Applied Rock Mechanics

Audience

The course is aimed at all geologists, explorationists and reservoir engineers involved in exploration, appraisal and development.

Content

The aim of the course is to give the participant the necessary skills to undertake a detailed evaluation of stress and strain data to improve well planning, aid understanding and prevention of borehole instability, and enhance recovery by hydraulic fracturing.

- Introduction to rock mechanics: definitions
- Stress and strain: tectonic stress field, normal and shear stress, effective stress
- Pore pressure: pore pressure at depth, overpressure, effect on rock strength
- Elasticity: elastic strains, seismic wave velocities, Poisson's ratio, elastic moduli, poroelasticity
- Brittle failure criteria: uniaxial, triaxial, direct /indirect tensile strength rock deformation testing
- Fracturing: fracture initiation, propagation and development, controls on fracturing
- Ductile rock deformation: deformation mechanisms, creep tests
- Strain analysis: determining plane and non-plane strain, volume changes, Fry method
- Structural Geology: plate tectonic environments, regional and local stress fields
- Reservoir planning: determining well trajectories, reservoir performance, reservoir pressure
- Reservoir deformation: role of temperature, pore fluid pressure prediction and monitoring
- Borehole stability: effects of principal stress directions, mud weight, borehole breakouts
- Fault seal: Allan diagrams, shale:gouge ratio, pressure gradients

Learning Objectives