The College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad held a public debate of the MSc student (Ahmed Tariq Karim) from the Department of Petroleum Engineering on his thesis titled “Three-Dimensional Geo-mechanical Modeling to Reduce Drilling Problems and Develop Plans for Designing Directional and Horizontal Wells in the Eridu Oil Field in Southern Iraq” on Thursday (8th of February, 2024) in the graduate studies hall.
The examining committee consisted of the following:
1- Prof. Dr. Ghassan Hamid Abdel Majeed, University of Baghdad, Chairman
2- Prof. Dr. Rafid Kazem Abbas, Al-Qadisiyah University, member
3- Asst. Prof. Dr. Ruwaida Qaiser Abdul Majeed, University of Baghdad, member
4- Prof. Dr. Falih Hasan Mohammad Al-Mahdawi, University of Baghdad, member and supervisor
The thesis is summarized as follows:
A study was conducted to find out the reasons behind the instability of the wellbore in the Eridu field, and the stresses were calibrated and the validity of the study was matched with field data represented by drilling problems such as (the narrowing of the wellbore, expansion of the wellbore, etc.)
The study included selecting data from six wells along the field (coral reef, back reef, and lagoon). The aim of the one-dimensional geo-mechanical modeling was to provide accurate results for rock hardness, pore pressure, and stress pattern. This information was used to evaluate rock failure around the well wall and improve mud density.
The second aspect of this study is to construct a three-dimensional geo-mechanical model by taking advantage of the results obtained from the analysis of the three-dimensional mechanical ground modeling and the distribution of the mechanical properties of the rocks and their properties for each field. Three of the best standards were used to evaluate the failure of the rocks surrounding the well wall, which are (Mogi-Coulomb, Modified Lade, and Stassi Alia) to predict rock failure status around the borehole and select the suitable mud.
