Advances In Geomechanics Research And Application For Deep Unconventional Reservoirs

Advances in Geomechanics Research and Application for Deep Unconventional Reservoirs

Deep unconventional oil and gas reservoirs (such as shale oil/gas, tight oil/gas, coalbed methane (CBM), oil shale, etc.) are commonly characterized by geological and structural complexity, increased formation temperature and pressure, and complex in-situ stress fields. Geomechanics research is helpful to understand the in-situ stress of complex structures, faults and natural fracture systems in deep blocks. Field practice shows that insufficient geomechanics understanding can easily result in low drilling efficiency, long construction period, frequent occurrence of complex situations, and unsatisfactory fracturing effects. In recent years, geomechanics applied to drilling, completion, hydraulic fracturing, and production in unconventional reservoirs has achieved great progress, producing various advanced experimental and numerical approaches and applications. However, as the buried depth increases, the complicated geology conditions make it more and more difficult for the engineering reconstructions, which poses a great threat to the efficient development of deep resources. New knowledge and understandings of geomechanics are urgently needed to guide the development of unconventional oil/gas reservoirs, and the related theory, experiment and simulation studies are rapidly developing.

Reservoir Geomechanics

This interdisciplinary book encompasses the fields of rock mechanics, structural geology and petroleum engineering to address a wide range of geomechanical problems that arise during the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs. It considers key practical issues such as prediction of pore pressure, estimation of hydrocarbon column heights and fault seal potential, determination of optimally stable well trajectories, casing set points and mud weights, changes in reservoir performance during depletion, and production-induced faulting and subsidence. The book establishes the basic principles involved before introducing practical measurement and experimental techniques to improve recovery and reduce exploitation costs. It illustrates their successful application through case studies taken from oil and gas fields around the world. This book is a practical reference for geoscientists and engineers in the petroleum and geothermal industries, and for research scientists interested in stress measurements and their application to problems of faulting and fluid flow in the crust.

Unconventional Reservoir Geomechanics