Navigating the Terminology

LOT , XLOT(ELOT), PIT, FG, FCS, Sh, DFIT, VSP, Checkshot

Fracture Calibration, Minifrac, Microfrac, Max & Min horizontal stress, Hydropressure, Checkshot survey, Velocity Survey
Rock Stress, Breakout, Breakdown
Supercharging /Breathing
Integrity Barriers

Well & Wellbore Tests

Integrity Tests
Wellbore Stresses
Caveat: Not a comprehensive list of operating actions on oil wells.
Familiarization with some not well-known nomers

Wathik M. Alhashimi, P.Eng.

Well & Wellbore Tests
Well test

Execution of a set of planned data acquisition activities.

Acquired data analyzed to broaden knowledge & increase understanding of hydrocarbon properties
therein & characteristics of underground reservoir where hydrocarbons trapped.
o State of the particular well used to collect data.
o Identifying the reservoir's capacity to produce hydrocarbons.
Data gathered
o Volumetric flow rate and
o Pressure observed in selected well.
Outcomes
o Flow rate data and
o Gas oil ratio data,
➢ Support well allocation process for an ongoing production phase,
➢ Reservoir capabilities will support reservoir management.
 LOT Graph

• A test to determine the strength or fracture pressure of

the open formation, usually conducted immediately
after drilling below a new casing shoe.
• During the test, the well is shut in and fluid is pumped
into the wellbore to gradually increase the pressure
that the formation experiences.
• At some pressure, fluid will enter the formation, or leak
off, either moving through permeable paths in
the rock or by creating a space by fracturing the rock.
The results of the leakoff test dictate the maximum
pressure or mud weight that may be applied to the well
during drilling operations.
• To maintain a small safety factor to permit safe well
control operations, the maximum operating pressure is
usually slightly below the leakoff test result.

• Leakoff test (LOT): performed during drilling of well after setting a casing
• Performed with drilling mud.
 Extended Leak Off Test(LOT/LOTE)
Application of pressure by applying surface pressure on a borehole fluid in order to determine pressure at
which a fracture propagates into formation.
Establishes Fracture Closure Pressure (FCP).
Formation Breakdown Pressure (FBP):- Pressure required to induce fractures at wellbore wall such that they
begin to admit fluids & propagate away from wellbore into far field.
o Pumping not stopped upon leak-off pressure.
o Obtain a fracture closure pressure.
XLOT consists of
o One, two, or more complete cycles of LOT,
o Formation breakdown,
o Fracture propagation,
o Shut-in Well
o Fracture closure.

.
XLOT Graph
 LOT & XLOT
LOT
o Determine strength or fracture pressure of open formation, conducted immediately after drilling below a new casing shoe(Rat Hole).
o Well shut in & fluid pumped into wellbore to gradually increase pressure applied too formations below casing seat.
o At some pressure, fluids enter formation (leak off), either moving through permeable paths in rock or by creating a space by fracturing rock.
o Dictate the maximum pressure or mud weight that applied to well during drilling operations.
o To maintain a small safety factor to permit safe well control operations, maximum operating pressure usually slightly below LOT.
o Increase mud pressure to create a small tensile fracture, measuring open formation strength.
XLOT(LOTE)
o Measure stress in oil and gas wells,
o Obtain horizontal stress data for predicting wellbore stability.
o Surface pressure applied to wellbore fluid column to determine pressure at which fracture propagate into exposed formation.
o Procedures similar to routine LOT but with multiple leak-off cycles, longer data collection time, & better data acquisition & analysis.
o Carried out for an extended period of time, similar to the hydraulic fracturing test used to measure stress.
o Pumping continued beyond LOP point until pressure peaks at formation breakdown pressure, creating a new fracture in borehole wall.
o Pumping continued for some more time until sufficient fluid injected so that undisturbed rock formation has a stable propagation of
fracture.
o Pumping pressure now stabilizes to a somewhat constant level [fracture propagation pressure (FPP)], after which pumping stopped (shut-in).
Minifrac test
Refer to a fracture calibration test/any type of fracturing test leakoff test and extended leakoff test).

