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Constitutive models for the Etchegoin Sands, Belridge Diatomite, and overburden formations at the Lost Hills oil field, California

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/754313· OSTI ID:754313

This report documents the development of constitutive material models for the overburden formations, reservoir formations, and underlying strata at the Lost Hills oil field located about 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield in Kern County, California. Triaxial rock mechanics tests were performed on specimens prepared from cores recovered from the Lost Hills field, and included measurements of axial and radial stresses and strains under different load paths. The tested intervals comprise diatomaceous sands of the Etchegoin Formation and several diatomite types of the Belridge Diatomite Member of the Monterey Formation, including cycles both above and below the diagenetic phase boundary between opal-A and opal-CT. The laboratory data are used to drive constitutive parameters for the Extended Sandler-Rubin (ESR) cap model that is implemented in Sandia's structural mechanics finite element code JAS3D. Available data in the literature are also used to derive ESR shear failure parameters for overburden formations. The material models are being used in large-scale three-dimensional geomechanical simulations of the reservoir behavior during primary and secondary recovery.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
754313
Report Number(s):
SAND2000-0827; 0000035001-000; 0000035001-000
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English