Stability of an Open Hole Completed in a

Limestone Reservoir With and Without

Acid Treatments
Nobuo Morita, Tomoki Doi, and Takanori Kinoshita, Waseda U.

Summary
Because a borehole in a limestone formation is more stable than
expected, an openhole completion without a slotted/perforated
liner has become popular recently. However, the following three
items are not clear: (1) Why a borehole in a limestone formation is
so stable, (2) why a borehole in a limestone formation can be
completed without a liner regardless to the formation strength, and
(3) the question of stability after acid treatments. To answer these
questions, two types of laboratory experiments are conducted. One
of them is a series of borehole stability experiments using 1.5- and
2.36- to 2.39-in.-diameter borehole in a 10.510.517.5-in. limestone blocks with polyaxial confining pressures simulating a horizontal well with three different principal in-situ stresses. Two
types of limestones are used with and without borehole acid treatments and two borehole sizes are used to check the size effect.
Another type of experiment is the acid squeezing experiment, in
which 15% HCl acid solution is squeezed from one end of a
cylindrical core and the change of porosity, permeability, and
hardness are measured throughout the cores.
The results showed the following new discoveries:
1. The limestones have two distinct failure envelopes. The failure plastic strain is relatively small for normal shear failure, while
it becomes as much as 10 times larger when a shear failure is
induced after pore collapse.
2. One of the limestones used in these experiments has only
1,751 psi UCS, yet the borehole was unexpectedly stable. The
reason was that the borehole failure is induced by a shear failure
after pore collapse. It is well known that pore collapse is induced
within a formation during compaction; however, a shear failure
after pore collapse has never been observed when one boundary is
open like an open hole.
3. The confining stress inducing borehole failure was not significantly different between hydrostatic and directional loadings.
According to the Kirschs solution, the directional load should
significantly increase the stress concentration. It is well known that
the nonlinearity of rock reduces the stress concentration induced
by directional loading; however, the present experiments showed
that the magnitude of the reduction of stress concentration was
larger than expected.
4. Wormholes stabilize boreholes even though acidizing weakens formation. Therefore, enhancing wormholes is recommended
when a borehole in a limestone formation is acidized.
Normally, because limestones are relatively strong, open holes
are likely stable; however, the strength must be checked if they
need to be completed without a linear protection. To help a reader
applying the laboratory results to field problems, a guideline to
complete an open hole without a liner protection in limestone
reservoirs is provided, with calculation results using a nonlinear
finite-element model.
Introduction
When an openhole completion was selected in a limestone reservoir, the well used to be completed with a perforated/slotted liner.1

Copyright 2005 Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper (SPE 77776) was first presented at the 2002 SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 29 September2 October. Original manuscript received
for review 13 January 2003. Revised manuscript received 2 July 2004. Manuscript peer
approved 9 February 2005.

