Estimation of Formation Pressures from Log-Derived Shale Properties , E, HOTTMANN R. K, JOHNSON JUNIOR MEMBER AIME ABSTRACT Fluid pressure within the pore space of shales can be determined by using data obtained from botk acoustic and resistivity logs. The method involves establishing rela~ tionships between the common logarithm of shale transit time or shale resistivity and depth for hydrostatic-pres- sure formations. On a plot of transit time vs depth, a linear relationship is generally observed, whereas on a plot of resistivity vs depth, a nonlinear trend exists. Diver- gence of observed transit time or resistivity values from those obtained from established normal compaction trends under hydrostatic pressure conditions is a measure of the pore fluid pressure in the shale and, thus, in adjacent isolated permeable formations. This relationship has been empirically established with actual pressure measurements in adjacent permeable formations. The use of these data and this method permits the interpretation of fluid pres- sure from acoustic and resistivity measurements with an ‘accuracy of approximately 0.04 psi/ft, or about 400 psi ‘at 10,000 ft. The standard deviation for the resistivity method is 0.022 psi/ft, and for the acoustic method 0.020 psifft. Knowledge of the first occurrence of overpressures, and of the precise pressure-depth relationship in a geologic province, enables improvements in drilling techniques, casing programs, completion methods and reservoir eval- uations. INTRODUCTION GENERAL STATEMENT Operators engaged in the search for and production of hydrocarbon reserves in Tertiary basins are more and more frequently confronted with complications associated with overpressured (abnormally high fluid pressure) for- mations. This is particularly true in the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast area, The problems associated with these formations are of direct concern to the combined activi- ties of all phases of operations, i.e., geophysical, drilling, geological and petroleum enginecring."* Knowledge of the pressure distribution of a given arca of operations would greatly reduce the magnitude of many of these complexities and in some cases would completely elimi- nate specific problems. ‘This paper presents techniques developed for estimat- ing formation pressures from interpretations of acoustic and electric log data, Specifically, the acoustical and electrical properties of shales, reflected by conventional Jan Hees Revised: masoorripe received April 26 io fb een 4th Anal SPE Fa Meeting Denver References given at end of paper. JUNE, 1965, eee ‘SHELL DEVELOPMENT CO. HOUSTON, TEX SHELL OIL CO. NEW ORLEANS, LA. acoustic and electrical surveys, can be used to infer cer- tain reservoir properties, such as formation pressure, at any level in a well. It has been possible to develop these techniques because of a firm understanding of the basic principles that govern and apply to such overpressured provinces. NORMAL PRESSURES Normal pressures refer to formation pressures which are approximately equal to the hydrostatic head of a col- umn of water of equal depth. If the formations were opened to the atmosphere, a column of water from the ground surface to the subsurface formation depth would balance the formation pressure. On the Gulf Coast, the shallow, predominantly sand formations contain fluids which are under hydrostatic pressure. These formations are said to be normally pressured or to have a normal pressure gradient.* Experience has shown that the normal pressure gradient on the Gulf Coast is approximately 0.465 psi/ft of depth. OVERPRESSURES Formations with pressures higher than hydrostatic are encountered at varying depths in many areas. These formations are referred to as being abnormally pressured, abnormally high pressured, or overpressured. Formation pressures up to twice the hydrostatic pressure have been observed. ‘These formations require extreme caré and much expense to drill and to exploit COMPACTION-FLUID PRESSURE RELATIONS ‘THEORY ‘The generation of overpressured formations in Tertiary sections of the Gulf Coast and several other Tertiary sedi- mentary basins is, in general terms, considered to be pri- marily the result of compaction phenomena.’ This por- tion of the paper presents a brief review of the theory which associates compaction and fluid pressure relations, and should thus provide the necessary background for an understanding of the techniques presented. See Hubert and Rubey' for a more comprehensive treatment of this subject. The theory of the consolidation of a water-saturated clay’ has been well established by workers in soil me- chanics. The concept is explained by a model with perfo rated metal plates separated by metal springs and water and enclosed in a cylindrical tube, Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of such a model (see Ref. 5, Fig. 27, page 74). The springs simulate communication between clay particles, and the plates simulate the clay particles, Mano- ~spreatire aa at depth Ds font i defined ax n/D, where p is the reservoir pressure ntmeters are used to record the fluid pressure. Upon appli- cation of pressure to the uppermost plate, the height of the springs between the plates remains unchanged as long as no water escapes from the system, Thus, in the initial stage the applied pressure is supported entirely by the equal and opposite pressure of the water. ‘A useful manner of recording this pressure is in terms of the ratio of the fluid pressure p to the total pressure S, which is defined as A and is symbolically represented by Eq. 1: ae dee @ At conditions for Stage A in Fig. 1, A has a value of 1; the system is overpressured. As water is allowed to escape from the system, the plates move downward slightly (the system compacts), and the springs carry part of the ap- plied load. As more and more water is allowed to escape from the system, the springs carry a greater share of the Toad, and A has a value less than I, Finally, sufficient water escapes from the system for the springs to attain their compaction equilibrium. At this stage—terminal ympaction equilibrium—the applied load is supported jointly by the springs and the water pressure, which is simply hydrostatic. The value of d is approximately 0.465. ‘This model is analogous to a clay undergoing essentially uniaxial compaction in response to an axial component of total stress $ (overburden pressure), where S=FeD. ee ee es @) Here, jr. is the mean value of the water-saturated bulk deniity of the overlying sediments, g is the acceleration ‘of gravity and D is the depth of burial. Hubert and Rubey* (Eqs. 48, 53 and 75) have demonstrated that the oad § is supported jointly by the fluid pressure p and the grain-to-grain bearing strength o of the clay particles, where ee )) ¢ then is analogous to the support afforded by the springs in the Terzaghi-Peck model." As stated by Hubbert and Rubey,* “The effective stress o exerted by the porous clay (or by the springs in the model) depends solely upon the degree of compaction ‘of the clay, with @ increasing continuously as compac- tion increases. A useful measure of the degree of com paction of a clay is its porosity 4, defined as the ratio of the pore volume to the total volume. Hence, we may infer that for a given clay there exists for each value of porosity some maximum value of effective com- pressive stress « which the clay can support without furth- er compaction.” From Eqs. 2 and 3 and from the foregoing, we can state that the porosity # at a given burial depth D is de- pendent upon the fluid pressure p. If the fluid pressure is abnormally high (greater than hydrostatic), the porosity will be abnormally high for a given burial depth. Considering the conditions as they exist in the geologic column, and applying the previous model concept, factors which can influence the overpressuring of a section are the ratio of shale thickness to sand thickness, the mean formation permeability, the elapsed time since deposi- tion, the rate of deposition and the amount of overburden. Dickinson’ reported on the first recognized association of the occurrence of overpressures and the relative propor- tion of sand and shale in the geologic column when he stated, “Abnormal pressures occur commonly in isolated porous reservoir beds in thick shale sections developed below the main sand series”. The interrelation of all these parameters controls the compaction of the sediments. Overpressuring can result if compaction is restricted. In the Tertiary sediments of the Gulf Coast, shale inter- vals of great thickness are frequently encountered, Many of these