PETE 625 Well Control

Lesson 5 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

Assignments
Homework # 3: Ch 2, Problems 1 - 10 due Wednesday, Sept 22, 2004 Read: Chapter 2 to p. 60

Normal and Abnormal Pore Pressures

Normal Pressure Gradients West Texas: 0.433 psi/ft Gulf Coast: 0.465 psi/ft Abnormal Pressure Gradients

Depth, ft

Subnormal

10,000

??

Pore Pressure, psig

Pore Pressure vs. Depth

0

0.433 psi/ft
Depth, ft
5,000

8.33 lb/gal 9.00 lb/gal

0.465 psi/ft

10,000

Normal

Abormal

15,000 5 10 15 20

Pore Pressure, lb/gal equivalent

Density of mud required to control this pore pressure 5

Lost Returns

Kicks
6

Pore Pressure
= formation pressure = formation fluid pressure = pressure in fluid contained in the pore spaces of the rock

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.
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Pore Pressure
TABLE 2.1 -

pn = gnD = 0.465 psi/ft * 9,000 ft pn = 4,185 psig

10

Normal Pressure

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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
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Subnormal pressures due to faulting

8,000 9,000

13

Aquifer outcrops below rig

14

Production of oil or gas

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Abnormal Pressures
Abnormal Pressures are formation pressures greater than normal pressures Can cause severe drilling problems There are many possible causes of abnormal pressure
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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.

17

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.
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Pressure Seals

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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

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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.
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Pore pressures do not always increase with depth

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Causes of abnormal pressure

TABLE 2.2 -

23

Aquifer

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Thick gas sand

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

1 p = 0.465 * 1,300 = 605 psig

25

Normal Faulting

9,000 ft

10,000 ft

4,650 0.052 * 9,000 = 9.94 ppg

0.465

psi * 10,000 ft ft = 4,650 psi 26

Downfaulting
Top of Transition Zone

Pressure may increase

27

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

28

Salt formations
Normally pressured

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

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Erosion

EMW =

p 0.052 * Depth

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Caprock Mineral Deposition

Possible precipitation of carbonate and silica minerals

31

Man-Made Abnormal Pressures

Underground blowout Casing leaks Faulty cement job

32

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
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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.
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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

35

Compaction Theory
Undercompacted Shales

Water is expelled from the shales

Pore water expelled because of 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
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The overburden load is supported by the vertical stress in the grain framework and by the fluid pore pressure

Compaction Theory
+ pp

o b o b eV

eV

= overburden stress = matrix stress

pp = pore pressure

37

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

38

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.

39

Compaction Theory
TABLE 2.4 -

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Bulk Densities - Santa Barbara Channel

= 0.37e
K D
0.0001609 D

= 0 e = f ( )

41

GOM Bulk Densities

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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

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Overburden Stress
ob = b gdD ob = 0.052 [ ma (1 ) + f ]dD
0 D

setting setting

= 0 e ob

k D

and int egrating and integrating

( ma f )0 1 e k D = 0.052 ma D k

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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 k
f m a

= 2.6 gm/cc

= 0.0001609 ft-1 = 1.044 gm/cc

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Solution

ob

( f ) 0 1 e k D = 0.052 maD ma k

( 2.6 1.044 ) 8.33 * 0.37 ( 0.0001609*7,200 ) ob = 0.052 2.6 * 8.33 * 7,200 * 1 e 0.0001609 ob = 7,032 psig

Eatons Fig. 2.21 shows a value of : gob = 0.995 psi/ft So, (

o e to b an

= 0.995 * 7,200 = 7,164 psig { Difference = 132 psi or 1.9% }

46

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.
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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
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0.84 psi/ft

0.89 psi/ft

Eatons ob stress gradient for GOM

Eatons ob stress gradient for Santa Barbara Channel 1 psi/ ft at 7,400

1 psi/ ft at 20,000

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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

50

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
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