ARMA 08-238

Long-term stability study of open-hole completions in a producing hydrocarbon field

Capasso, G., Musso, G.(1) and Mantica, S.
Eni E&P, San Donato Milanese (MI), Italy (1) Now Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Copyright 2008, ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association This paper was prepared for presentation at San Francisco 2008, the 42 July 2, 2008.
nd

US Rock Mechanics Symposium and 2nd U.S.-Canada Rock Mechanics Symposium, held in San Francisco, June 29-

This paper was selected for presentation by an ARMA Technical Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted earlier by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by ARMA and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of ARMA, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of ARMA 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 acknowledgement of where and by whom the paper was presented.

ABSTRACT: The use of open-hole completions in the design of production wells is a particularly appealing choice for oil companies, since it can ensure a huge economic advantage compared to conventional cased-hole completions. In order to assess the feasibility of such a solution, it is necessary to evaluate the mechanical stability of the rock surrounding the borehole not only in the drilling phase, but also over the stress and pressure regimes that the well will experience along its lifetime. By making reference to a case of industrial interest, the paper describes how the problem can be tackled through numerical simulation based on the Finite Element method. Proper mechanical characterization and initial stress conditions have been evaluated on the basis of in situ and laboratory results. Then, numerical simulations have been implemented accomplishing for a range of possible well trajectories and imposing the pore pressure evolution in agreement with the development scenarios. As an engineering result, a handy table reporting the stability lifetime for the analyzed reference wells as a function of trajectory and failure mode has been redacted, allowing for a fast identification of the safest well deviation and azimuth.

1. INTRODUCTION Open-hole represents a completion solution for hydrocarbon producing wells which is particularly appealing for oil companies, given its cost-effectiveness with respect to standard cased hole. It consists of simply running the casing directly down into the formation, leaving the piping open at the reservoir producing layers, without any other protective filter. This basic completion type can only be used in very competent formations: the unsupported rock undergoes significant alteration of the stress conditions in the borehole area not only during the drilling phase but also in the course of production. This may lead to mechanical collapse and require costly operations to restore the damaged wells. For this reason a careful forecast of the stability conditions of the reservoir rock is needed in order to assess the feasibility of open-hole completions, taking into account the stress and pore pressure long-term evolution, i.e. during the whole production life. The stability assessment of the drilling phases is a standard step in the well design, needed to evaluate the most appropriate mud density to avoid borehole collapse and control induced fractures. However, the evaluation of the stability evolution over the well life represents a more complex problem, implying the coupling of the rock mechanical behavior with fluid flow and pressure

decline in its pore space (see e.g. [1] for a theoretical description and 2D simulations). This paper presents a workflow used in Eni E&P to carry out a long-term stability study of open-hole completions with reference to a real case. First, the reservoir object of the study is shortly introduced. Then, it will be shown in detail how the problem has been tackled through numerical simulation based on the Finite Element (FE) method including all the available data properly processed to obtain the information needed to build the model. Well scale modeling has been performed taking into account a range of possible well azimuth and deviation in order to evaluate the safest trajectories for the wells to be drilled in the future.

2. GEOMECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION
The hydrocarbon field object of the study is one of the largest discoveries of the last decades. The oil is hosted in a late Paleozoic carbonate platform of approximately 40 x 70 km, mainly in rock formations of Upper Visean to Bashkirian age. The reservoir ranges in depth from 4000 to 5000 m, with an oil column up to 600 m. A schematic section of the field is shown in Fig. 1. Different depositional environments have been identified: the inner platform and the transition zone with an average porosity of 6-8%; the platform rim,

characterized by locally enhanced permeability due to karstification and fracturation; the outer shelf and the slope. The inner platform and the rim represent the environments of highest interest, hosting the majority of the hydrocarbon in place (respectively 50% and 37%). The workflow presented in this paper refers to the wells of a selected region of the rim area, where the knowledge gained through appraisal wells allowed for a reliable characterization in terms of geomechanical properties and initial stress field.
inner platform platform rim

For the Serpukhovian and the Visean units a good match was found already with the Mohr Coulomb criterion. As for the first, strength was identified with a cohesion intercept c= 9.5 MPa and a friction angle = 42, while elastic parameters were E=60 GPa and =0.25. As for the second, it was found c = 8.6 MPa and = 46, with E = 50 GPa and = 0.32.

