UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW

IHEG – ONGC CENTRE FOR ADVANCED

STUDIES

TOPIC – PRESSURE CONCEPTS AND

EVALUATION

A R P I T U PA D H YAY
M.SC. APPLIED GEOLOGY
SEMESTER IV
CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION - WHY PRESSURE EVALUATION IS NECESSARY ?
• PRESSURE CONCEPTS AND TYPES
• GEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF ABNORMAL PRESSURES
• DRILLING PARAMETERS AS PRESSURE INDICATORS
• PRESSURE EVALUATION USING TECHLOG SOFTWARE
• SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
• Highly pressured formations have caused severe drilling and
completion problems in almost every area in the world.

• Failure to control these high pressures can cause an uncontrolled

flow of formation fluid (blowout), which can result in extreme
financial losses for the operator, possible pollution of the
environment, loss of petroleum reserves and potentially unsafe
conditions for workers.

• Therefore, it is important to predict these high formation pressures

before drilling, so that a safe casing and cementing program can
be designed.

• Thus, Pressure evaluation in drilling oil wells involves monitoring

and managing downhole pressures to ensure well integrity,
prevent blowouts, optimize drilling efficiency, and comply with
regulations.
PRESSURE CONCEPTS
• Subsurface pressures - are a result of gravitational forces acting on
overlying formations and fluids.

• Overburden Stress - is the volume and weight of all formations and

fluids above a given formation. The total stress imposed by the
overburden on a subsurface formation is called the geostatic,
lithostatic or total overburden pressure (PO), and can be calculated
by
PO = PB × TVD
Where: PB = Combined bulk density of the sediments plus fluids
TVD = Total Vertical Depth

• Pore Pressure - The pressure of fluids within the pores of a

reservoir, usually hydrostatic pressure, or the pressure exerted by a
column of water from the formation's depth to sea level.
PO = Pi + Pp
TYPES OF PRESSURES

• Hydrostatic Pressure - is the pressure due to the unit weight and

vertical height of a static column of fluid. The diameter and the shape of
the fluid column have no effect.
PH = (Ld)/10 (in metric units)
The hydrostatic pressure gradient is the variation of hydrostatic pressure
per unit of height.

• Pascal's Law - states that the pressure at any point in a static fluid is
the same in all directions. The fluid transmits any applied pressure,
undiminished by distance, throughout the fluid.

• Abnormal formation pressures - are fluid pressures greater than or

less than the calculated hydrostatic pressure of the formation fluids.
Pressure anomalies are the effects caused by any formation fluid column
height or density different from that of the well.
 PRESSURE PLOTS AND TESTS
I) Pressure-Versus-Depth Plot -
A typical pressure depth plot included in a •
well prognosis includes:
• Expected formation tops
• Lithologies expected during drilling
• Planned casing setting depths
• Expected pore pressures
• Mud weight overbalance to be
maintained during drilling
• Expected fracture gradients.
II) Leak-Off Test -
It is a well site method for positive
determination of the maximum mud
weight permitted in each open hole
section.
• The drilling crew performs the test in
the first few feet or meters of new hole
drilled after a new casing point.
• This zone is the weakest part of the open
hole section, if no highly permeable
formations exist further down-hole.
III) Formation Integrity Test -
• It is a test of the strength and integrity
of a new formation and it is the first
step after drilling a casing shoe track.
• The Information resulting from FIT is
used throughout the life of the well and
also for nearby wells.
• Investigates the strength of the cement
bond around the casing shoe and to
ensure that no communication is
established with higher formations.
GEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF
ABNORMAL PRESSURES • Pressure 'seal' - is any effect or combination of effects that
restricts migration of formation fluids from higher to lower
pressures.

• Compaction effects - are the well-understood contributors to

abnormal pressures. Compaction effects occur in all
sediments, but are most noticeable in clay-based marine
sediments.

• Tectonic effects - A combination of uplift and erosion at

surface can bring normally pressured deep formations closer
to surface. The formation eventually becomes abnormally
pressured for its depth if something restricts fluid migration
during the period of uplift and erosion..

• Diagenetic effects - is the process of chemical alteration of

minerals by geologic processes that contribute to abnormal
pressures.
ABNORMAL PRESSURES ORIGINS - CONTINUED

• Temperature effects - Water volume increases under the

influence of increased temperature. This means that the
temperature of formation water can contribute to abnormal
pressures.

• Fluid density effects - includes Osmosis, a possible minor

cause of true abnormal pressures & Pressure anomalies due to
density differences between reservoir fluids and Non
reservoir fluids.

