SPE-169914-MS

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
Geomechanics: a New Star in the Horizon to Change the Fortunes in E&P
Projects
Hegazy, M.; and Lakshmikantha, M.R., Repsol

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Biennial Energy Resources Conference held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 09 –11 June 2014.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
The E&P industry all over the world is awakening to the new technology discipline of Geomechanics,
recognizing its importance in every operation of hydrocarbons exploitation, from drilling to production.
There are specific applications in the early stage of exploitation, e.g. with respect to wellbore stability,
sand production, hydraulic fracturing, traversing depleted zones, characterization of fractures and fault
sealing capacity. In the later stages of production it can better characterize reservoir subsidence and
fracture behavior with pressure evolution. A rigorous application of these methods can add important
value to E&P projects. The need for innovative ways to solve the technology challenges planted the seeds
of Geomechanics to germinate and grow as a key technology in E&P industry with applications for present
and future projects. The vision for the future of this emerging discipline is bright with strong growth in
applications. It is especially relevant to meet the challenges posed by many new discoveries, especially
unconventional plays, which are often difficult to develop profitably. Geomechanics creates opportunities
for improved and integrated project management. It can offer a variety of solutions by integrating
conventional E&P technologies with cutting edge numerical, mathematical models that impacts the
reservoir production behavior. Major operators were the first to embrace the scientific use of Geome-
chanics to help develop difficult reservoirs profitably. Also, a few medium-sized oil companies have
recognized this potential and, as a consequence, have created Geomechanics teams with in. In this article,
the authors provide a bird’s eye view of Geomechanics as a core E&P technology supporting mega E&P
projects. We discuss the current state of the art of this technology, with special emphasis on applications.

Introduction
Exploration and Production activities are the result of an often sequential multi-step discipline specific
work that carries over from exploration to abandonment of a producing well. Technical and communi-
cation challenges associated with an upstream operation can be significantly reduced with the use of a
discipline which requires and brings together the knowledge and expertise of geologists, geophysicists,
reservoir engineers, completion & production engineers and project managers. This discipline is Geome-
chanics.
2 SPE-169914-MS

The value of Geomechanics

The undisputed economic, operational and organizational benefits of using geomechanics support its
incorporation as an integral and necessary part of any E&P project. Geomechanics brings enriched value
to all stages in the life of the field from exploration, delineation, development, exploitation and enhanced
recovery. Evolving Geomechanical Models are highly desirable in an organization, as they influence real

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
time decisions that translates into risk mitigation and cost savings; for example, the forecasting of well
bore stability and the avoidance of lost circulation will assist in reducing incidents of lost-in-hole tools and
pack offs, among others, which contributes to a high percentage of the Exploration & Development wells
AFE (Authorization For Expenditure) overrun.
In this regard, integral and evolving geomechanical workflows can be viewed as corporate indicators
of multidisciplinary collaboration and the availability of expertise in an organization, and can also be used
as a powerful management decision making tool.

Challenges and opportunities

Under an industry wide perspective, wellbore stability, hydraulic fracture containment and compaction/
subsidence are essential applications currently addressed and solved by geomechanics. However, in the
near future the challenge of geomechanics will be respond to Salt Creep, Hydraulic fracture permeability
prediction and 3D/4D Reservoir Monitoring activities. Petroleum geomechanics deals mainly with
coupled problems requiring simultaneous consideration of changes in temperature (T), pressure (p), stress
(␴), and chemical potential (THMC). Major current challenges in this domain include:
 Accurate delineation of in situ physical properties and conditions (T, ␴, p), especially for naturally
fractured reservoirs.
 Wellbore wall stability predictions in swelling and fractured shale strata.
 Modeling and monitoring of multiple-stage hydraulic fracturing used for development of resources
in low-permeability rocks.
 Controlling or exploiting sand ingress into producing wellbores.
 Predicting subsidence accurately enough so that rational design decisions can be made.
 Mitigating or reducing the incidence of casing shear arising from subsidence or thermal reservoir
stimulation.
 Understanding and analyzing thermal production processes in viscous oil reservoirs.
 Monitoring of deformations in and around reservoirs being subjected to complex processes.
 Using the deep sedimentary basin environment for the permanent and secure disposal of fluid (ej.
CO2) and granular wastes.
Given the importance of fossil fuel energy in our industrial societies (⬎80% of all primary energy
provision), the rewards for better engineering are significant (Dusseault, 2013). The industry has
responded to the challenges and opportunities of implementing geomechanics in E&P projects through the
establishment of the geomechanics groups at R&D centres, though very few majors have Geomechancis
groups at business unit level. Technology development, technology transfer and the incorporation of
geomechanics to all E&P projects is among some of the main challenges the industry is facing today. The
following paragaraphs illustrate these technical challenges particular to some of the common scenarios in
the industry.
Green fields
Very little practical information is available when drilling in green fields. Geomechanical models become
essential at this stage to optimize drilling time and costs of new wells. Safer and lower cost wells can be
drilled when geomechanics is incorporated in well design and completion studies. Experimental lab tests,
SPE-169914-MS 3

