Guest Editorial: Five Innovation Themes for Integrated Geomechanics Technology
Authors: Busetti Seth 
Published: September 2019

Guest editorial

Geomechanics in the petroleum industry is a multidisciplinary field, collaboratively drawing in the brightest minds in the geosciences, engineering, and mathematics to solve quantitative subsurface problems with the common foundation of stress, strain, and rock or soil mechanics. Disciplines that utilize geomechanics techniques include structural geology, drilling engineering, reservoir production engineering, rock physics, and seismology.

As a technical specialization, geomechanics has thrived for at least the past•century (for example, A. A. Griffith’s seminal work on fracture mechanics in 1921), with subsurface petroleum applications persisting at the forefront of the science. Whereas fundamental theoretical research in geomechanics seems to progress asymptotically (i.e., incremental discovery of more complete governing physics equations), in recent years applications development in reservoir geomechanics has grown exponentially, to a large extent taking advantage of significant computing breakthroughs. A few examples include advances in downhole fiber-optic sensing like DAS and DTS, 4D time-lapse seismic imaging, and microseismic analysis. In many cases, the value of the technological advancement has centered on data integration and multidisciplinary strategies. With that in mind, I highlight five key innovation themes that relate to advancing integrated reservoir geomechanics capabilities.

Unified Digital Platforms. To facilitate data sharing and cross-functional collaboration, geologists, geophysicists, completions engineers, petrophysicists, reservoir engineers, data statisticians, etc., need to have shared access to the most current data and software applications. Many geomechanics problems that are critical to subsurface operations follow nonlinear workflows that require iteration between diverse data sets. Consider the example of a geomechanics workflow for conducting structural containment analysis, a risk assessment of the mechanical uncertainties surrounding fault stability, fault permeability, or hydrocarbon trap retention. The analysis requires building a structural framework from 2D and 3D seismic, basement surveys, and well ties. The steps require a velocity model, stratigraphic interpretation, fault interpretation, and detailed reconciliation of fault-horizon offsets. Mechanical modeling of this framework requires derivation of mechanical properties, interpretation of mechanical stratigraphy, and stress solutions at the wellbore or in full 3D over the volume.

Solving this sort of analysis requires a team of workers and access to multiple data types. If every step happens in isolation, using incompatible tools, the workflow becomes tortuous and the robustness and ability to cross-validate the solution is compromised. The remedy is to perform the work starting from a centralized working space, a common or unified platform. A unified digital platform can consist of a single host software package with a robust data management system and embedded geomechanics modules such as Petrel, SKUA-GoCAD, MOVE, TrapTester T7, or DSG, or it can be a streamlined integration methodology linking several mutually compatible tools. Starting with a common analysis platform is critical for reducing workflow gaps, for facilitating seamless data access, and ensuring two-way connectivity across analysis steps. As reservoir geomechanics solutions become increasingly comprehensive and shared multidisciplinary efforts, a unified digital platform serves as the central enabler to collaborative problem solving and accelerated innovation.