Horizontal stress rotation due to reservoir depletion.

Hamid, Osman; Sanaee, Reza; Oluyemi, Gbenga

Abstract

The principal stress rotations axes are observed due to fluid injection into reservoirs, hydrocarbon production, and around the fractures during wellbore stimulation operation and faults. Local stress fields around the fractures will change during reservoir depletion due to the fluid flow and deformation induced by fractures mechanical interference. The stress rotation is controlled by the magnitude of anisotropic stress, which is dependent on several reservoir and material properties. The angle of stress rotation itself manifests the physical response of a reservoir to fluid injection or depletion. The stress reorientation depends on the magnitude of the initial differential stress, the material properties of the formation, and the reservoir development, such as injection rate and fluid temperature. Thus, if stress rotations are observed and a sufficient amount of reservoir properties are known, the information can improve geological reservoirs geomechanical characterization. The factors that lead to horizontal stress reorientation include Formation permeability, injection rates, the opening of hydraulic fracture, and production of fluids in the reservoir. This study addressed depletion in an idealized finite reservoir, using Finite Element Method (FEM), where a reservoir is bounded by an impermeable fault that acts as a barrier to fluid flow. The authors believe that there are two reasons why changes in the reservoir pressure may be the cause of apparent stress rotations near faults. First is a case where the orientation of maximum horizontal stress in a reservoir appears to change with time, and second, the stress orientations followed the local strike of the reservoir bounding faults.

Citation

HAMID, O., SANAEE, R. and OLUYEMI, G. 2021. Horizontal stress rotation due to reservoir depletion. Presented at 55th US rock mechanics/geomechanics American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) symposium, 18-25 June 2021, [virtual conference].

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: 55th U.S. rock mechanics/geomechanics American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) symposium 2021 (ARMA 2021)
• Start Date: Jun 18, 2021
• End Date: Jun 25, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 20, 2021
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• ISBN: 9781713839125
• Keywords: Multiple tectonic events; Fluid flow; Finite element method; Reservoir depletion; Enhanced recovery; Reorientation; Stress rotation; Reservoir geomechanics; Depletion; Rotation; Reservoir characterization; Upstream oil and gas; Horizontal stress; Fracture
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1391279
• Additional Information: The file accompanying this output is the presentation slides used in the virtual conference, the full paper is available on OnePetro: ; HAMID, O., SANAEE, R. and OLUYEMI, G. 2021. Horizontal stress rotation due to reservoir depletion. In proceedings of 55th US rock mechanics/geomechanics American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) symposium, 18-25 June 2021, [virtual conference]. Houston: ARMA, article 21-1077. Hosted on OnePetro [online]. Available from: https://onepetro.org/ARMAUSRMS/proceedings-pdf/ARMA21/All-ARMA21/ARMA-2021-1748/2479889/arma-2021-1748.pdf/1.