pore-pressure prediction and 3D in-situ pre-production stress are essential to understand how the reservoir
and the overburden behave as stress and material distribution is characterized across the field. This
characterization will be useful during the whole life-time of the field. Geomechanical solutions optimize
well trajectories and generate mud weight cubes that can be produced for any well trajectory. In specific
cases such as in the presence of salt bodies, advanced numerical models that reproduce the behavior of

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
this type of rocks are essential. This is especially true for drilling more safely when drilling both at the
entrance and the exit of the salt bodies. More advanced studies such as forward modeling can be used to
predict areas that may contain faults and fractures. Critically stressed faults, micro-seismicity, solids
production, coupled analysis for future production prediction, subsidence/compaction, faults reactivation,
etc. can be also studied and predicted in advance.

Brown fields
Geomechanics provides solutions to many of the challenges found in brown fields, where production of
the field has completely changed the stress, material and faults conditions. These changes not only occur
at the reservoir, but also at the over- and under-burden, where other reservoir targets may present waiting
to be depleted. Geomechanical studies can help in predicting and/or remediating important environmental
and health & safety effects from past and future production on subsidence, cap seal integrity or fault
reactivation, among others. Additionally, prediction of stress change and reorientation due to reservoir
production will help to optimize the drilling of new well trajectories based on the updated stress states.
Prediction of solid production and the design of hydraulic fracturing strategies are among other essential
applications.

Unconventional reservoirs
Understanding the geomechanics of unconventional reservoirs is critical, due to the inherent difficulties
of producing from these plays, where advanced recovery techniques must be used. Whether dealing with
heavy oil reservoirs, tight gas sands or shale gas, the physics involved in the recovery process is extremely
complex and geomechanics becomes one of the key tools to solve these challenges.
In tight gas sands or shale gas reservoirs the role of fractures, either natural (i.e. sweet spots) or
artificially induced (i.e. hydraulic fracture), is of primary importance. Simulation of hydraulic fracture
processes based on geomechanical principles takes into account, among others, the effect of stress
orientation and re-orientation, material properties and anisotropy, together with the interaction with
pre-existing fractures. These aforementioned factors can accurately predict how hydraulic fractures will
develop, which will help in the optimization of multi-stage fracturing jobs from both the process and
production points of view.
Geomechanics studies can assist with the prediction of sweet spots too. Forward geomechanical studies
can be carried out to reproduce the structural deformation of the field during different geological times and
to have a current picture of the areas where deformation has been concentrated, and which are more prone
to contain fracture corridors or sweet spots.
The geomechanics of heavy oil reservoirs involve many processes that affect the behavior of the rock,
including temperature, fluid flow, chemical, and deformational aspects which are usually known as
THCM coupling (i.e. Thermo-Hydro-Chemo-Mechanical coupling). The interaction of all these processes
requires advanced numerical and material models that reproduce the interaction between all the relevant
aspects occurring during, for instance, hot and cold fluid injection, heat transfer, reactive transport, etc.,
and their effect on reservoir production, wellbore stability/integrity or sand production, especially in
horizontal drilling campaigns. Geomechanical studies that take into account all these interactions are
essential and require advanced parallel computing strategies when all the different physics of the problem
are taken into account.
4 SPE-169914-MS

Deep offshore Geomechanics

Offshore deep-water drilling poses additional challenges due to the relationship between the overburden
stress, the pore pressure and the fracture gradient. Typically, the fracture pressure (the mud pressure which
will create fractures into which mud will be lost) is higher than the pore pressure and lower than the
overburden stress. Near the seabed, the pore pressure and overburden stress are nearly equal because the

