Subregional and local pressure compartments

Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps
Series	Treatise in Petroleum Geology
Part	Critical elements of the petroleum system
Chapter	Formation fluid pressure and its application
Author	Edward A. Beaumont, Forrest Fiedler
Link	Web page
Store	AAPG Store

Subregional or local (second- and third-order) pressure compartments can be found within normal pressure regimes or regional pressure compartments.

Subregional pressure compartments

• 

  Figure 1 Example of a subregional compartment contained within the regional pressure compartment of the Anadarko basin. From Al-Shaieb et al., 1995b; courtesy AAPG.

• 

  Figure 2 Pressure–depth plot of a well through the Anadarko regional pressure compartment. Modified from Al-Shaieb et al., 1995a; courtesy AAPG.

Figure 1 is an example of a subregional compartment contained within the regional pressure compartment of the Anadarko basin of Figure 2.

Local pressure compartments

Figure 3 See text for explanation.

The fluids in a porous bioherm completely encased in shale (as shown in Figure 3) are virtually isolated from the nearby fluid systems outside the bioherm. The bioherm, then, is a pressure compartment that may or may not be abnormally pressured. Other geological features that may form local pressure compartments are fault blocks, sand lenses, and sand wedges developed in growth faults.

See also

• Pressure compartments
• Regional pressure compartments
• Pressure compartment seals
• Applying pressure compartment concepts to exploration

External links

find literature about Subregional and local pressure compartments

• Original content in Datapages
• Find the book in the AAPG Store