Stress and Fracture Prediction with Geomechanical Reservoir Models – Concepts and Case Study, Eastern Sirte Basin

The study explores the potential of numerical models to predict tectonic stresses and fracture networks on a reservoir-scale. A workflow is presented to build such geomechanical models on the basis of finite element techniques. Input data required are the reservoir geometry, mechanical material properties and boundary conditions. Modeling results are calibrated against observed data, e.g., in-situ stress measurements and fractures from cores and logs. This validated model is then used to predict stresses and fracture properties in the inter-well space. To assess its practical value this workflow for geomechanical modeling is applied to data from a reservoir in the eastern Sirte Basin/Libya.