation of induced hydraulic

Orientation of natural fractures (always)

Orientation of permeability (often)

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Fractures: Induced and Natural

Induced hydraulic fractures: always

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 13

Permeability in sedimentary formations

Maximum permeability direction tends

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo

Rocks are in thermal equilibrium before

(c) Copyrifgt 2010 - Boyun Guo 14

(C) Copyright 2010 - Boyun Guo