Development of a New Correlation to Estimate the Unconfined Compressive Strength of a Chicontepec Formation
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 18, Issue 8
Abstract
The Chicontepec Formation is a complex and heterogeneous calcitric-lithic sandstone reservoir with significant historical problems of borehole collapse. To predict and mitigate the subsurface issues, it is essential to characterize the formation rock strength. This paper presents two new correlations for predicting the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of turbidite sandstones in the Chicontepec Formation based on a function of transit time, grain diameter, and Young’s modulus. Extensive laboratory tests, wireline and logging-while-drilling data (LWD), and borehole images from 24 offset wells were used to develop the new UCS correlations. A small dispersion of the data was identified using grain size and transit time, and this new model presented a median value (P50) of 76 MPa, a P10 of 55 MPa, and a P90 of 89 MPa. This paper also demonstrates the use of an artificial neural network (ANN) to capture the nonlinear interaction of the UCS model with the complex lithological lateral variations of the Chicontepec Basin by using the new correlation of grain size and transit time, and a regression analysis to build a three-dimensional (3D) UCS model to understand the vertical and lateral heterogeneity. The prediction of the UCS using the ANN yielded a highly reliable prediction; the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.95 compared with the multiple regression analysis (R2), which was 0.88. The results show that the prediction performance of the ANN models is higher than the multiple regression models. The results also indicate that the UCS varies between 27.57 until 89.63 MPa.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank and acknowledge PEMEX who agreed to use their core analysis data and their support and approval to publish this paper. The authors thank CAPES for their financial support.
References
Armaghani, D. J., Amin, M. F. M., Yagiz, Z., Faradonbeh, R. S., and Abdullah, R. A. (2016). “Prediction of the uniaxial compressive strength of sandstone using various modeling techniques.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 85(May), 174–186.
Arzate, S. O. (2011). “Petróleo y Seguridad Nacional de Mexico.” Editora Mexicana. Journal de Energía, 11(182), 18 (in Spanish).
Brace, W. F. (1961). “Dependence of fracture strength of rocks on grain size.” Proc., American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA 61–009), 4th Symp. Rock Mechanics, University Park, PA, 99–103.
Bradford, I. D. R., Fuller, J., Thompson, P. J., and Walsgrove, T. R. (1998). “Benefits of assessing the solids production risk in a North Sea reservoir using elastoplastic modeling.” Proc., SPE/ISRM Eurock, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX, 261–269.
Chang, C., Zoback, M. D., and Khaksar, A. (2006). “Empirical relations between rock strength and physical properties in sedimentary rocks.” Int. J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 51(3–4), 223–237.
Ersoy, A., and Waller, M. D. (1995). “Textural characterisation of rocks.” Eng. Geol., 39(3–4), 123–136.
Estrada, E., Vielma, M., Morales, J., Estrada, J., Tineo, F., and Gomes, G. (2010). “Turbidite Chicontepec Formation, Channel Chicontepec, Mexico: A diagenetic and petrophysical study to optimize the completions Corralillo area.” Proc., SPE Latin American & Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conf., Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX.
Fjaer, E., Holt, R. M., Horsrud, P., Raaen, A. M., and Risner, R. (1992). Petroleum related rock mechanics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Freyburg, E. (1972). “Der untere und mittlere buntsadstein SW-Thuringen in seinen gesteinstechinicschen eigenschaften.” Ber. Dtsch. Ges. Geol. Wiss. A. Berlim, 176, 011–919 (in German).
Hugman, R. H. H., and Friedman, M. (1979). “Effects of textural and composition on mechanical behavior of experimentally deformed carbonate rocks.” Am. Soc. Pet. Geol. Bull., 63(9), 1478–1489.
Jizba, D. (1991). “Mechanical and acoustical properties of sandstones and shales.” Ph.D. thesis, Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA.
McNally, G. H. (1987). “Estimation of coal measures rock strength using sonic and neutron logs.” Geoexploration, 24(4–5), 381–395.
Moos, D., Zoback, M. D., and Bailey, L. (1999). “Feasibility study of the stability of open hole multilaterals.” Proc., SPE Mid-Continent Operations Symp., Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX.
Nabaei, M., Shahbazi, K., and Shadravan, A. (2010). “Uncertainty analysis in unconfined rock compressive strength prediction.” Proc., Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Deep Gas Conf. and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain.
Olsson, W. A. (1974). “Grain size dependence of yield stress in marble.” J. Geophys. Res., 79(32), 4859–4862.
Patiño, G. S., Saucedo, N. R., Naveja, F. A., and Rabe, C. (2011). “Use of a neural network to build a 3D rock property model for a geomechanical model to optimize multi-stage fracture design in Chicontepec Basin, Mexico.” Proc., 45th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics. Symp., American Rock Mechanics Association, Alexandria, VA, 26–29.
Prasad, U., and Curry, D. (2009). Improved method for estimating the strength of carbonate rocks, IPTC, Doha. Qatar.
Shahin, M. A., Jaksa, M. B., and Maier, H. R. (2001). “Artificial neural network applications in geotechnical engineering.” Aust. Geomech., 36(1), 49–62.
Silva, G., Rabe, C., Nunes, A. L., Garcia, J. R. E., and Prasad, U. (2015). “Development of a new correlation based on grain size distribution to estimate sandstone reservoir uniaxial compressive strength.” Proc., 13th ISRM Congress 2015, International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal.
Tej, P., and Singh, D. (2013). “Estimation of tensile strength of soils from penetration resistance.” Int. J. Geomech., 496–501.
Vernik, L., Bruno, M., and Bovberg, C. (1993). “Empirical relations between compressive strength and porosity of siliciclastic rocks.” Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 30(7), 677–680.
Zoback, M. D. (2008). Reservoir geomechanics, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Zorlu, K., Gokceoglu, C., Ocakoglu, F., Nefeslioglu, H. A., and Acikalin, S. (2008). “Prediction of uniaxial compressive strength of sandstones using petrography-based models.” Eng. Geol., 96(3), 141–158.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 1, 2015
Accepted: Nov 3, 2017
Published online: Jun 11, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Nov 11, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.