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
bulk of the overlying material is just sea water. Consequently, the pressure created by pumping drilling
mud often exceeds the fracture pressure. For this reason, a cheap, low density drilling fluid—sea water—is
used for drilling the first one or two holed sections. Drilling without a riser to return the drilling fluid and
cuttings to the surface is also a practical option for these near-seabed sediments in order to keep the
borehole pressure in the “safe mud weight window” between the pore pressure and fracture pressure. In
deep-water, geomechanics is invaluable. Because of the logistics associated with deep-water drilling
locations, it is of vital economic importance to get it right the first time. If there’s a problem, driving a
work over rig to the location is not an option (Reyna, 2013).
Well bore stability (WBS)
The major hurdles in well bore stability studies currently are often due to, but not limited to, the following
factors (Mody, 2008):
 The majority of easily accessible oil and gas reservoirs have already been exploited. The trend in
hydrocarbon exploration is steadily moving to deeper and more complex environments (e.g., in
deep water, sub-salt, HPHT and other challenging environments).
 Data regarding rock mechanical properties, in-situ stress states and geological structures cannot be
accurately defined and are often provided with large uncertainties.
 Well engineers, petrophysicists and drillers who are directly involved in well delivery may not have
adequate time and training in identifying and managing borehole (in) stability issues.
 Due to lack of resources and time constraints, well operations After Action Reviews (AAR)
typically gets lower priority and as a consequence these learning’s may not be well documented.

Geomechanics in integrated project management

The increasing interest and incorporation of geomechanics by major operators and the overall industry
reflects the value of this discipline in the application of conventional and unconventional exploration and
production. Geomechanics applications serve as essential exploration tools in structural geology, me-
chanical stratigraphy, natural fracture characterization and identification of seismic related attributes of
damage zones. Reservoir and production applications of geomechanics enhance knowledge and modeling
of fault sealing capacity evaluation, wellbore stability, pore pressure prediction, sand production, hydrau-
lic fracturing, traversing depleted zones, reservoir subsidence and fracture behavior with pressure
evolution.
The interdisciplinary nature of geomechanics offers the opportunity to predict well stability issues as
early as a fracture reservoir model is built. This information is very relevant to project managers and an
organization to minimize HSE incidents and unnecessary expenditures during well drilling & completion.
Other examples of the benefits of geomechanics are the integration of mechanical stratigraphy in
geo-modeling and the potential increase of SRV (Stimulated Reservoir Volume) in a stimulated uncon-
ventional natural fractured reservoir. Questions on reservoir integrity and post-production subsidence are
addressed by Geomechanics.
How does integrated Geomechanics add value to conventional disciplines?
Results from geomechanical models can be very valuable data for the more classical petroleum disciplines
such as drilling engineering, petroleum and production engineering, reservoir engineering, surface
facilities, geophysics or petrophysics, among others. One of the most direct applications of geomechanical
SPE-169914-MS 5

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
Figure 1—Role of Geomechancis in integrated project management

models is the optimization of drilling campaigns. The most stable well trajectories and orientations are
provided, together with the stable mud weight windows that drillers can use in drilling operations. This
generates subsequent cost savings and mitigates health and safety issues. Prediction of breakout volumes
or solid production studies during the lifecycle of the reservoir can be executed, with the obvious
advantages for the drilling and well construction teams. Results of coupled studies can help reservoir
engineers to better understand the effect of the reservoir deformation on the compaction and permeability
changes in the reservoir, or in the reactivation of faults that otherwise compartmentalize the reservoir.
These types of studies can also predict the amount of subsidence at the surface, which will help the surface
facilities teams to properly design and plan the on-shore or off-shore facilities.
Laboratory geomechanical tests results can be integrated with those of core analysis and petrophysics
to establish correlations between rock elastic/strength properties and facies, porosity and permeability.
The results of geomechanical backward and forward modeling can assist geophysicists in validating their
interpretations, and by drillers to be aware of zones with natural fractures where mud losses could occur.
This modeling also gives an insight to geologists and geomodelers into the types of deformation
(compaction, shear, etc.) that the rock has experienced, and to reservoir engineers in fracture prediction.
All of the above have a direct influence on and can significantly improve the economics of the reservoir
management and its environmental impact. Finally, Fig. 1 shows the value and the role played by
Geomechancis at different stages of an E&P project life cycle highlighting the importance of integrated
project management.
Geomechanics in E&P
Geomechancis was introduced to the E&P industry not long ago, since its inception this deciplice has
proven its value by widening its application from as early as exploration phase and stretching across till
abandonment. This exponential growth of growth of geomehacnis could be attributed to several factors;
important among these is integration of: experimental Geomechanics, innovative workflows, cutting edge
computational advances like parallel processing, and last but not least is the seamless integration and
interaction between oil filed data & experts from conventional E&P deciplines.
The following examples of application of Geomechanics exemplify technology applied to mega E&P
projects and the value addition.
6 SPE-169914-MS

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
Figure 2—Experimental geomechanics workflow: design, analysis and application.