3. WORKFLOW OVERVIEW
Traditionally, wellbore stability analyses focus on the integrity of the wellbore walls at drilling conditions. In permeable rocks this problem can be tackled straightforwardly in terms of effective stresses, neglecting pore pressure changes, as a purely mechanical problem. If the well is aligned along a principal stress direction, the analysis is usually pursued analytically by means of the Kirsch equations, assuming a linear elastic behavior to calculate the stress redistribution around the borehole and then checking possible failure conditions by superimposing the constraints given by the strength criterion. Seepage forces influence the equilibrium conditions, so that during production it is not possible to predict wellbore stability neglecting the mutual influence between stresses and pressures. Although the rigorous solution of the problem would consist in solving a system of equations describing both the equilibrium of the rock mass and the mass balance of the pore fluid, simplified approaches are often used instead to limit the high computational demand of the coupled solution. These approaches share the fact that the hydrodynamic and the mechanical problems are solved separately, while they differentiate for how mechanical strains are incorporated into the mass balance of the pore fluid. In the petroleum engineering literature ([3],[4],[5]) the term one way coupled is used when the hydrodynamic problem is solved first, along the whole productive life of the reservoir, and pore pressure values at given time frames are imposed in the mechanical model only afterwards. In this case no information from the mechanical model is sent back to the hydrodynamic model, so that the compressibility of the porous medium set in the hydrodynamic simulation shall be a priori calibrated to be consistent with the expected stress path of the rock formation. The two way coupled and the iteratively coupled approaches imply instead that the two simulations are run mutually exchanging hydraulic and mechanical information at given time steps, so to ensure physical consistency in an automatic manner. Given the high permeability and stiffness of the reservoir rocks, the one way coupled simulation scheme was chosen here. Indeed, the error introduced in this case is believed to be limited and anyway below the geological

Bashkirian Serpukhovian Visean

outer shelf and slope

basin

Fig. 1. Schematic section of the field from the inner platform towards the edge.

The mechanical behavior of the reservoir units has been characterized by means of a number of unconfined brasilian tests, uniaxial compressive tests and conventional triaxial tests. In the result interpretation, attention has been directed towards two main issues. First, the geological feature to which the mechanical properties could be associated has been defined, so to spread the characterization over the whole reservoir volume. Processing of lab tests has been attempted by gathering the results in possible different groups based on the inherent tectonic history, on the geological age of the formations and finally on the original depositional environment: data scatter for Mohr Coulomb parameters has been minimized by imposing a classification based on the geological age. Then, for each of the chronological units, the more appropriate failure criterion has been chosen between the linear MohrCoulomb and the quadratic Hoek and Brown [2]. On one hand, the former has the advantage of being simpler and automatically implemented in the FE code used. On the other hand, the latter is more precise in identifying failure conditions over a wider range of stresses, such as those experienced by the rock around the wellbore when passing from the mudsustained conditions to production. For the Bashkirian unit, clear advantages in adopting the Hoek and Brown criterion were evident. The unit was then characterized with a uniaxial strength C0= 46.79 MPa and the quadratic parameter m = 10.69, while the elastic constants estimated were Young modulus E= 30 GPa and Poisson coefficient = 0.22.

physical unknowns, so that the integration of hydromechanical coupling in the hydrodynamic simulation does not seem to be justified from an industrial point of view. On the basis of the above considerations, the workflow adopted for the long term open-hole stability study, carried out with numerical simulations, can be summarized in the following points:

imposed consistently with the cell dimension used in the hydrodynamic model. Altogether, the model size is around 500mx500mx500m, with a discretization resulting in 572359 degrees of freedom. In Fig. 2 the steps to build the FE model from the geometry of the hydrodynamic model are schematically shown.

