Permeability Reduction Induced by a Nonhydrostatic Stress Field

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Abstract
Summary: Stress-dependent permeability was measured in a high-porosity/high-permeability sandstone with mechanical and fluid-flow parameters similar to those found in typical North Sea reservoirs, particularly the little-investigated effect of triaxial stress configurations. Hydrostatic loading from atmospheric conditions to stress levels comparable to those found in situ causes a slight permeability reduction. When the applied stress is nonhydrostatic, the permeability decrease is more pronounced. In particular, as failure is approached in triaxial loading or unloading, the permeability may be significantly reduced (in some cases to < 10% of its initial value). This paper discusses the consequences of these results for interpretation of standard permeability measurements. An example quantifies the formation damage (skin) induced by the near-wellbore stress field.

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