Joanne T. Fredrich

Geomechanical Modeling of Reservoir Compaction, Surface Subsidence, and Casing Damage at the Belridge Diatomite Field

Geologic, and historical well failure, production, and injection data were analyzed to guide development of three-dimensional geomechanical models of the Belridge diatomite field, California. The central premise of the numerical simulations is that spatial gradients in pore pressure induced by production and injection in a low permeability reservoir may perturb the local stresses and cause subsurface deformation sufficient to result in well failure. Time-dependent reservoir pressure fields that were calculated from three-dimensional black oil reservoir simulations were coupled uni-directionally to three-dimensional non-linear finite element geomechanical simulations. The reservoir models included nearly 100,000 gridblocks (100--200 wells), and covered nearly 20 years of production and injection. The geomechanical models were meshed from structure maps and contained more than 300,000 nodal points. Shear strain localization along weak bedding planes that causes casing dog-legs in the field was accommodated in the model by contact surfaces located immediately above the reservoir and at two locations in the overburden. The geomechanical simulations are validated by comparison of the predicted surface subsidence with field measurements, and by comparison of predicted deformation with observed casing damage. Additionally, simulations performed for two independently developed areas at South Belridge, Sections 33 and 29, corroborate their different well failure histories. The simulations suggest the three types of casing damage observed, and show that although water injection has mitigated surface subsidence, it can, under some circumstances, increase the lateral gradients in effective stress, that in turn can accelerate subsurface horizontal motions. Geomechanical simulation is an important reservoir management tool that can be used to identify optimal operating policies to mitigate casing damage for existing field developments, and applied to incorporate the effect of well failure potential in economic analyses of alternative infilling and development options.

Constitutive models for the Etchegoin Sands, Belridge Diatomite, and overburden formations at the Lost Hills oil field, California

This report documents the development of constitutive material models for the overburden formations, reservoir formations, and underlying strata at the Lost Hills oil field located about 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield in Kern County, California. Triaxial rock mechanics tests were performed on specimens prepared from cores recovered from the Lost Hills field, and included measurements of axial and radial stresses and strains under different load paths. The tested intervals comprise diatomaceous sands of the Etchegoin Formation and several diatomite types of the Belridge Diatomite Member of the Monterey Formation, including cycles both above and below the diagenetic phase boundary between opal-A and opal-CT. The laboratory data are used to drive constitutive parameters for the Extended Sandler-Rubin (ESR) cap model that is implemented in Sandias structural mechanics finite element code JAS3D. Available data in the literature are also used to derive ESR shear failure parameters for overburden formations. The material models are being used in large-scale three-dimensional geomechanical simulations of the reservoir behavior during primary and secondary recovery.

Visualization of geologic stress perturbations using Mohr diagrams

Huge salt formations, trapping large untapped oil and gas reservoirs, lie in the deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling in this region is high-risk and drilling failures have led to well abandonments, with each costing tens of millions of dollars. Salt tectonics plays a central role in these failures. To explore the geomechanical interactions between salt and the surrounding sand and shale formations, scientists have simulated the stresses in and around salt diapirs in the Gulf of Mexico using nonlinear finite element geomechanical modeling. In this paper, we describe novel techniques developed to visualize the simulated subsurface stress field. We present an adaptation of the Mohr diagram, a traditional paper-and-pencil graphical method long used by the material mechanics community for estimating coordinate transformations for stress tensors, as a new tensor glyph for dynamically exploring tensor variables within three-dimensional finite element models. This interactive glyph can be used as either a probe or a filter through brushing and linking.

In Situ Clay Formation: Evaluation of a Proposed New Technology for Stable Containment Barriers

Containment of chemical wastes in near-surface and repository environments is accomplished by designing engineered barriers to fluid flow. Containment barrier technologies such as clay liners, soil/bentonite slurry walls, soil/plastic walls, artificially grouted sediments and soils, and colloidal gelling materials are intended to stop fluid transport and prevent plume migration. However, despite their effectiveness in the short-term, all of these barriers exhibit geochemical or geomechanical instability over the long-term resulting in degradation of the barrier and its ability to contain waste. No technologically practical or economically affordable technologies or methods exist at present for accomplishing total remediation, contaminant removal, or destruction-degradation in situ. A new type of containment barrier with a potentially broad range of environmental stability and longevity could result in significant cost-savings. This report documents a research program designed to establish the viability of a proposed new type of containment barrier derived from in situ precipitation of clays in the pore space of contaminated soils or sediments. The concept builds upon technologies that exist for colloidal or gel stabilization. Clays have the advantages of being geologically compatible with the near-surface environment and naturally sorptive for a range of contaminants, and further, the precipitation of clays could result in reduced permeability and hydraulic conductivity, and increased mechanical stability through cementation of soil particles. While limited success was achieved under certain controlled laboratory conditions, the results did not warrant continuation to the field stage for multiple reasons, and the research program was thus concluded with Phase 2.