Formation Pressure Evaluation

Lesson 1: Formation Pressure Concepts

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Objectives
After completing this module, the student can:
Differentiate between porosity and solidity.
Define normal pore pressure.
Describe why there are regional variations in
normal pore pressure
Calculate a normal pore pressure gradient for a
given region.
Define principal stress.
Define effective stress and its derivation from
the total stress and pore pressure.
Define bulk density in terms of porosity, fluid
density, and matrix density.

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Porosity vs. Solidity

Porosity: a measurement of the void space in a

given rock type expressed either as the volume
of void space as percentage of the total rock
volume or as a ratio of the same as a number
between 0 and 1.
Solidity: the inverse of this relationship
expressing the volume of the rock matrix as a
percentage of the total rock volume.

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Porosity vs. Solidity

The porosity of a perfectly graded rock

consisting of spherical particles with perfect
packing is 27% or 0.27. If the packing is open,
porosity increases to 47% or 0.47.

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Porosity vs. Solidity

Sedimentary rocks:
ƒ Are never perfectly graded or perfectly packed
ƒ May be partly or wholly cemented and deformed
through compaction
ƒ Porosity can vary from 0% to greater than 70%.

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Porosity vs. Solidity

Sedimentary rocks:
ƒ During initial deposition, porosity is generally very
high.
ƒ Once burial commences, increased pressures
compact rock matrix and reduce porosity.
ƒ Given enough pressure, porosity will reduce to zero.

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In Situ Porosity

Corner stone of all formation pore pressure

estimation
Porosity cannot be directly measured during drilling
Is inferred from other measurements, such as FEWD
responses or normalised ROP readings, such as the
Dc exponent.

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Normal Pore Pressure

Approximately equal to the hydrostatic pressure

generated by the column of pore water above a
given depth
In the offshore environment, this is the vertical
distance below seal level.
In an onshore environment this is normally assumed
to be the vertical distance from ground level.
However, in desert environments the start of the
water table may be hundreds of feet below ground
level and presents its own special case.

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Normal Pore Pressure

An implication of the use of a hydrostatic pressure is

that for the water saturating the pore spaces to be
normally pressure, it must be in communication
with the atmosphere regardless of pore
morphology or fluid path.

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Normal Pore Pressure

Pressure can be calculated from the density x height

x acceleration due to gravity.

Pr essure( kPa ) = ρ ( kg / m 3 ) × 0.00981× h( m )

Pr essure( psi ) = ρ ( ppg ) × 0.052 × h( ft )

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Normal Pore Pressure

For ease of use, the normal pore pressure is usually

expressed as a gradient.

Gradt ( kPa / metre ) = 0.00981× ρ ( kg / m 3 )

Gradt ( psi / ft ) = 0.052 × ρ ( ppg )

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Normal Pore Pressure

To determine the regional normal pressure gradient,

the density of the water is required.
Water density is a function of the concentration of
the dissolved solids it contains.
ƒ For seawater, the concentration of salt, expressed as the
salinity, has the greatest effect on density.
ƒ For onshore wells, the water is normally far less saline
and correspondingly less dense.
ƒ Onshore in mountain areas, the water is relatively fresh
and hence produces a normal pore pressure gradient of:
8.34 ppg x 0.052 = 0.433 psi/ft
1000 kg/m3 x 0.00981 = 9.81kPa/m
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Normal Pore Pressure

Onshore in mountain areas, the water is relatively

fresh and hence produces a normal pore pressure
gradient of:
8.34 ppg x 0.052 = 0.433 psi/ft
1000 kg/m3 x 0.00981 = 9.81kPa/m
In the Gulf Coast, the high salinity of water
produces a higher normal pore pressure gradient
of:

8.96 ppg x 0.052 = 0.466 psi/ft

1074 kg/m3 x 0.00981 = 10.53 kPa/m

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Density of Water in Relation to Salinity (20
oC/68 oF)

The salinity of the formation water will vary as a

function of temperature, depth and formation
type.
The value for normal hydrostatic pressure based
upon the density of the surface water may NOT be
valid for all depths so knowledge of the region is
important.
If the variation in formation fluid densities is
known, the exact pressure generated at a given
depth can be used and the gradient at that depth
calculated.

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Density of Water in Relation to Salinity (20
oC/68 oF)

The average formation fluid density can be

determined from direct pressure measurements
(RFT, DST) and from sampled formation water.
From offset wells, estimates of salinity and density
can be made from SP and resistivity logs.
Failing this, apply the regional density of seawater
for offshore wells and fresh water for onshore.

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Densities Used to Calculate Normal Pore
Pressure and Pressure Gradients

Any formation fluid pressure that is greater than

the regionally defined normal pressure is
termed overpressure.
Some authors also refer to it as sur-pressure or
abnormal pressure.
Any formation fluid pressure that is less than the
regional normal pressure gradient is termed
underpressure.
Some authors also refer to it as sub-pressure or
sub normal pressure.

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Stress Terminology

Stresses are the system of internal forces within

a body that are established in reaction to an
external force that tends to change the shape
or volume of a body.
Solids and liquids generally behave in different
ways when a force is applied to them.
Liquids are isotropic and can only withstand
internal loads that are equal in all directions.
The converse of this that the stress generated in
a column of fluid at rest is equal in all
directions at any given point.

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Stress Terminology

Solids can support differing loads in a variety of

directions.
This means that they differ from liquids in two
important ways.
ƒ A given stress ellipsoid, defining the directions and
magnitudes of stress, can have any orientation.
ƒ The stresses can be of two types normal stress or
shear stress.

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Stress Terminology

Loading that is perpendicular to an elementary

surface generates normal stress.
These stresses can either be compressive or
tensile.
Loading that is tangential to an elementary
surface generates shear stress.

