WELL LOG & ELECTROFACIES ANALYSIS
GPD-509
Pore Pressure Prediction From Porosity
Name - Arpan Pan
Admission No. - 23MC0016
Course - MSc(Tech)
Discipline - Applied Geophysics
Guided By:
Dr. Partha Pratim Mandal
IIT ISM Dhanbad
Introduction:
Pore Pressure: Pore pressure is one of the most important parameters for the drilling plan
and geomechanical and geological analyses. Pore pressures are the fluid pressures in the pore
spaces in the porous formations. Pore pressure varies from hydrostatic pressure, to severely
overpressure (48% to 95% of the overburden stress). If the pore pressure is lower or higher
than the hydrostatic pressure (normal pore pressure), it is abnormal pore pressure. When pore
pressure exceeds the normal pressure, it is overpressure. The fundamental theory for pore
pressure prediction is based on Terzaghi's and biot effective stress law (Biot, 1941; Terzaghi et
al., 1996). This theory indicates that pore pressure in the formation is a function of total stress
(or overburden stress) and effective stress. The overburden stress, effective vertical stress and
pore pressure can be expressed in the following form:
P = (σv−σe)/α …………………..(1)
where P is the pore pressure; σv is the overburden stress; σe is the vertical effective stress; and
α is the Biot effective stress coefficient. It is conventionally assumed α=1 in the geopressure
community.
Pore pressure can be calculated from Eq. (1)
when one knows overburden and effective
stresses. Overburden stress can be easily
obtained from bulk density logs. In contrast,
effective stress can be correlated to well log
data, such as resistivity, sonic travel time/
velocity, bulk density and drilling parameters
(e.g., D exponent). Fig. 1 demonstrates the
hydrostatic pressure, formation pore pressure,
overburden stress and vertical effective stress
with the true vertical depth (TVD) in a typical
oil and gas exploration well. The pore pressure
profile with depth in this field is similar to
many geologically young sedimentary basins
where overpressure is encountered at depth.
At relatively shallow depths (less than 2000
m), pore pressure is hydrostatic, indicating
that a continuous, interconnected column of pore fluid extends from the surface to that depth.
Deeper than 2000 m the overpressure starts, and pore pressure increases with depth rapidly,
implying that the deeper formations are hydraulically isolated from shallower ones. By 3800
m, pore pressure reaches to a value close to the overburden stress, a condition referred to as
hard overpressure. The effective stress is conventionally defined to be the subtraction of pore
pressure from overburden stress (refer to Eq. (1)), as shown in Fig. 1. The increase in
overpressure causes reduction in the effective stress.
There are several processes for calculating pore pressure from a direct way or an indirect way.
During drilling, we can calculate pore pressure from ROP and DC exponent, and also we can
calculate pore pressure after drilling from different well log dataset to predict the pore pressure
accurately and take necessary steps before any accidents.
Pore Pressure Prediction: After drilling there are several way to predict pore pressure
and overpressure from different datasets, but here we are focusing using different well dataset
how we can predict pore pressure and identify the overpressure zone.
Pore pressure can be calculated from – 1) Sonic log
2)Resistivity log
3) Density Log
Before drilling we can predict pore pressure from seismic data using velocity analysis.
Pore Pressure Prediction from Porosity:
under-compaction is the primary reason for formation overpressured, which occurs primarily
in rapidly subsiding basins and in rocks with low permeability. The indicators of under-
compaction are higher pore pressure and larger formation porosity than those in the normal
compaction condition. It is commonly accepted that porosity decreases exponentially as depth
increases in normally compacted formations.