• Fluid migration effects - includes 'Charging' or recharging

of formations in communication with an over pressured zone
& Pressure anomalies due to differences in potentiometric
surface of formation fluids.
DRILLING PARAMETERS AS
PRESSURE INDICATORS
• ROP as Kick Warning - Often the first sign of an over
pressured zone may be a drilling break upon entry of a
permeable formation. A drilling break occurs when the
ROP increases to a rate twice as fast as the previous
average ROP.
• Increases in Drilled Gas - Drilled gas levels are useful
indicators of differential pressure conditions. The gas
monitored at surface may have come from several down-
hole sources.
• Torque, Overpull and Drag - Changes in these
parameters may result from:
I) Negative differential pressure in Shales or claystones
II) Hydration of clay minerals in Shales or claystones,
III) Overburden or tectonic stress
IV) A combination of the above factors.
PRESSURE INDICATORS - • Mud Pit Level/Flow Increase While Drilling - The well should be shut
CONTINUED in as soon as possible after detection of a kick. This limits the annular
pressure increase caused by gas circulation through a choke.

• Abnormal Hole Fill-up During Trip - The mud level drops, due to
decreased pipe displacement volume, when pipe is removed. Each
reduction in fluid column height results in lower bottom hole pressure. A
kick may result if the reduced bottom hole pressure from pipe movement,
becomes less than the formation fluid pressure.

• Shale Cavings - Clays and Shales usually become more consolidated

with depth. During drilling, a possible sign of under compaction is a
transition from consolidated to unconsolidated clays as depth increases.

• Shale Density - The Shale densities, in normally-pressured formations,

gradually increase with depth while an over pressured Shale contains
more porosity than expected for the depth. Therefore, the bulk density in
the over pressured section is lower than the density predicted by the
trend.
PRESSURE EVALUATION USING TECHLOG SOFTWARE
• DATA LOADING IN TECHLOG
• Well Logs (LAS, ASCII) -
I) Importing well data into software like Techlog is a crucial step in interpretation of pressure data. Data can be imported
from various file formats, including LAS (Log ASCII Standard) and ASCII files.

II) We use a LAS file in excel

sheet of a well, it contains well log
data of the well along with
other required information.

III) We will open Techlog software

on our PC and create a new Project
or use an existing project for
inserting this well log data F-1.

IV) We will now navigate to

the data import section and select the
import source F-1 by browsing and
selecting the file F-1.
• WELL TOPS (CSV) -

I) Importing well tops or zones data into Techlog software involves a similar process to importing other types of well data, but
with a focus on associating depth information with specific geological layers or zones.

II) A CSV file is made with the TOPS data of the well in Excel and then we will open Techlog Software on our PC and then create
a new project or open an existing project for inserting well Tops data of well F-1.

III) We will now navigate to

the data import section and select
the import source Tops data of
well F-1 by browsing and
selecting file .

IV) Thus zone wise Tops data is

inserted in the Techlog as per the
stratigraphic columns of the
area of the well whose data
is chosen.
• CALCULATING OVERBURDEN STRESS IN TECHLOG

1. Calculating Overburden Stress in Techlog software is can be done by the Geomechanics section in Techlog workspace.

2. By launching Techlog software on our PC, we will create a new project or use an existing project after this we will navigate to
the Geomechanics Section and then choose the option of Overburden Stress.
3. Now we will select
Extrapolation and then
choose the well F-1 from well
section and then insert data of
Bulk Density in the Data type
assignment and click Create.

4. We will insert logs in the

input section of
the Extrapolation workspace
from the Project Browser.

5. We will Change the

parameter of Auto
Extrapolation from default
‘no’ to ‘yes’. And finally run
the command.
•CALCULATING PORE PRESSURE IN TECHLOG
1. Calculating Pore Pressure in Techlog software is can be done by the Geomechanics section in Techlog workspace.

2. By launching Techlog software on our PC, we will create a new project or use an existing project after this we will navigate to
the Geomechanics Section and then choose the option of Pore Pressure.
3. We will Choose the well F-1
and insert data of Vertical
Stress, Shale Indicator,
Compressional Slowness,
Resistivity and Calibration
Points in the Data type
assignment and click Create.

4. We will insert logs in the

input section of the Pore
Pressure workspace from
the Project Browser and insert
Zonation by choosing Tops
data.

5. And finally run the command

of either Eaton
Resistivity Method or
Eaton slowness Method.
THANK YOU