Well Control

Lesson 7
Pore Pressure
 Contents
Normal Pore Pressure
Subnormal Pore Pressure
Abnormal Pore Pressure
Origins of Pore Pressure
Origins of Pore Pressure
Origins of Abnormal Pore Pressure
Bulk Density and Porosity vs. Depth
2
 Normal and Abnormal Pore Pressures

Normal Pressure Gradients

West Texas: 0.433 psi/ft
Gulf Coast: 0.465 psi/ft
Depth, ft

Abnormal
Pressure
Gradients
Subnormal

10,000 ??
Pore Pressure, psig 3
 Pore Pressure vs. Depth
0

0.433 psi/ft 8.33 lb/gal

0.465 psi/ft 9.00 lb/gal
5,000
Depth, ft

Normal Abormal

10,000

15,000
5 10 15 20
Pore Pressure, lb/gal equivalent

Density of mud required to control this pore pressure 4

 Lost Returns

Kicks
5
6
 Pore Pressure

= formation pressure

= formation fluid pressure

= pressure in fluid contained in the

pore spaces of the rock

7
 Pore Pressure
Normal pressure gradients correspond
to the hydrostatic gradient of a fresh or
saline water column

Example 2.1. Determine the pore

pressure of a normally pressured
formation in the Gulf of Mexico at 9,000
depth.
8
 Pore Pressure
TABLE 2.1 -

pn = gnD = 0.465 psi/ft * 9,000 ft

pn = 4,185 psig
9
Normal Pressure

10
 Subnormal Pressures

Formation pressure
gradients less than normal
gradients for a given area.

Lost circulation problems

and differential sticking are
common problems in these
areas
11
Subnormal pressures due to faulting

8,000
9,000

12
Aquifer outcrops below rig

13
Production of oil or gas

14
 Abnormal Pressures
Abnormal Pressures are formation
pressures greater than normal
pressures

Can cause severe drilling problems

There are many possible causes of

abnormal pressure

15
 Abnormal Pressure
All abnormal pressures require some
means of sealing or trapping the
pressure within the rock body.

Otherwise hydrostatic equilibrium back

to a normal gradient would eventually
be restored.

16
 Abnormal Pressure
Massive shales provide good pressure
seals, but shales do have some
permeability, so, given sufficient time,
normal pressures will eventually be
established.

It may take tens of millions of years for

a normal pressure gradient to re-occur.
17
Pressure
Seals

18
 Abnormal pressures
Dense rocks should always be a
warning to a driller that the pore
pressure may be changing

Many abnormal pore pressure

processes are simply the reverse of
those which effect subnormal pressures

19
 Abnormal pressures
For example, the converse to a low
piezometric water level is abnormal
pressure resulting from an Artesian
source.

A thick gas sand that is normally

pressured at the bottom of the sand will
be abnormally pressured at the top of
the sand.
20
Pore pressures
do not always
increase with
depth

21
 Causes of abnormal pressure
TABLE 2.2 -

22
Aquifer

23
 Thick gas sand

2 3
P = 605 - 0.05 * 300 g = 590/1,000
= 605 - 15 = 0.590 psi/ft
= 590 psig EMW = 0.590/0.052
11.3 ppg

1
p = 0.465 * 1,300
= 605 psig 24
 Normal Faulting

9,000 ft
10,000 ft

4,650 psi
0.465 * 10,000 ft
0.052 * 9,000 ft
9.94 ppg 4,650 psi 25
 Downfaulting
Top of
Transition
Zone

Pressure may
increase

26
Salt Diapirs
Salt diapirs
plastically flow or
extrude into the
previously
deposited
sediment layers.
The resulting
compression can
result in
overpressure.

27
 Salt formations

Normally pressured

Salt
Pressure at the bottom
of the salt is often
extremely overpressured

28
Erosion

p
EMW
0.052 * Depth

29
Caprock Mineral Deposition

Possible precipitation of carbonate and silica minerals

30
Man-Made Abnormal Pressures
Underground Casing Faulty
blowout leaks cement job

31
 Compaction Theory of
Abnormal Pressure
Best fits most naturally occurring
abnormal pressures

In new areas, geologic and geophysical

interpretations along with analogy to
known areas are always important

32
 Compaction Theory
During deposition, sediments are
compacted by the overburden load and
are subjected to greater temperatures
with increasing burial depth.