Microfrac test
Performed with a particularly small volume of fluid.
Wireline tools

Fracture Calibration Test

Performed with fluid that will be used in a hydraulic fracturing treatment f
Focused on inferring parameters that will be needed for designing fracturing treatment.

Diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT)

Performed with clear water in a completed well.
The formation has low permeability and that the shut-in period long.
Velocity Survey
❖Produce a down-going seismic wavelet at surface near a well and then to measure time required for that
wavelet to travel to a known depth where a seismic receiver positioned in well,
❖Borehole receiver locked successively at several different depth levels,
❖vertical traveltime to each level measured,
❖Each measurement of source-receiver traveltime a checkshot,
❖Compilation of all of traveltime measurements into a time-depth calibration function: Checkshot survey.

Vertical seismic profiles (VSP)

Recorded the same way as a Checkshot survey.
Difference between a VSP a& a Checkshot survey: VSP data recorded at much smaller spatial sampling
intervals than checkshots.
Seismic:- a check shot survey determines formation seismic wave velocities over specific intervals.
Checkshot survey Measurement made of travel time from surface to downhole geophones.
• Borehole seismic data designed to measure seismic traveltime from surface to a known depth.
• P-wave velocity of formations encountered in a wellbore measured directly by lowering a geophone to each formation of
interest, sending out a source of energy from surface of Earth, & recording resultant signal.
• Data can then be correlated to surface seismic data by correcting the sonic log and generating a synthetic seismogram to
confirm or modify seismic interpretations.
• It differs from a vertical seismic profile in the number and density of receiver depths recorded; geophone positions may be
widely and irregularly located in the wellbore, whereas a vertical seismic profile usually has numerous geophones
positioned at closely and regularly spaced intervals in the wellbore.
 A seismic refraction or seismic reflection line is a set of seismographs usually
Seismic inversion lined up along the earth's surface to record seismic waves generated by an
explosion for the purpose of recording reflections and refractions of these waves
from velocity discontinuities within the earth.

Process of transforming Seismic Reflection data into a quantitative rock-property description of a reservoir.
o Pre-Stack Poststack
Prestack
o post-Stack
o Deterministic
o Random
o Geostatistical
Techniques
o Pre-stack
o Post-stack
o Seismic resolution
o Well-log resolution
 Stoneley-wave velocity & attenuation sensitive to formation & fracture permeability,
Stoneley Permeability Stoneley-wave velocity decreases, its attenuation increases, as permeability increases.

❖Ability of fluid to move through a rock, as measured by reduction in amplitude or increase in slowness of
the acoustic Stoneley wave generated in borehole.
❖Velocity and amplitude of Stoneley wave reduced by presence of mobile fluids in formation.
❖A coupling of Stoneley energy into a formation wave known as slow wave, as predicted by Biot theory.
❖Amount of reduction a complicated function of:
o Mobility (permeability divided by viscosity)
o Properties of borehole fluid,
o Pore fluid & mudcake,
o Elastic properties of rock
o Frequency.
Logs:-determine formation mobility.

Borehole Stoneley and fast and slow flexural dispersions for radial polarizations parallel
(Red) and perpendicular (Blue) to the s Hmax direction.
Horizontal dashed lines (FS, SS,) & Stoneley : formation fast-shear, slow-shear, & Stoneley
shear slownesses.
 Shear Slowness
Borehole sonic measurements used to measure dynamic
elastic properties of rock formations surrounding a wellbore.

Borehole sonic measurements used to measure dynamic elastic

properties of rock formations surrounding a wellbore.
o Shoulder-bed effects,
o Mud-filtrate invasion,
o Near-wellbore damage often

(a) Shear slowness log,

(b) Compressional slowness log, Compressional slowness & shear slowness & V p /V s
Density log. anomalies versus borehole enlargement in Offshore Africa
Solid line on each subplot at depths of 4,526-5,740 ft TVD.
describes reference formation o Left track :- compressional slowness (left curve) and
shear slowness (right curve) in μs/ft;
property.
o Middle track plots V p /V s anomalies (shaded area);
and
o Right track :- caliper-measured borehole size
enlargement (shaded area).
 Bit Founder Point A founder point indicates bit loading that causes chips to form that cannot be removed with available hydraulics.
Increasing hydraulics (or flow rate for a particular bit) will increase founder point.

