New Features and Extensions

• Extended Stress and Pressure Units. New units are available under View/Units/Pressure. For pressure gradients: PSI/ft and kPa/m; and for pressure: kg/cm2. New units can also be used in the input *.rock file using the using the corresponding key numbers: 1=ppg, 2=sg, 3=psi, 4=MPa, 5=lb/ft3, 6=kg/cm2, 7=psi/ft, 8=kPa/m.

• Expanded exported data file. Output ASCII file *.wout has been extended to include Sv, SHmax and Shmin (or S1, S2, S3 in case of inclined stress).

• Predicted vs. Observed Breakouts. In Check Mud Weight mode, the analysis results of GMI•Caliper™ can now be imported without requiring the input of length or breakout width. Only MD and breakout azimuth are mandatory. In such a case, the breakouts are displayed as discrete points in the right-hand plot of the “Predicted vs. Observed Breakouts” window.

• Direct Check of Mud Program Obtained in the Predict Mode. The Predict Mud Weight program mode results in casing design and recommended mud weight which is normally the maximum of hole collapse and/or pore pressure in a given hole section. So far there was only one way to test such a mud program in the Check Mud Weight mode: Manually defining a stepwise mud curve by choosing User Defined Mud Weight/Define… (right-click in the main plot). Now this process is automated so that when the Check Mud Weight mode is run, the user defined mud program from the Predict Mud Weight mode is the default mud program used for failure calculations. The user can see which mud program is used in the Check Mud Weight mode by looking at the Mud Weight Program window available under the Drilling menu. In this window there is a new option: Given by Predict Mode which is the mud weight program manually defined in the Predict Mud Weight mode. This is automatically used as the default in the Check Mud Weight mode. The user can also select other options. The mud weight program is always visible in the Input Data window. Note that although mud weights at calculation points are correct, the curve is not fully stepwise as the plot interpolates all input data between neighboring points. Since the Check Mud Weight mode calculates failure along the entire depth interval (where rock and well data overlap) and casing is often not set along the entire range, WellCheck completes the mud weight program below the last casing seat by taking the maximum lower bound of mud window between the last seat and last calculation point. This approach is also used in the cases where no casing is determined in the Predict Mud Weight mode.