ABSTRACT:

The Rock Mechanics Research Center (RMRC) at the University of Oklahoma is involved in a comprehensive study to investigate the mechanical and physical properties of unconsolidated and weakly cemented sands and soft sediments. The findings are expected to have a significant impact within the petroleum industry. As a part of this study, behavior of natural and retooldeal Antler Sandstone is investigated in an exploratory manner. This paper focuses on cementitious compounds, retooldeal sample preparation techniques, and grain crushing phenomena.

INTRODUCTION

Study of mechanical properties of unconsolidated sands and poorly-consolidated, weakly cemented sandstones under different loading conditions plays an important role in many engineering disciplines, especially in petroleum and geotechnical engineering. In petroletun exploration and production, mechanical and flow properties of formations can significantly influence drilling, wellbore stability, hydraulic fracturing, sand production and water/steam flooding operations associated with extraction of hydrocarbons. A large number of current oil/gas reservoirs in the world, including some major fields in the Gulf of Mexico and Campos basin, offshore Brazil, are located in formations involving geologically young unconsolidated sands where grains are either lightly cemented or unbonded (PROCAP, 1993).

Effective and economical exploitations of these fields require an optimal drilling and completion scheme that maximizes well productivity and wellbore life. Solutions to many of these and other problems associated with the exploration and production of hydrocarbon are closely tied with the understanding of the behavior and accurately determining the mechanical and physical properties of unconsolidated and poorly-consolidated formations.

No reliable laboratory testing technique or procedure is available yet to evaluate the mechanical and physical properties of such rock specimens accurately under downhole reservoir conditions. This situation exists partly because of the difficulties involved in sample preparation and in conducting laboratory experiments on samples of unconsolidated or poorly consolidated sands and soft sediments. This paper delineates an approach that has recently been developed and applied to Antler sand which is available in both loose (freely flowing) and namrally-wealdy-cemented or poorly-consolidated forms.

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