intervals are deep-water marine shales contain- ing isolated sands. These sediments have essentially been subjected only to uniaxial compaction, the compressive stress of the overburden. Eqs. 2 and 3 should therefore apply to such a region. For a shale to compact, fluids must be removed. Sands, which are highly permeable media, act as avenues of fluid escape. These sands may be thought of as pipelines. The nnear-absence of sands in thick shales reduces the rate of fiuid removal from these shales in comparison with thinner shales sandwiched between sands. Fractures and nonsealing faults can also act as avenues of fluid escape, but sands are believed to be the more important avenues. In such shale intervals, the permeability is quite small ae 0.465, STAGE 8 20.465 Fic. 1—Sewemaric REPRESENTATION oF Sate Compaction (Arrex Tenzacu ano Prox, REF. 5) JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TREHNOLOGYand fluid removal is restricted; thus, the shale fluid pres- sure will be large for a given burial depth D. As previously stated, a useful measure of the degree of compaction of a clay is its porosity. Obviously, then, an estimation of clay or shale porosity as a function of depth will reveal the degree of compaction. A section which is “undercompacted” with regard to a given burial depth will be a section whose fluid pressure is abnormally large (in excess of hydrostatic pressure) or overpressured for the burial depth. The data recorded by various logs can be utilized to infer the degree of compaction, Thus, through the interrelated parameters discussed, a practical method of estimating formation pressures is achieved. METHODS OF ESTIMATING PRESSURE ACOUSTIC METHOD The development of the acoustic Jog several years ago provided a new means for estimating the porosity of sedi- mentary rocks. The longitudinal acoustic velocity recorded by the various types of acoustic logs may be thought of as primarily a. function of porosity and lithology. If a given lithology such as shale is investigated, the acoustic log. response will be essentially a response to porosity variations. The change of porosity with depth can be studied in this manner to gain an insight into shale com- paction. An investigation of the response of an acoustic Jog in normally pressured shales indicates a relation be- tween the column logarithm of shale travel time Atay) and depth. An example of the type of relation for Miocene and Oligocene sediments is presented in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 illustrates that the travel time decreases (velocity increases) with increasing burial depth, This indicates that porosity decreases as a function of depth. This trend represents the “normal compaction trend” as a function of burial depth, and the fluid pressures exhibited within this normal trend will be hydrostatic. If intervals of abnormal compaction are penetrated, the resulting data points will diverge from the “normal 2000] 4000) 6009] beer, 1009] 1000} +—}-4 12,000 |— 14,000, 0 100 200 500. Atigny weet Fic, Sate, Travis, Tie Ys Beet Dernt ror Miocene ax ‘Guicocexe Sates. Lveek Texas ano SouTHeRS LOUIsiaNs COLE Coast. compaction trend”, If overpressured formations are en- countered, the data points will diverge from the normal trend toward abnormally high transit times for a given burial depth, since the porosity is higher. Fig. 3 illus- trates such data, A lesser degree of compaction is also borne out by bulk density measurements upon shale cores, as illustrated in this figure. The amount of divergence of a given point from the established “normal compaction trend” has been related to the observed pressure in adjacent reservoir forma- tions. Fig. 4 presents a schematic plot of Ati, ¥s depth and the parameters used to determine pressures. The re- lation between the Af, parameter and pressure for Mio- cene and Oligocene formations is presented in Fi Pertinent information used to establish this empirical re- lation is presented in Table 1. The standard deviation from the line representing the data of Fig. 5 is 0.020 psi/ft. To estimate the formation pressure of reservoirs from adjacent shale acoustic log data, the following steps are necessary. 1, The “normal compaction trend” for the area of interest is established by plotting the logarithm of Atu vs depth (see Figs. 2 and 3) 2. A similar plot is made for the well in question. 