Fully coupled geomechanics and fluid-flow analysis of wells with stress-dependent permeability

A fully coupled geomechanics and fluid-flow model is developed to analyze pressure-transient problems in stress-sensitive reservoirs with nonlinear elastic and plastic constitutive behavior. For hydrocarbon reservoirs with stress-dependent permeability (stress-sensitive reservoirs), the coupled interaction between geomechanics and fluid production may significantly influence both the stress state and the fluid flow in the reservoir. Therefore, in general the coupling effect cannot be ignored when analyzing stress-sensitive reservoir problems. Detailed model formulations and the numerical implementation are presented. Practical applications illustrating various aspects of well behavior of stress-sensitive reservoirs are also demonstrated in this article.