Abstract
The involvement of the well engineer (WE) competency from the earliest phases of exploration is reaping economic benefit for major capital projects (single wells costing at least $25,000,000 US). As the geological and geophysical modeling work of the Explorationists matures and the subsurface picture becomes clearer, the appropriate well design flexibility is being achieved using Mechanical Earth Model (MEM) technology. This approach to well planning is particularly beneficial for deepwater exploration.
For deepwater subsalt plays, the capital outlays are immense, with single wells costing up to $100,000,000 US. For these projects, MEM technology has been found to be extremely valuable, particularly in characterizing drilling risks associated with well exit points below salt where in-situ stress perturbations can occur. These stress perturbations are being reliably mapped using MEM techniques and the consequences to borehole stability addressed. An example of principal stress rotation gleaned from a deepwater MEM and the consequences to borehole stability is summarized in this paper.