June 2005 SPE Journal

A perforated/slotted liner was economical, and so using it as a well

protection did not significantly increase the well completion cost.
However, a perforated liner became an obstacle later when the well
was recompleted. Field trials showed that even if a formation was
not significantly strong, an open hole remained open without collapsing without the support of a perforated liner.2 On the other
hand, common sense suggests that, if a formation is too weak with
respect to the magnitude of in-situ stress, a borehole cannot remain
open. In addition, it is a common method to use an acid to stimulate a limestone reservoir. Any acid should weaken a limestone
formation. However, field observation seemed to show that an
open hole remains stable even after acid stimulation. We need to
know why an open hole remains stable although we know acids
should weaken formation after acid treatments.
No large-scale laboratory experiments have appeared in the
literature on borehole collapse problems for limestone reservoirs,
although many papers have appeared on wormholes.3 To answer
why a borehole in a limestone formation is stable, and why acid
does not change the borehole stability, two types of experiments
are conducted in this work.
1. First, there are fundamental experiments to know the limestone property: Complete triaxial stress strain curves are measured
for two types of limestone for several confining pressures. In addition, acidflood experiments are conducted to measure the porosity change, permeability change, strength change, and magnitude
of limestone dissolution at acid limestone interface.
2. One-half- to one-third-scale models are used for borehole
stability experiments to measure the well collapse condition with
and without acid treatments. Uniform and directional confining
pressures are used to simulate vertical and horizontal wells. The
change in borehole diameters is measured at several points of the
borehole while the confining pressure is increased until the borehole starts collapsing.
The present work is the first publication appearing in the literature to show a series of large-scale borehole stability experiments for limestones with and without acid treatments.
Experimental Setup and Procedure
Borehole Stability Test Using a Large Polyaxial Cell. A large
polyaxial pressure cell shown in Fig. 1 equips a flexible square
jacket to hold a rock sample. Unlike other large polyaxial cells,
because a hydrostatic stress is applied through the jacket by the
surrounding oil, a high confining pressure up to 25 kpsi may be
applied to the rock sample. After applying the hydrostatic stress, a
polyaxial load may be added to the rock sample through the loading plates installed at the four faces of the jacket with loading
pistons behind the jacket. A cubic sample (10.510.517.5-in.)
with a borehole (diameter 1.5 in. and 2.25 to 2.29 in.) is inserted
into the flexible jacket shown in Fig. 1. The three confining pressures (two horizontal and one vertical), borehole pressure, and the
pore pressure may be independently changed.
The borehole deformation is measured in two perpendicular
directions (normally, in the largest and smallest horizontal in-situ
stress directions) at two locations with a set of cantilever deformation gages. A cubic sample is saturated with 3% NaCl water
before testing. Normally, the confining pressure is applied and the
pressure is cycled several times to check whether the borehole
cantilever is properly seated at the borehole wall. After pressure
cycle, the confining pressure is increased to a desired pressure.
105

Fig. 1Large triaxial cell for borehole stability experiments.

Then, one horizontal stress is increased until a borehole failure

is observed.
Triaxial Tests. It is important to know the elastic and plastic properties of the rock. The standard triaxial tests are conducted for two
types of limestones used in this work. The sample is a cylindrical
core 1.5 in. in diameter and 3 in. in length and saturated with 3%
salt water. The confining pressure is 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 7 kpsi, and
the tests were conducted by increasing the axial stress until a
failure was observed for each confining pressure.
Acidflood Test. Solid samples (1.5 in. in diameter and 3 in. in
length) or sliced cylindrical samples (a cylindrical core 1.5 in. in
diameter and 3 in. in length sliced into eight thin pieces and put
together with paper filter between the thin plate-shaped cores) are
used for acidflood tests as shown in Fig. 2. For the solid core, the
hardness of the rock is measured by an acme rebound hardness
tester, which measures the bouncing-back ability (ratio of rebound
and impact heights) of a rock surface. The hardness distribution is
measured from the acid-etched surface. The rock sample is fixed in
cement slurry to avoid the end effect of the hardness tester. For
sliced cores, the porosity change distribution is measured before
and after acidflooding by the sample weight with and without water
saturation. Permeability change is also measured for sliced rocks.
Experimental Results
Mechanical Properties of the Limestones. Two types of limestones are used. Limestone A has 4,716 psi unconfined rock
strength (UCS), 0.159 porosity, and 8.6 md permeability. Limestone B has 1,751 psi UCS, 0.267 porosity, and 56.7 md permeability. Although these rocks are relatively homogeneous, the permeability variation is significant, as with most other limestones.

Fig. 3Triaxial tests for the 1,75-psi limestone.

106

Fig. 2A high-pressure Hasler type coreholder for testing

strength reduction and pore enlargement caused by acid flow.

Figs. 3 through 6 show the stress strain curves and yield and
failure curves for 1,751-psi rock. These limestones have two distinct failure envelopes. The failure plastic strain is relatively small
for normal shear failure while it becomes as much as 10 times
larger when a shear failure is induced after pore collapse. Fig. 6
shows that the critical plastic strain with a confining pressure less
than 500 psi was as small as 0.002, while it jumps up to 0.03 for
higher confining pressures. Fig. 4 plots the shear yield points and
pore collapse yield points. The pore collapse yield point is elliptical, while the shear yield points flatten at a higher confining
pressure. The following mechanical properties peculiar to limesones may partially give abnormal borehole stability:
1. The critical plastic strain becomes significantly large if the
stress state exceeds a pore collapse point.
2. Pore collapse is induced with a relatively low mean stress.
Rock Property Change During Acidflooding. Two pore volume
of 15% HCl solution are injected into the samples. The description
of the samples is shown in Tables 1 and 2. Solid cylindrical cores
and sliced cylindrical cores are used for testing. The solid cores are
used for the hardness tests because the hardness tests require a
reasonably large sample. The sliced cores are used to measure the
porosity and permeability change through the cores. The injection
pressure is 5 atm, which may be common during field acid treatments. The injected acid volume is approximately 27 and 47 cc for
Limestone A and B, respectively, and their pore volumes are approximately 13.68 and 23.65 cc, respectively. The weight and
length losses were 9.5 and 5.24 g, or 0.15 and 0.083 in. for the
solid and sliced 3-in. Limestone A samples. The weight and length
losses were 24.04 and 11.25 g or 0.43 and 0.2 in. for the solid and
sliced 3-in. Limestone B samples.
Fig. 7 shows Limestone A sample after being sliced to check
the penetration of acid. The face contacting the acid solution be-

Fig. 4Yield envelope for the 1,751-psi limestone.

June 2005 SPE Journal

Fig. 5Volumetric change for the 1,751-psi limestone.

comes wavy, and buggy cavities are sporadically formed. The

porosity is increased as far as 0.2 in. from the acid-core interface;
however, no change is observed from visual check beyond 0.2 in.
Figs. 8 and 9 show the change in weight, permeability, and hardness for Limestone A and B, respectively. After acidflooding,
approximately 0.083 and 0.20 in. core lengths are lost because of
the chemical reaction for Limestone A and B, respectively, so that
the weight-loss curves start from these points. The weight loss
continues up to 0.3 in. from the initial core-face position. The
hardness reduction is high at the reaction face; however, it recovers
rapidly and no change is observed beyond 0.3 in. from the reaction
face. The permeability becomes lower after injection because of
the fine particles generated by the chemical reaction flowing with
the filtrate through the core.
The results of the acidflood experiments enlighten the borehole
stability problems after acid treatments as follows:
1. Acid treatments mainly enlarge borehole size and the surface
becomes wavy. Because of the size effect and the wavy surface,
the borehole may lose some strength.

Fig. 6Critical plastic strain for the 1,751-psi limestone.

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107

Fig. 8Rock property change after acidization (normalized with

the properties before acidization, Lime A).
Fig. 7Acid-rock interface of Lime A after 2 pore volume 16%
HCl injection.

2. Acid reaction reduces bulk strength of acid-penetrated zones

because of the porosity loss; however, the remaining grains are still
intact and bond tightly, so that the local strength should remain
fairly constant. The affected zone is only 0.2 to 0.3 in. from the
acid-contact surface.
3. Buggy cavities or wormholes may be developed, resulting in
a lower bulk Youngs modulus, although microscopic Youngs
modulus remains the same. It means that the borehole inner surface
becomes more deformable without a shear failure.
Borehole Stability. Most borehole experiments are conducted
with a 2.34- to 2.39-in. borehole. Tables 3 and 4 show the borehole experiments for the A and B samples, respectively. Because
the rock strengths are approximately three times (i.e., 4,716 vs.
1,751 psi UCS), the borehole strengths are also approximately
three times for each rock.
Fig. 10 shows Test A2, wherein, after the confining pressure is
increased to 5 kpsi, one horizontal stress is increased to 7.2 kpsi.
The deformation perpendicular to the maximum horizontal stress
reduces and creates an elliptical borehole shape initially; however,
after a 0.6-kpsi horizontal stress increase from the hydrostatic
stress, the borehole diameter in all directions starts shrinking. As
Fig. 11 shows, the borehole has small zigzag shear cracks at the
top and bottom surface when one horizontal stress has reached 7.2
kpsi. After releasing the confining pressure and the borehole failure is examined, the confining stress is increased to 5 kpsi and,
thereafter, one horizontal stress is increased to 11 kpsi as shown in
Fig. 12. Fig. 13 shows that large breakouts are induced in perpendicular to the maximum horizontal stress direction.

