A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN THE SUBSIDENCE AND RESERVOIR COMPACTION IN HETEROGENEOUS MEDIA

Luis Fernando Paullo Muñoz¹; Deane Roehl¹

¹ Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

doi:10.20906/CPS/CILAMCE2017-0578

Resumo

Production of hydrocarbons in reservoirs produces changes in the stress and strain fields generating compaction in the reservoir and subsidence at free surface. Analytical methods are frequently used for a first estimation of the response of displacements and stresses generated by the production of reservoirs. Geertsma's method calculates the displacement and stress fields for a reservoir under uniform depletion in a linear elastic medium based on the poroelastic approach. Geertsma's method demands the use of a single set of properties for the entire medium. However, real problems are characterized by media with layered stratigraphy. In this work, the influence of the mechanical properties of a three-layer linear elastic medium over the response of displacements due a uniform depletion in a cylindrical reservoir is assessed. For this, parametric analyses through an axisymmetric finite element model are realized varying the relation of Young's moduli between the layers. Finally, three criteria for the determination of mechanical properties to be used in Geertsma's method are proposed.

Palavras-chave: Reservoir compaction; Surface subsidence; Geertsma's method; Heterogeneous model