📘 Course Description:
This foundational course introduces geoscientists, engineers, and technical professionals to the principles and applications of geomechanics in the oil & gas, mining, civil engineering, and environmental sectors. Participants will learn how rock and soil mechanical behavior affects wellbore stability, reservoir performance, drilling operations, hydraulic fracturing, and fault reactivation.
The course combines theory with practical exercises to interpret in-situ stress, rock strength, mechanical earth models (MEMs), and failure criteria. By the end of the course, participants will be prepared to integrate geomechanical concepts into field development and operational planning.
🎯 Learning Objectives:
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Understand the stress-strain behavior of rocks and soils
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Calculate and interpret in-situ stresses and pore pressures
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Evaluate wellbore stability and failure mechanisms
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Apply geomechanics to drilling, fracturing, and production
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Build and use basic mechanical earth models (MEMs)
✅ Day 1: Geomechanics Fundamentals
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Registration and Introduction |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Basic Principles: Stress, Strain, Elasticity & Plasticity |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Types of Rock Behavior: Brittle vs. Ductile |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch Break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Stress Tensors and Mohr’s Circle |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Break |
| 14:45 – 16:30 | Lab Tests: UCS, Triaxial, and Tensile Strength |
✅ Day 2: In-situ Stress, Pore Pressure & Rock Properties
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 08:30 – 10:30 | Sources and Types of In-situ Stresses |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Pore Pressure Estimation Techniques |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch Break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Stress Magnitudes: Overburden, Minimum & Maximum Horizontal |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Break |
| 14:45 – 16:30 | Logging and Core Analysis for Mechanical Properties |
✅ Day 3: Wellbore Stability & Failure Mechanisms
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 08:30 – 10:30 | Wellbore Stability Concepts |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Shear & Tensile Failure Modes Around Boreholes |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch Break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Breakouts, Washouts, and Fracture Identification |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Break |
| 14:45 – 16:30 | Mud Weight Window & Safe Drilling Practices |
✅ Day 4: Applications in Drilling, Fracturing, and Completions
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 08:30 – 10:30 | Hydraulic Fracturing and Fracture Mechanics |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Borehole Collapse and Sand Production Mechanisms |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch Break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Casing Design Considerations in Weak Zones |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Break |
| 14:45 – 16:30 | Geomechanics in Unconventional Reservoirs |
✅ Day 5: Mechanical Earth Models (MEM) & Case Studies
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 08:30 – 10:30 | Introduction to MEM Construction |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Input Data, Calibration & Uncertainties |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch Break |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Case Studies: Drilling Failures, Fracturing Success, Sanding |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Break |
| 14:45 – 16:30 | Group Exercise: MEM Building + Review & Course Wrap-Up |
🧰 Course Materials Include:
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Stress calculation spreadsheets
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Mohr circle plotting templates
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Sample MEM data sets
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Wellbore failure maps and field case studies
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PDF handouts, charts, and software tool references
👥 Who Should Attend:
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Geologists & Geophysicists
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Drilling & Reservoir Engineers
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Petroleum Engineers & Completion Specialists
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Geotechnical & Mining Engineers
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Graduate students entering geomechanics-related fields
