Chapter 5

Pressure-Depth Gradients

Pressure-Depth Gradient Diagrams

Useful information important in the analysis of subsurface gas, oil and

water systems is gathered from the relationships revealed on simple
graphs made by plotting formation pressures against the depth they rep-
resent. This is an effective way for displaying gradient patterns that can
be used by the exploration geologist for predicting oil-gas-water phase
boundaries, estimating oil and gas pay thicknesses and correlating hydro-
geological fluid systems (reservoirs) in the subsurface.
Figure 5-1 shows pressures plotted against depth for the fluids in tanks
considered in the discussion on fluids in Chapter 1. The angles between
the vertical axis and the lines reflect the magnitude of the gravity-
induced, density-dependent gradients, i.e. 0.05 for natural gas vs. 0.49 for
saline water, etc. The slopes of the individual gradients express the rate
at which the pressure increases with depth in each vessel starting with
1000 psi at the top. If pressure gauges could be inserted through the walls
of the tanks in Figure 1-1, the observed pressures at the different depths
would fall on the plotted curves of the graph. The systems in this case are
static; the energy potential is constant at all points within each and there
is no flow.
If a single large tank is filled with arbitrary quantities of oil, gas and
water and a pressure of 1000 psi applied at the top of the tank, due to
their different densities the fluids will occupy density-dependent positions

E. C. Dahlberg, Applied Hydrodynamics in Petroleum Exploration

© Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1982
 54 Pressure-Depth Gradients

with the gas on top of the oil and the water at the bottom. The pressure
gradients within the three fluids in the tank plotted on a pressure-depth
diagram are shown in Figure 5-2. The positions of the fluid interfaces are
reflected by the change-of-slope points where the rate-of-change of pres-
sure increases with depth in each successively denser phase. The slopes of
the gradients correspond to the relative densities of the gas, oil and water
as described earlier. The important point is that if one cannot see directly
into a reservoir but can measure pressures at some depths, with a knowl-
edge of the particular fluid densities the positions of the interfaces can be
determined and the approximate proportions of gas, oil and water in the
tank can accurately be predicted.

100

200

300

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1.00
.:
500
l:
I-
Q. 600
IU
0
700

j
800
z
~
900 c
,
:l)
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C)
1000
>
!II
(:)
1100 (JI
8-

1200

1000 psi 1250 psi 1500 psi 1750 psi 2000 psi

PRESSURE

Figure 5-1. Pressure-depth gradient plot for the fluids in Figure 1-1.