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Fracture stability analysis during injection in one of the NFRs (naturally fractured reservoir) of the SW Iranian giant oil field

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Abstract

There is a tremendous potential for CO2 storage and CO2-enhanced oil recovery in depleted carbonate reservoirs in southwest Iran. In case of a decrease in reservoir pressure, injection projects are required to increase the reservoir pressure and preserve the optimal production rate. However, increasing the reservoir pressure can cause the open fractures to slip and close. Therefore, accurate pore pressure estimation is essential during CO2 injection operations. The study aimed to assess open fractures’ stability during various steps of CO2 injection in one of the Iranian southwest oil fields. The key steps in this paper are geomechanical modeling and natural fractures stability analysis. A geomechanical assessment is needed to determine mechanical and strength properties of rocks, pore pressure, and in situ stresses orientation and magnitude. In this work, 1-D mechanical earth models were firstly constructed using drilling and logging data, laboratory, and in situ tests. The initial reservoir pressure was predicted by the modified Eaton method. Then, the horizontal stress magnitudes were calculated using the poroelastic method and calibrated against leak-off tests. Fractures and in situ stress orientations were derived from image logs. Finally, an analytical approach was used to determine the maximum tolerable CO2 injection pressure to prevent fracture instability. The results show that the stress state is normal, and the direction of the maximum horizontal stress and open fractures is toward NE-SW and NW–SE, respectively. The fractures are stable in the present-day stress state but will be unstable with a 5-MPa increase in pore pressure.

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(Modified from Nelson 2001)

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(Modified from Zoback 2007)

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are confidential but may be obtained from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request with Data Use Agreements with Sahand University of Technology and National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC). Researchers interested in access to the data may contact Dr. Sharghi at sharghi@sut.ac.ir to negotiate data use agreements and gain access to the data.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) for providing field data and permission to use it in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

    Narges Saadatnia

  2. Faculty of Mining Engineering, Sahanad University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

    Yousef Sharghi

  3. Ahwaz Faculty of Petroleum, Petroleum University of Technology (PUT), Ahwaz, Iran

    Jamshid Moghadasi

  4. Petroleum Engineering Department, SeaLand Engineering and Well Services (SLD), Tehran, Iran

    Mohesn Ezati

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  1. Narges Saadatnia
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Contributions

The first author of this manuscript (Narges Saadatnia) is PhD student at Sahand University of Technology and her supervisors are Dr. Sharghi and Dr. Moghdasi. Also Dr. Ezati is her Advisor in this study. Narges Saadatnia is the principal author. This paper is a part of her PhD thesis. All authors contributed to all part of the study and this manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yousef Sharghi.

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Saadatnia, N., Sharghi, Y., Moghadasi, J. et al. Fracture stability analysis during injection in one of the NFRs (naturally fractured reservoir) of the SW Iranian giant oil field. Arab J Geosci 16, 27 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-11062-w

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