In situ stress measurements in inclined holes in the North Sea: Application to water flooding and enhanced oil recovery
Water flooding is typical for many North Sea reservoirs and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects are being considered for some reservoirs. A knowledge of the in situ stress state is important to reservoir engineers in designing water floods or EOR programs. Eighteen in situ stress measurements were made in two 3.6 km deep wells in an oil reservoir located in the northern Viking Graben region of the North Sea. The wellbores were inclined 60/sup 0/ and 65/sup 0/ from the vertical. The principal in situ stress directions and magnitudes were determined by the anelastic strain recovery method using oriented core immediately after it was retrieved from the wellbore. The maximum principal stress is the overburden, and the average ratios of the maximum and minimum horizontal stresses to the overburden are 0.94 + ..05 and 0.72 + ..07, respectively. The azimuth of the maximum horizontal stress and the direction of potential vertical hydraulic fractures created during a water flood or EOR program is N110/sup 0/E+.22/sup 0/. This hydraulic fracture orientation is nearly perpendicular to the predominant trend of normal faults in the region. In order to achieve maximum efficiency of the areal sweep during a water flood or EOR, production wells should be located perpendicular to the azimuth of hydraulic fractures propagating from the injection wells.
- OSTI ID:
- 5299567
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-850941-
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
58 GEOSCIENCES
580300 -- Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics-- (-1989)
ATLANTIC OCEAN
AZIMUTH
DEPTH
DEPTH 3-6 KM
DIMENSIONS
DRILL CORES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FAILURES
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURE MECHANICS
FRACTURES
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HYDRAULIC FRACTURES
INCLINATION
MECHANICS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH SEA
OIL WELLS
ORIENTATION
OVERBURDEN
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
SEAS
STIMULATION
STRESS ANALYSIS
STRESSES
SURFACE WATERS
SWEEP EFFICIENCY
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS