Chapter Six: Stress Concentration

Around a Vertical Well

Topics
• Stress Concentration
• Introduction to Hydraulic Fracturing
• Drilling Induced Tensile Fractures
• Wellbore Breakouts
Kirsch (1898)

Local stress field

perturbed due to
the borehole

Figure 6.1 – pg. 169

 Kirsch Eqns. –Vertical Well, Stress Field (SHmax, Shmin)
Internal Pressure P, Θ measured from SHmax

1 R2 1 4 R 2 3R 4 P0 R 2
σ rr = ( SH max − Sh min − 2 P0 )(1 − 2 ) + ( SH max − Sh min)(1 − 2 + 4 ) cos 2θ + 2
2 r 2 r r r

1 R2 1 3R 4 P0 R 2
σθθ = ( SH max + Sh min − 2 P0 )(1 + 2 ) − ( SH max − Sh min)(1 + 4 ) cos 2θ − 2 − σ ΔT
2 r 2 r r

r2
σ zz = Sv − 2ν ( SH max − Sh min) 2 cos 2θ R – Wellbore radius
R r – radial distance from center

1 2 R 2 3R 4
τrθ = ( SH max − Sh min)(1 + 2 − 4 ) sin 2θ
2 r r

Equations 6.1 - 6.3 – pg. 170

 Parameters for Figures 6.2, 6.3, & 6.5

S H max = 90 MPa
o
S H max orientation is N90 E (east - west)
Sv = 88.2 MPa (depth 3213m)
Sh min = 51.5 MPa
Pp = Pmud = 31.5 MPa

Example Parameters – pg. 170

Figure 6.2 a,b,c – pg. 171
 Stress Concentration Around a Vertical Well

Compressive and tensile wellbore failure is a direct result of the stress concentration around
the wellbore that results from drilling a well into an already-stressed rock mass. In a
homogeneous and isotropic elastic material in which one principal stress acts parallel to the
wellbore axis, the effective hoop stress and radial stress at the wall of a cylindrical, vertical
wellbore (overburden stress, Sv is a principal stress acting parallel to the wellbore axis) is
given by the following equation:
σθθ = Shmin + SHmax - 2(SHmax - Shmin) cos2θ - 2P0 - ΔP – σΔT
σrr = ΔP
where θ is an angle measured from the azimuth of the maximum horizontal stress, SHmax,
Shmin is the minimum horizontal stress, P0 is the pore pressure, ΔP is the difference between
the wellbore pressure (mud weight) and the pore pressure, and σΔT is the thermal stress
induced by the cooling of the wellbore by ΔT.

The effective stress acting parallel to the wellbore axis is:

σzz = SV - 2ν(SHmax - Shmin) cos2θ – P0 - σΔT
where ν is Poisson's ratio.

Equations 6.4 - 6.6 – pg. 174

Stress Concentration Around a Vertical Well
 SHmax

wBO

Figure 6.4 a,b,c – pg. 176

Figure 6.3 a,b,c – pg. 173
 SHmax

wBO

Figure 6.4 a,b,c – pg. 176

 Why are Wellbore Failures So Effective in
Determing Stress Orientaion and Magnitude?
The Wellbore Amplifies Differential Stress

At the point of minimum compression around the wellbore (i.e, at θ = 0,

parallel to SHmax), Equation (1) reduces to

σθθmin = 3Shmin - SHmax - 2P0 - ΔP - σΔT

Whereas, at the point of maximum stress concentration around the

wellbore (i.e, at θ = 90°, parallel to Shmin),

σθθmax = 3SHmax - Shmin - 2P0 - ΔP - σΔT

σθθmax - σθθmin = 4 (SHmax- Shmin)

Equations 6.7 - 6.9 – pg. 174

 A Simple View of Wellbore Stability

σ1

σ2

σ3
Raising Mud Weight to Increase Wellbore Stability
Figure 6.5 a,b – pg. 177
 Wellbore Stress Concentration –
Same Depth, Different Stress States
4-Arm Dipmeter Tool Schematic
Figure 6.8 a,b – pg. 182
Figure 6.9 a,b,c – pg. 183
Figure 6.10 – pg. 184
 Stress Orientations Show a
Consistent Trend in a Region

Finkbeiner, 1998
 GMI•Caliper™
• Detect wellbore breakouts using four-arm and six-arm caliper data
• Interactive filter settings used to guide automatic analysis
• Provides statistical tools to quantify analysis results
Elongation Directions in the Visund Field
Keyseat in Bore Hole Televiewer (BHTV)
Visund Field Orientations