the geometry of the FE model has been built according to the structural data derived by the geological and the hydrodynamic models and a range of possible well trajectories has been implemented; the initial stress state in the areas object of the study has been assessed with the processing of insitu measurements (density logs, image logs, fracturing tests) on the appraisal wells through a calibration procedure carried out with an analytical study; simulations of the drilling phase of reference appraisal wells have been run in order to further calibrate the initial stress state in the relevant areas; simulations of the drilling phase and of the successive production phase have been performed for future development wells including the pore pressure evolution induced by the forecasted production; the stability lifetime is assessed for the analyzed reference wells as a function of trajectory and failure mode.

Fig. 2. Finite element model construction.

The geomechanical simulator used to perform the analyses is the commercial code Abaqus, preprocessed in-house with a fortran90 code allowing for the construction of the model geometry according to various well deviation files.

5. INITIAL CONDITIONS 5.1. Analytical reconstruction of the geostatic stress field

The definition of the local geostatic stress field has been carried out by integrating in situ measurements with the analytical reconstruction of the evidences of tensile failures detected in the vertical appraisal wells through FMI (Formation Micro Imager) logging. No shear failures (break outs) were evidenced in the same area. The solution adopted is based on the Kirsch equations [6], therefore assuming plane strain conditions and a linear elastic behavior up to failure. First, since the detected failures are reasonably aligned along a constant direction, it has been assumed that the vertical axis is a principal one for the stress tensor [7]. The total vertical stress v was therefore obtained as a local integration of the density log data. A limited number of conventional leak-off and mini-frac tests was then used to determine the total minimum horizontal stress h. During these tests (see e.g. [8]), high pressure is imposed at a chosen well depth in order to induce fracturation; the pressure is then decreased to allow for the fracture to close, then increased again to reopen it. Processing relies on the fact that the induced fractures develop in a direction parallel to the maximum stress acting on the plane of propagation: since the

The steps listed above will be detailed in the next sections.

4. FE MODEL CONSTRUCTION
The evaluation of the well long-term stability has been focused on various areas of the field characterized by different depositional environments; well scale models have been built according to the proper structure and physical properties at chosen locations. The FE geomechanical model relied on the available hydrodynamic simulation of the field: the layering at the location of reference was extracted from the hydrodynamic model thus allowing for a good consistency with the structural information of the geological study. Being the scope of the current analysis focused on the geomechanical behavior of the rock around the well in the reservoir layers, the simulation domain has been limited, in the vertical direction, to the reservoir thickness. The horizontal extent of the model has been

normal stress governs the aperture of the fracture, the reopening pressure is equal to h. Once v and h have been determined, the maximum horizontal stress H has been estimated by honoring locally the tensile failures detected by the FMI. According to the Kirsch solution, and neglecting thermal effects, the effective stress components along the radial and the tangential directions of a vertical circular hole are:
2 2 p net rw rw 1 + (' H + ' h ) + 1 2 r2 r2 2 4 4rw 3rw 1 cos(2 ) + (' H ' h ) + 1 2 4 2 r r 2 2 p net rw rw 1 ' = (' H + ' h ) + 1 2 r2 r2 4 3rw 1 cos(2 ) (' H ' h ) + 1 4 2 r

By adopting the Mohr Coulomb criterion, in the first case the ratio between the horizontal stresses khH must satisfy the inequality:

k hH =

h H

h N +1 p net + C 0 3 h N N

(4)

where N =

' r =

1 + sin and C0 is the uniaxial compressive 1 sin strength of the rock.