Fig. 9Rock property change after acidization (normalized with

the properties before acidization, Lime B).
108

Fig. 12 compares the borehole stability for the hydrostatic loading and nonhydrostatic loading with 5 kpsi confining pressure.
According to the Kirschs solution, the stress concentration should
be significant for nondirectional loading. However, amazingly, the
deformation curves are similar between hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic loadings. In addition, the borehole strengths are also not
significantly different. It is true that nonlinearity of rock deformation should reduce the stress concentration; however, Fig. 12
shows that the magnitude of the reduction is more than expected.
After acidizing boreholes, borehole stability tests are conducted
for a hydrostatic loading path and for a directional loading path.
Five acidizing tests are conducted as shown in Table 4 for Sample
A. During acid circulation, the boreholes were enlarged, and the
surface became slightly wavy. To ensure deep acid penetration,
dry rock samples are used during acidizing. 1000- or 2000-cc HCl
solutions are completely reacted with the limestones while they are
stirred in the borehole. After acidizing, the rock samples are saturated
with 3% NaCl water before borehole stability tests are conducted.
Figs. 14 and 15 show the borehole test for a sample with
2000-cc HCl solution reaction. The borehole strength seems to
slightly be lowered compared to nonacid-treated cases, but the
reduced strength is not significant. As shown in Fig. 15, the borehole is enlarged because of acid reaction with a wavy surface.
When the stress is reduced after testing, the borehole surface is still
intact; however, small application of shear stress yields rock fragments from the borehole surface as shown in Fig. 16. The fragments have a reasonable strength. Figs. 14 and 17 show the results
with 2000-cc HCl flooding with directional loading path. The
borehole strength is slightly reduced compared to the nonacid
borehole; however, the strength reduction was trivial. The borehole breakout occurred in parallel with the smallest horizontal
stress direction. Fig. 14 also shows that the deformation curves and
borehole strengths are similar between hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic loadings.
Table 4 shows the conditions of the borehole stability tests for
Sample B. Although all the samples look similar, some strength
difference is observed because of rock heterogeneity. B1 and B2
samples seem to be slightly stronger than other rocks, although B1
and B3 experiments are conducted with the same condition with a
slightly different borehole size.
Fig. 18 shows the borehole stability tests without acidizing.
The borehole surface slightly protrudes inward while the surface
sporadically breaks because of shear failure. Fig. 18 shows that for
directional stress, the borehole diameter slightly enlarges during
initial application of a horizontal stress in one direction, although
after further directional stress application, the borehole size shrinks
in all directions regardless of the directional loading. Fig. 18 also
shows that the deformation curves and borehole strengths are similar between hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic loadings.
Fig. 19 shows the borehole deformation with a 2000-cc HCl
solution reaction with hydrostatic and directional loadings. The
borehole deformations reach as much as 20% of the borehole
diameter without borehole collapse. However, after releasing the
June 2005 SPE Journal

confining stress, large fragmented rock chips fell in the borehole

while the borehole deformation measurement assembly was removed.
Tables 3 and 4 summarize the results. These results show:
1. Acidflooding seems to reduce slightly the borehole stability;
however, the strength reduction is small. The small reduction seems
to be caused by borehole enlargement and wavy borehole surface.
2. Once one horizontal stress is increased from a hydrostatic
stress state, the borehole diameter perpendicular to the additional
horizontal stress slightly starts increasing initially; however, after
increasing some amount, the diameter in all directions starts reducing before borehole failure occurrs. These phenomena have
never been observed for borehole stability experiments with other
types of rocks. The borehole strengths for hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic loadings are not significantly different.

finite-element model used in this analysis. Because the experiments are conducted with symmetrical boundary conditions, 14 of
the domain is simulated. The constitutive relation used for the
model consists of poroelastic-plastic stress strain with pore collapse and shear nonlinear plastic strains simulating the empirical
triaxial curves shown by Figs. 3 through 5.
A model simulation is conducted for the Sample A condition.
Because the rock deformation properties for acidized section could
not be measured (it was not possible to make uniform acidized
samples for triaxial tests, because acid only reacts at near-rock
surface), it is assumed here that the acidized section (approximately 0.22 in. from the borehole surface) behaves like Sample B.
Note that Sample A has 0.159 porosity and Sample B has 0.267

Analysis
To interpret the experimental results, a numerical analysis is conducted using a nonlinear finite-element model. Fig. 20 shows the

Fig. 10Borehole deformation (Lime A2, Dw=2.36 in., Pc=5 kpsi).

