System and methods for real-time wellbore stability service

An apparatus configured to conduct a drilling operation, the apparatus comprising:

• a drill string for drilling a borehole;
• a bottomhole assembly configured to be conveyed into a borehole on the drill string;
• a sensor configured to make a measurement at one of:
• (i) a downhole location, and (ii) a surface location;
• and
• a processor configured to control the drilling operation by:
• predicting a value of a first parameter relating to drilling of the borehole using a Geomechanical Model,
• estimating a value of a second parameter from the measurement taken by the sensor,
• updating the Geomechanical Model based at least in part on the estimated value of the second parameter,
• predicting in real time a second value of the first parameter using the updated Geomechanical Model, and
• altering a drilling parameter for drilling the borehole based on the predicted second value of the first parameter to reduce a tendency of a drill bit to drift in a direction of a minimum horizontal principal stress.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a processor enable the processor to perform a method for drilling a borehole, the method comprising:

• predicting a value of a first parameter relating to the drilling of the borehole using a Geomechanical Model;
• estimating a value of a second parameter from measurements taken by a sensor;
• and
• controlling the drilling operation by:
• updating the Geomechanical Model based at least in part on the estimated value of the second parameter,
• predicting a second value of the first parameter using the updated Geomechanical Model, and
• altering a drilling parameter for drilling the borehole based on the predicted second value of the first parameter to reduce a tendency of a drill bit to drift in a direction of a minimum horizontal principal stress.

A method of conducting a drilling operation, comprising:

• conveying a drilling assembly for conducting the drilling operation into a borehole, the drilling assembly including a sensor configured to make a measurement relating to a selected parameter;
• making the measurement by the sensor and estimating a value of the selected parameter using the sensor measurement;
• and
• using a processor to control the drilling operation by:
• predicting a value of the selected parameter using a Geomechanical Model,
• comparing the estimated value of the selected parameter and the predicted value of the selected parameter, and
• altering a parameter relating to the drilling operation based at least in part on comparing the estimated value and the predicted value of the selected parameter to reduce a tendency of a drill bit to drift in a direction of a minimum horizontal principal stress.