In the second case failure occurs on the plane normal to the H direction and the inequality to be satisfied is:

(1)

k hH

h (N 2 ) N 2 h v p net N + C 0 3 h

(5)

where 'r is the stress component in the radial direction, ' the stress component in the tangential direction, r the distance from the well axis, rw the well radius, pnet the difference between the mud pressure and the reservoir fluid pressure, the angle measured from the direction of the maximum horizontal stress and 'H is the maximum horizontal effective stress. The lower stress component that can develop, eventually leading to tensile conditions, is the tangential stress ' at = 0 and r = rw. It is then found that in this position the effective stress tensor is given by the expression:
2 ( H h ) 0 v T = 0 p net 0 0 0 H p net 3 h 0

Similar expressions, but dependent on m and C0 can be derived for the cases where the rock strength has been characterized with a Hoek and Brown criterion. It is not possible to know a priori which among (4) and (5) must be applied, since H is a variable to be determined by the same equations. In the case under study the solutions given by applying equation (4) were not consistent with its fundamental hypothesis, while consistency held for (5). Therefore equation (5) was applied to all wells for each chronostratigraphic unit to determine a profile of upper bounds for the khH ratio. The minimum khH value so obtained, such to justify all the failures detected, was then accepted for the whole layer. As reconstructed, the stress state is consistent with a normal stress regime, with the magnitude of the maximum horizontal stress very proximate to the vertical one.

5.2. Numerical calibration of the initial stress state

(2) A further calibration of the initial stress field in the area of interest has been performed by running a set of numerical FE simulations of the drilling phase for the appraisal well of reference. In the simulations H has been assumed as a sensitivity parameter. First, the values of the ratio khH analytically deduced have been imposed; then, the comparison of the obtained results in terms of induced tensile fractures with the available FMI allowed for a further calibration. This fine tuning permitted to overcome the simplifying hypotheses of the analytical solution, so that the most reasonable initial stress field acting in the area of interest could be finally assessed. The results of the simulation runs that better reproduced the occurrence of the induced fractures are reported below for the reference appraisal well. The plot in Fig. 3 shows (dots), the position of the tensile fractures detected by the FMI log in the well, as a function of

where r= pnet and =3h-H-pnet. It is important to notice that after drilling the vertical effective stress varies from its initial value to satisfy the plane strain conditions as according to the following:
v = 0 =
p net h 3 H v p H + h net (3) E E E

In checking tensile failure conditions, two possibilities arise. While the minimum effective stress is always , the maximum effective stress can be either given by the radial effective stress or by the vertical effective stress, modified as in (2).

depth. Tensile failures were detected in the Bashkirian and Serpukhovian formations, while no FMI data are available for the Visean. In the same figure the red hatching represents the tensile failure zone of the finally calibrated simulation: the fracture direction is fixed in this case since it depends on the initial horizontal stress directions imposed (H: 95N); the failure in the numerical simulations results to be wider in the Serpukhovian and Visean, while it is more concentrated in the Bashkirian formation.
azimuth (N)
0 3900 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Table 1 shows a scheme that summarizes the scenarios investigated for the reference well.
Table 1. Simulation scenarios.

azimuth deviation 0 15 30

0 5N 50N 95N X X X X X X X

3950

induced tensile fracture (FMI)

top reservoir Bashkirian

depth (mTVDSS)

4000

simulated tensile fractured zone

4050

Serpukhovian
4100

4150

Visean
4200

Fig. 3. Measured and simulated induced tensile fractures for the reference appraisal well.

The choice of the deviation values was driven by the possible deviation range recommended by the operative department, which is 0 30. As far as the azimuth directions are concerned, they have been chosen in relation to the initial stress field acting in the area: on the basis of a screening analysis performed using the analytical solution it was evident that the most risky well trajectories are in correspondence of the minimum and maximum horizontal stress directions, which are 5N and 95N for the well considered. The intermediate azimuth direction of 50N has been also investigated. All simulations included both a drilling phase and a production phase.

A reasonable match in the fracture occurrence is evident. In Fig. 4 the deviatoric plastic strain calculated in correspondence of the tensile failures is reported as a function of depth.
plastic deformation
0.000 3900 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.025
pl s

6.1. Drilling phase

The first steps of every simulation are executed in order to reproduce the drilling phase of the well and to define the system state, in terms of stress and strain, when the production phase starts. The drilling phase was performed in consecutive steps: at every step part of the well inner material was removed and the mud pressure simultaneously applied on the borehole walls, as shown in Fig. 5.

