Feasibility Study of the Stability of Openhole Multilaterals, Cook Inlet, Alaska

Abstract

Summary A study of in-situ stress, rock strength, and wellbore stability was initiated in the Hemlock sands of the McArthur River field, Cook Inlet, Alaska, to evaluate the potential of leaving the near-wellbore portions of multilaterals uncased. A northwest/southeast direction of maximum compression and a strike-slip faulting regime were predicted from analyses of leakoff test data and observations of failure (breakouts) in adjacent wells. Caliper, well-log, and core data indicated that cementation, and hence rock strength, is highly variable within the reservoir. Thus, it was decided to evaluate the stability of the lateral sections (i.e., the likelihood of wellbore failure during production) as a function of both stratigraphic position and well orientation. Laboratory rock-strength measurements were carried out on cores selected from target intervals in adjacent wells to provide sufficient precision to quantify the results. The results indicated that, while some reservoir intervals have high enough strengths to be left uncased when drilled in the most stable direction, these intervals are too thin to provide sufficient support at the point where the laterals leave the parent well. This justified the decision to case back the laterals to the parent well despite the cost.