Tapan Kidambi

Bio: Tapan Kidambi is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The author has contributed to research in topics: Geomechanics & Tight gas. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 3 publications receiving 55 citations.

Coupled Flow and Geomechanics Model for CO 2 Storage in Tight Gas Reservoir

Abstract: The process of injection and withdrawal from tight gas reservoirs is a multiphysics and multicomponent problem. The aim of the present work is to capture the physics associated with the injection of CO2 into tight shales, and assess and mitigate the risks associated with reservoir overpressure. The overpressure caused by CO2 injection usually triggers the onset of formation–deformation, which inadvertently affects the state of the stress in the target geological formations and its surroundings, the monitoring of which is critical to understand the risks in conjunction with CO2 storage. In the present work, a novel fully coupled fully implicit flow and geomechanics simulator is introduced to describe the physics in conjunction with an extended injection phase of CO2. The developed model solves for pressure saturation and porosity and permeability changes considering a multicomponent system while principally focusing on the adsorption and diffusion of CO2 and stress-dependent reservoir deformation employing cell-centred finite volume method. It is envisaged that the injection of CO2, while with the primary purpose of storage, will parallelly enhance the recovery from shale gas due to lateral sweep effects. Based on these mechanisms, for the case study of a tight gas field, the applicability of the simulation model is tested for formations with varied rock and fluid moduli in a 20-year simulation period.

Stress Path Analysis for Characterization of In Situ Stress State and Effect of Reservoir Depletion on Present-Day Stress Magnitudes: Reservoir Geomechanical Modeling in the Gulf of Suez Rift Basin, Egypt

Abstract: A reservoir geomechanical modeling has been attempted in the hydrocarbon-bearing Miocene formations in the offshore Badri field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Pore pressure established from the direct downhole measurements indicated sub-hydrostatic condition in the depleted mid-Miocene Hammam Faraun and Kareem reservoirs. Vertical stress (Sv) estimated using bulk density data yielded an average of 0.98 PSI/feet (22.17 MPa/km) gradient. Magnitudes of minimum (Shmin) and maximum (Shmax) horizontal stresses were deduced from the poro-elastic model. Relative stress magnitudes (Sv ≥ Shmax > Shmin) reflect a normal faulting tectonic stress in the Badri field. Pore pressure and stress perturbations (ΔPP and ΔSh) in the depleted reservoirs investigated from actual measurements recognized ‘stress path’ values of 0.54 and 0.59 against the Hammam Faraun and Kareem Formations, respectively. These stress path values are far away from the normal faulting limit (0.68), indicating induced normal faulting or fault reactivation to be unlikely at the present depletion rate.