370 results about "Geomechanics" patented technology

A process to determine optimal completion type and design prior to drilling of a hydrocarbon producing well utilizing information from hydrocarbon recovery modeling such as reservoir, geo-mechanical, and material modeling over the production life of the well. An embodiment of the process includes obtaining information regarding pore pressure depletion, stress magnitudes and orientations, and strength of rock formation from hydrocarbon recovery modeling to determine optimum well completion design including the selection of a completion type, trajectory, and location. Additionally, the process may also consider probable failure mechanisms and identified completion requirements, and their corresponding effect on completion options.

Methods of predicting earth stresses in response to pore pressure changes in a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir within a geomechanical system, include establishing physical boundaries for the geomechanical system and acquiring reservoir characteristics. Geomechanical simulations simulate the effects of changes in reservoir characteristics on stress in rock formations within the physical boundaries to determine the rock formation strength at selected nodes in the reservoir. The strength of the rock formations at the nodes is represented by an effective strain (ε_eff), which includes a compaction strain (ε_c) and out-of-plane shear strains (γ1-3, Y2-3) at a nodal point. The methods further include determining an effective strain criteria (ε_eff^cr) from a history of well failures in the physical boundaries. The effective strain (ε_eff^cr) at a selected nodal point is compared with the effective strain criteria (ε_eff^cr) to determine if the effective strain (ε_eff) exceeds the effective strain criteria (ε_eff^cr).

The present invention relates generally to methods for designing and optimizing the number, placement, and size of fractures in a subterranean formation and more particularly to methods that account for stress interference from other fractures when designing and optimizing the number, placement, and size of fractures in the subterranean formation. The present invention optimizes the number, placement and size of fractures in a subterranean formation. The present invention determinines one or more geomechanical stresses induced by each fracture based on the dimensions and location of each fracture. The present invention determinines a maximum number of fractures and a predicted stress field based on the geomechanical stresses induced by each of the fractures

A method for modeling deformation in subsurface strata, including defining physical boundaries for a geomechanical system. The method also includes acquiring one or more mechanical properties of the subsurface strata within the physical boundaries, and acquiring one or more thermal properties of the subsurface strata within the physical boundaries. The method also includes creating a computer-implemented finite element analysis program representing the geomechanical system and defining a plurality of nodes representing points in space, with each node being populated with at least one of each of the mechanical properties and the thermal properties. The program solves for in situ stress at selected nodes within the mesh.

Method of constructing a geomechanical model of an underground zone intended to be coupled with a reservoir model allowing simulation of fluid flows in the zone, from a geological model of the zone discretized by a fine grid. Basically, geomechanical properties are associated with the various cells of the geological model on the basis of experimental data, the underground zone is discretized by a geomechanical grid with larger cells than the geological grid, and a scale change is applied to the geomechanical data included in the geological model in order to define equivalent geomechanical properties at the scale of the geomechanical grid of the zone. Application: improvement in the quality of coupled simulations between geomechanical and reservoir models.

A method for evaluating an earth formation from a well bore, that includes: collecting at least one of geochemical data, petrophysical data and geomechanical data from a wellbore; and identifying depositional facies of the earth surrounding the wellbore. A computer program product and a system are provided.

A method for optimizing hydraulic fracturing and refracturing simulates the geomechanical interaction between regional stress and natural fractures in a reservoir. An equivalent fracture model is created from data on the natural fracture density, regional stress and elastic properties of the reservoir, so that points in the reservoir are assigned a fracture length and fracture orientation. The horizontal differential stress and maximum principal stress direction at points in the reservoir are then estimated by meshless particle-based geomechanical simulation using the equivalent fracture model as an input. Regions in the reservoir having low differential stress based on the simulation can then be selected for initial hydraulic fracturing. Regions in the reservoir having high differential stress based on the simulation can then be selected for refracturing.

A method for predicting time-lapse seismic timeshifts in a three-dimensional geomechanical system including defining physical boundaries for the geomechanical system. In addition, one or more reservoir characteristics such as pore pressure and/or temperature history are acquired from multiple wells within the physical boundaries. The method also includes determining whether a formation in the geomechanical system is in an elastic regime or a plastic regime. The method also includes obtaining first and second seismic data sets for the geomechanical system, taken at first and second times. The method also includes running a geomechanical simulation to simulate the effects of changes in pore pressure or other reservoir characteristic on time-lapse seismic timeshifts in the formation.

A system and method for the geomechanical steering of the orientation of a wellbore is disclosed. In one embodiment, any available a priori data regarding the stress characteristics of a region of interest are used to develop a preliminary stress model for the region. A geosteered drilling operation is thereafter commenced, with the trajectory being steered in a direction relative to the stress model of the region. While drilling, real-time data is obtained from conventional down-hole instrumentation. The real-time data is used to refine the stress model for the region, such that the trajectory can be guided on an ongoing basis to achieve an optimal relationship with the measured stress characteristics of the region.

The invention discloses an experiment device for synthesizing a marine natural gas hydrate sample. The device comprises a reaction kettle, an axial compression piston, a kettle outer jacket, an injection system, an axial compression control system, a confining pressure control system and an output system. The invention further discloses an experiment method adopting the experiment device for synthesizing the marine natural gas hydrate sample. The method comprises the steps that firstly, ice powder particles are manufactured, then, the ice powder particles and dried porous medium particles are mixed and placed into the high-pressure reaction kettle in the subzero low-temperature environment so as to simulate seabed geomechanical properties, then, methane is injected to generate a hydrate, ice is directly converted into the hydrate, and finally free gas inside the reaction kettle is removed through the liquid injection system. According to the experiment device and method, true marine natural gas hydrate samples which are hard to obtain on various geological conditions and various occurrence form conditions can be economically, efficiently and accurately obtained, the research on the hydrate is closer to the reality, and the experiment basis is provided for research of natural gas hydrate exploitation.

