Formation pressure is important information for well planning and

operation because it impacts on several things as well control, casing

design, drilling fluid program, pore pressure prediction, etc. We will
discuss about formation pressure in a basic term for drilling personnel

The pressure of fluid in sediment pores would only be reliant on the

fluid density in pore space and depth of the pressure measurement
(equal to the elevation of the column of liquid). It will also be
independent of size of the pore or throat geometry. The pressure of the
fluid in the pore space (the pore pressure) can be measured and
plotted against depth as shown in Figure 1.
The pressure in the formations to be drilled is often expressed in terms
of a pressure gradient as psi/ft. This gradient is consequential from a
line passing all through an exacting arrangement of pore pressure and a
datum point at surface and is namely the pore pressure gradient (Figure 2).

When pore throats interconnected through sediment, the fluid pressure at

any depth in sediment will be identical of that would be established in a
simple column of fluid and consequently the pore pressure gradient is a
straight line as illustrated in Figure 1. The tangent of the line is pressure
gradient shown in Figure 2.
Representing pore pressure in pressure gradient unit is quite convenient for
calculation and easy to present to everybody. If drilling mud density is
presented in the same pressure gradient unit, at each depth of interest, you
can compare pressure in order to ensure that the well is still in over balance
condition. The Figure 3 is a chart showing the pore pressure gradient and
mud gradient. The degree of difference between the pore pressure and the
mud pressure at any particular depth is overbalance pressure at.

Within the pore space of sedimentary formations contain most of the fluids
with proportions of salt and known as brines. The dissolved salt matter can
vary from 0 (over) 200,000 ppm. Likewise, pore pressure gradient vary
from 0.433 psi/ft (fresh water) to around 0.50 psi/ft. Pore pressure in most
geographical areas, the gradient is roughly 0.465 psi/ft with assumption of
80,000 ppm salt concentration. This figure is defined as the normal pressure
gradient.