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Stress Terminology

Loading that is perpendicular to an elementary

surface generates normal stress
These stresses can either be compressive or
tensile.
Loading that is tangential to an elementary
surface generates shear stress.

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Stress Components

A shear stress can be resolved into the

component of force acting perpendicular to the
surface and the components of force acting
parallel to the surface.

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Principal Stresses

Mechanics of continuous
environments state
that at any point in a
solid there exists three
planes that intercept
at right angles.
Their orientation is
unknown, but they are
subject to normal
stresses only.

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Principal Stresses

This means that to

establish the stress
conditions at a point in
a solid, only six
parameters are
needed:
ƒ the value of the three
principal stresses
ƒ the orientation of the
three planes.

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Principal Stresses

It is essential to realise
that that the
orientation of the
direction of the
principal stresses can
be in any direction,
not just as depicted
in a vertical /
horizontal
arrangement.

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Faulting Regimes

Anderson classified different faulting regimes

based upon the relative magnitudes of the
principle stresses.
The next illustration shows the different types of
faults that result from variation in the relative
magnitudes of the principle stresses. The
principle stresses shown are vertical and
horizontal in direction.

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Stress Regimes
(Anderson)

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Stress Regimes

The earth’s crust is a dynamic environment

containing a complicated mixture of minerals
and fluids that has been developing for millions
of years.
The stresses developed within the crust are a
combination of the inherent density of its
compositional materials acted upon by the
force of gravity and superimposed forces.

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Stress Regimes

The superimposed stresses can be generated by

a variety of mechanisms, tectonic forces
causing:
ƒ Faulting and deformation
ƒ Fluid expansion
ƒ Chemical alteration
ƒ Differences in the buoyancy of formation fluids.

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Geomechanics

The stress or force created by gravity is

relatively easy to establish if the density of the
materials is known (overburden pressure).
Tectonic stresses acting in a given area are far
harder to establish without large amounts of
data.
The accurate determination of these forces and
the resultant effects on formations has
spawned a whole branch of science called
Geomechanics.

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Geomechanics

Most of the early methods in determining pore

fluid pressures and fracture pressures made
the assumption that the maximum stress was
always vertical and generated purely by the
bulk density of the sediments and fluids above
a given point.
Characteristic of a normal fault regime
As we develop a more sophisticated
understanding of the forces acting in the
earth’s crust and the mechanisms involved,
this has been proved not to be true for all
cases.

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Stresses in Porous Materials

The load exerted on a porous solid by the

principle stresses S1 S2 and S3 is distributed by
both the matrix of the solid and the fluid
contained within the pore spaces (if the fluid is
prevented from draining away).
Several theories have been developed to
describe the relationships between the matrix
and fluid stresses.

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Stresses in Porous Materials

For the matrix stresses the concept of effective

stress has been adopted which is a form of
average stress affecting the matrix termed σ1,
σ2 and σ3,
The stresses in the fluid are effectively the
pressure of the fluid, because it behaves
isotropically.

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Effective Stresses

Terzaghi in 1923 formulated the idea that the

effective stresses control the deformation of a
solid and the effective stress equals the total
stress minus the pore pressure.
σ 1 = S1 − P
σ 2 = S2 − P

σ 3 = S3 − P

where σ is the effective stress, S is the

principal stress, P is the pore pressure and the
numeric subscript is the principal direction.

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Effective Stresses

Another theory put forward by Biot in 1955 that

takes higher levels of stress into account
proposes that the pore pressure has a greater
role and modified Terzaghi’s law to the
following:

σ 1 = S1 − αP σ 2 = S2 − αP σ 3 = S3 − αP

Cr
α = 1−
Cb
Where Cr is the compressibility
of the material forming the matrix and Cb is
the compressibility of the matrix skeleton.
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Effective Stresses

Biot’s formula attempts to account for the

varying solidity of the material and allows the
pore pressure to equal zero when the porosity
is zero because at zero porosity Cr and Cb are
equal.

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Poisson’s Ratio

Poisson's Ratio is a property that describes the

behaviour of rock stresses in the least principal
stress direction when pressure is applied in the
direction of the principal stress.
The Poisson Ratio is used in some of fracture
gradient calculation methods
It is the ratio of the amount of transverse
expansion over the longitudinal contraction of a
body when a longitudinal force is applied.

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Poisson’s Ratio

From Young's Law

σ h = ( μ )n
σv 1- μ

where: n=1
μ = Poisson's Ratio
σh = Horizontal or transverse
expansion
σv = Vertical or longitudinal
contraction

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Poisson’s Ratio

Laboratory tests on unconsolidated rocks have

shown that:

σ h = 1 ie μ = 0.25
σv 3

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Poisson’s Ratio

Laboratory tests have shown μ to have values

between 0.05 and 0.5, above which the rock
becomes plastic, i.e., the stresses are equal in
all directions.
Poisson's Ratio varies with both rock type and
the degree of compaction, and will never
exceed 0.5.
Every rock will have its own characteristic
Poisson's Ratio.

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Overburden Force or Stress

The overburden stress describes the vertical

force created at a given depth.
This stress is generated by the total weight of
the matrix of the overlying sediment and the
weight of the column of pore fluid overlying the
depth in question.
The overburden stress may or may not be
aligned with a direction of a principle stress.
However for most of the analysis methods this is
assumed to be the case.

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Overburden Force or Stress

The bulk density of the sediments above a given

point generates this stress.
The bulk density is a function of the matrix
density, porosity and the density of the pore
fluid and is expressed as:
ρb = ( 1 − φ ) ρm + ( φ ) ρf

Where: ρb = bulk density

φ = porosity
ρm = density of the matrix
ρf = density of the pore fluid

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