Figure 6.7 a,b – pg. 180

6-arm Calipers

Figure 6.11a,b,c – pg. 185

Figure 6.12a,b,c – pg. 186
 Quality Ranking System
A B
Earthquake Focal Average P-axis or formal
Mechanisms inversion of four or more
single-event solutions in
close geographic proximity
(at least one event M ≥ 4.0,
other events M ≥ 3.0)
Wellbore Ten or more distinct
Breakouts breakout zones in a single
well with S.D. ≤ 12o and/or
combined length > 300 m
Average of breakouts in
two or more wells in close
geographic proximity with
combined length > 300 m
and S.D. ≤ 12o
Drilling-Induced Ten or more distinct tensile
Tensile Fractures fractures in a single well
with S.D. ≤ 12o and
encompassing a vertical
depth of 300m, or more
Hydraulic Four or more hydrostatic
Fractures orientations in a single well
with S.D. ≤ 12o depth > 300 m
Average of hydrofrac
orientations for two or more
wells in close geographic
proximity,
S.D. ≤ 12o
Well-constrained single-event
solution (M ≥ 4.5) or average of
two well-constrained
single-event solutions (M ≥ 3.5)
determined from first motions
and other methods (e.g.,
moment tensor wave-form
modeling, or inversion)
At least six distinct breakout
zones in a single well with
S.D. ≤ 20o and/or combined
length > 100 m
At least six distinct tensile
fractures in a single well with
S.D. ≤ 20o and encompassing a
combined length > 100 m
Three or more hydrofrac
orientations in a single well
with S.D. <20o.
Hydrofrac orientations in a
single well with 20o.< S.D. <25o
Table 6.1 – pg. 189
C D
Single-event solution
(constrained by first motions
only, often based on author's
quality assignment) (M ≥2.5)
Average of several well-
constrained composites (M ≥
2.0)
At least four distinct breakouts
with S.D. < 25o and/or
combined length > 30 m
At least four distinct tensile
fractures with S.D. < 25o and
encompassing a combined
length > 30 m
Hydrofac orientations in a
single well with
20o < S.D. <25o
Distinct hydrofrac orientation
change with depth, deepest
measurements assumed valid
One or two hydrofrac
orientations in a single well
Single composite solution
Poorly constrained single-
event solution
Single-event solution for M <
2.5 event
Less than four consistently
oriented breakout or > 30 m
combined length in a single
well
Breakouts in a single well
with S.D. ≥ 25o
Less than four consistently
oriented tensile fractures with
< 30 m combined length in a
single
well
.
Tensile fracture orientations in
a single well with S.D. ≥ 25o
Single hydrofrac
measurements
at < 100 m depth
 Drilling Induced Tensile Fractures

A drilling-induced tensile wall fracture will be induced when

σθθmin = 3Shmin – SHmax – 2Pp – ΔP – σΔT
Ignoring σΔT (for the moment) and assuming To ~ 0, a tensile fracture will
from at the wellbore wall when:
Pmud = 3Shmin – SHmax – Pp ∼ 0
This is the same equation for inducing a hydraulic fracture. What
distinguishes a drilling-induced tensile fracture from a hydraulic fracture
are:
•Drilling-induced tensile fractures form when the mud weight is comparable,
or slightly greater than the pore pressure. This requires certain stress states
and well orientations.
•Drilling-induced tensile fractures are limited to the wellbore wall. Because
the fracture does not propagate into the formation, drilling-induced tensile
fractures are not associated with lost circulation or drilling problems.
Drilling-Induced Tensile Fractures

Figure 6.6 a,b,c – pg. 179

Figure 6.5 a,b – pg. 177
Visund Field Orientations

Figure 6.7 a,b – pg. 180

Drilling Induced Tensile Fractures — Visund Field
 Tensile Fractures in Vertical Wells Imply a
Strike-Slip Faulting Environment

Earth (Strike-Slip Faulting)

S H max − Pp
S h min − Pp
= (μ 2
)
2
+ 1 + μ = 3.1 for μ = 0.6

SHmax = 3.1 Shmin – 2.1 Pp

SHmax = 3Shmin – 2Pp + 0.1 (Shmin – Pp)

Vertical Wellbore (Tensile Fractures)

σθθ = 3Shmin – SHmax – 2Pp = -T for T = 0

SHmax = 3Shmin – 2Pp

Equations 6.16 - 6.19 – pg. 191

Tensile Fractures in Vertical Wells

Figure 6.13 a,b,c – pg. 193

 Thermoelastic Effects on Wellbore Stresses

The effect at the wellbore wall of a temperature difference ΔT

between the wellbore fluid and the rock surrounding well is given
by the equation:
σθθΔT = (α E ΔT)/(1-ν)
where α is the linear coefficient of thermal expansion and E is
Young's modulus.

