Today, in development of oil and gas fields processes remains quite a lot of complex issues for petroleum engineers in areas such as: safe and efficient drilling in difficult geological conditions, lateral and horizontal wells completion, the study and development of tight oil reserves, planning and realizing of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, also reservoir development and waterflooding in case of hydraulic fracturing. Data on the spatial orientation of horizontal stress azimuths play an important role in the successful solution of the above mentioned problems. With information on direction of stresses in various reservoir formations we can correctly plan and implement engineering control over the field development system and its dynamic change, which is especially important in the conditions of hydraulic fracturing for stimulation of oil and gas production. The correct choice of different development strategy and flooding is impossible without knowledge of geomechanical properties, in particular, the direction of horizontal stresses in the reservoir. For example, this data is required throughout the life cycle of well construction: from design to completion. Properly oriented horizontal well, with further multi-stage fracturing, helps to minimize the risks of complications during drilling and increase the stimulated volume of productive formation.
This article discusses the practical implementation of the long-known theoretical basis for obtaining data of the horizontal stresses direction as an alternative to well-known acoustic and seismic methods.
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