Stress state in the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son basins, offshore Vietnam

The results presented in this paper are the first published estimates of the complete stress tensor in the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son basins, offshore Vietnam. We analysed in situ stress and pore pressure fields in the sedimentary formations using data from petroleum exploration and production wells to evaluate the stress state in these basins. The data were obtained from the seafloor to 4300 m burial depth and include both hydrostatic and overpressured sections. Minimum horizontal stresses were obtained from extended leak-off tests and mini-fracture tests. Maximum horizontal stresses were estimated from drilling-induced fracture parameters and borehole breakout widths in twelve wells using rock properties measured in the laboratory or estimated empirically from wireline logs. Seven data points are located in sediments, and seventeen data points in igneous basement rocks at depths greater than 3000 m.The estimated magnitudes of σ_H are 70-110% of the σ_v magnitudes. Considering the errors in the stress magnitude estimates, their relative magnitudes suggest that a borderline normal/strike-slip stress regime presently exists in normally pressured sequences of the Nam Con Son and Cuu Long basins. Of the twenty-four data points, twenty have effective stress ratios at a critical stress state for faulting on the assumption that there are faults present that are optimally oriented for failure with friction coefficients of ∼0.5. The results suggest that the stress state in these basins is generally critical.     

偏序向量空间中集值映射的一类扩张定理

经典的Hahn-Banach扩张定理及其推广定理有着非常广泛的应用,但主要都是讨论单值映射的扩张性质。为了进一步讨论多值映射的扩张性质,通过构造的方法,利用了zorn引理及偏序向量空间的完备性,得到了当定义域空间是一个实向量空间,而值域空间是由锥引入序的Dedekind完备的偏序向量空间时集值映射的一类扩张性质,以及当给值域空间引入相应拓扑时连续集值映射的一类扩张性质。其结果进一步推广了Hahn-Banach扩张定理,扩大了其应用范围。     

Particle-size distributions of low-angle normal fault breccias: Implications for slip mechanisms on weak faults

Slip on low-angle normal faults is not well understood because they slip at high angles to the maximum principal stress directions. These faults are considered weak and their motion cannot be explained using standard Byerlee friction and Andersonian fault mechanics. One proposed mechanism for weak fault slip is reduction of effective normal stress induced by high pore-fluid pressure. This mechanism is likely to allow dilation of the fault zone and, therefore, affect the particle-size distribution of fault breccia, which has been shown to differ for unconstrained versus constrained comminution. High pore-fluid pressure can cause dilation which leads to unconstrained comminution. We analyze samples from the footwalls of two low-angle normal faults in southern California (West Salton and Whipple detachment faults) to determine the fault-rock textures and grain-size distributions (GSDs). The GSDs are fractal with fractal dimensions ranging from ∼2.6 to 3.4. The lower end of this range is thought to reflect constrained comminution and only occurs in samples from the footwall of a small-offset “minidetachment” fault about 100 m below the Whipple detachment. The higher fractal dimensions are common in cataclasites related to the main faults and also reflect constrained comminution but are overprinted by shear localization. Our GSDs are similar to those from natural and laboratory-deformed fault rocks from strong faults. We conclude that if high pore-fluid pressure aided slip on these faults, it did not strongly affect mechanisms by which brecciation occurs, implying that fluid pressure generally was sublithostatic. Independent evidence exists for lithostatic fluid pressure that having dropped or cycled to hydrostatic levelsin the minidetachment, but our GSD results suggest that periods of high fluid pressure were too short or infrequent for unconstrained comminution to have been the dominant cataclastic mechanism. Fractal dimensions of ∼2.6 for these samples suggest that little subsequent abrasion occurred due to shear localization, consistent with minor offset on the minidetachment. Main detachment footwall samples with fractal dimensions ≥3 reflect constrained comminution followed by shear-related abrasion, and suggest that seismic cycling was important in formation of main detachment cataclasites.     

Effects of fault activities on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the Zhu I Depression,Pearl River Mouth Basin,South China Sea

Faults can act as either conduits or barriers for hydrocarbon migration, because they have complicated anisotropic flow properties owing to their complicated three-dimensional structures. This study focuses on the Zhu I Depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB), China. In this area, hydrocarbon migration and accumulation occurred over a relatively short period of time and were contemporaneous with fault activation, so the characteristics of hydrocarbon accumulations can be used to deduce the effect of active faults on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. This study addresses the effect of fault activity on flow properties during hydrocarbon migration through a quantitative and comparative analysis of fault activity vs hydrocarbon accumulation. The fault slip rate and shale smear factor parameters were used to characterise faulting and elucidate its effect on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. Active faults are generally excellent vertical conduits with strong fault activation resulting in vertical migration of most hydrocarbons and little preservation; traps near faults with fault slip rates greater than 20 m/Ma rarely contain commercial oil and gas accumulations. Faulting can form shale smear, which, if continuous, can act as a barrier to hydrocarbon migration. An active fault can allow hydrocarbon transport from deeper formations and to be trapped by continuous shale smear in shallower strata. Most of the oil and gas in the Zhu I Depression have accumulated near faults with a moderate fault slip rate (<20 m/Ma) and development of continuous shale smear (SSF<4–6).     