Drill-off test conducted by observing e time required to drill off 3,000-lb Left: a straight-line response of ROP to WOB, (efficient bit up
increments of weight on bit. to the founder point).
Highest ROP occurs at WOB corresponding to shortest required time per Limit WOB to remain at or below the founder point.
increment. Right: Changing real-time practices or design that elevate the
founder point to a higher WOB.
WOB : apply without foundering is increased, achievable ROP

Left: WOB is increased in 5,000-lb steps, ROP responds by increasing

25 ft/hr with each step, up to 20,000 lb.
Between 15,000-20,000 lb bit founders, & next increase in ROP is less
than 25 ft/hr (10 ft/hr).
Plot average ROP at each WOB from test (up), it would produce curve.
Founder point at which the data is no longer a straight line (non-linear
response).
 Wellbore Supercharging (Ballooning?)/Wellbore Breathing
➢ Supercharging: Pumping fluids into wellbore impose additional ECD forcing drilling fluid into rock’s pores/microfissures
➢ Breathing: Pumping ceased; formation pushes back gained fluids.

Wellbore Supercharging: Wellbore fluids lost to formation. Wellbore Breathing: injected fluids return to wellbore.
Phenomenon to be differentiated from Fluidization.
Formation do not act like balloons; Rocks do not inflate regardless of applied pressure.
Porous rocks contain fluids (Compressible or not incompressible)
In Situ stress conditions (effective stress) at higher depth do not lead to rock grains separation.
Fluids contained in rock compress (when compressible) or increase its pressure leading to
Supercharging(Ballooning????)

Fluidization :- Process similar to liquefaction whereby a granular material is converted from a static solid-like state
to a dynamic fluid-like state. This process occurs when a fluid (liquid or gas) is passed up through the granular
material
Courtesy Steve L. Richert
Integrity Tests
 Well integrity

NORSOK D-010: Application of technical, operational and organizational solutions to reduce risk of uncontrolled
release of formation fluids throughout the life cycle of a well.
Well integrity Facets(accountability/responsibility)
➢ Well operating processes,
➢ Well service processes,
➢ Tubing/annulus integrity,
➢ Tree/wellhead integrity and
➢ Testing of safety systems.
 Barriers Barrier systems through well’s lifecycle

Well Integrity
➢Maintaining well control with sufficient Barriers.
➢Application of technical, operational & organizational solutions to
reduce risk of uncontrolled release of formation fluids & well
fluids throughout the lifecycle of a well”.
Two qualified independent well barrier envelopes be present at each
stage of a well’s life.
➢ Drilling Fluid Overbalance: Primary barrier
➢ BOP+Casing string: Secondary barrier during well construction.
Standardized well barrier integrity .
 Two-barrier philosophy throughout a well’s lifecycle

Barrier: Impenetrable object that prevents

uncontrolled release of fluid.
Two independent well barrier Envelopes
❖Primary well Barrier: First enclosure
(prevents flow from a potential source).
❖Secondary well barrier: second
enclosure (prevents flow from a
potential source)
o Back-up to the primary well barrier
 Well barrier elements(Primary & Secondary)
Well Barrier Elements
o Element (WBE): a physical element (in itself may or
may not prevent flow)
o In combination with other WBEs forms a well barrier.

