Laboratory Measurements of Petrophysical and Geomechanical Properties for Zubair Sandstone Formation in Southern Iraq

Zubair Formation (Lower Cretaceous) is a regionally extended oil-producing sandstone sequence in Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The Zubair oil reservoir has a significant potential to contribute to the petroleum supply in Iraq. The Knowledge of petrophysical and geomechanical properties of the Zubair sandstone formation is required to assure the success of future exploration and development of this reserves. Hence, a high consistency and quality of reservoir properties may significantly improve the economic revenues derivable from the reservoir. This paper presents series of experiments that were conducted to investigate petrophysical and mechanical properties of 40 plug samples retrieved from the Zubair reservoir in Southern Iraq. The measured petrophysical properties included porosity, grain density, bulk density, grain size, and permeability. The geomechanical properties included static and dynamic elastic parameters (Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio), rock strength parameters (uniaxial compressive strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle), tensile strength, and acoustic velocity (compressional and shear wave velocities). The findings of this study can be used in solving wellbore instability problems, preventing sand production, enhancing reservoir simulation studies, optimizing drilling processes, and designing fracturing operations across the Zubair reservoir