Depth dependency of stress ratios during the sedimentation of NW Gyeongsang Basin (Cretaceous), southeast Korea: Estimate of stress parameters and timing of tectonic episodes

The natural stress state in the lithosphere consists of the vertical load and Poisson ratio, and then additional horizontal compression and extension (denoted by Δσ_H and Δσ_T, respectively) are assumed to be superimposed upon this gravitational stress field. The resulting stress state is composed of the maximum, medium and minimum stresses denoted by σ₁, σ₂, and σ₃, respectively. The stress ratio is given as Φ = (σ₂ − σ₃)/(σ₁ − σ₃). A linear relation is found between Φ or 1/Φ and the vertical load in wrench-faulting and extensional stress regimes, respectively. The slope and intercept of the linear relation result in the additional horizontal stresses and level of (average) paleo-surface, respectively. Stress ratio is also determinable by the stress tensor inversion of fault-slip data. The earliest tectonic event (T_1 Event) in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin consists of coexisting E–W compression and N–S extensional faulting episodes. Plots of Φ or 1/Φ against the burial depth (or vertical load) display several linear trends: two clusters in extensional episodes, and two or three clusters in wrench-faulting episodes. Because Δσ_H is assumed to be null or negligible in the extensional regime, Δσ_T is determinable from the slopes of two linear clusters as being −2.5 to −4.0 MPa. In wrench-faulting episodes, the values of Δσ_H are given to be 61.6–101.4 MPa by applying determined additional horizontal extensions. Determined levels of average paleo-surfaces and those of syndepostional structures illustrate that more than five wrench-faulting or extensional episodes have occurred during the T_1 Event, whose active age, consequently, ranges from the Barremian to the Coniacian. This supports that the coexisting coaxial faulting episodes with the same extension may correspond to the alternation of wrench-faulting and extensional episodes.     

Pipe-soil shear interaction stiffness in horizontal directional drilling and pipe bursting

During horizontal directional drilling and pipe bursting installations, the shear forces between the pipe and the surrounding soil play a major role in the tensile loads and stresses experienced by the pipe. The magnitudes and variations in the shear forces are controlled by the pipe-soil interaction characteristics. This paper discusses the shear interaction between the pipe and the soil during those trenchless installations. A pipe-soil interaction mechanism is described that quantifies the relationship between the shear force and shear displacement, as well as the shear force at which sliding takes place. A simple analytical approach, as well as a finite element procedure, is employed to provide guidelines on practical values of the pipe-soil interaction stiffness and to investigate the effect of some soil and geometric parameters on the interaction stiffness magnitude.     

Predicted ultimate capacity of laterally loaded piles in clay using support vector machine

The determination of ultimate capacity of laterally loaded pile in clay is a key parameter for designing the laterally loaded pile. The available methods for determination of ultimate resistance of pile in clay are not reliable. This study investigates the potential of a support vector machine (SVM)-based approach to predict the ultimate capacity of laterally loaded pile in clay. The SVM, which is firmly based on statistical learning theory, uses a regression technique by introducing an ?-insensitive loss function. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to determine the relative importance of the factors affecting ultimate capacity. The results show that SVM has the potential to be a practical tool for prediction of the ultimate capacity of pile in clay.     

Tectonic and seismic conditions for changes in spring discharge along the Garni right lateral strike slip fault (Armenian Upland)

Abstract

This study presents the relationship between local seismicity and springs discharge, in which the microseismicity modifies the state of stress of the aquifer matrix and these modifications of the local stress control the aquifer behaviour from an example of a basaltic reservoir crossed by a seismic fault.

Along the right-lateral Garni seismic wrench fault, the distribution in space and time of more than 500 micro-earthquakes has been studied providing a pattern of stress distribution. Together with this tectonic survey, the hydrographs of springs issuing from an aquifer located in basaltic lava flows and crossed by the fault have been gauged for 4 years. According to its tectonic, geologic and hydrodynamic properties, the reservoir has been divided in to several parts. The hydrological behaviour of the reservoir and of each of its parts has been modelled, based on the rainfall and hydrodynamic properties of the basaltic reservoir and of nearby reservoirs.

The model allows us to define the ‘normal behaviour’ of the springs, when their discharge is not affected by an earthquake. Anomalies to the normal hydrometric curves are defined, and correlated to small (M < 3.5) earthquakes along the Garni fault. We propose that the circulation of underground water in the area around the fault depends largely on the fracture pattern of the basalts and the aquifer basement, as pointed out from field observations. Changes in spring discharges are explained by variations in the state of stress around the Garni fault, induced by the alternation of elastic strain and stick-slip movement on the fault, and by creep far from the fault. A model of stress distribution is proposed which explains changes in fracture charateristics before and after earthquakes. © Elsevier, Paris     

胜利油田第一口绕锥水平井钻井技术

胜利油田永3断块是典型的复杂小断块油藏,为进一步对该类型油藏进行挖潜,在仔细分析剩余油富集模式的基础上,决定在合适位置部署绕锥水平井。在分析了永3断块储层特点的基础上,介绍了永3断块第一口绕锥水平井——永3平6井的基本设计及施工情况,阐述了绕锥水平井钻井的技术难点和采取的技术措施。该井的成功实施及顺利投产,证明了绕锥水平井适合胜利油田东部老油区剩余油的进一步挖潜,具有推广价值。     

大牛地气田水平井优快钻井技术探索

大牛地属于低压、低渗、低丰度的三低油气藏,能否实行优快钻井成为制约水平井发展的主要因素,通过对井身结构、钻具组合、钻头选型及泥浆体系结构等统计分析,总结出适合大牛地气田水平井优快钻井技术,形成了一套大幅度提高机械效率、缩短钻井周期,适合大牛地工区的优快钻井技术。