TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimum directional well path design considering collapse and fracture pressures
AU - Farzay, Oveis
AU - Shakhouri, Ali
AU - Gholami, Raoof
AU - Al-Ajmi, Adel M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Well path optimisation is often done based on the wellbore stability where the production related concerns are ignored. In fact, many of the studies carried out in the past have not included hydraulic fractures into their calculations. In fact, an optimum path for wellbore should not only provide the maximum stability during drilling but also offer a relatively low pressure to fracture the formation in the production stage. In this study, attempts are made to provide a methodology to determine an optimum well path for drilling, hydraulic fracturing and production stage using wellbore stability analysis in different stress regimes. An analytical model was proposed and used to determine the collapse pressure and fracture gradient during drilling and hydraulic fracturing at various azimuths and inclinations. The results obtained revealed that the well path does not change in a normal faulting regime during production. However, the azimuth and inclination of wells may need to be changed in the strike-slip and reverse fault regimes for a better drilling and fracturing. It was also found that deviated wells can be a better option in normal and strike-slip stress regimes, but further studies might be needed to confirm these findings. [Received: March 15, 2021; Accepted: October 10, 2021]
AB - Well path optimisation is often done based on the wellbore stability where the production related concerns are ignored. In fact, many of the studies carried out in the past have not included hydraulic fractures into their calculations. In fact, an optimum path for wellbore should not only provide the maximum stability during drilling but also offer a relatively low pressure to fracture the formation in the production stage. In this study, attempts are made to provide a methodology to determine an optimum well path for drilling, hydraulic fracturing and production stage using wellbore stability analysis in different stress regimes. An analytical model was proposed and used to determine the collapse pressure and fracture gradient during drilling and hydraulic fracturing at various azimuths and inclinations. The results obtained revealed that the well path does not change in a normal faulting regime during production. However, the azimuth and inclination of wells may need to be changed in the strike-slip and reverse fault regimes for a better drilling and fracturing. It was also found that deviated wells can be a better option in normal and strike-slip stress regimes, but further studies might be needed to confirm these findings. [Received: March 15, 2021; Accepted: October 10, 2021]
KW - Mogi-Coulomb
KW - hydraulic fracturing
KW - stress regime
KW - well path
KW - wellbore stability
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UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/5bcfcaea-739e-35ff-9466-4f6de8fc0e57/
U2 - 10.1504/ijogct.2022.124414
DO - 10.1504/ijogct.2022.124414
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85135787290
SN - 1753-3309
VL - 30
SP - 388
EP - 414
JO - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology
JF - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology
IS - 4
ER -