3. The top of the overpressured formations is found by noting the depth at which the plotted points diverge from the trend line 4, The pressure of a reservoir at any depth is found as follows: (a.) The divergence of adjacent shales from the extra- polated normal line is measured (See Fig. 4). (b) From Fig. 5 the fluid pressure gradient (FPG) corresponding to the Atawom Ata) Value is found. (€) The FPG value is multiplied by the depth to obtain the reservoir pressure. A pressure gradient profile can be constructed for a well by using the above procedure ol were T | 8 Top oF 2000) "SReSSu 74 | |- Ce oe | 4 2000+. ++ 30 wo 10 200d Be My wt Pere EC Fic, 3-Stave Travee Tine aw Bucx Denstry vs Burts, DepriTABLE I—PRESSURE AND SHALE ACOUSTIC LOG DATA, OVERPRESSURED MIOCENE-OLIGOCENE WELLS Bepme watt tal Gtthoretatoarche, Le 3 1388 Kaumion, ta a les20 Giistore Vernilen, Lo i 3 Ohitere Yeveboare, 1a 5 EswtBoton Rowse, to 3 RESISTIVITY METHOD Logging specialists on the Gulf Coast have for several years observed and recognized that shale resistivity de- reases in overpressured zones. This phenomenon has been used in various areas to detect the presence of 30 called “sheath” material near salt domes; it has also been considered a qualitative indication of high formation pres- sure gradients. The next logical step is to determine how shale resistivity can be used to estimate actual forma- tion. pressures Little is known of the effects of the many factors which influence shale resistivity. It is reasonable that many of ‘the same parameters which influence the resistivity of reservoir rocks will also affect shale resistivities. Among these; the more important are (1) porosity, (2) tempera- ture, (3) salinity of the contained fluid and (4) mineral composition. Rather than attempt to isolate the effect of each factor on shale resistivity, we have investigated the resultant combination of all of these factors. However, we should consider the individual effects (summarized in Table 2) so that we can recognize the problem if we encounter an anomalous situation. ‘As in the acoustic method, a trend of shale resis- ° 2000] ocPTH, | 10900 rapogl _ 20 100 30c Nan wot newazte PLor of Suatr Traver Tie Ys Borat Derri ec eatin 8a SSSSSERSEERESE: tivity vs depth for hydrostatic shales is established for a given area. Typical trends of data from hydrostatic pres- sure sections ate illustrated in Fig. 6. These data points were obtained from standard electrical resistivity logs; the amplified short normal device was used because of its readability and because of negligible borehole correc- tions in the range of resistivities considered. These trends, in a given area, reflect the “normal compaction trend” as a function of depth. If overpressure formations are encountered, the shale resistivity data points diverge from the normal ‘trend toward lower resistivity values, owing to exceptionally high porosity. An example resistivity- depth plot is presented in Fig. 8(a). The degree of di- vergence of a given point from the established “normal compaction trend” has been related to the observed pres- sure gradient in adjacent reservoir formations. The perti- nent information used to establish this empirical relation is presented in Table 3 and is plotted in Fig. 7. The maxi- mum deviation of the data from the smooth curve in Fig. 7 is approximately 0.08 psi/ft, and the standard deviation is 0.022 psi/ft. Fig. 7 illustrates that an increase in the ratio of extrapolated normally pressured shale re- sistivity to actual recorded shale resistivity signifies an increase in formation pressure gradients, The trend il RESERVOIR gouivatent RY Ao Weight, pais wre foo 600} 420 iso 80 4 iso "0 20 a0 0 Aheatent- Blatenns #571 Fi 5—Ruanion Brrweex Sate Acoustic PARAMETER Atjigany ~Atycany AND RESERVOIR Fruto Presstine Graniat (FPG) JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECRNOLOCYTABLE 2—EFFECT OF VATIOUS FACTORS UFON RESISTIVITY ‘Noncloy Miserl Content er Salinity. thon Aterone Norcley Fraction lustrated in Fig. 7 should be considered an example plot and should be used only as a guide until actual pressure and Jog data are obtained for the particular region under study. To estimate the formation pressure of reservoirs from adjacent shale resistivity data, the following steps are necessary. 