Бурение грунтовых зондов, установка энергетических колодцев

It is clear from the descriptions of the ways in which overpressures are generated above that the pore pressure profile in a region where overpressures exist will look something like the P-Z diagram shown in Figure 13. It can be seen that the pore pressures in the shallower formations are “normal”. That is that they correspond to a hydrostatic fluid gradient. There is then an increase in pressure with depth until the “overpressured” formation is entered. The zone between the normally pressured zone and the overpressured zone is known as the transition zone.

The pressures in both the transition and overpressured zone is quite clearly above the hydrostatic pressure gradient line. The transition zone is therefore the seal or caprock on the overpressured formation. It is important to note that the transition zone shown in Figure 13 is representative of a thick shale sequence. This shale will have some low level of porosity and the fluids in the pore space can therefore be overpressured. However, the permeability of the shale is so low that the fluid in the shale and in the overpressured zone below the shale cannot flow through the shale and is therefore effectively trapped. Hence the caprock of a reservoir is not necessarily a totally impermeable formation but is generally simply a very low permeability formation.

If the seal is a thick shale, the increase in pressure will be gradual and there are techniques for detecting the increasing pore pressure. However, if the seal is a hard, crystalline rock (with no permeability at all) the transition will be abrupt and it will not be possible to detect the increase in pore pressure across the seal.

When drilling in a region which is known to have overpressured zones the drilling crew will therefore be monitoring various drilling parameters, the mud, and the drilled cuttings in an attempt to detect this increase in pressure in the transition

zone. It is the transition zone which provides the opportunity for the drilling crew to realise that they are entering an overpressured zone. The key to understanding this operation is to understand that although the pressure in the transition zone may be quite high, the fluid in the pore space cannot flow into the wellbore. When however the drillbit enters the high permeability, overpressured zone below the transition zone the fluids will flow into the wellbore. In some areas operating companies have adopted the policy of deliberately reducing the overbalance so as to detect the transition zone more easily — even if this means taking a kick.

It should be noted that the overpressures in a transition zone cannot result in an influx of fluid into the well since the seal has, by definition, an extremely low permeability. The overpressures must therefore be detected in some other way.

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