Discover a Career

Discover a Career in Geomechanics

Hamed Soroush, Shell International Exploration and Production

By definition, rock mechanics is the

theoretical and applied science of
the mechanical behavior of rocks
in the force fields of their physical
environment. In practice, so-called
rock engineering is concerned
with the application of principles of
engineering mechanics to the design
and construction of structures of any
type either on or in the rock, such as
tunnels, mine shafts, underground
excavations, open pit mines, road cuts,
dams, skyscrapers, waste repositories,
and oil or gas wells.
Though initially developed
for mining and civil engineering
purposes, geomechanics found its
way into the oil and gas industry in
the 80s in order to improve hydraulic
fracturing and drilling operations.
In the contemporary petroleum
industry, geomechanics is defined
as the discipline that integrates rock
mechanics, geophysics, petrophysics,
and geology to quantify the response
of the Earth to any changes in
state of stress, pore pressure, and
formationtemperature.

Geomechanics: The Oil and

Gas Industrys Missing Link
Although systematic application of rock
mechanics in the oil and gas industry
is relatively new, it was recognized and
appreciated by many oil companies
in a short period of time and has
become a fast-growing field due to
its applicability and effectiveness in
reducing nonproductive time (NPT).
As the virgin state of stress is
disturbed by different oil and gas
activities, the rocks mechanical
state changes, too, and consequently
influences drilling, completions,
and production performance. These
changes can result in serious and
unexpected cost and time overruns if
not properly predicted and managed.
Dodson et al. (Offshore, Vol. 64, No. 1,
2004) conducted a survey of Gulf of
Mexico wells and reported wellbore
stability issues were the cause of almost
40% of drilling-related NPT, resulting in
an annual cost of around USD 8 billion.
As a result of experiencing
significant improvements in drilling
and production operations by utilizing

Hamed Soroush is an internationally recognized geomechanics expert with

more than 17 years of experience applying principles of rock mechanics within
the mining, civil, and oil and gas industries. He has conducted or managed more
than 100 consulting and research projects worldwide and is currently working
for Shell as a geomechanics advisor in Houston. Before that, Soroush was the
global geomechanics advisor for Weatherford, based in Dubai, providing project
coordination, support, and training for geomechanics and petroleum engineering
applications. He has also worked with numerous other companies in the Middle
East, Asia Pacific, North Sea, and South America regions. Soroush holds a BSc in
mining engineering, an MSc in rock mechanics, and a PhD in petroleum engineering
from Curtin University of Technology in Australia. He has published three technical
books and many journal and conference papers. Soroush has given several
industry short courses and has served as a steering committee member for many
conferences and workshops. He was selected as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer
for 201213, presenting on the geomechanics of unconventional resources.

geomechanics, it has hence become

an important and integral part of each
and every field development plan,
from the early stages of exploration
to even after field abandonment. With
the recent boom in the development of
unconventional oil and gas resources,
the use of geomechanics principles
has become even more imperative
due to the sensitivity and complexity
of these reservoirs. Geomechanics is
playing a critical role in successfully
maximizing shale gas production by
helping optimize the use of hydraulic
fracturingtechnology.
Geomechanical applications in
the oil and gas industry include porepressure prediction; helping ensure
cap-rock integrity; field problem
diagnosis; formation properties
evaluation; in-situ stresses estimation;
drilling performance evaluation;
wellbore stability; borehole trajectory
optimization; sand production
prediction and control; underbalanced
drilling feasibility; fractured reservoir
characterization; and production
maximization affected by natural
fractures, hydraulic fracturing, fluid and
steam injection, reservoir compaction,
surface subsidence, and casing shear
and collapse. Its a longlist!
Clear knowledge of how to apply
geomechanics appropriately will
increase exploration and development
efficiency in both conventional and
unconventional resources.

Geomechanical Modeling:
Turning Impossibilities
Into Possibilities
To conduct any of the aforementioned
studies using rock mechanics, the first
step is to construct a geomechanical
Earth model (GEM). A GEM consists
of six core components that need to be
either calculated or estimated using
field data:

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Discover a Career
Vertical stress, v (often referred to
as the overburden stress)
Maximum horizontal stress, Hmax
M inimum horizontal stress, Hmin
Stress orientation, Azi Hmax
Pore pressure, P p
Rock mechanical properties
Modeling techniques in
geomechanics encompass analytical,
experimental, and numerical methods,
each having their pros and cons.
Generally, numerical models have
higher accuracy over analytical ones
but require additional input data and
more time. Analytical techniques are
in return quicker with less complexity.
Experimental models are based on
physical and mechanical laboratory
tests on rock core samples. It is
usually costly and time consuming
to perform such tests, though they do
provide valuable information about
rockproperties.
As a generic workflow, constructing
a 1D geomechanical model starts with
rock mechanical property estimation
using petrophysical logs in conjunction
with core test results. There are
different empirical models to make a
strength profile; however, laboratory
data are required to calibrate
thesemodels.
The second step is building a
continuous overburden profile using
density logs.
Pore-pressure prediction using
logs and available well test data (or
seismic data if available) is the next
step. Minimum horizontal stress can
be calculated using either empirical
equations or fracturing data (LOT
[leak-off tests]/X [extended] LOT
or minifracturing tests) or ideally, a
combination of both. Drilling incidents
such as ballooning and mud losses
can help to constrain the minimum
horizontal stress and fracturegradient.
The last steps are determining
azimuth and magnitude of the
maximum horizontal stress. This
is the most complicated part of
geomechanical modeling, as no direct
way of measuring Hmax is available.
Analyzing wellbore failures such as
breakouts and drilling-induced tensile

