Cracks and Destruction of Rocks in Reservoir Conditions: State of the Problem

This article provides an overview of the existing concepts of the formation and interaction of cracks in rocks based on the results of numerous experiments with rock samples and model materials. The results of both known works and new data obtained recently are considered. To study cracks and processes of rock destruction in reservoir conditions, the change in fracture porosity depending on changes in reservoir conditions and the assessment of its influence on the speed of elastic waves, the value of the pore compressibility coefficient, and the preparation of rock samples destruction are considered in detail. It is concluded that the use of a set of methods that allow estimating petrophysical parameters such as changes in the porosity structure, including changes in its intergranular and fracture components and the propagation velocity of elastic waves, as well as the number and amplitude of acoustic emission pulses and determining the location of their generation, allows studying the development of cracks in reservoir conditions in the process of preparing the destruction of rocks, activating fault zones, and forming negative deformation consequences of oil and gas field development.