Pre-drill Seismic Predictions Platform (Pore Pressure, Fracture Gradient, Lithology, and Pore Fluids) Effectively Used as a Well Planning Tool by a Multi-Discipline Deepwater Operations Team

Abstract

Abstract Pioneer Natural Resources’ multi-discipline Deepwater Exploration Operations team recently planned and operated the company's first deepwater (4946’ WD) GOM well, Argo #1, using a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) planning process. As the closest offset well was 25 miles distant it was imperative to mine the maximum amount of pre-drill information from the pre-stack seismic data set. The team wanted a 3D seismic-based platform that would generate multi-discipline output for use throughout planning and drilling of the well. Of particular importance was the need for a tool that could be used onsite for real-time lithology, porosity, and fluids correlation and pore pressure and fracture gradient prediction. The multi-discipline solutions were provided in SEGY files for the Geophysical and Geological (G&G) team members and graphical documents for the Drilling/Completion & Reservoir team members. The seismic-based platform offered by the service provider was used successfully to plan, drill, and evaluate the well for the AFE'd cost. The service company provides two processes: The first process, DrilSeis, is a new, fully automated pre-stack seismic velocity extraction algorithm that generates pore pressure and fracture gradient volumes. The second process, LithSeis, is a pre-stack seismic-based petrophysical analysis that yields lithology, porosity, and possible hydrocarbon accumulations. LithSeis was used to aid in the confirmation of the prospective zones and to screen the shallow sediment section for possible "shallow water flow" SWF and shallow gas zones.1 Also, the pre-drill seismic pore pressure and petrophysical analysis (lithology, porosity, and fluids) provided the operator with the G&G and Engineering data that supported the approval from the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to eliminate the 20" conductor casing resulting in significant cost savings. The seismic solutions platform enabled the multi-discipline team to conduct cost-effective deepwater drilling operations.