Geomechanics of fracture caging in wellbores

Geomechanics of fracture caging in wellbores

Weijermars, R.
Zhang, X.
Schultz-Ela, D.

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Geoscience & Engineering

2013-03-19

This study highlights the occurrence of so-called ‘fracture cages’ around underbalanced wellbores, where fractures cannot propagate outwards due to unfavourable principal stress orientations. The existence of such cages is demonstrated here by independent analytical and numerical methods. We explain the fracture caging mechanism and pinpoint the physical parameters and conditions for its control. This new insight has great practical relevance for the effectiveness and safety of drilling operations in general, and hydraulic fracturing in particular. Fracture caging runaway poses a hazard for drilling operations in overpressured formations. Recognition of the fracture caging mechanism also opens up new opportunities for controlled engineering of its effects by the manipulation of the Frac number in wells in order to bring more precision in the fracking process of tight formations.

geomechanics
equations of state
fracture and flow

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:efeb04b2-cdb3-4c8e-a5b7-37195b61cd33

https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggt060

Oxford University Press

0956-540X

http://gji.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/03/19/gji.ggt060

Geophysical Journal International, 193 (3), 2013

Institutional Repository

journal article

(c) 2013 The Author(s)