(% )
0.030 0.035 0.040 0.045

Bashkirian
4000

top reservoir Serpukhovian

depth (mTVDSS)

4100

4200

Visean
4300

bottom reservoir

4400

4500

Fig. 4. Deviatoric plastic strain calculated in correspondence of tensile failures along the reference appraisal well.
a. b.

6. LONG TERM STABILITY EVALUATION

The evaluation of open-hole stability has been carried out with respect to seven simulation scenarios: vertical well deviation 15; azimuth 5N 50N 95N deviation 30; azimuth 5N 50N 95N

Fig. 5. Drilling phase: a. the inner material is removed; b. the mud pressure is applied on the internal walls.

6.2. Production phase

According to the one way coupled scheme implemented, pressure values were imposed at every time step of the FE model as internal boundary conditions, thus considering the medium as instantaneously drained.

Since the horizontal size of the cells of the hydrodynamic model is as big as the whole lateral extent of the mechanical model, the pressure distribution around the well cannot be derived straightforwardly from the former. Indeed data available are the averaged pressure of the cell and the pressure inside the well. More in detail, the average pressure pave is defined in the hydrodynamic model as a block averaged value, so that one value per layer and per step has been obtained for every simulated well. The well flowing pressure pw is provided by the flow simulation for every well at any time step with reference to a prescribed depth. By introducing the hypotheses of quasi steady state flow conditions and of isotropic permeability, the pore pressure distribution around the well has the form:

has been examined, being 1pl, 2pl and 3pl the principal plastic strains. The deviatoric plastic strain can be considered as a particularly adequate measure of the material failure since a non associated flow rule with dilation angle =0 was introduced in the simulations. In the following plots, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the results in terms of spl for 2 of the 7 scenarios analyzed are shown, calculated at the end of the drilling phase and at different years after the start of the production. For every scenario two plots are reported, one describing the results in correspondence of the maximum tensile stress location and the other in correspondence of the maximum shear stress location.
plastic deformation spl (%)
0 3900 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

r p(r , z; t ) = pw ( z; t ) + c( z; t ) ln rw
where:

(6)

Bashkirian
4000

depth (mTVDSS)

p(r,z;t) is the pressure applied in the FE model at the time step t to the layer located at the depth z, at a distance r from the centre of the borehole; pw(z;t) is the well pressure at the time step t corresponding to the layer located at a depth z; rw is the well radius; c(z;t) is determined by observing that pave must be consistent with the expression:

Serpukhovian
4100

4200

4300

Visean

4400

end drilling after 3 yrs after 5 yrs after 6 yrs after 8 yrs after 10 yrs after 15 yrs after 18 yrs after 22 yrs after 26 yrs after 33 yrs

4500

pave ( z; t ) = pw (z; t ) +

2 r c( z; t )r ln dr (7) 2 2 rw R rw rw
depth (mTVDSS)

plastic deformation spl (%)

0 3900 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6

4000

Bashkirian Serpukhovian

where R is the external equivalent radius of the model. To summarize, at any production time step, pw and pave have been identified and by combining equation (7) and (6) the pore pressure p(r,z;t) has been applied on the model nodes.

4100

4200

Visean

4300

4400

6.3. Result analysis

In the following the results obtained with the simulation runs of the different trajectories will be shown. Since the FE simulations carried out in this study refer to a continuum, no discontinuity (fracture) development was directly simulated: reproduction of fracture initiation and propagation requires more advanced computational approaches, such as the one described in [9]. Results have then been analyzed with reference to the occurrence of plastic deformation at the borehole walls. More in detail, the deviatoric plastic strain spl:

end drilling after 1 yr after 2 yrs after 3 yrs after 5 yrs after 6 yrs after 8 yrs after10 yrs after 15 yrs after 18 yrs after 22 yrs after 26 yrs after 33 yrs

4500

Fig. 6. Deviation: 30, azimuth: 5N (h min direction). Tensile (above) and shear (below) mode of failure.

