Joint Industry Project - DEA 161
Reasons to Participate
Wellbore stability predictions are central to many aspects of wellbore design, including casing and fluid plans, trajectories and drilling practices. However, the results of these projects are often less than optimal. Billions of industry dollars are spent annually dealing with wellbore stability-related issues. Left unplanned and unaccounted for, these geomechanical issues lead to many problems including:
- Wellbore collapse
- Lost circulation
- Stuck pipe
- Casing collapse
- Reservoir damage
- Inability to acquire logging data
- Complete loss of the wellbore
In addition, many modern wellbores present an increased risk of wellbore instability while drilling:
- Deviated wellbores, which involve greater risk than vertical wells
- Near salt, where stress-related rubble zones are a stability problem
- In tectonically stressed regions, where variable stratigraphy leads to variable rock strengths, contrasts and stress.
Despite the need to understand the wide range of conditions that create wellbore instability, there is no industry consensus on stability analysis methodologies. Collaboration is needed to identify and develop best practices for wellbore stability analysis, and to develop guidelines to assess data type priority and data required for effective modeling.
Companies that have joined the DEA 161 recognize the challenges described above and are committed to leading the industry to adopt new methods and practices for combating wellbore stability problems. By joining the project in its formative stages, participants can help direct the research path, while ensuring that the company’s unique wellbore stability challenges are addressed.