Well barrier elements of P&A

Well Barrier Schematic (WBS): well & its main barrier

 Formation Integrity Test (FIT)
❖ Test of strength & integrity of a new formation Reasons for performing a FIT
❖ First step after drilling a casing shoe track. o Investigate the strength of cement bond around casing
❖ Evaluation of a casing cement job and of the shoe
formation is extremely important during the o Ensure that no communication is established with higher
drilling of a well and for subsequent work.
formations.
❖ Throughout the life of well/nearby wells. o Determine the fracture gradient around casing shoe
Information o Establish the upper limit of the primary well control for
o Casing depths, open hole section below current casing.
o Well control options, o Investigate well bore capability to withstand pressure
o Formation fracture pressures, below casing shoe in order to validate or invalidate well
engineering plan regarding casing shoe setting depth.
o Limiting fluid weights

Other purposes:
• Knowing optimum mud weight & ECDs for drilling next section
• Minimizing risk of loss circulation in drilling trouble zones
• Deepening next casing set point/eliminating a casing string
• Determining whether planned casing running speeds will destabilize wellbore
• Acquiring actual data inputs for cementing simulating models
• Reducing the risk of inducing a fracture during cementing operations.
 PIT
o PIT/LOT: a test to determine strength/fracture pressure of open formation (Rat Hole)- performed
immediately after drilling below a new casing shoe.
o Well shut in & fluid pumped into wellbore to gradually increase pressure acting on formation.
o At some pressure, fluid enter the formation (leak-off) either moving through permeable paths in rock or
by fracturing rock.
o Results : dictate maximum pressure/mud weight that may be applied to well during drilling operations.
o Safety factor added to permit safe future operations(maximum operating pressure < leakoff test result.
Casing Shoe Test
A pressure test conducted after drilling into the confining strata below a cemented casing string seat to
evaluate pressure containment integrity and to determine the maximum fluid density that the strata
can contain without breaking down.
 Well Annuli Designations
Space between two strings, or a string of casing & formation.
o Production tubing - Production casing : A-annulus.
o Production casing - Intermediate casing : B-annulus.
So on …..
oC
oD
oE
o Conductor-formation: E+1
➢ No communications between Annuli.
➢ Production Casing/Tubing contain formation fluids
➢ Annuli filled: Cement/ completion fluid/drilling fluid: protection of steel &
maintaining wellbore pressure (well integrity)
 Annular Integrity Test (AIT)
1. Create access to annulus & a potential circulation path by perforating casing a pre-planned distance
apart.
2. Set two mechanical bridge plugs, one below & one between the two perforated zones, & do a pressure
test from lower sets of perforations, to upper sets of perforations.
3. If the formation surrounding the casing holds the pressure, i.e. no pressure passes through to the upper
sets of perforations, barrier is proven to be in place, & a balanced cement plug be set to finalise the
WBE.
Tubing-Annulus Integrity Test
• Integrity of the production tubing.
• Erosion & corrosion by production fluids
• Pressure differential between the tubing and the 'A' annulus.
• If it exceeds the rated pressure of the tubing, there is a risk of tubing burst or tubing collapse.
• Integrity of the casing strings, which bound the annuli.
• All annuli will naturally be filled to some level with brine or other fluids from the completion,
though the 'A' annulus may have gas down to the lowest gas lift valve if the well is gas lifted.
• The major integrity issues comes from the differential pressure across the casings due to the
weight of brine on either side.
• To protect well integrity, each annulus will have a Maximum Allowable Annulus Surface
Pressure.
 Tree & wellhead integrity

Integrity of the surface (subsea) equipment.