ϕ =𝜑0 𝑒 −𝑐𝑍
where ϕ is porosity; 𝜑0 is the porosity in the mudline; Z is the true vertical depth below the
mudline;c is the compaction constant in 1/m
ϕ =𝜑0 𝑒 −𝑐𝜎𝑒
porosity is an indicator (a function) of effective stress and pore pressure, particularly for the
overpressures generated from under-compaction and hydrocarbon cracking. Therefore, pore
pressure can be estimated from formation porosity. When the porosity is reversed, the under-
compaction occurs and overpressure generates. The starting point of the porosity reversal is the
top of under-compaction or the top of overpressure. In the formation with under-compaction,
porosity and pore pressure are higher than those in the normally compacted one. Efforts have
been made to use porosity data for predicting pore pressure in shales and mudstones. For
instance, Holbrook et al. (2005) presented porosity-dependent effective stress for pore pressure
prediction. Heppard et al. (1998) used an
empirical porosity equation similar to
Eaton's sonic method to predict pore
pressure using shale porosity data. Flemings
et al. (2002) and Schneider et al. (2009) also
applied porosity–stress relationships to
predict overpressures in mudstones. The
author derived a theoretical equation for
pore pressure prediction from porosity
according to normal compaction trend of
porosity (Zhang, 2008). The pore pressure
gradient can be calculated from the following equation-
𝑙𝑛𝜑0 −𝑙𝑛𝜑
𝑃𝑝𝑔 = 𝑂𝐵𝐺 − (𝑂𝐵𝐺 − 𝑃𝑛𝑔 ) 𝑐𝑍
where ϕ is the porosity in shale at depth of Z, can be obtained from sonic or density logs, 𝜑0
is the porosity in the mudline (in the ground surface or sea floor); Z is the depth below the
mudline; c can be obtained from the normal compaction porosity trendline.
𝑙𝑛𝜑0 −𝑙𝑛𝜑
P = 𝜎𝑣 − (𝜎𝑣 − 𝑃𝑛 ) 𝑐𝑍
Geological Context for overpressure generation in Browse Basin:
The Browse Basin, situated offshore on Australia's North West Shelf, encompasses
approximately 223,000 km² north of Broome. It contains an upper Paleozoic to Cenozoic
sedimentary section up to 15 km thick. The basin is bounded to the southeast by the Australian
craton, to the northeast by the Bonaparte Basin (Vulcan sub-basin), and to the southwest by the
Roebuck Basin (offshore Canning Basin). Overpressure, a condition where pore fluid pressure
exceeds hydrostatic pressure, is commonly observed in the Browse Basin. This phenomenon is
primarily attributed to rapid sedimentation rates, which can lead to disequilibrium compaction.
In such scenarios, sediments are buried so quickly that pore fluids cannot escape, resulting in
elevated pressures. Additionally, the generation of hydrocarbons within the basin contributes
to overpressure development. The transformation of organic matter into oil and gas increases
pore fluid volume, further elevating pressure levels. Understanding the geological context and
mechanisms behind overpressure in the Browse Basin is crucial for effective hydrocarbon
exploration and safe drilling operations.
Methodology:
Data Preparation:
1. Identify Shale Zones Using a Gamma Ray (GR) Cut-off:
o Gamma Ray (GR) Log measures natural radioactivity in formations. Shales
typically emit higher gamma rays due to their clay content, while clean
sandstones or carbonates exhibit lower values.
o Shale Identification Method:
i. Set a GR cut-off value (usually between 75–100 API) to differentiate
shale from other lithologies.
ii. Data points above the cut-off are considered shale.
iii. The compaction behavior of shale reflects the normal compaction trend
(NCT).
iv. Only shale porosity is used to derive the compaction constant (c) in
Zhang’s equation.
2. Use Density Log to Compute Overburden Stress (Sv):
o Overburden Stress (Sv) refers to the total weight of the overlying sediments
and fluids pressing down at a specific depth.
o Formula for Overburden Stress:
𝑆𝑣 = ∫ 𝜌(𝑧)𝑔𝑑𝑧
Where:
• 𝑆𝑣 = Overburden stress (Pa or MPa)
• ρ(z) = Formation density (g/cm³ or kg/m³) from the density log
• g = Gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s²)
• dz = Depth increment (m)
To calculate Pore pressure from the porosity data, we have required the shale region, so for
that purpose we have to set up the cut off GR log for each depth range, each depth range will
be selected based on where GR log shows prominently high enough and set up the cut off
individually in each depth range and generate Vshale graph in each depth range, and after that
we set a Vsh cut off value, which depth region cross the vshale cut off value will use for porosity
calculation from density log.
After that, we will set up a Vshale Cut of >0.6 to identify the pure shale region, where we will
calculate porosity from the density log and proceed with pore pressure estimation.
Depth ranges where Vsh > 0.6:
(651.21 m to 651.66 m), (1731.42 m to 1827.58 m), (1731.42 m to 1827.58 m), (1731.42 m
to 1827.58 m), (2000.25 m to 2236.01 m), (3401.72 m to 3439.97 m), (3441.34 m to 3649.52
m)
(3659.12 m to 3995.47 m), (4018.94 m to 4150.46 m), (4219.96 m to 4476.90 m), (4500.83
m to 4860.65 m).
We are using density log for calculating the porosity using the standard formula
𝜌𝑚𝑎 −𝜌𝑏
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦(𝜑𝐷 ) =
𝜌𝑚𝑎 −𝜌𝑓𝑙
Where 𝜌𝑚𝑎 = 2.65 gm/cc, Sandstone matrix density, 𝜌𝑏 =bulk density from density log, 𝜌𝑓𝑙 =
1.03gm/cc, fluid density. Density log is too much fluctuating in nature, so we have applied a
rolling window of window size 230 on the density data and smoothed the data, then calculated
the density porosity from the smoothed density data.
In density Porosity graph a best fit graph is draw is drawn from where compaction constant (c)
is determined—
ϕ =𝜑0 𝑒 −𝑐𝑍
where ϕ is porosity; 𝜑0 is the porosity in the mudline; Z is the true vertical depth below the
mudline;c is the compaction constant. From the above density porosity graph, the compaction
constant is =0.00095, and it will be used further calculations pore pressure using overburden
stress, normal pore pressure and density porosity.
Here the marked zones shows us that porosity increases prominently and it will create
overpressure zone whose starting depth range is from (2400 to 2700)m and (4000 to 4200)m
and (4600 to 4800)m.
Compute Magnitude Of Overpressure:
Pore Pressure can be calculated from the porosity
data using overburden stress and normal
compaction of hydrostatic pressure –
𝑙𝑛𝜑0 −𝑙𝑛𝜑
P = 𝜎𝑣 − (𝜎𝑣 − 𝑃𝑛 ) ……….(2)
𝑐𝑍
Where, 𝜎𝑣 = Overburden Stress, 𝑃𝑛 = Normal
Compaction Pore Pressure, 𝜑0 = 0.4 and 𝜑= density
porosity, c= compaction constant (here it is
0.00095), z= depth range and P= Pore pressure.
To calculate Overburden stress from the density log
we are using simplified formula of pressure
𝜎𝑣 = ∫ 𝜌(𝑧)𝑔𝑑𝑧 ……….(3)
ρ(z) = Formation density (g/cm³ or kg/m³) from the
density log, g= gravitational acceleration and dz=
depth increment.
But here our density log is not from the starting
depth, it is from approx. 2000 m, but for calculating
overburden stress we have required the full depth
range from starting means from seabed ,that’s why
to calculate the upper section density we are using
VSP data and after that using Gardener equation we
are calculating density in the upper section.
𝜌 = 0.31𝑣 0.25 …….(4)
Where 𝜌= density and v= velocity.
To calculate pore pressure , we are using this calibrated VSP and LAS density data and using
equation(3) we are calculating overburden stress for the whole depth range and add water
column pressure of 274 m depth pressure, similarly using equation(3) we are also calculating
hydrostatic pore pressure considering full depth range by water column and then using equation
(2) we have calculated pore pressure.
In the above picture, the shaded zone shows us
that porosity increases and as a result pore
pressure increases in main mechanism of pore
pressure development we will discuss why
overpressure is generated in this Ichthys deep
1 well.
Maximum Overpressure is 48.42 MPa.
Main Mechanism for Overpressure generation:
The Jamieson formation is from 2450 to 3450
m and it is mainly made up of deep marine
shales and clay-rich sections like claystone and
below the Jamieson formation, the Brewster
member starts, which is mainly formed with
sandstone, is a potential reservoir for
hydrocarbon presence. This Jamieson
formation acts as a seal or cap of the reservoir,
which traps the fluid that cannot escape
quickly, causing an increase in pore pressure.
Also, rapid deposition of sediments traps fluid
in the pore spaces, and overlying sediment
weight increases and causes an increase of
pore pressure.
In the Brewster member zone is fully saturated
with hydrocarbon, when the temperature
increases, the fluid will be expanded and it
exerts pressure on the overlying Jamieson
formation, that’s why in this formation pore
pressure is increased.
Structural features like faults and traps prevent
fluid migration. Sealed faults lock fluids in
place, increasing localized pressure.
If water is also trapped in the low permeability
zone, then due to confinement in the small
volume, it generates excess pressure, which
accounts as overpressure.
