Knowledge of pore pressure is critical during drilling of a well, to help drill safely and cost-effectively.. Drillers are given a pore pressure estimation, or estimation range, before they start, based on the seismic data or data from nearby ("offset") wells. This information is used to plan mud weight and the casing plan. But the pore pressure estimate will always contain uncertainties - the rock properties can be different to the offset wells, stratigraphic uncertainties are always present, and the seismic data might not have been processed with pore pressure calculations in mind. "Pore pressure prediction estimation is considered a black art," said Eamonn Doyle, vice president of real time operations with Ikon GeoPressure, a UK company specialising in helping companies understand rock's physical properties, speaking at Digital Energy Journal's February 20 Aberdeen conference, "using data to improve well integrity".
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