Processes for determining the characteristics and locations of underground fluids are conducted for a variety of reasons. For example, the information may be useful in exploration settings to determine amount and composition of certain reservoir fluids, which may aid in creating development plans and in monitoring reservoir performance. Further, a single fluid or multiple, more or less immiscible fluids, may be found in a single reservoir unit or “hydraulic zone,” and, for example, the economic importance, fluid flow characteristics, and/or other considerations may be contingent upon the relative composition of, for example, water versus hydrocarbon in the hydraulic zone.
Formation pressure testing is the most common way in which such characterization processes may be implemented. Formation pressures along depth, and the change in pressure over the change in depth, of a wellbore may be indicative of the fluid types in the formation. Generally, static formation pressure tests are conducted at locations along a wellbore and the results are interpreted by a skilled operator, who in turn determines the location and composition of the fluids in the various zones. However, in some cases, the number of formation tests taken and the number of analyses needed may result in interpretation of the data by the operator, or even a team of operators—this can be time-consuming and expensive. Furthermore, some of the data points may be reflective of noise or large uncertainty.