Spatial Uncertainty in Pore Pressure Models at the Brazilian Continental Margin

Abstract

AbstractAccurate pore pressure models in wells are essential for ensuring the lowest cost and operational safety during exploration/development projects. This modeling requires the integration of several sources of information such as well data, formation pressure tests, geophysical logs, mud weight, geological models, seismic data, geothermal and sedimentation rate modeling. An empirical relationship between overpressure and compressional wave velocity is commonly applied to model the pore pressure. This deterministic approach does not allow uncertainty quantification and ignores other variables related to pore pressure. This paper presents a case study with real data to evaluate and quantify spatial pore pressure uncertainty. The exhaustive secondary variable came from the combination of seismic velocity and geothermal models. The methodology uses Sequential Gaussian Cosimulation with Intrinsic Collocated Cokriging. The results demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of the workflow proposed.