Figure 3—Advanced experimental geomechancis tranlated in to rock behaviour parameters used in 3D Backward-Forward Geomechanical modeling
workflow

Experimental Geomechanics
It is a proven technique to provide reliable rock mechanical properties. The experimental workflow
presented gives a complete set of experimental results aiming at characterizing the geomechanical
behavior of a single well core for different applications at the field scale, from the drilling to production
phase. Figure 1, show the work flow and results followed during the experimental characterization of core
from a well in the Gulf of Venezuela. The experimental workflow consists of designing a testing program
keeping the field scale application in view.
The filed scale application in this case was to predict the occurance of faults and fracture zones through
geomechancial backward and forward modeling. This work flow requires use of sohpistacted rock
behavior models which require special rock parameters in shear localization to predict the faults, and
fracture zones could occur in both shear and tensile failure. Thus, the testing program was designed to
account for characterizing the rock in shear, tensile and compaction parameters. The application of these
experimental parameters to the modeling workflow is explained in the following paragraphs.
Geomechanical Forward-Backward modeling (3D structural restoration with Geomechanics)
The results of an integrated geomechanical approach applied to predict faults and fractured zones in
seismic and sub-seismic scales. The workflow has been successfully applied to a field in Venezuela and
consists of combining 1D geomechanical models along the wells (4 wells), a 3D backward elastic model
and 3D forward elastic-plastic numerical model. The integration of experimental Geomechanics results to
the numerical modeling is shown in Figure 3, where advanced rock behavior models were used to
characterize the model in three rock failure modes, names tensile, shear and compaction. Once the rock
behavior parameters were obtained a novel geomechancial workflow was applied to predict the faults and
fractured zones in the reservoir. Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the workflow of geome-
chanical backward-forward modeling.
SPE-169914-MS 7

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
Figure 4 —3D Backward-Forward Geomechanical modeling workflow applied for a fractured reservoir.

Figure 5—Predicted drilling conditions for the field, 3D volumes

Drilling Geomechanics
This work flow describes the characterization and numerical modeling techniques used in a field from
Bolivia, spanning from 1D Geomechanical model building along 5 wells to the construction of a 3D-4D
model at field scale for stress-flow coupled simulation of historical and future production with fracture
permeability updating. Post-processing included the derivation of drilling conditions at virgin, present-day
and future stress states, the evaluation of bounding fault reactivation risks, the effect of fracture
closure/opening on future production and that of reservoir compaction and ground subsidence. Figure 5
show 3D volumes of different drilling conditions of kick, Breakout, Loss, and Breakdown for the entire
field.
8 SPE-169914-MS

Conclusions
Industry wide recognition of the relevance of geomechanics in E&P projects from exploration to well
abandonment along with recent advances in 3D/4D geomechanics modeling along with sophisticated
experimental characterization supports the permanent inclusion of geomechanics in integrated reservoir
management. A brief over view of cutting-edge technical capabilities & research in experimental, drilling

Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/SPETTCE/proceedings-pdf/14TTCE/1-14TTCE/D011S006R001/1545479/spe-169914-ms.pdf by Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico user on 08 August 2023
and reservoir geomechanics is discussed along with project specific applications on some of the hig profile
assets. Production from unconventional reservoirs, as well as tight conventional reservoirs whose
production comes mainly from fractures, will be enhanced by the use of the evolving technology of
Geomechanics.
The examples presented in this article support the importance of utilization and application of
geomechanics in E&P projects and operational activities. The clear benefits of geomechanics has changed
the paradigm from a side discipline to a fully integrated and necessary step that increases value in terms
of modeling, savings in Capex & Opex and HSE considerations, among others. Undoubtedly Geome-
chanics is a new star in the horizon to change the fortunes in E&P projects.

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the E&P Management of Repsol for their commitment and belief in this
vision. Also, thanks to the Geomechanics team of CTR for their insightful inputs and discussions during
the preparation of this article

References
M. Dusseault: Geomechanics challenges. Uwaterloo.ca. from http://uwaterloo.ca/geomechanics-
group/, (2013)
F.K. Mody, U. Tare, and G.G. Wang.: Application of Geomechanics technology in borehole stability
reduces well construction costs. 42nd US Rock Mechanics Symposium and 2nd US. Canada Rock
Mechanics Symposium. San Francisco. (2008) ARMA 08 –255.
J. Reyna: Geomechanics: Helping us make sense of deepwater hydrocarbons. Halliburtonblog.com.
Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://halliburtonblog.com/geomechanics-helping-us-make-sense-of-
deepwater-hydrocarbons/ (2013)
Various REPSOL Internal publications and technical project reports: (2012-2014).