A study of the design of inclined wellbores with regard to both mechanical stability and fracture intersection, and its application to the Australian North West Shelf

Abstract

Knowledge of the in-situ stress field can be applied both in planning most stable drilling trajectories and also in maximizing intersection of teh wellbore with open, natural, and hydraulically-induced fractures in the reservoir. Inclined wells drilled with the optimum drilling direction (azimuth) and deviation (from the vertical), at which the shear stress anisotropy around the wellbore wall is minimized, may be more mechanically stable than vertical wells in various stress regimes. Such mechanically stable trajectories may also maximize open fracture intersection. Combining the objectives of maximum mechanical stability and maximum open fracture intersection • • wells in an extensional str..