Petroleum Geomechanics in the Value Chain

DOWNLOAD the short course programme.

A pre-symposium short course on petroleum geomechanics

Sunday and Monday 14 - 15 September 2008, Sheraton Perth Hotel, Western Australia
Course presenter: Maurice Dusseault, University of Waterloo, Canada

Geomechanics is a vital “enabling” discipline for the petroleum industry. It deals with the stress-strain-yield behavior of rocks, and how this behavior is affected by temperature, fluid pressure, in situ stresses, and engineering practices. Some issues that arise before and during reservoir management include:

• Oil and gas migration by natural hydraulic fracturing and fault reactivation (paleo-stresses).
• Sedimentary basin stress measurements (breakouts, hydraulic fracturing, leak-off tests…).
• Hydraulic fracturing mechanics.
• Perforation behavior and rock damage.
• Sanding predictions and cures using various control measures.
• Sand production to enhance oil production rates.
• Casing shearing in subsiding or EOR reservoir cases.
• Compaction drive in reservoirs and predictions of surface subsidence.
• Reservoir stress path behavior (fracture gradient evolution).
• Behavior of unconsolidated sandstones during development.
• Stress changes and rock properties changes in EOR schemes.
• Injection of waste water and solid wastes using slurry fracturing.
• Drilling through depleted reservoirs.
• Monitoring deformations associated with recovery processes.
• Microseismic monitoring for process control and for natural gas storage.

The course is intended for engineers, geoscientists, and technologists involved in reservoir exploitation, but those involved in drilling and exploration and other upstream activity will also benefit. For those with a geomechanics (rock and soil mechanics) background, the course will serve as an introduction to typical geomechanics issues arising in oil and gas development. The basic aspects of rock mechanics processes on reservoir development and management are presented in a simple, clear manner, without complex equations. Case histories from around the world are used to illustrate the discussions. The 2-day course will provide you with a much better understanding of how rock mechanics knowledge can improve reservoir management decisions.

A great deal of material will be provided to you as notes and on electronic media, far more that can be covered in two days. You will be given a CD containing all the PowerPoint presentations and a great deal of additional material covering a wide range of petroleum geomechanics topics. The rewards from this knowledge will come to you and your company through reduced costs, problem avoidance, and even some new ideas in areas such as sand control and fracturing.

Maurice Dusseault

Maurice is a professor of geological engineering in the Earth Sciences Department, University of Waterloo. He spent three years as a roughneck and drilling mud technician prior to completing his BSc (1971) and PhD (1977). From 1977 to 1982, he occupied a research professor chair at the University of Alberta funded by the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, and then became chairman of the Geological Engineering Program at the University of Waterloo for 10 years.

Maurice does research in petroleum geomechanics (drilling, hydraulic fracturing, reservoir geomechanics), new production methods, and deep waste disposal. He has co-authored two textbooks and over 400 professional articles in conferences and journals, and works with industry as an advisor and instructor. He has developed courses in introduction to petroleum rock mechanics, new oil production technologies, drilling rock mechanics and earth stresses for petroleum engineers, hydraulic fracturing geomechanics, reservoir geomechanics, and oilfield waste disposal.

Dr Dusseault was a SPE Distinguished Lecturer in the year 2002-2003, visiting 22 different countries and speaking about new oil production technologies to 28 separate SPE Sections. He has presented his short courses in 11 different countries over the years, and has a reputation for giving clear presentations based on simple and useful material.