Hydrostatic pressure:

It increases directly with the density and the depth of the fluid and is expressed in pounds per square inch or kilopascals.

The hydrostatic pressure of fresh water is 0.433 pounds per square inch per foot of depth (9.792 kilopascals per meter).

In drilling, the term refers to the pressure exerted by the drilling fluid in the wellbore.

In a water drive field, the term refers to the pressure that may furnish the primary energy for production.

Terms Related to Hydrostatic pressure

• Pressure gradient

  1. A scale of pressure differences in which there is a uniform variation of pressure from point to point. For example, the pressure gradient of ...

• Pressure

  The force that a fluid (liquid or gas) exerts uniformly in all directions within a vessel, pipe, hole in the ground, and so forth, such ...

• Normal formation pressure

  Formation fluid pressure equivalent to about 0.465 pounds per square foot of depth from the surface. If the formation pressure is 4,650 pounds per square ...

• Mud density

  Weight per unit volume of drilling fluid usually expressed in pounds per gallon or pounds per cubic foot. See hydrostatic pressure.

• Hydraulic head

  The force exerted by a column of liquid expressed by the height of the liquid above the point at which the pressure is measured. Although ...

• Mud weight

  A measure of the density of a drilling fluid expressed as pounds per gallon, pounds per cubic foot, or kilograms per cubic meter. Mud weight ...

• Absolute pressure

  Total pressure measured from an absolute vacuum. It equals the sum of the gauge pressure and the atmospheric pressure corresponding to the barometer (expressed in ...