Pressure Regimes in Sedimentary Basins and Their Prediction 0891813578, 9780891813576

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Pressure Regimes in Sedimentary Basins and Their Prediction An outgrowth of the international forum sponsored by the Houston chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers Houston, Texas, September 2-4, 1998

Edited by

Alan R. Huffman Glenn L. Bowers

AAPG MEMOIR 76 Published jointly by

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Tulsa, Oklahoma and The Houston Chapter of The American Association of Drilling Engineers Houston, Texas Printed in the U.S .A.

Contents

About the Editors Preface CHA PTER 1

CHAPTER 2

vii ix

Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude Resulting from t~e Main Generating Mechanisms Richard E. Swarbrick, Ma rk f. Osborne, and Gareth S. Yardley

1

The Interrelationships between Overpressure Mechanisms and In Situ Stress T. W. Miller, C. H. Luk, and D. L. Olgaard

13

CHAPTER l

The Primary Controls over Sediment Compaction Phil Holbrook

21

CHAPTER 4

Critical-Porosity Models Jack Dvorkin and Amos Nur

33

CHAP TER 5

The Role of Shale Pore Structure on the Sensitivity of Wire-line Logs to Overpressure G. L. Bowers and T. John Katsube

43

Impact of Smectite Diagenesis on Compaction Modeling and Compaction Equilibrium Richard Lahann

61

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

Effect of Gas on Poroelastic Response to Burial or Erosion K. W Katahara and f. D. Corrigan

73

Relationships between Pore Pressure and Stress in Different Tectonic ~~

~

Najwa Yassir and M. Anthony Addis CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 1 0

Pore-Pressure Estimation in an Active Thrust Region and Its Impact on Exploration and Drilling Allison Hennig, Najwa Yassir, M. Anthony Addis, and Andrew Warrington Geological Controls and Variability in Pore Pressure in the DeepWater Gulf of Mexico Michael A. Smith

89

107

v

vi

C 0 NTEN T S

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

An Easily Derived Overburden Model Is Essential for the Prediction of Pore Pressure and Fracture Gradient for Wildcat Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico Fred R. Holasek

Fracture-Gradient Predictions in Depleted Sands in the Gulf Coast Sedimentary Basin Baldeo Singh and Nelson Emery Consolidation State, Permeability, and Stress Ratio as Determined from Uniaxial Strain Experiments on Mudstone Samples from the Eugene Island 330 Area, Offshore Louisiana Beth B. Stump and Peter B. Flemings Method for Determining Regional Force-Balanced Loading and Unloading Pore-Pressure Regimes and Applying Them in Well Planning and Real-Time Drilling Phil Holbrook Forward Modeling of Log Response in Geopressured Formations Reveals Valuable Insights to the Various Pore-Pressure Prediction Techniques J. C. Rasmus

CHAPTER 16

Pore Pressure ahead of the Bit: An Integrated Approach Nader C. Dutta, William H. Borland, W Scott Leaney, Richard Meehan, and W. Les Nutt

CHAPTER 17

SubSea MudLift Drilling: A New Technology for Ultradeep-Water Environments Kenneth L. Smith and Allen D. Gault

115

125

131

145

159 165

171

CHAPTER 18

Velocity Estimation for Pore-Pressure Prediction David W Bell

177

CHAPTER 19

The Future of Pressure Prediction Using Geophysical Methods Alan R. Huffman

217

Index

235

1 Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude Resulting from the Main Generating Mechanisms Richard E. Swarbrlck Uui1rcrsiiy of Dur};m,., Durhnm, £uglmrd Mark J. Osbornr Uuit•er:lify 'lf D11rl:am. Dur1mm. Eu81(lntf; Dl' E:rpfl)rAtk:m, Stmlmry {1, Thttm~. l:'ugtmul

Garelh 5. Yudlty Her/111-Wnlt Uui{'trr~ily. f,(lillbllr,~Jt, $(tJtlalltl

ABSTRACT Ov~ rpn.'S.Sure is n'('Olll>d by two main prOC\."'SS("': (l) stress appht"Cl to a compu:-ssible nx:k an-:! (2) fluid expansion. 8oth pn:>C'L'!iSC.'> .u\.' mtwt efft-'ctivc in fin(•·gr.ti nerllithnlogit.>s, such :ts mudrocks and ch ;~lk!; . Doth proccs...,(.'S im·oh·c inclfctivc fl uid expulsion to creltc pn.>s!>u.n:s in excess of h)•drilulk t-'qUilibrium, cmpha~Wng lhc Unport.mceof pcrmc.tbility (a poorly known rock property in Jinc·gr.:.im:d sc..-dinlcnlary nxk:s} i.n «mlrollin~ p(ln: prc~ure in the suh~urf.-,c~. Ovt•Jprt~uu: );cn.:rolil'l\ ,,ml flui,l e."lh)wing prOc(."S.~cs: increase! in stress ~lpplit.'d t (.~ il f_k a11d flu id pruper tie~ o£ the