June 2005 SPE Journal

Fig. 11Borehole deformation stopped at H1=5 kpsi, H2=7.2

kpsi, Lime A2, small shear cracks at bottom and bottom side wall.
109

Fig. 12Borehole deformation (Lime A11, Dw=2.36 in., hydrostatic; Lime A12, Dw=2.36 in., Pc=5 kpsi, nonhydrostatic).

porosity and the UCS strengths are 4,716 and 1,751 psi, respectively. As Fig. 21 shows, the stress path first reaches a shear
envelope at the borehole without a surface load, expands the shear
envelope, and finally reaches the pore collapse plastic strain. The
stress state locates on both the shear-failure and pore collapse
plastic envelopes, expanding both until reaching a shear-failure
stress state. Comparing Fig. 21 with nonacidized cases, the failure
points are almost identical, although the acidized formation at the
inner surface is significantly weaker. The reason is that because the
acidized formation has a smaller Youngs modulus because of a
high porosity, the tangential stress at the borehole surface does not
significantly increase. The load is mostly supported by the surrounding formation with a higher Youngs modulus. The maximum confining stresses to induce borehole failure are not significantly different between hydrostatic and directional loading paths
because significant nonlinearity reduces the stress concentration
for directional loading.

Fig. 13Borehole deformation stopped at maximum failure

stress, Lime A12, large shear cracks at bottom and bottom
side wall.
110

Field Application
Using a nonlinear finite-element borehole stability model, the reservoir depletions inducing borehole collapse are calculated using
the constitutive relations constructed for Rock A and B. Constitutive relations matching with the triaxial data (for example, Figs. 3
and 5 for Rock B) are constructed. The critical plastic strain is used
for the failure theory (for example, Fig. 6 for Rock B). The following loading path is assumed as field conditions simulating the
initial condition before drilling until a well collapse during a reservoir pressure depletion:
1. The in-situ stress is given as a residual stress at the initial
condition. The stress in equilibrium to the in-situ stress is applied
to the borehole surface, simulating the condition before drilling.
2. The borehole stress is reduced to the pore pressure to simulate the condition after drilling.
3. The reservoir pressure is reduced until the borehole plastic
strain reaches the failure plastic strain. When the pore pressure is
reduced, the horizontal and vertical effective stresses are increased
with a specified Poissons ratio during reservoir depletion
with a specified horizontal/vertical effective stress ratio given by

E12m
Ve +
p with a small grain compressibility,
He =
1
1Em
E(12m)/[(1)Em]0.
4. The drawdown is ignored.
Tables 5 and 6 show the calculated reservoir depletions inducing borehole collapse for 4,716- and 1,746-psi UCS limestones.
Overall analysis of the results is as follows:
1. The final failure effective in-situ stress is high for a higher
initial in-situ effective stress. The reason is that the loading paths
are different between releasing from the initial in-situ stress and
adding effective stress by depleting reservoir pressure. A borehole
is generally very stable when a borehole stress is released from the
initial in-situ stress to the borehole pressure after being drilled.
2. Vertical wells are normally stable because the load applied
during reservoir depletion is in the borehole axis direction.
3. When the stress path shifts from the shear yield curve, to
elastic region, to pore collapse yield curve, and finally to the shear
yield curve, the borehole collapse condition becomes very come
/Ve0.25 and 0.3 for a vertical well in
plex as observed at H
Table 6.
June 2005 SPE Journal

Fig. 14Borehole deformation (Lime A7, Dw=2.39 in., hydrostatic, 2000 cc HCl; Lime A8, Dw=2.39 in., nonhydrostatic, Pc=5 kpsi,
2000 cc HCl).

