Determining differential stress based on formation curvature and mechanical units using borehole logs

Abstract

A method for performing wellbore operations of a field having a subterranean formation. The method includes determining, based on an image log of a wellbore penetrating the subterranean formation, a plurality of interpreted geological surfaces, identifying a plurality of estimated slickensides from the plurality of interpreted geological surfaces based on at least one pre-determined criterion, calculating, using a processor, a differential stress using a curvature model representing at least one mechanical unit defined by the plurality of estimated slickensides, generating a stress model using the differential stress, identifying a modeled wellbore stress-induced failure in response to a total stress value in the stress model exceeding a strength property of the subterranean formation, determining a difference between the modeled wellbore stress-induced failure and an observed stress-induced failure in the subterranean formation, and updating the stress model by adjusting the plurality of estimated slickensides to, in turn, adjust the difference.