Recent rock mechanics developments in the petroleum industry

In much the same way as rock mechanics started to bloom in geotechnical engineering after catastrophes such as Malpasset and Vaiont, the petroleum industry started to respect rock mechanics after rather expensive mishaps. Boreholes failing during drilling or production, formation sand production, surface subsidence leading to casing failures, etc. all represent reactions of the rock mass to engineers’ intrusion. As a result of these and other seemingly increasing problems, the exploration and development sectors felt obliged to address the issue and over the past two decades have expanded considerable efforts towards obtaining a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing rock behavior. This keynote address briefly reviews some of the recent advances: Wherever possible, practical implications are discussed in an attempt to outline the importance of some of these developments.