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

Depth, ft

Normal and Abnormal Pore Pressures

10,000

Normal Pressure Gradients

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

Subnormal

Abnormal
Pressure
Gradients

??

Pore Pressure, psig

Pore Pressure vs. Depth

Depth, ft

5,000

10,000

0.433 psi/ft

8.33 lb/gal

0.465 psi/ft

9.00 lb/gal

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.
9

Pore Pressure
TABLE 2.1 -

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

pn = 4,185 psig

10

Normal Pressure

11

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
12

Subnormal pressures due to faulting

8,000
9,000

13

Aquifer outcrops below rig

14

Production of oil or gas

15

Abnormal Pressures
Abnormal Pressures are formation
pressures greater than normal
pressures
Can cause severe drilling problems
There are many possible causes of
abnormal pressure
16

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.
18

Pressure
Seals

19

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

20

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.
21

Pore pressures
do not always
increase with
depth

22

Causes of abnormal pressure

TABLE 2.2 -

23

Aquifer

24

Thick gas sand

2
P = 605 - 0.05 * 300
= 605 - 15
= 590 psig

1
p = 0.465 * 1,300
= 605 psig

3
g = 590/1,000
= 0.590 psi/ft
EMW = 0.590/0.052
11.3 ppg

25

Normal Faulting

9,000 ft

4,650
0.052 * 9,000
= 9.94 ppg

10,000 ft

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
29

Erosion

EMW =

p
0.052 * Depth

30

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
33

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.
34

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
36

The overburden load is supported by the

vertical stress in the grain framework
and by the fluid pore pressure

Compaction Theory

ob

ob

= overburden stress

eV

= matrix stress

eV

+ pp

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 -

40

Bulk Densities - Santa

Barbara Channel
= 0.37e

0.0001609 D

K D

= 0 e
= f ( )

41

GOM
Bulk
Densities

42

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

43

Overburden Stress
ob = b gdD
D

ob = 0.052 [ ma (1 ) + f ]dD
0

setting
setting

= 0 e

k D

andintegrating
int egrating
and

ob

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

44

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

= 0.0001609 ft-1
f

= 1.044 gm/cc
45

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,
(

ob eaton

= 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.
47

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
48

0.84 psi/ft

Eatons ob
stress
gradient
for GOM

1 psi/ ft
at 20,000

0.89 psi/ft

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

49

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
51

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