Weatherford’s GeoPressure Consulting (GPC) services leverage the knowledge and experience of leading professionals in the field with advanced analysis and prediction techniques. By assimilating, analyzing and interpreting mass volumes of data, our GPC consultants not only provide a real-time overview of the current geopressure situation, they also enable well teams to “look ahead” at what pressure regimes will be like hundreds of meters below the present drilling position. As a result, we have compiled an enviable success rate of helping our clients meet drilling and geological targets while significantly reducing risk, nonproductive time (NPT) and related costs.

Weatherford’s GPC consultants provide an array of services before, during and after drilling to predict and manage pore pressure. These services include assisting in the selection of drilling mud, advising on measures to remediate abnormally high pore pressure, identifying fractures and advising on casing points. 

Qualitative Analysis
Weatherford’s GPC services use conventional quantitative techniques to analyze geopressures prior to and during drilling. Our GPC software gathers drilling exponent corrected, resistivity, sonic/interval velocity, density and shale density data. We apply industry-recognized methods to analyze and model the data prior to drilling. Similarly, our consultants derive look-ahead pore and fracture pressure curves during drilling by modifying the predrill model.

Qualitative Techniques
Working solely with quantitative data does not provide a complete picture of the pore-pressure regime. Qualitative data such as gas-mud weight-rate of penetration (ROP) relationship, produced gases, gas scenarios, temperature, cavings, lithology, geopressure profiles, torque, drag and fill are necessary to constrain normal compaction trend line drawings. By applying proprietary, software-enabled measurement criteria to some of these qualitative data and relationships, the GPC group has developed semi-quantitative techniques that make it easier to cross-check the output from the qualitative side of pore pressure analysis. Weatherford’s methodology leverages the cumulative knowledge and expertise of our consultants’ years of experience to make our predictions accurate and replicable.

Drilling efficiency and safety are continuously improved through continuous GPC pore pressure management, which integrates predrill, while-drilling and after-drilling knowledge and understanding of geopressure situations from one well to the next. Weatherford’s experienced geopressure consultants are available 24/7/365 to ensure timely dissemination of accurate pore pressure profiles that can help well teams meet drilling and geological targets quickly and safely.