A method for updating a velocity model of a subsurface of the earth is described herein. A tomographic update to the velocity model of the subsurface may be performed to generate a tomographic velocity model update. A geomechanical velocity model update of the subsurface may be calculated. The geomechanical velocity model update may be combined with the tomographic velocity model update.

Fracture- and stress-induced sonic anisotropy is distinguished using a combination of image and sonic logs. Borehole image and sonic logs are acquired via known techniques. Analysis of sonic data from monopole P- and S-waves, monopole Stoneley and cross-dipole shear sonic data in an anisotropic formation are used to estimate at least one compressional and two shear moduli, and the dipole fast shear direction. Fracture analysis of image logs enables determination of fracture types and geometrical properties. Geological and geomechanical analysis from image logs provide a priori discrimination of natural fractures and stress-induced fractures. A forward quantitative model of natural fracture- and stress-induced sonic anisotropy based on the knowledge of fracture properties interpreted from image logs allows the computation of the fast-shear azimuth and the difference in slowness between the fast- and slow-shear. The misfit between predicted and observed sonic measurements (i.e. fast-shear azimuth and slownesses) is then optimized in order to discriminate depth zones with an elastic medium as being influenced by the presence of open natural fractures, closed natural fractures and fractures induced by non-equal principal stress effects.

A multi-operating mode frame type portable landslide testing device for a geomechanical model belongs to the field of geological hazard model test. The testing device comprises a frame-beam-type testing bed, a rainfall simulator, a water level regulator and a self-weight horizontal loading mechanism, wherein the frame-beam-type testing bed mainly comprises a cuboid framework, a front panel, a rear panel and a base plate; the rainfall simulator is arranged at the top of the frame-beam-type testing bed and comprises a plurality of spraying pipes and nozzles on the spraying pipes and is used for simulating rainfall in the frame-beam-type testing bed; the water level regulator comprises a left-side trough and a right-side trough respectively formed on the left and the right sides of the frame-beam-type testing bed, and a plurality of drainage holes are respectively formed on the right panel of the left-side trough and the left panel of the right-side trough and used for changing the water levels of water level simulation libraries in the left-side trough and the right-side trough; and the self-weight horizontal loading mechanism is arranged above the right-side trough and used for bearing weights, so as to exert horizontal load to the landslide model in the frame-beam-type testing bed.

A test system of 3D geologic mechanical model is composed of box testing device formed by connecting box cast steel component, angle element and chassis together through high strength bolts; hydraulic loading control system formed by variable ¿C load loading plate with thin jack at top, hydraulic loading control table and oil separator. It features that said loading plate is connected on left and right internal walls of box testing device through thin jack and said loading control table is connected to jack through oil separator and oil pipe.

The invention provides a Logging GeoMechanics Identify Reservoir (LogGMIR) method. Starting from the perspective of rock mechanics, the method researches the relation between crustal stress and reservoir validity, establishes a reservoir effectiveness evaluation standard and recognizes high-quality reservoirs, forms a set of method and technology applicable to high and steep structure crustal stress calculation and reservoir recognition, establishes a calculation method for the crustal stress of mountain front high and steep stratums and a mechanical standard for evaluating the reservoir effectiveness, provides a brand-new technological support for logging evaluation on the deep fractured sandstone reservoir effectiveness in a work area and provides a reliable geological mechanics basis for formation testing, acidification, crushing and other layer selection processes.

The invention relates to a miniature TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) excavation system for tunnel excavation in a physical simulation test and belongs to the technical field of geotechnical engineering. The system comprises a cutter head, a protective shield, a gripper, a transmission shaft, a pulling jack, a guide rail, a motor, a base and the like; one end of the pulling jack is fixed to a support rack; a piston at the other end of the pulling jack is used for pulling the base and the motor to move forwards or backwards together; the motor is used for driving the transmission shaft to rotate to push the cutter head to move forwards to cut tunnel face rock mass; jacks on two sides of the gripper can push gripper arms to exert specified pressure to wall rock. The system can accurately simulate the rock breaking process of the cutter head, takes the interaction between the wall rock and the gripper, the interaction between the tunnel face and cutter head and the interaction between the wall rock and the protective shield into consideration, can be applied for simulating a shield TBM to excavate a soft rock tunnel, a subway or the like in a common geomechnical model test and can also be applied for simulating excavation of a TBM for a deep-lying hard rock tunnel to study the relationship between rock-machine interaction and rock burst.

Assessing the impact of existing fractures and faults for reservoir management, in one aspect, may comprise employing a numerical mesh to generate a geomechanical model, the numerical mesh representing a geological reservoir and its surrounding regions, the numerical mesh comprising delimitation associated with regions and layering of geology without constraining the numerical mesh to explicitly represent a fault or fracture, initializing the geomechanical model to define initial stress-strain compatible with measured stress in well locations associated with the geological reservoir, generating a fluid-flow model employing the numerical mesh, solving for a coupled solution of the fluid-flow model and the geomechanical model, and employing the solved fluid-flow model and the geomechanical model to assess the impact.