Time-Dependent WellboreStability Predictions

Introduction
It is well established that time-dependent processes are responsible for
wellbore instability and drilling
failures. Time dependency is the
result of the coupling of pore-fluid
diffusion and formation stress variation. The theory of poroelasticity
explains the coupled diffusion/deformation phenomenon.
Cost-effective and successful
drilling requires that drilling-fluid
pressure be maintained within a tight
mud-weight window dictated by the
stress and pressure around the wellbore. The time-dependent nature of
the stress and pore-pressure variation
around the wellbore results in the
mud-weight window varying with
This article is a synopsis of paper SPE
62796, Time-Dependent WellboreStability Predictions: Theory and Case
Study, by Y. Abousleiman, SPE, and
S. Ekbote, U. of Oklahoma, and U.
Tare, SPE, Halliburton Energy Services
Inc., originally presented at the 2000
IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling
Technology, Kuala Lumpur, 1113
September.

time. Temperature gradient between

the drilling mud and the rock formation also is an important factor in
wellbore-stability analyses. Temperature gradient will affect time-dependent stresses and pore-pressure
distributions around the wellbore
significantly. Mud salinity and formation exposure time need to be considered when drilling in chemically
reactive formations with water-based
muds (WBMs).
Analytical solutions for inclined
boreholes in a 3D state of stress that
account for time-dependent fluid diffusion and thermal and chemical
effects have been published and
applied extensively to evaluate timedependent effects on wellbore stability. These solutions have been implemented in software developed for
industry application. The software
can perform analyses of stress/pore
pressure, formation failure, mud
weight, and mud salinity for drilling
in shale formations. The software also
considers thermal and viscous effects.
Poromechanics Approach
Effects of coupling diffusion/deformation (poroelasticity), temperature
gradients (porothermoelasticity),
chemical activity (porochemoelasticity), and viscous mass rheology
(poroviscoelasticity) can be brought
under the umbrella of poromechanics. In poromechanics, the coupling
of solid matrix/grain deformation
and pore fluid flow is governed by an
equation that describes how the
overall strains of the porous rock
depend on the total applied stresses,
pore pressure weighted by Biots
effective-stress parameter, and the
temperature gradient weighted by
the thermic coefficient. The second
constitutive equation indicates that
the pore pressure is not only related
to the pore fluid content variation
but also is affected by deformation of
the porous body and change in temperature. Chemical effects are included by use of the concept of a chemical potential that is a function of
activity and temperature. The main

equations are combined with

momentum- and mass-balance equations to yield field equations.
Stress magnitude and pore pressure
predicted by the poromechanics models were significantly different from
those predicted with conventional
elastic models. Time-delayed failures
observed in the field could be predicted by the poromechanics models.
These models also could predict failure initiation close to the borehole
wall that contribute to wellbore breakouts. These recently developed solutions for the poromechanics aspect of
rock formations and drilling fluids
allow drilling engineers to make the
necessary decisions on potential critical time effects in drilling as well as
completions (e.g., time of casing
placement and/or cementing).
Field Case Study
An extended-reach-drilling (ERD)
well was drilled in the North Sea with
an oil-based drilling fluid. The
171/2-in. shoe was set at 4,900-ft true
vertical depth (TVD) at a 75 angle.
Then, a 121/4-in. hole was drilled
smoothly to 14,924-ft measured
depth (MD) (5,826-ft TVD) with no
problems. At this point, hole packoff
incidents were experienced and the
decision was made to make a trip to
condition the hole. The packoff and
tight-spot problems continued
throughout drilling and tripping
operations for the 121/4-in. open
hole until 16,008-ft MD (5,997-ft
TVD). A wiper trip out of the hole
proved difficult with continuing
packoff problems. While attempting
to re-enter the original hole, a ledge
was encountered at 7,350-ft MD.
Attempts were made to drill through
this ledge but despite drilling several
stands, the original wellbore was not
found. At this point drilling was
halted and borehole-stability modeling was performed to improve
planning for the mud program for
the sidetrack.
A poromechanics approach was
used for the borehole-stability analysis. Three scenarios were modeled.

D r i l l i n g Te c h n o l o g y

Time-dependent wellbore instability

accounts for a significant amount of
lost rig time and substantially
increased drilling costs. Wellbore
instability modeling allows the
drilling engineer to systematically
include stress variations around the
wellbore and the associated rock
deformation and pore-pressure
changes. The time-dependent nature
of the wellbore-stability problem
was investigated by use of various
poromechanics models. These models incorporated effects of thermal
gradients, chemical activity, and
viscous rheology of rock formations
in the coupled diffusion/deformation analyses formulated as extensions of Biots theory of poroelasticity. The time-dependent nature of
the stress and pore-pressure distributions around the wellbore manifest
themselves as time-dependent wellbore instability.

