Poromechanics Response of Inclined Wellbore Geometry in Fractured Porous Media

Abstract

This paper presents the poromechanics/poroelastic analytical solution for stress and pore pressure fields induced by the action of drilling and/or the pressurization of an inclined/horizontal wellbore in fractured fluid-saturated porous media, or naturally fractured fluid-saturated rock formations. The model which is developed within the framework of the coupled processes in the dual-porosity/dual-permeability approach accounts for coupled isothermal fluid flow and rock/fractures deformation. The solution to the inclined/horizontal wellbore problem is derived for a wellbore drilled in an infinite naturally fractured poroelastic medium, subjected to three-dimensional in situ state of stress and pore pressure. The dual-porosity analytical solution is first reduced to the limiting single-porosity case and verified against an existing single-porosity solution. A comparison between single-porosity and dual-porosity poroelastic results is conducted and displayed in this work. Finally, wellbore stability analyses have been carried out to demonstrate possible applications of the solution.