Geomechanics

This course covers the necessary fundamentals of geomechanics for wellbore applications; the origin of stresses in the subsurface and how in situ stresses can be understood from wellbore data; mechanical properties such as rock strength, and the origins of pore pressure and how it is measured and estimated. The course then proceeds to show how these data are applied through the Mechanical Earth Model to critical problems in exploration and field development. There are detailed case studies on wellbore stability sand production and hydraulic fracturing. The course also includes an introduction to reservoir geomechanics, showing the geomechanical influence of pressure changes in the reservoir.

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

• Use routinely collected and specialized data to make basic geomechanical calculations for wellbore stability, sand production and hydraulic fracturing
• Select and design data acquisition for geomechanical studies
• Interpret image data to identify basic geomechanical behaviour

This course is also available as a 3 day class without classroom exercises 

This course builds on the Fundamentals of Petroleum Geomechanics course and starts to investigate geomechanics beyond simple elastic, isotropic behaviour. After a brief review of fundamental concepts, earth stresses and the Mechanical Earth Model, the course looks at the impact of reversible and non-reversible geomechanical behaviour on drilling, stimulation, sand production and injection looking specifically at thermal, depletion and compaction effects. The course then investigates anisotropy, its nature and effect on geomechanics, and its significance and influence on well construction and field development. The course also covers salt, introducing the mechanics of salt, short term and long term behaviour, as well as the impact on drilling both sub-salt and pre-salt.

At the end of this course participants will recognize the differences and significance of reversible and non-reversible in petroleum applications of geomechanics both in the wellbore and reservoir. They will under-stand the importance of anisotropic behaviour in rocks, know the methods used to measure anisotropy and the effect on well construction and field development. They will also be know about the short and long term mechanical behaviour of salt, the effect of salt on the local stress state and what needs to be considered when developing fields either created by or accessed through salt.