Wellhead & Tree suitably engineered to be able to withstand normal operating pressures.
The major integrity issues for these components surround the operation of the valves, which are prone to leaking.
Wellbore Stresses
 Some Definitions
Rock failure:- Formation of faults & fracture planes, crushing & relative motion of individual grains & cements.
Compressive strength/Compression strength: Capacity of a rock to withstand loads tending to reduce size.
Tensile strength : loads tending to elongate.
Compression failure: Collapse or buckling of rock resulting from normal compression.
Tensile failure : Effective tensile stress across some plane in sample exceeds rock’s Tensile Strength.
A Fracture to start propagating, wellbore pressure must exceed formation breakdown pressure (FBP).
FBP: Wellbore pressure at which the drilling fluid enters the fracture, which leads to (unstable) fracture
propagation.
Breakout: Borehole cross-section elongations resulting from preferential rock failure(in situ stress in rock).
Wellbore tensile fractures : Occur when wellbore minimum principal stress < limit for tensile stress(tensile
strength).
Breakdown: Mud weight (Ph) < FBP (avoid wellbore fracturing )
Unconfined Compressive (Uniaxial Compressive Strength) (UCS): Maximum axial compressive stress that a
right-cylindrical sample of material can withstand under unconfined conditions; the confining stress is zero
Confined Compressive Strength : the rock's strength while it is subjected to pressure in a confined medium.
Tensile Strength, maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched, divided by
the original cross-sectional area of the material.
 Rocks Mechanical Properties
Elastic deformation: constants that relate magnitude of strain response
to applied stress.
Young’s modulus (E):- ratio of applied stress to fractional extension (or
shortening) of sample length parallel to tension (or compression).
Strain :- linear change in dimension divided by original length.
Shear modulus (μ) : ratio of applied stress to distortion (rotation) of a plane
originally perpendicular to applied shear stress (Modulus of Rigidity).
Bulk modulus (k): Ratio of confining pressure to fractional reduction of volume
in response to applied hydrostatic pressure (Modulus of Incompressibility).
Volume strain: Change in volume of the sample divided by the original volume.
Poisson’s ratio (σp): Ratio of lateral strain (perpendicular to an applied stress)
to longitudinal strain (parallel to applied stress). a) Tangent Young's
modulus E tan ,
b) b) Average Young's
modulus E av ,
Unconfined compressive strength (UCS):- Maximum axial compressive stress c) c) Secant Young's
modulus E sec .
that a right-cylindrical sample of material can withstand under unconfined
conditions, confining stress is zero.

Confined compressive strength (CCS):- Rock's strength while it is subjected to pressure in a confined medium.
Rocks exhibit a strengthening effect (Confinement Effect) while under pressure.
 Normal formation pore pressure (Hydropressure)

Normal formation pore pressure (hydropressure): This is when the formation pore pressure is equal
to the hydrostatic pressure of a full column of formation water.
Normal pore pressure is usually of the order of 0.465 psi/ft
 Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 – October 25, 1963) , Austrian mechanical
Terzaghi engineer, geotechnical engineer, and geologist known as the "father of soil
mechanics and geotechnical engineering".

Effective Stress; Load (Vertical Stress, SV)=Overburden

Vertical Effective Stress = Overburden stress - Pore pressure(carried by rock grains).

Terzaghi’s Equation states Permeability

that the overburden (Sv) is
supported by a combination
of the fluid pressure in the
pore spaces (Pf) and the
stress on the rock matrix
(σe). Frame pressure
Effective stress, σe

31
Effective Stress

In-Situ Conditions
The Effective Stress is the
area between the PP and Vertical Effective Stress = overburden stress - pore pressure(carried
the OBP
by rock grains).
Effective stress causes compaction.

Overburden Pressure

Pore Pressure

32
 FG, FCS & Sh
• Fracture closure pressure(FCP) : Minimum fluid pressure required to initiate the opening of a fracture.
• The Fracture Closure Stress (FCS) : Mechanism by which a fracture in a wellbore initiates and
propagates.
• Fracture gradient/Frac Gradient (FG) :Pressure gradient at which the formation breaks.
• Minimum horizontal stress (sh) : one of the principal stresses that confined underground formations
are subjected to.
Other stresses
• Vertical stress
• Maximum horizontal stress.
• Hydraulic fracture propagates perpendicular to the minimum principal stress.
 Breakouts & Breakdowns

Wellbore breakouts rock failure around wellbore wall.