For drilling-induced tensile fractures in the Visund field in the North

Sea, a cooling of ~30° C at a depth of ~2750 m resulted in σθθΔT =
1.7 MPa based on the following: α = 2.4x10-6 °C-1 (corresponding to
a rock composed of 50% quartz), E = 1.9x104 MPa (from the
measured P-wave velocity) and ν = 0.2 (based on the P to S-wave
velocity ratio).

Equation 6.22 – pg. 193

 Thermal Stresses and Breakout Formation

a) c)

Cooling does reduce

breakout size (but not
very practical) -The effect on
tensile fractures is more
important (but still not as
important as mud weight).

b)

Figure 6.14 a,b,c – pg. 194

Tensile Fractures in Vertical Wells

Figure 6.13 a,b,c – pg. 193

 More on Compressional Wellbore Failure
Stress-induced wellbore breakouts form due to compressive wellbore failure that
occurs within the region of maximum compressive stress around a wellbore. In a
vertical well, the zone of compressive failure is centered at the azimuth of
minimum horizontal far-field compression, as this is where the compressive hoop
stress is greatest.
•Wellbore breakouts were first identified using 4-arm magnetically-oriented caliper
logs associated with Schlumberger dip meters. Careful analysis yields reliable stress
orientations.
•Unambiguous identification of breakouts requires the use of acoustic televiewer
data (UBI, CBIL, CAST).
•6-arm dip meter data (Baker Hughes and Halliburton) require especially careful
analysis to distinguish breakouts from tool eccentricity, key seating, etc.
•The caliper data from 4- and 6- arm electrical image data (FMI, STAR, or EMI)
cannot be used to detect small wellbore breakouts because of the large pad widths of
these tools.
•Breakouts can sometimes be seen as out-of-focus zones on the image data
Fixed Breakout Width After Initiation
Breakout Shapes Under Successive
Episodes of Failure – wBO is constant

Figure 6.15 a,b – pg. 197

 a)

wBO

b) c)
Weak Bedding Planes Can Be a Source of
Wellbore Instability
Breakouts in Sands (Isotropic Strength)
Deviated Well
Anisotropic Strength Causing Breakouts in Shale
Weak Bedding Planes Can Be a Source of
Wellbore Instability
 Impact of Chemical Effects on Wellbore Stability

Mody & Hale (1993) model for chemical osmosis:

(Non time-dependent)

P = Pp + β × RT/V × ln(Am/Ap)
P: Near-wellbore pore pressure [MPa]
Pp: Far-field pore pressure [MPa]
β: Membrane efficiency [ ], 0 ≤ β ≤ 1 (OBM has a membrane efficiency of 1)
R: Gas constant, = 8.3 [J/(mol x degree Kelvin)]
T: Absolute temperature [degree Kelvin]
V: Partial molar volume of water [m3/mol]
Am: Water activity in drilling fluid [ ]
A p: Water activity in pore fluid (an activity of 1 corresponds to fresh water) [ ]

Pore pressure in the near wellbore zone is affected by fluid transport due
to differences in water molar free energies of the drilling and pore fluids
(chemical osmosis).
Poroelasticity equations are explicitly correct only for zero time, just after
drilling.
 Illustration of Mody & Hale Model
Mud Activity < Formation Fluid Activity Mud Activity > Formation Fluid Activity
(High Salinity Mud) (Low Salinity Mud)
Wellbore Formation Wellbore Formation

High PMud High PMud

σrr
β × RT/V × ln(Am/Ap)
σrr

Pp Pp

β × RT/V × ln(Am/Ap)

• According to the Mody & Hale model, high salinity muds stabilize the
formation, because chemical osmosis causes a drop in formation
pressure (increase in σrr) near the wellbore wall.
• Conversely, a low salinity mud destabilizes the formation because
chemical osmosis “charges” the formation and σrr increases near the
wellbore wall.
 Mud Chemistry and Breakout Formation

b)

a)

c)
Figure 6.18 a,b,c – pg. 203