Examination of the Generation of Overpressure in the Eagle Ford
Abstract
There are many reasons why overpressure in shales is critical for the commercialization of shale plays. Overpressure in shales creates higher fluid flow potential (Pathak et al., 2014). Overpressure helps shale reservoirs to stay in single phase and holds open the pore throats by reducing effective stress (Cander, 2012). Overpressure may induce microfracturing in shales. Microfractures play a key role in the fluid flow in shales by increasing the effective permeability of the shales. In general, with the burial of shales, overpressure is generated because of different combinations of the following three mechanisms.
AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90219 © 2015 GCAGS, Houston, Texas, September 20-22, 2015