Abstract
This paper presents the development of two-dimensional models to analyze the behaviour of a pre-existing fracture intersecting a pressurized wellbore. The fracture has an arbitrary location and inclination with respect to the wellbore and the far-field state of stress and it is assumed that the wellbore fluid penetrates the fracture only in the section where the fracture is open. The analysis shows that the wellbore pressure and width responses as a function of the length of the open section are extremely sensitive to the location of the fracture with respect to the wellbore. In particular, situations exists where the near wellbore state of stress dominates the pressure response, even when the length of the pressurized section of the fault is long compared to the wellbore diameter. This result has strong consequences for stress measurement and interpretation. This work has application not only to stress measurement, but also wellbore stability and hydraulic fracturing.
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Atkinson, C., Thiercelin, M. Pressurization of a fractured wellbore. International Journal of Fracture 83, 243–273 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007364213515
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007364213515