Print this pageUsing Integrated Reservoir Management to Quantify Geomechanical Effects on Borehole Stability; A Quick Look at Sand Prediction
John Afilaka1, Tomi Fasae2, and Gbenga E. Komolafe3
1 Schlumberger, Lagos, Nigeria
2 WesternGeco, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
3 Schlumberger, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Reservoir management is not synonymous with reservoir engineering, reservoir geology, or reservoir geophysics; instead, it is an integrated petroleum study that integrates all the knowledge of the field to offer a better understanding of what is being done. The recent trend in the exploration and production industry is the integration of different disciplines to generate optimal value. A new entry into this workflow is the detailed analysis of the field's geomechanical properties to predict wellbore stability and sand production.
The goal of reservoir management is to control operations to obtain the maximum economic recovery from a reservoir based on facts, information, and knowledge. Thus, successful reservoir management requires multidisciplinary and team effort to understand and fully take advantage of recent advances in reservoir description and improved modeling techniques.
During the development planning of wells, the evaluation of potential sand production is an element of importance that must be well understood. Sand production resulting from the failure of perforations can often be avoided by adopting an appropriate perforating strategy. When rock strength throughout the reservoir is variable, sand production can be avoided by selectively perforating only those intervals of competent rock. Since weaker sands are often the most permeable, this strategy could significantly reduce well productivity and may prove unacceptable for project economics.
In this paper, we look at geomechanical applications in the oil industry and the key advantages they bring. Field examples demonstrate how they can be effectively used in Nigerian fields.