pl =
s

2 pl 1 2pl 3

[(

) + (
2

pl
1

3pl

) + (
2

pl
2

3pl

)]
2

(8)

plastic deformation spl (%)

0 3900 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4

Table 2. Failure summary.

deviation azimuth

4000

Bashkirian
end drilling after 3 yrs after 5 yrs after 6 yrs after 8 yrs after 10 yrs after 15 yrs after 18 yrs after 22 yrs after 26 yrs after 33 yrs

4100

Serpukhovian
15

4200

Visean

4300

4400

4500

30

plastic deformation spl (%)

0 3900 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6

failure BASHKIRIAN SERPUKHOVIAN VISEAN mode Tensile after 10 yrs after 10 yrs drilling vertical Shear after 1 yr after 1 yr after 10 yrs Tensile after 8 yrs after 8 yrs drilling 5N Shear after 1 yr after 2 yrs no failure Tensile after 8 yrs after 10 yrs drilling 50N after 1 yr after 2 yrs after 8 yrs Shear Tensile after 10 yrs after 18 yrs drilling 95N after 1 yr after 2 yrs after 2 yrs Shear Tensile after 3 yrs after 3 yrs drilling 5N after 2 yrs after 10 yrs no failure Shear Tensile after 8 yrs after 8 yrs drilling 50N after 1 yr after 2 yrs after 8 yrs Shear Tensile no failure no failure drilling 95N start-up start-up start-up Shear

depth (mTVDSS)

4000

Bashkirian Serpukhovian

depth (mTVDSS)

4100

4200

Visean

4300

4400

end drilling after 1 yr after 2 yrs after 3 yrs after 5 yrs after 6 yrs after 8 yrs after 10 yrs after 15 yrs after 18 yrs after 22 yrs after 26 yrs after 33 yrs

7. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The analyses performed within the present study have been carried out with the aim of assessing the stability of open-hole completions during production for the wells to be drilled in a developing field. The workflow has been shown with reference to a particular area where the geomechanical properties of the oil bearing formations and the initial stress state had been defined processing measurements taken in nearby appraisal wells. Numerical models have been built for the well regions by using the commercial code AbaqusTM; the model geometries in terms of layering in the well areas, as well as the fluid pressure evolution with space and time, have been derived with reference to the hydrodynamic study of the field, by adopting a one way coupled approach. Possible instability causes have been evaluated by considering both tensile and break-out failures. Although it is well known that a tensile failure can be more easily managed than a break-out failure, this choice has been done as a conservative one, considering the evidence that naturally fractured zones are present in the reservoir formations and local tensile failures could combine with existing fractures resulting in possible drag of rock pieces. The calculations have been performed by considering a set of sensitivity scenarios with varying well trajectory, in order to identify the possible most favourable conditions. As expected on behalf of the reconstructed tectonic stress, in the absence of flow aligning the well along the direction of the minimum geostatic stress guarantees higher safety factors against shear failure. This benefit is anyway lost relatively soon as a consequence of the pressure drawdown and seepage forces induced by production. Therefore, for every trajectory considered, no well direction shows completely safe conditions with open-hole completion.

4500

Fig. 7. Deviation: 30, azimuth: 95N (H max direction). Tensile (above) and shear (below) mode of failure.

To recognize instability occurrence, a criterion was selected based on the assessment of a threshold for spl. The threshold was chosen as the maximum value calculated in tensile conditions for the appraisal wells where no significant rupture had physically been evidenced. On the basis of the hypothesis described above, the results obtained can be summarized as shown in Table 2. Here, the time of the possible instability occurrence, identified with the number of years after the production start, is reported by formation as a function of the well trajectory and the failure mode considered. In the table, drilling means that instability happens during the drilling phase; start-up means that the well is stable during the drilling phase but experiences instability as soon as the production starts; in the other cases either there is no failure for the whole well life, or instability occurs after some years of production.

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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge Eni S.p.A. for the permission to publish this paper.