Publications

A comprehensive geomechanical analysis was carried out for the South Senoro field in the Banggai basin in Eastern Indonesia to investigate the geomechanical-related risks associated with reservoir production. For this purpose, robust well-centric and field-scale geomechanical models were built for the South Senoro field. A finite element approach was used to couple the geomechanical and reservoir flow dynamic models to simulate the induced stresses, strains, and displacements for the entire life of the field. The simulation results are used to forecast compaction and subsidence and to analyse the stability of the faults and reservoir caprock for the entire life of the field. The results show that the stress changes in the caprock layer are relatively lower than in the reservoir, primarily because of the relatively low reservoir compaction, with a maximum of 0.13% after 2,500 psi reservoir depletion. Subsequently, the surface subsidence is insignificant, with less than 0.12 meters. The risk of tensile failure reduces over time because the stresses within the caprock tend to increase by production slightly. The risk of shear failure in the caprock appears to be negligible. The shear stresses on the faults appear to increase only in the carbonate reservoir. However, the magnitude of the shear stresses is not critical to reactivate the faults. Overall, the analysis results show no risk associated with compaction, surface subsidence, stability of the faults, and caprock layer for the entire life of the South Senoro field. The comprehensive approach used to conduct this geomechanical study was essential to optimize the development plan and design of the surface and subsurface facilities.