Modelling the contemporary stress field and its implications for hydrocarbon exploration

Abstract

The forces that act on the Earth's lithospheric plates are responsible for the stress regime within the plates at a regional scale, and thus influence issues pertinent to hydrocarbon exploration — such as the nature of fault reactivation, hydraulic seal integrity, natural and induced fracture orientation and wellbore stability. Four models of the intraplate stress field of the Australian continent have been produced by elastic finite element modelling of the forces acting on the Indo-Australian plate. All four models incorporate the push of mid-ocean ridges and of continental margins. In the four models the magnitude of the poorly constrained convergent boundary and basal drag forces are var..