EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

In Situ Stress Determination Based on Acoustic Image Logs and Borehole Measurements in the In-Adaoui and Bourarhat Hydrocarbon Fields, Eastern Algeria

Rafik Baouche, Souvik Sen, Ahmed E. Radwan (radwanae@yahoo.com) and Ahmed Abd El Aal
Additional contact information
Rafik Baouche: Laboratory of Resources Minérals at Energétiques, Department of Geophysic, Faculty of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry (FHC), University M’Hamed Bougara Boumerdes, Boumerdes 35000, Algeria
Souvik Sen: Geologix Limited, Dynasty Building, Andheri Kurla Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400059, Maharashtra, India
Ahmed E. Radwan: Faculty of Geography and Geology, Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 3a, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
Ahmed Abd El Aal: Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Najran University, Najran 1988, Saudi Arabia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: The study of in situ stress from image logs is a key factor for understanding regional stresses and the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources. This work presents a comprehensive geomechanical analysis of two eastern Algerian hydrocarbon fields to infer the magnitudes of principal stress components and stress field orientation. Acoustic image logs and borehole measurements were used in this research to aid our understanding of regional stress and field development. The studied In-Adaoui and Bourarhat fields encompass a combined thickness of 3050 m of Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy, with the primary reservoir facies in the Ordovician interval. The Ordovician sandstone reservoir interval indicates an average Poisson’s ratio ( v ) of 0.3, 100–150 MPa UCS, and 27–52 GPa Young’s modulus (E). Direct formation pressure measurements indicate that the sandstone reservoir is in a hydrostatic pore pressure regime. Density-derived vertical stress had a 1.1 PSI/feet gradient. Minimum horizontal stress modeled from both Poisson’s ratio and an effective stress ratio-based approach yielded an average 0.82 PSI/feet gradient, as validated with the leak-off test data. Drilling-induced tensile fractures (DITF) and compressive failures, i.e., breakouts (BO), were identified from acoustic image logs. On the basis of the DITF criterion, the maximum horizontal stress gradient was found to be 1.57–1.71 PSI/feet, while the BO width-derived gradient was 1.27–1.37 PSI/feet. Relative stress magnitudes indicate a strike-slip stress regime. A mean S HMax orientation of N130°E (NW-SE) was interpreted from the wellbore failures, classified as B-quality stress indicators following the World Stress Map (WSM) ranking scheme. The inferred stress magnitude and orientation were in agreement with the regional trend of the western Mediterranean region and provide a basis for field development and hydraulic fracturing in the low-permeable reservoir. On the basis of the geomechanical assessments, drilling and reservoir development strategies are discussed, and optimization opportunities are identified.

Keywords: geomechanical characterization; in situ stress; Lower Turonian; unconventional reservoir; tight carbonates; fracture reactivation; Constantine Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/10/4079/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/10/4079/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:10:p:4079-:d:1146435

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager (indexing@mdpi.com).

 
Page updated 2024-12-28
Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:10:p:4079-:d:1146435