Fig. 15Borehole deformation stopped at maximum failure

stress, Lime A7, large shear cracks at entire wall, 2000 cc HCl.

Fig. 16Fragments from borehole wall fallen after releasing the

confining stress for acidized borehole A7.

Fig. 17Borehole deformation at maximum failure stress, Lime

A8 for 2000 cc HCl acid treatment, H1=5 kpsi, H2=10 psi.

Table 5 shows the reservoir depletions to induce a borehole

collapse, assuming the formation has 4,716 psi UCS. Note that the
effective maximum overburden stress (Ve+vertical stress induced
by depletion) to induce a horizontal borehole collapse ranges from
8.6 to 15.97 kpsi, with a 12.3-kpsi average. The maximum confining stress inducing the borehole collapse for Rock A for the
laboratory tests from Table 3 ranges from 9.4 to 11.9 kpsi, with an
average of 10.65 kpsi. This difference is mainly caused by the
larger stress concentration around a borehole (diameter 2.36 in.)
within 10.5 in. finite square blocks while in the field, the stress
around a borehole is less because the in-situ stress is applied from
infinite distance. The stress supported by the block is approximately 10.5-in. (10.5 in. to 2.36 in.) higher with a given H for the
laboratory experiments. A horizontal borehole is very stable if the
formation strength is as high as 4,716 psi. Table 5 also shows the
reservoir depletions to induce a borehole collapse for a vertical
well, assuming the formation has 4,716 psi UCS. A vertical well is
very stable because the horizontal load (or in-situ stress) collapsing
the borehole in the radial direction is not significantly increased
even after reservoir pressure depletion. However, if the well depth
is too large and the in-situ stress is too large, even a vertical well

June 2005 SPE Journal

111

Fig. 18Borehole deformation (Lime B3, Dw=2.39 in., hydrostatic; Lime B2, Dw=2.34 in., Pc=3 kpsi, nonhydrostatic).

can be collapsed because of the significantly increased effective

overburden pressure.
Tables 6 shows horizontal and vertical well stabilities for 1,751
psi UCS formation. Because the UCS of Rock B is one-third of
Rock A, the effective in-situ stresses inducing a borehole collapse
becomes also one-third of a formation of 4,716 psi UCS rock. A
horizontal well is significantly stable even for a reservoir with a
e
low H
/Ve ratio. Generally speaking, a horizontal borehole surrounded by Rock A and B can sustain in-situ stress and reservoir
depletion with the maximum effective stresses approximately 2.6
times those of the UCS values. The application of Tables 5 and 6
to field problems is illustrated as follows.
Field Example 1. Suppose a reservoir depth is 10,000 ft. The
initial pore pressure is 5,000 psi. The UCS of the rock is 2,000 psi.
The Poissons ratio is approximately 0.2. The vertical and horizontal in-situ stress gradients are 1 and 0.75 psi/ft. The final reservoir pressure is 1,000 psi. A horizontal well is drilled.

Evaluation:
e
1. H
/Ve 0.5, and the final maximum effective stress is
Ve 8 kpsi.
2. The ratio Ve/UCS4.
3. According to Table 5 or 6, the average value of Ve/UCS at
collapse is approximately 2.6 for 0.2 Poissons ratio. Therefore,
borehole collapse is likely without a protective liner for the given
field conditions.
Field Example 2. This is the same condition with Example 1
except UCS4 kpsi.
1. The ratio for this example is Ve/UCS2.
2. Now, because the average ratio of Ve/UCS for Rock A
or B is 2.6, it is possible to complete the well without a
liner protection.
3. Although the rock property is different between limestones,
30% (2.6/21.3) extra rock strength may be sufficient for a borehole even with other limestone rocks.

Fig. 19Borehole deformation (Lime B7, Dw=2.39 in., hydrostatic, 2000 cc HCl; Lime B8, Dw=2.39 in., Pc=3 kpsi, nonhydrostatic,
2000 cc HCl).
112

June 2005 SPE Journal

Fig. 20Finite element model and mesh.