1. The normal “compaction trend” for the area of in terest is established by plotting the logarithm of shale resistivity. from the amplified short normal device vs depth. (Usually, numerous wells in the area are examin- ed.) 2. A similar plot is made for the well in question, 3. The top of the overpressured formations is found by noting the depth at which the plotted points diverge from the trend line. 4. The pressure gradient of a reservoir at any depth is found as follows: (a.) The ratio of the extrapolated normal shale resis- tivity to the observed shale resistivity is determined. (b.) The fluid pressure gradient (FPG) correspond- ing to the calculated ratio is found (from Fig. 7). 5. The reservoir pressure is obtained by multiplying the FPG value by the depth. A pressure gradient profile for the well can be con- structed by repeating the above procedure at numerous depths. LIMITATIONS ‘The conditions of the borehole and the surrounding disturbed formation will have an influence upon the re- cordings of both the acoustic and resistivity logs. Gener- ally, these effects can be overcome by employing normal borehole correction procedures. If there is a large temp- erature disturbance caused by drilling, it may prove necessary to use one of the longer spaced resistivity de- vices to determine shale resistivity. The caliper survey should be used to determine zones of extreme borehole enlargement which can lead to erroneous shale transit times owing to weak signal and cycle skipping. In general, the presence of fresh- or brackish-water To Hin al ‘ln rin | adovlecbeh 101 ayerace oticocene-miocene]\\\ | THOUSANDS OF FEET l@ miocene, serFERSON oH,cn |! 02 o4 06 0810 20 30 yy OHM METERS = Fic, 6~Suate Resistivity vs Buwat De JUNE, 1965 TABLE S—PRESSURE AND SHALE RESISTIVITY RATIOS, OVERPRESSURED Miccine-outeocene wets ' wit if BES ome E Oe i mo A ie Oe : BB 5 me Roti of casistivity of normoly prowred shale to observed resistivity of over zones at considerable depths may lead to anomalously high resistivity values and will make it extremely diffi- cult, if not impossible, to use the resistivity method of pressure estimation. The acoustic log data can frequently be used in such an area. Variations in shale clay min- eralogy and nonclay constituents impose difficulties upon either technique, Prudent choice of data points can greatly reduce this problem. Care should always be taken to se- ect zones of low SP deflection and uniform resistivity or sonic readings. The use of the acoustic and resistivity techniques has been most successful in Tertiary Age sediments, particu- larly those of the Miocene and Oligocene. Success has been achieved in Quaternary and Cretaceous Age sedi- ments with difficulty. Tn general, for sediments of any age the correlations of acoustic transit time vs depth are more easily established than the trends of shale resistivity ys depth. This is undoubtedly true because fewer pa- rameters influence the acoustic properties as compared with the number that influence the resistivity of shales These techniques are limited to areas in which the gen- si0 4 1 a [eo 4 ie Fis, 7-Retavion, Berween Sat, Resisenvyry Parameren Recar/Barcan, AND ReseRvoin FLUID PRESSURE GRAviENT (FPG) a5 ip 4 5 | : 2 {| | | 2 ry i - TREND OF - & { 8) wyorosraric || { © | SHALE POINTS. Br | gore g : i UI 3 - L, 3 t fe | BY) test a= 5 | 8) _ TEST Bp Bi ee a Ey peor il Tt} feb} — ia + EST FPG FROW £ nd EST. FPG FRO §, Se Ses viry_| Big tLe ore SLE Ate ‘MUD GRADIENT t lPRESSURES FROM | lepRESSURES FROM \ a Tests J i Lit orests on 0204 06 0810 2008 06 OB 10 12 20 2 a0 Od 06 08 10 iz Rishys obm=m FPG, psi/ft Atay HS/ET FPG, psi/ft (o)- (b) O) ) Fic, 8—Exanot or Esrina Restsriviny Los. Phusssvnes FROM. eration of overpressures is primarily the result of com- paction processes in response to the stress of overburden. APPLICATIONS Knowledge of the reservoir pressure is of considerable engineering value. Such knowledge will provide the means for improving drilling techniques and designing better casing programs and completion methods. From data gathered from surrounding wells, it is possible to predict the probable pressure profile that will be encountered by a drilling well. In addition, this pressure information will enable the reservoir engineer to