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fractures from image logs is one of the

existing techniques to determine a
reasonable range for Hmax and find its
orientation. Using caliper logs, sonic
logs, and laboratory measurement
of elastic strain recovery are
alternativetechniques.
Many field examples have proved
that geomechanical analyses can open
opportunities for drilling into harsh
and challenging environments which
previously looked impossible. In an
example in southeast Asia, where
drilling a vertical well was identified
as impossible due to lack of a safe
operating mud weight window, the well
was made possible by geomechanical
analysis that led to changing the well
trajectory to the safest orientation
in a specific formation and thereby
widening the window.
Geomechanics can also improve
casing design and provide a wider mud
weight window for drillers. There are
examples in Northwest Shelf Australia
where geomechanical modeling
reduced the number of casings,
resulting in significant cost savings for
the operators.
In the context of production from
naturally fractured reservoirs, a
GEM can make a real difference in
maximizing production by identifying
critically stressed fractures which
are, in fact, the productive fractures.
Identifying the orientation of these
fractures enables optimization of
drilling orientation to intersect the
maximum number of them. Field
examples in the Middle East and
southeast Asia have shown notable
increases in production using these
types of studies.

Distinguish Your Career

With Geomechanics
Due to the remarkable contribution
geomechanics has made to the oil
and gas industry in solving a plethora
of problems related to exploration,
drilling, completion, intervention,
production, and injection operations,
geomechanics specialists can be
called petroleum engineering
troubleshooters. Considering all the

benefits geomechanics has brought to

the industry, there has been escalating
appreciation during the last decade
from operating companies toward
using it in their operations. Time
and money savings by big operators
through using geomechanics have
convinced them to either establish a
geomechanics capability in house or
ask for support from external experts.
This increasing demand has created
a huge potential job market for young
professionals interested in building a
career ingeomechanics.
Currently, however, the oil and
gas industry suffers from a lack of
enough competent resources in this
field; this is because universities offer
only a limited number of specialized
programs in petroleum geomechanics.
Although few universities offer rock
mechanics courses at the postgraduate
level, they are usually in mining or
civil engineering departments. As a
result, there is a lack of professionals
with academic backgrounds in rock
mechanics specifically related to
the oil and gas industry. It should be
noted that rock mechanics requires
a comprehensive understanding of
mathematics, physics, and mechanics,
and, therefore, having the appropriate
academic background is a critical
factor in pursuing a successful career
in geomechanics.
Generally speaking, people
with engineering backgrounds are
better candidates for becoming
geomechanics specialists. Indeed,
geomechanics can be as lethal as it
is useful if it is used by a person who
does not understand the mechanical
behavior and strength of materials.
Being a software user without
understanding the theories and
concepts hidden behind the screen is
extremely dangerous and can result
in misleading outputs which may
put a project in jeopardy. There are
many cases where companies have
lost faithin geomechanics due to
bogus results generated by so-called
geomechanics specialists who
lacked the appropriate background,
credentials, andexperience.

Thus, it is strongly recommended

for students with an interest in
geomechanics to take any and all
rockmechanics-related courses
during their engineering degree,
or,ifcompleting a nonengineering
degree, learn the necessary
mathematics and mechanics.
Combining a relevant academic
background with some industry
experience can lead to an exceptional
career which can give you the
opportunity to choose whether you
want to work in the operating or
consulting sectors.
A geomechanics career is usually
associated with a lot of traveling all
over the world, which makes it very
attractive and exciting. Dealing
with a host of different geomechnics
applications in petroleum engineering
can prevent you from getting stuck in
a rut and keep you busy by providing
opportunities to learn new things and
face new challenges.

The nature of geomechanical

studies requires a highly focused
multidisciplinary team approach
andclose interaction with other
experts. This provides opportunities
to learn about other interesting
disciplines, which is another attraction
of this field. For instance, when a
geomechanics specialist performs
ananalysis for sand production
prediction and management, he
or she must work closely with
completion engineers and production
technologists. This provides the
opportunity for improving ones
knowledge about completion
technologies, production techniques,
and different sand control tools.
Although the job market in
geomechanics is not very competitive
at the moment due to the scarcity of
high-quality experts, it is still essential
for people in this field to improve their
knowledge and capabilities and update
themselves on state-of-the-art advances

and technologies in order to distinguish

themselves and to stay on top of their
career. Geomechanics specialists are
expected to fully understand related
industry problems and be able to
provide innovative solutions using
their rock mechanics knowledge.
Good knowledge of mathematics and
physics helps you to develop your own
analytical and numerical models and
have full command of what you are
expected to do.
Because geomechanics is a new
science, there are many avenues
open for research and development.
Therefore, creativity and having new
ideas are key to a successful and
evolving career. In addition to all
the attractions and challenges of a
geomechanics career, it remains one
of the exceptional multidisciplinary
fields that give you the facility to move
to other industries like civil and mining
should you feel like making a big
change in your career. TWA

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