4. Because actually the rock property may be different to some

degree, a triaxial test may be performed using six to seven 1.5-in.
plug cores (the plug diameter exceeding 1.5 in. is recommended to
get accurate stress strain curve and strength). Using a nonlinear
borehole stability model, the evaluation of borehole stability may
be confirmed.
Conclusion
1. The present experiments found that abnormal ductility of limestones and increased pore volume due to acid treatment enhance
borehole stability with the magnitude beyond expectation. Note
that no publications have appeared on large-scale experiments
of openhole stability in limestones with and without acid treatment.
2. Plastic strain failure envelopes for limestones consist of two
distinct surfaces before and after pore collapse. The critical
plastic strain becomes up to 10 times as large after pore collapse.
3. Pore collapse around a borehole is unlikely under normal circumstances because one side is open for an open hole. However,
unlike with other stones, borehole failure in a limestone formation is induced by a shear failure after pore collapse. Pore collapse alters a limestone to a very ductile rock.
4. Because of the significant plastic yielding, the maximum crosssectional effective in-situ stress emax to induce a horizontal

well failure is not significantly different for a wide range of

horizontal to vertical effective in-situ stress ratio. The difference
is significantly smaller than expected because we are used to the
Kirschs linear elasticity solution, which emphasizes the high
stress concentration induced by directional loading. This is the
reason that a horizontal well in a limestone reservoir is abnormally stable.
5. Acid stimulation mostly enlarges a borehole and creates a wavy
borehole surface and wormholes. Because of the size effect and
wavy surface, the borehole stability is slightly lowered. However, the acid-treated zone has some wormholes or the pores are
enlarged. Because the Youngs modulus is also reduced because
of wormholes, the reduction of rock strength does not significantly reduce borehole stability. Therefore, it is important for
field applications to enhance creating wormholes without uniformly weakening limestone formation during acid treatment.
6. Normally, because a limestone has a relatively high UCS, it is
likely that a protective slotted/drilled hole liner can be deleted
for openhole completion. However, it is not always the case for
relatively high in-situ stress with medium-strength rocks; therefore, the UCS and rock deformation must be measured to evaluate an openhole stability.
Nomenclature
Dw borehole diameter
Pc confining pressure
Poissons ratio used for calculating effective
horizontal stress change during a reservoir
depletion
H1,H2,V Two principal horizontal stresses, vertical stress
e
H
, Ve effective stress
References
1. Krawietz, T.E. and Rael, E.L.: Horizontal Well Acidizing of a Carbonate Formation: A Case History of Lisburne Treatments, Prudhoe
Bay, Alaska, SPEPF (November 1996) 238.
2. Mackay, A. et al.: Horizontal Well With Two Lateral Holes in Layered Limestone Reservoir: Performance and Test Interpretation, paper
SPE 25594 presented at the 1993 SPE Middle East Oil Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Bahrain, 36 April.
3. Buijse, M.A.: Understanding Wormholing Mechanism Can Improve
Acid Treatments in Carbonate Formations, paper SPE 38166 presented at the 1997 SPE European Formation Damage Conference, The
Hague, 23 June.

Fig. 21Borehole deformation with acidized material where the formation penetrated with acid behaves like Rock B (0.22 in. from
wall) while the rest of the material is Rock A, directional loading with Pc=5 kpsi.
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113

Nobuo Morita is a professor of resources and environmental

engineering at Waseda U., Tokyo. His current areas of interest
are borehole stability, sand-production problems, and developing numerical models for fluid-flow and rock-mechanics
problems. He holds a BS degree from the U. of Tokyo and MS
and PhD degrees from the U. of Texas at Austin, all in petroleum
114

engineering. Tomoki Doi is a sales engineer at NEC Corporation, Fukuoka, Japan. He holds BS and MS degrees in resources
and environmental engineering from Waseda U. Takanori Kinoshita is a rock mechanics engineer at H&B System Corporation, Tokyo. He holds a BS degree in resources and environmental engineering from Waseda U.
June 2005 SPE Journal