The fracture gradient is the pressure required to induce fractures in rock at a

given depth.
It is defined as the pressure which occurs the rupture of a training
It has exceeded the minor principal stress to initiate a fracture.
SH - It has to be exceeded so that the VERTICAL fracture occurs
SV- It has to be exceeded for this HORIZONTAL fracture is given
IMPORTANCE
An accurate prediction of the fracture gradient is essential to optimize the design
ofthe well
At the stage of planning well, it can be estimated from wells of reference data
When wells are being drilled in both new and old fields, lost circulation is often a very troublesome and
expensive problem. Complete loss of circulation has been disastrous in some cases. Many times, such
disasters could have been avoided if techniques for calculating fracture pressure gradient had been
employed in the well plans, and if casing strings had been set, and mud weight plans had been followed
accordingly.
Pore pressure is defined as the pressure acting on the fluid in the porous space of t
herock.