Pore pressure-minimum horizontal stress coupling estimation in Tunu Field, Lower Kutai Basin, Indonesia

Abstract

Quantifying the change of minimum horizontal stress (Shmin) in response to pore pressure is vital, particularly at the development stage of a hydrocarbon field. However, estimates of the coupling ratio between these parameters, either at basin or reservoir scales, are not well defined in Indonesia’s sedimentary basin, such as Lower Kutai Basin. This study investigates the coupling ratio between Shmin and pore pressure in one of the gas fields within the basin, Tunu Field, using available evidence from an extensive data set of direct pressure measurement, leak-off test, extended LOT, Mini-Frac, and lost circulation. Previous studies have reported overpressured and depleted reservoirs. Nevertheless, the evolution of Shmin due to the change in pore pressure has yet to be well established. This study reveals a Shmin and vertical stress ratio of 0.87 which may relate to the stiffening of the shales via clay diagenesis/cementation. Coupling ratios between Shmin and pore pressure are 0.3 for the overpressured zone at the basin scale and 0.42 for the depletion at the reservoir scale. The approach used has been shown to produce similar coupling ratio (or stress path) results to other basins globally, thus providing a useful estimate of the Shmin and pore pressure relationship for the Tunu Field, and potentially other fields in the Lower Kutai Basin. For the application to infill drillings within the field, this study indicates Shmin decreases in response to pore pressure depletion due to production, ranging from 1.7 to 2.3 ppg within the hydrostatic zone and from 2.5 to 3.7 within the overpressured zone, equivalent to a Pore Pressure (PP)-Shmin window decrease of approximately 28% to 37% and approximately 40% to 88%, respectively. In addition, strike-slip faulting is suggested as the likely in situ stress regime in the Tunu Field.