The course is essentially non-mathematical and makes wide use of diagrams, pictures and exercises to illustrate the essential concepts of geomechanics:

• Essential Rock Mechanics Principles
• Wellbore Stability Analysis
• Lost Circulation and Wellbore Strengthening applications
• Sand Production Management
• Input to Hydraulic Fracture design
• Salt instability

Apply the basic concepts of geomechanics to identify, predict and mitigate against formation instability during drilling, completion and production.

DAY 1

INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED PETROLEUM GEOMECHANICS

ESSENTIAL ROCK MECHANICS AND EARTH STRESSES

• Review of fundamental mechanics
• Normal and shear stresses
• Elasticity, yield and plasticity

Exercise: Estimating rock properties from triaxial core test data

MECHANICAL CORE TESTING

• Elasticity, yield and plasticity

Exercise: Using Mohr’s Circle to understand formation failure

PORE PRESSURE

• Sources of overpressure
• Pre-drill pore pressure prediction from seismic data
• Pore pressure prediction techniques from logs and drilling data

Exercise: Prediction of overpressure from sonic data

DAY 2

CONSTRUCTION AND UTILISATION OF A ROCK MECHANICAL EARTH MODEL

• Estimating in-situ earth stresses and pore pressure

DATA ACQUISITION RECOMMENDATIONS

• Extended Leak-off Tests

WELLBORE INSTABILITY

• Rock mechanics versus drilling operations
• State of stress around a wellbore
• Estimating stability limits – choosing a mud weight
• Influence of well trajectory
• Unconventional failures

Exercise: Stability limits for vertical and horizontal wells

PLANNING FOR WELLBORE STABILITY

• Data gathering
• Mud weight window calculations
• Operational identification and management

DAY 3

PLANNING FOR WELLBORE STABILITY

Case-study practical: Choosing an optimal wellbore trajectory

UNCONVENTIONALS & RESERVOIR GEOMECHANICS

• Understanding rock property anisotropy in shales
• Accounting for the effects of stress changes due to depletion and injection
• Temperature effects

Exercise: Estimating rock properties from triaxial core test data

DAY 4

GEOMECHANICAL ASPECTS OF LOST CIRCULATION

• Lost circulation mechanisms
• Understanding wellbore strengthening techniques

Exercise: Solve a lost circulation problem using real-life log and drilling data

SAND PRODUCTION, PREDICTION AND MANAGEMENT

• Sand production mechanisms
• Critical drawdown calculation
• Sand avoidance versus sand exclusion
• Sand avoidance techniques
• Influence of depletion and water cut

Exercise: Choosing a completion strategy to manage sand production

DAY 5

GEOMECHANICAL ASPECTS OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURE STIMULATION

• Stress profiling
• Rock property estimation
• Fracture geometry and orientation

Exercise: Stress barriers for fracture confinement

SALT INSTABILITY

• Geomechanics of salt formations – plastic deformation
• Stress modelling around salt diapirs
• Drilling hazards

RECTUS attendance certificate will be issued to all attendees completing minimum of 80% of the total course duration