Occurs when stress anisotropy surpasses shear strength limit of rock.
Formation Breakdown: Wellbore pressure exceeds “fracturing pressure.”
Breakout Breakdown
Pounds per gallon (ppg) to pressure gradient (psi/ft) Mud gradient (psi/ft)
Mud weight in ppg x 0.052 (Converting 10 ppg to psi/ft) =0.052×10=0.52 psi/ft.
 Minimum horizontal stress

o Minimum horizontal stress (sh) is one of stresses that confined underground formations are subjected to.
o Other stresses: vertical stress & maximum horizontal stress.
o Hydraulic fracture propagates perpendicular to the minimum principal stress.
o Fracture initiated: fracturing fluid flow into fracture& propagate in it.
o Fracture propagation pressure lower than fracture initiation pressure(appears as a peak at beginning of
fracture pressure curve).
o Formation breakdown pressure (FBP): pressure required to link-up & open induced fractures at wellbore wall
such that they begin to admit fluids & simultaneously propagate away from wellbore into the far field.
Estimate Shmin Principal axis of stress in
sedimentary basins

Leak-off pressure less reliable for estimating Shmin,

XLOT: Fracture Closure Pressure (FCP) & Instantaneous Shut-in Pressure (ISIP) used to provide more reliable
information of Shmin.
FCP information from subsequent cycles amore reliable than first cycle ( FCP of second or third cycles has
removed effect of tensile rock strength: provide more accurate estimation of Shmin magnitude).
 Maximum Horizontal Stress
Maximum horizontal stress : determined from minifrac or leak-off tests, sonic logs, & borehole breakout
analysis.
 Maximum Horizontal Stress (sH)
• Estimated using the XLOT with a fracture reopening test.
 Hoop Stress around the borehole
• Around the borehole
• Variation in the direction of σhmin in radii from
borehole with time.

Hoop Stress : Stress that occurs along the wellbore's

circumference when pressure is applied.
➢ Acts perpendicular to the axial direction.
➢ Tensile and generated to resist the bursting effect that
results from the application of pressure.
Three principal stresses emerge when the borehole ends
are closed and the borehole subjected to internal pressure,
o Hoop stress,
o Longitudinal stress,
o Radial stress
 Bulk Density (RHOB)

❖ Density log 'RHOB’: density of borehole & rocks

penetrated by drill bit.
❖ Unit for density:- gram per cubic centimetre.
❖ Logs (sonic & density) measurements made every 6”
downhole ('on-depth' with each other).
 Overburden Gradient (OBG)
1. Overburden pressure can be estimated by
calculating pressure contribution of each layer.
2. Know the Bulk Density of each layer.
a) Sea water rb = 1.027g/cc
b) 500’BML rb = Ostermeier or ODP rb
c) Rock rb = rb log, or velocity to rb
transform
i. Gardner
ii. DEA-119 Transform
1. Calculate pressure contribution of each layer:
2. rb * .4335 (layer thickness (ft) ) = psi
Where ρb = Layer Density, g/cc
5. Sum pressures and convert to ppg equivalent
at desired depth
42
 Compressive Strength at Wellbore
Rock unconfined compressive strength
(UCS) obtained from lab compressive tests
o Black:- sandstones,
o Red:- shales
o Green:- mixed lithology

Variation of compressive strength at wellbore with

circumferential angle.
 Tensile Fractures

Tensile fractures (joints):- fractures where no appreciable slip or shear is observed.

Wellbore tensile fractures occur when minimum principal stress on wellbore wall goes below rock’s tensile strength
Elastic Wellbore Stress Concentration
Stress concentration around wellbore can create breakouts,
fractures, or failures.

Upper plot:- characteristics of wellbore stress concentration

for a vertical well when vertical stress a principal stress.
Both Circumferential (σθθ) & Axial (σzz) stresses:
o Most compressive at azimuth of minimum far-field
principal stress,(formation of breakouts at that
orientation if the stresses exceed the rock’s compressive
strength)
o Most tensile at azimuth of greatest horizontal far-field
principal stress, (tensile failure at the wellbore wall 90°
from orientation of breakouts .
 Stress & Orientation
• Overburden stress (Sv): one of the three principal stresses, the stress tensor (representing the in-situ stress
field) in the Earth’s crust can be explained by four independent components:
o Sv magnitude
o maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) magnitude
o minimum horizontal stress (Shmin) magnitude
o SHmax orientation
• SHmax Orientation : estimated using image logs.
• LOT & XLOT: Estimate the minimum horizontal stress (Shmin) magnitude.
Thank You