Porosity is reduced as water is forced

out.

33
 Compaction Theory
Hydrostatic equilibrium within the
compacted layers is retained as long as
the expelled water is free to escape

If water cannot escape, abnormal

pressures occur

34
 Compaction Theory
Undercompacted
Shales

Water is expelled Pore water expelled because of

from the shales increasing overburden

If the expelled water is not free to escape, abnormal

pressures may result. Sufficient compaction cannot
occur so the pore fluids carry more of the overburden
35
 The overburden load is supported by the
vertical stress in the grain framework
Compaction Theory
and by the fluid pore pressure

sob = seV + pp
sob = overburden stress
seV = matrix stress
pp = pore pressure

36
 Compaction Theory
The average porosity in sediments,
generally decreases with increasing
depth - due to the increasing
overburden

This results in an increasing bulk

density with increasing depth, and
increasing rock strength
37
 Compaction Theory
From a porosity log, we can construct a
plot of bulk density vs. depth

From this (or directly from a density log,

we can calculate overburden stress vs.
depth.

38
 Compaction Theory
TABLE 2.4 -

39
Bulk Densities - Santa
Barbara Channel

0.37e 0.0001609D

K D
0 e
f

40
 GOM
Bulk
Densities

41
 Pore Pressure Prediction
Overburden Pressure vs. Depth
Porosity vs. Depth
Pore Pressure Prediction
By Analogy
By Seismic Methods
From Drilling Rate Changes

Factors that Affect Drilling Rates

42
 Overburden Stress
s ob b gdD

s ob 0.052 ma 1 f dD
D

setting
setting
k D
0 e
andintegrating
and int egrating

s ob

0.052 ma D
ma f 0

1 e
k D



k
43
 Example 2.5
Calculate the overburden stress at a
depth of 7,200 ft in the Santa Barbara
Channel. Compare to Eatons
prediction.
Assume
o = 0.37
ma = 2.6 gm/cc
k = 0.0001609 ft-1
f = 1.044 gm/cc
44
 m a f 0
k D


Solution sob 0.052 m aD
k
1 e

2.6 1.044 8.33 * 0.37 0.0001609*7,200

s ob 0.052 2.6 * 8.33 * 7,200 * 1 e
0.0001609
s ob 7,032 psig

Eatons Fig. 2.21 shows a value of :

gob = 0.995 psi/ft
So,
(sob)eaton = 0.995 * 7,200 = 7,164 psig
{ Difference = 132 psi or 1.9% } 45
Overburden stress
depends upon porosity,
and porosity depends on
overburden stress
Shales are more
compactible than
sandstones.
Young shales are more
compactible than older
shales.
Limestones and dolomites
are only slightly
compactible.

46
 Rule of Thumb
A common assumption for sedimentary
deposits is gob = 1.0 psi/ft
This is not a good assumption in young
sediments

Eaton predicts that an overburden stress gradient

of 1 psi/ft be achieved at a depth of 20,000 ft in the
GOM

Eaton predicts that an overburden stress gradient

of 1 psi/ft be achieved at a depth of 7,400 ft in the
Santa Barbara Channel
47
 0.84 psi/ft 0.89 psi/ft

Eatons ob
Eatons ob stress
stress gradient for
gradient Santa Barbara
for GOM Channel

1 psi/ ft
1 psi/ ft at 7,400
at 20,000

48
Shale porosity
depends not
only on depth
e.g. At 6,000
depth varies
from 3% to 18%

Note the
~ straight line
relationship
on semilog
paper

49
Eatons porosities
from the Santa
Barbara Channel.
The straight line is
a plot of the
equation:
= 0.37e-0.0001609D

At D = 0, = 0.37
At D = 10,000 ft
= 0.074

50
51