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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
2014. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1306/09121313044
Predicting the depth of viscous stress peaks in moving salt sheets: Conceptual framework and implications for drilling
Ruud Weijermars1 and Martin P. A. Jackson2
1Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758; Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, Delft 2628CN, Netherlands; Alboran Energy Strategy Consultants, Delft, Netherlands; [email protected]
2Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Peak-stress zones and pressure anomalies around wellbores through moving salt bodies threaten well integrity. Our study provides a conceptual framework to identify the depth of peak zones of shear stress in moving salt sheets, whether autochthonous or allochthonous. We use analytical methods to determine the principal stress magnitudes and stress-trajectory orientations caused by ductile creep in crystalline salt. The four basic flow types analyzed are Couette, Poiseuille, no-slip squeezing, and free-slip squeezing flow. The analytical formulae specify 
velocity
gradients, shear-stress profiles, and principal stress trajectories. The analytical results are compared with detailed flow visualizations in numerical and physical models of salt tectonics to test our generic conclusions. We offer guidelines to optimize drilling operations in moving salt bodies. The study suggests that stress trajectories and zones of viscous stress peaks in salt layers should be mapped routinely during well planning, in addition to the traditional analysis of elastic stresses and safe mud-pressure windows for controlling wellbore stability.
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