PREDICTING ABNORMALLY PRESSURED SEDIMENTARY ROCKS*

Abstract

AbstractModern seismic processing techniques developed in recent years have provided the explorationist with more meaningful data than would have been predicted even by optimists. Correct migration of seismic data, relative amplitude preservation of reflections, and seismic trace inversion represent the necessary efforts to ensure that the best possible picture of in situ physical properties of the subsurface section is revealed. Moreover, compacted and over‐pressured zones can be predicted from surface data prior to drilling a well through them.The basic tool for predicting overpressured zones from the surface is still the velocity analysis derived from good reflection data with few erratic multiples. The extraction of regional normal compaction trends from the seismic velocities allows one—where velocities deviate from the trend—to locate the top of overpressure. Moreover, the statistical behavior of the ratios of the sonic log vs pore pressure in existing boreholes enables one to convert the deviation from the trend of the seismic velocities into overpressure rates expected at the seismic reflection horizon.This paper presents a field case study showing how the knowledge of well site lithology together with the more detailed information extracted from inverted seismic data enables the prediction to match well conditions with high reliability.