Does the in situ stress field control the orientation of open natural fractures in sub-surface reservoirs?

Richard R. Hillis

doi:10.1071/EG997080

ISSN: 0812-3985
E-ISSN: 1834-7533

Does the in situ stress field control the orientation of open natural fractures in sub-surface reservoirs?
Authors Richard R. Hillis^a
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^a Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Adelaide, , SA, 5005, , Australia, . Phone (08) 8303 5377, Facsimile (08) 8303 4347
Publisher: Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Source: Exploration Geophysics, Volume 28, Issue 1-2, Mar 1997, p. 80 - 87
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/EG997080
- Published online: 01 Mar 1997

Abstract

In order to evaluate naturally fractured reservoirs, it is critical to assess whether natural fracture sets believed to exist at depth (eg, from surface mapping and/or seismic data) are likely to be open and productive or closed and nonproductive. The semi-log relation between stress and the closure of natural fractures is combined with the effective normal stress acting on fractures to yield: $δ−ks−InoH' = In {n+12n +n-12n cos2θ },$

which relates fracture closure (8), the constants in the semilog fracture closure/stress relation (k and s), and maximum effective horizontal stress (oH) magnitude with the effective horizontal stress ratio (n), and the angle between the normal to the fracture and the o"h direction (0).

This relation shows that: (i) for a given fracture, the sensitivity of fracture closure to the anisotropy of the in situ stress field can be constrained by the effective horizontal stress ratio (n); (ii) natural fracture closure is sensitive to fracture orientation with respect to the in situ stress field where n is high; (iii) the sensitivity of natural fracture closure to its orientation with respect to the in situ stress field decreases markedly as n drops; and (iv) the rate of change of closure with changing orientation is relatively low at very low and very high misalignment angles, and much greater at intermediate angles.

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References

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Article Type: Research Article

Keyword(s): fracture stiffness; in situ stress; open natural fractures

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Does the in situ stress field control the orientation of open natural fractures in sub-surface reservoirs?

Abstract

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