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Borehole Stability Analysis of Horizontal Drilling in Shale Gas Reservoirs

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Abstract

Serious wellbore instability occurs frequently during horizontal drilling in shale gas reservoirs. The conventional forecast model of in situ stresses is not suitable for wellbore stability analysis in laminated shale gas formations because of the inhomogeneous mechanical properties of shale. In this study, a new prediction method is developed to calculate the in situ stresses in shale formations. The pore pressure near the borehole is heterogeneous along both the radial and tangential directions due to the inhomogeneity in the mechanical properties and permeability. Therefore, the stress state around the wellbore will vary with time after the formation is drained. Besides, based on the experimental results, a failure criterion is verified and applied to determine the strength of Silurian shale in the Sichuan Basin, including the long-term strength of gas shale. Based on this work, horizontal well borehole stability is analyzed by the new in situ stress prediction model. Finally, the results show that the collapse pressure will be underestimated if the conventional model is used in shale gas reservoirs improperly. The collapse pressure of a horizontal well is maximum at dip angle of 45°. The critical mud weight should be increased constantly to prevent borehole collapse if the borehole is exposed for some time.

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Abbreviations

B :

Skempton’s coefficient, nondimensional

E :

Young’s modulus in the plane of isotropy, GPa

E′:

Young’s modulus normal to the isotropic plane, GPa

K :

Permeability of shale reservoir, nD

P C :

Collapse pressure of the shale gas horizontal wellbore, g/cm3

P p :

The near-wellbore pressure, g/cm3

SG:

The equivalent density of pressure (i.e. specific gravity), g/cm3

t :

Loading time in rock mechanics testing, days

UCSC :

Corrected uniaxial compressive strength of shale, MPa

UCSF :

Fitted uniaxial compressive strength of shale, MPa

UCSi :

Instantaneous UCS of shale, MPa

UCSt :

Long-term UCS of shale, MPa

UCST :

Test uniaxial compressive strength of shale, MPa

VTI:

Transversely isotropic medium with vertical axis of symmetry

α :

Effective stress coefficient, nondimensional

μ :

Fluid viscosity, mPa s

σ h :

Minimum horizontal in situ stress, MPa

σ H :

Maximum horizontal in situ stress, MPa

σ V :

Overburden in situ stress, MPa

υ :

Poisson’s ratio in the plane of isotropy

υ′:

Poisson’s ratio in the plane normal to the isotropic plane

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Science Fund (project no. 51174219), the National Science Fund Innovative Research Groups (project no. 51221003), and the National Science and Technology Major Project (project no. 2011ZX05009-005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, No. 18 Fuxue Road, Changping District, Beijing, 102249, China

    Jun-Liang Yuan, Jin-Gen Deng, Qiang Tan & Bao-Hua Yu

  2. Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73071, USA

    Xiao-Chun Jin

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  1. Jun-Liang Yuan
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  2. Jin-Gen Deng
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  3. Qiang Tan
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  4. Bao-Hua Yu
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  5. Xiao-Chun Jin
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Correspondence to Jin-Gen Deng.

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Yuan, JL., Deng, JG., Tan, Q. et al. Borehole Stability Analysis of Horizontal Drilling in Shale Gas Reservoirs. Rock Mech Rock Eng 46, 1157–1164 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-012-0341-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-012-0341-z

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