sf.'diml'nlary rocks and their r:~te of chansc undl'r u...._~ nonu.1l rnt in p~nneab)e- unit.:: (!!.g., RFr, OST prcssun's). l"hc p( (."'il\IHens too low to :."I !.low rom p~e·tc d(~Woltt:ring (flu id N>t?ntion dP.pth IFKOJ) (Figure 2). The cm c:;et C>f overpressure is controUOO by the lo.lding r.1tc :u'.d the por~i ty .md pcrm'-'o1hi1ity c\·olutivn of the :,ed im cnt

during: buri., J. Tlt~ I':JlD is ~haiJuwer in low-ptml'ledb ilit)' and/ or mort:' romprt.'SsibJc Sl""CCi m~ntilr}' rocks sud t a~ mudrocks :md deeper in more pt.•rmcablc nnd less

PRF.SSURf:

romp:-e.ssible r\)Cks such as siJt:> imd saJh.!s, ttS::~uming the sanw $1..:.dim("ltl;'ltion ratl'. Conversely. for the f.o'lllte Fn t furt

Pn~sure

(Min i ~n n•

''

'

ltort.t» ntal ttm!' IS• • • n

nt-ation rates a nd d~Xp at slow SC'C:Iimcntation t'."'tcs. Luo :utd V:"sscu.r (1992} ~how tl1o.tt the n~.o1i n cuntrols on o\'crp!L"::>Surc from dlsequilibrium L'QJnp;'ICtion a re loo(~d ing rate,. (umJ>.'\Clion ('()('(fid~nt (.l nlcthod of S€> r~()nS relat t.>S tn both the M l OlUlt o f stress ll.nd sttaio in the rocks an\1 their phy~iSSlU'\'l for co1ch. tlujd c.>:p,HlSiOl\ mcd mni')m am be d etcrmin~'XI if th ~ r~ltl!. of \'Oiu_m c c:hdllSlt i:; known or C(ln bt" ~timatt-d . R~t~l i~ ti c cU m~n ­ siOJlS fm tho part of thC' rock in which the c h:m gc oc· Cttt$ (comp:trttn(.'1lt) and the sc;~t mu5t be os~'Um\.'CI, :lnd th m below seabed. RFT = repeat form~Jtion testef; l OP4.T = leak-Cbtimatc l) when prc"Ssurc is ml\inlilill("(l fi t J\yd rostatic pt'essure (i.t-,, wht.•n oil lll' gas IC o ( tr:~ppcd pctrol~vm is only to% o! the totl of co mple~ rtv.~ction$ that .u e largely kinetically controlled. E.1ch o f these tr;msfor· mnlions in ..·oh-'t."!i chauge in J'C.'Ck (,\bric. Feldsp.u djs· S(l(utiOn CI'\'Jh~ large S«'Ondary pores. pOhmtta Jly rtmovlng a part of the load·b(>aring frame work. Smectite to illite trot\Sfornt."t!ion crc;"~tcs.., D"'U(b tightw rock f~,bric with .:stron~ alignment o f the d.1ys (Coltutr Brad· ley, 19S7t Kemgen tr frame· wo rk support. Dissolution (ptc:iiSu te solution} occurs at :;.d ech.-cl gr.1in oont.u·Ls. [n a du~-:d ~yst mn a;mrvoir in which \JUartz d issolutirved (Osborne and Swarbrick, J999). Then•, tht> M.lOUJ\1 :~ nd t.ltl' of qu.vtz Cl'l)l~nt.\tion (OlS d¢tcrmincd from flu id i n du~ ion microthcnnomctry) i.s lower in Che r("5t"rvoirs with high overpresst•re OO\'\" effective :,tress) tha11 fn the 10\"-o\'crpmsurc TL'$\.'I'voirs. These obscr· Vi'\tiOnS SU!;ghng Eu"'p:•an A.s.••ocbtion (': OrgamcCf'l"'Kh~Jml ~ts, p. 2~-287. C.:~rr, A. C .. 19QQ, ;\ vitnnit.:

rcfll'Cti".IOC\' kinetic mo..i el inco:-·

fl(lr.l!in& tWCrpn:--l~u rc ri!~:lrd.:'IH01:: M~tl!'IC .lthl l't!-ltolt::ut:l

Ccolog:y. v. 16, p . 355-377. Colton·Bnsdlcy, V. A. C. , 1957, Role ui pr('$5Ua'! in snt..-etlt