Importance of Shale Anisotropy in Estimating In-Situ Stresses and Wellbore Stability Analysis in Horn River Basin

Abstract

Abstract Shale formations have laminated structures which result in significant differences in mechanical properties along the orientations parallel to and perpendicular to laminations (bedding planes). These differences lead to anisotropic horizontal stresses. Failure to consider the effect of anisotropic behavior of shale can have severe consequences for drilling. In rocks with anisotropic mechanical properties and strength, there is a high risk of wellbore instability while building deviation angle from vertical sections. Conventional wellbore stability analysis approaches do not consider material anisotropy and laminated nature of shales, which can result in underestimated stresses leading to incorrect safe trajectory or mud-weights. Shale formations in the Horn River Basin (HRB) are strongly anisotropic with anisotropic ratios varying from 1.2 to 3.5. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the importance of considering anisotropy in estimation of in-situ stresses and wellbore stability analysis. Two field case study examples are presented to underscore the consequences of neglecting anisotropy in wellbore stability analysis.