A Mathematical Algorithm for Modeling Geomechanical Rock Properties of the Khuff and Pre-Khuff Reservoirs in Ghawar Field

Abstract The Khuff and Pre-Khuff are deep gas condensate reservoirs under active tectonic stress environment. The reservoirs are under development using horizontal wells and vertical wells with hydraulic fracturing. Modeling geomechanical rock properties accurately is essential for ensuring a successful frac job design and execution. During the last two years, a large amount of additional lab and field information has become available. Integration of all the data was conducted for better estimation of in-situ geomechanical rock properties. This paper presents the results of a mathematical algorithm for calculating the geomechanical rock properties for the Khuff and Pre-Khuff reservoirs in the Ghawar field. The model is derived from the classical poroelastic model in addition to a tectonic strain component as proposed by Prats and Warpinski. The model was calibrated to lab data as well as to the results of several Microfrac and Minifrac field tests. The model was further improved by calibrating it with actual history-matched frac data. The algorithm describes a methodology for systematically calculating geomechanical rock properties and in-situ minimum horizontal stress magnitude from sonic shear and compression log data. The paper also describes a detailed history-matching algorithm for Minifrac and frac data using a 3-D frac simulator. The results show that the minimum in-situ stress in the Khuff and Pre-Khuff reservoirs is governed by the tectonic effect, which is Young’s modulus dependent. Detailed analysis and well examples are presented.