make more accurate re- serve estimates and performance predictions. EXAMPLE To illustrate the techniques of estimating formation pressures from shale properties, we have selected a well Grilled in Cameron Parish, La. This well penetrated sev- eral thousand feet of overpressured sediments, and there are three actual bottom-hole pressure measurements to verify the accuracy of the methods. In Fig. 8(a), shale resistivity is plotted against depth on semilog grid. The average normal resistivity trend, fitted to the data as discussed in the preceding sections, is shown. The top of overpressures occurs at approxi- mately 10,400 ft, as can be determined by the departure of the observed ‘shale resistivity points from the normal trend. The ratio of the observed resistivity to the “normal trend resistivity” at the same depth is determined at num- erous levels. From Fig. 7, the fluid pressure gradient at each level is determined: these data are plotted in Fig. 8(b). For comparison, the mud column pressure gradient used while the well was being drilled is shown. Also, three bottom-hole pressure readings were obtained from tests at 12,700, 13,500 and 13,900 ft, respectively. The calculated pressure gradients are within 0.04 psi/ft of the measured gradients. Observed shale travel times are plotted against depth in Fig. 9(a). A straight line is drawn through the shal- low shale compaction trend. The deviation of observed points from the normal compaction trend occurs at ap- proximately 10,400 ft and designates the top of over- pressured formation. The departure of the observed shale -ansit times from the trend line is measured at numerous evels, and the corresponding pressure gradient is ob- tained from Fig. 5. The resultant trend of pressure grad- ient with depth is plotted in Fig. 9(b). As ahove, the mud column hydrostatic gradient and the measured pres: sure gradients from tests of the formations are shown / aan Fic. 9—Exanpns or Estincarine PRESSURES FROM Acousnie Los, for comparison. Excellent agreement is observed between the estimated pressure gradient and the measured pres- sures. CONCLUSIONS The degree of compaction of a shale in response to an axial component of total stress S depends upon several variables. The fluid pressure can be related to the degree of compaction and burial depth. The degree of compac- tion can be ascertained from techniques which utilize various logging data; thus, fluid pressures of isolated reservoir rock can be estimated from adjacent shale ‘compaction data. Shale acoustic and resistivity log data have been ex- tensively and successfully used to estimate reservoir for- mation pressures. The acoustic log and resistivity methods have an accuracy of fluid pressure predictions of approxi- mately + 0.04 psi/ft. The standard deviations for the resistivity and acoustic methods are 0.022 and 0.020 psi/ft, respectively. The examples presented in this paper are fram the Gulf Coast, but the principles of the techniques presented here will apply equally well to other Tertiary sedimentary basins in which the principal stress has been the result of overburden weight. Knowledge of the first occurrence of overpressures, and indeed of the precise pressure-depth relationship in a geologic province, enables improvements in drilling techniques, casing programs, completion methods and res- ervoir evaluations, From data gathered from surrounding wells, we can predict the probable pressure profile that will be encountered by a drilling well. REFERENCES 1.Dickinson, G.: “Geological Aspects of Abnormal Reservoir Pressures’ in’ the Gulf Coast Region of Louisiana, US.A”, Proc, Third World Petroleum Cong., ‘The Hague (1951) 1 2.Thomeer, J. H. M.A. and Bottema, J. A.: “Increasing Oceu rences of Abnormally High Reservoir Pressures in Boreholes and Drilling Problems Resulting Thereftom”, Bull, AAPG (1961) 45, No. 10, 1721, 1730. 3. Mullins, John D-: “Some Problems, of Superhigh-Pressure Gas Reservoirs in the Gulf Coast Area”, Jour, Pet. Tech. (Sept 1962) 935, 4, Hubbert, M. King and Rubey, W. W.: “Role of Fluid Pressure in Mechanics of Overthrust Faulting, Part I”, Bull, GSA (Feb. 1959) 70, 5, Terzaghi, Korl and Peck, R. B.: Soil Mechanics in Engineeiuug Practice, John Wiley & Sons, Tnc., N.Y. (1948) $66. 8% JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECRNOLOGY