Summary of Results from a Joint Industry Study to Develop an Improved Methodology for Prediction of Geopressures for Drilling in Deep Water

摘要

This paper summarizes some results from a joint industryproject organized through the Drilling EngineeringAssociation to develop an improved methodology for pre-drillpore pressure and fracture gradient prediction for wells in deepwater. The project known as DEA 119 was sponsored byChevron and funded by a group of 21 organizations thatincluded oil and gas operating companies, service companiesand government organizations. Phase 1 of DEA 119 began inearly 1999 and was completed in November 2001. Phase 2began thereafter and is scheduled for completion in late 2003.This paper will provide an overview of the project andsummarize some of the findings. Project activities rangedfrom industry surveys and in-depth reviews of various modelsand methods to detailed geopressure analysis of 100+ deepwater Gulf of Mexico wells using a wide variety ofapproaches. Results from Phase 1 of the project weredocumented in a 300+ page best practice manual and a fiveday training course as well as a sizable database that includesanalysis results and input data for the wells used in the project.Based on the consensus of participants, the project was limitedto the Gulf of Mexico and geologically similar areas in otherparts of the world. Virtually all the well data submitted byproject participants was from the Gulf of Mexico. Anargument can be made that the results are broadly applicableto geologically similar regimes in other parts of the world, i.e.deltaic basins with reservoirs in relatively young geologicstrata that have undergone fairly rapid deposition. Phase 2 ofthe project is focused on further utilizing the database built inPhase 1 along with additional geologic and seismic data toconstruct geopressure models for several deepwater basins inthe Gulf of Mexico and also to develop an improvedmethodolgy for fracture gradient prediction in deepwater wells.