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FEBRUARY 2001

Model Type: Elastic;

Impermeable
Vertical Stress=0.78 psi/ft
Max Hor Stress=0.66 psi/ft
Min Hor Stress=0.66 psi/ft
Pore Pressure=0.45 psi/ft

Mud Weight, lb/gal

Distance into formation (r/R)=1.00

Azimuth=0.00 deg
Depth=4,995 ft
Cohesion=124.00 psi
Friction Angle=25.00
Tensile Strength=0.00 psi

Model Type: Poroelastic;

Permeable
Vertical Stress=0.78 psi/ft

Hole Angle=80.00 deg

Azimuth=0.0 deg

Max Hor Stress=0.66 psi/ft

True Vertical Depth=4,995 ft

Min Hor Stress=0.66 psi/ft

Mud Weight=13.80 lb/gal

Stable
Collapse
Fracturing
Collapse
and Fracturing

Hole Angle, deg

D r i l l i n g Te c h n o l o g y

Fig. 1Mud-weight window as a function of hole angle.

The case that neglected chemical

and mud-penetration effects involved
the traditional impermeable elastictype modeling approach and predicted mud weights required to drill the
formation initially.
The case including chemical
effects optimized internal water-phase
salinity and incorporated time-dependent osmotic effects that tended to
change mud-weight requirements to
drill the 121/4-in. interval.
The case including mud pressure
penetration effects modeled the
effect of hydraulic conductivity of an
oil-based mud (OBM) with a
microfractured shale and the influence of this phenomenon on mudweight requirements.
Shale pore fluid water activities
were predicted with a proprietary
model. On the basis of existing
information, internal water phase
salinity of the invert emulsion OBM
was optimized. Optimized salinity of
the 80:20 oil/water ratio (OWR) was
calculated to be 20% for this shale
and drilling conditions. Once this
information was obtained, a borehole-stability analysis was performed for 4,995-ft TVD because the
majority of problems were encountered at this depth.
Fig. 1 shows the upper and lower
limit of safe mud weight for modeled
depths as a function of hole inclination angle. The upper limit is the mud
weight above which extensive fracturing or fracture propagation would
occur resulting in excessive drillingfluid losses. The lower limit is determined by formation pore pressure or
minimum mud weight required to
prevent borehole collapse.

Fig. 2Near-wellbore effective tangential stress surface.

Low-permeability shales lack filtercake protection because they do not

experience normal fluid loss from
WBMs at overbalanced conditions.
Instead, slow fluid-filtrate invasion
gradually equilibrates the mud pressure and the near-wellbore pore pressure, so effective mud-pressure support is lost. Shale material may yield
in shear or tensile mode because this
pore-pressure elevation reduces nearwellbore effective stresses that hold
the material together resulting in
delayed failure.
For the case where mud pressure
penetration effects are considered on
the basis of a 13.8 lbm/gal equivalent
mud weight, analysis shows that the
critical region at the wellbore walls
increases in size over time. The critical region can be obtained from a
permeable poroelastic analysis.
Fig. 2 shows the surface of the nearwellbore tangential stress after
12 days of drilling with a
13.8-lbm/gal mud. At any point
within the critical region, the effective stresses are very close to peak
rock strength. Excessive swab forces
would cause the rock in the critical
region to fail in circumferential tensile mode. This failure would then
result in fill on bottom and would
cause severe hole packoff problems.
As the near-wellbore pore pressure
increases, part of the effective stress
distribution nearly exceeds the rock
compressive strength and some
other parts of the wellbore may have
a negative effective-stress concentration. This concentration of negative
stress could cause the wellbore to
fail in compressive shear mode (collapse) in one portion of the wellbore

and simultaneously fail in tensile

mode (fracturing) at other regions.
This stress distribution will compound the time-delayed near-wellbore deterioration.
Mud pressure penetration effects
are time-dependent effects that come
into play when the drilling fluid has
been in contact with shales for an
extended time period. On the basis of
the analysis, the side-track was
drilled to depth with very few borehole-stability problems with a
12-lbm/gal static mud weight.
Conclusions
The time-dependent nature of the
wellbore-stability problem was investigated by use of various poromechanics models that incorporate effects of
thermal gradients, chemical activity,
and viscous rheology of rock formations in coupled diffusion/deformation analyses. The time-dependent
nature of the stress and pore-pressure
distributions around the wellbore manifest themselves as time-dependent
wellbore stability. The inclined-wellbore solutions based on poromechanics models with their conventional solid-mechanics counterparts
have been incorporated in a software
package. Solutions presented by the
software are in analytical form making
the software an efficient tool for
drilling engineers to simulate realtime analyses.
JPT
Please read the full-length paper for
additional detail, illustrations, and references. The paper from which the
synopsis has been taken has not been
peer reviewed.

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