SOFTWARE USED IN

MEASUREMENT WHILE
DRILLING

BEATING THE EXPLORATION SCHEDULE WITH

INTEGRATED DATA INTERPRETATION:

KANSAS OIL’s EXPERIENCE: a virtual case study

©shankar deo
Rajpal,UPES,DEhradun
 BACKGROUNDER
• Oil companies have made great strides in
improving the success rate of exploration and
production
• Once a well is spudded, the company commits
considerable resources to gather more data such
as mud logs, cores, measurements-while-drilling
(MWD) information and wireline logs.
• This creates a huge volume of data—often at
different scales and qualities—that must be
efficiently handled to ensure maximum return on
the exploration investment.
 Cont..
• Integrated software packages that use a
common framework with a common data
format and a common data base are now
available. These packages provide the tools
for geoscientists to work on data simultane-
ously in a user-friendly way.
• This presentation will examine a fictional
scenario depicting Kansas Oil’s approach on its
latest exploration well.
 Cont..
• Kansas Oil is a hypothetical small-to medium-
sized oil company, based in Hilton, Australia.
• It has a flexible organization that allows members
of different departments to form teams to work
on specific projects. Its offices are equipped with
work-stations linked by ethernet to a file server.
• It also rents satellite links to its drilling rigs,
allowing data transfer rates of up to 128 kilobits
per second, for instance between offshore
locations and Kansas Oil’s offices.
 Cont..
• Earlier in the year, Kansas Oil commissioned
a 3D seismic survey over the entire 22B
block in George Bay, awarded to the com-
pany in the 2006 Australian licensing
round.
• Based on preliminary work in Hinton,the
senior geologist and the senior
geophysicist,concluded that it would be worth
drilling for oil.
 Specialists
THE EXPLORATION
MANAGER

Sandip Sarin,
Reservoir analyst

Nirmal Chandran, Kuldip Handique, Shankar Rajpal,

petrolphysicst Geologist Rock Mechanics
 Well Planning Meeting
• Conversation regarding the need of the
different software packages.
• The area of concerns of the exploration
manager
1.How can we make sure we don’t hit gas?
2.What’s the rig going to be doing while you
interpret all this stuffs?
Exploratory drilling(121/4-in. Hole and
95/8-in. Casing)
• A month later, when drilling begins, a wide variety of data is
gathered.
• The mud logger collects and analyzes samples of cuttings.
• MWD data, recorded to aid drilling, also help the geologists
define formation tops.
• These data and lithological description are transmitted
daily from the offshore rig to Kansas Oil’s office.
• There, they are loaded into a common data base assigned
to the well, allowing accessibility to every member of
the exploration team.
Geologist Kuldeep’s workstation screen.In the foreground is the structural dipmeter
interpretation he has just made.Nirmal and Kuldeep are comparing the interpretation to
the seismic section to ensure that the well will pass through the flanks of the reservoir.
 Geological interpretation
• Petroleum geology is principally concerned with
the evaluation of seven key elements in
sedimentary basins:
• Source
• Reservoir
• Seal
• Trap
• Timing
• Maturation
• migration
 Role of software
Geological interpretation within the GeoFrame
environment uses a series of modules for:
• Data conversion
• Pre-interpretation processing
• Detailed analysis.
Sub modules of bore view module
• Bore hole image interpretation submodules.
• Structural interpretation.
 Contd…
• The sine-wave interactor graphics tool has
been used to label faults (blue), bedding
(green) and fractures (yellow) on an
Formation MicroScanner image (center track).
Alongside the dip magnitude and azimuth are
calculated for each feature described by a sine
wave.
 Contd…..
• Once validated by the geologist as sensible,
the final model is then displayed and oriented
for comparison with, say a seismic section.
• After the first set of logs has been run and
while the borehole imaging tool is lowered
into the well, a rapid petrophysical interpre-
tation (quicklook) is run on the computer in the
logging unit. The results are obtained
within 15 minutes and transmitted to Kansas
Oil’s office.The quicklook identifies several oil
zones.

• Back in Hinton, petrophysicist Nirmal Chandran

checks and discusses the wellsite interpretation
with Kuldeep, and also starts to plan a more
thorough petrophysical interpretation.
 Petrophysical Analysis
Petrophysical interpretation of wireline logs
involves a series of modules within the

GeoFrame environment
1) Quick view module
2) Module for detailed interpretation grouped under
the ELANPlus module.
 Cont..
• The quick view module gives a rapid
interpretation of open hole logs such as
density, neutron porosity, gamma ray and
resistivity
• Environmental correction such as hole size
borehole salinity and temperature
 Funtion
• The petrophysical interpretation consists of 3
parts
1) Log measurements
2) Response
3) Volume
• Similarly there are 3 mathematical problems
which are solved by the software which helps
in better predictions
1) Inverse problem
2) Forward problem
3) Calibration problem
Composite log from ELANplus module.
• Nirmal is to make a full petrophysical analysis
within three hours— he is aided by the quicklook
that gives him an idea of which interpretation
models to use.
• Meanwhile back at the rig, the hole is being
reconditioned for further wire-line operations.
• “The detailed petrophysical interpretation has cut
Swacross most of the interesting zones,” Nirmal
explains to exploration manager , who has a
partner’s meeting pending and needs an update.
“But over this particular interval, we might have
extensive diagenesis and bioturbation, which may
affect permeability. We’ll need to examine the
borehole image and cores to confirm this.”
• Kuldeep is already acting on this information.
He processes the borehole image data using
one of the workstation’s geological applications,
bringing up the petrophysical interpretation for cross
reference. He also helps Nirmal and Sandip plan the
formation tester run. This includes picking depths
where they want formation tester pressure
measurements, and choosing the tool configuration to
measure both horizontal and vertical permeability, to
check communication between zones.
• They plan to take samples from all zones and also
perform mini-hydraulic fracture operations on the oil-
bearing zones for rock stress measurements.
• Following the partners’ meeting, Exploration
manager gives the go-ahead. The conditioning
trip winds up, and the testing and sampling are
soon under way.
• Testing samples show oil and are sent to the
pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) laboratory
for analysis. The lab confirms that the samples
are light crude oil and begins the PVT analysis—
data that will be needed later for the detailed
well test interpretation.
• The wireline transient pressure data are
transmitted to Hinton, where Sandip begins to
interpret them.
 Reservoir Analysis
• Reservoir analysis within the GeoFrame
environment is performed by two modules.
-The Polaris module
-Zodiac Zoned Dynamic
Interpretation,Analysis and Computational
module.
Polaris module interpretation of multiprobe formation tester transient pressure
data.Pressure recordings from vertical and horizontal monitor probes are plotted against
time(top left).Change in pressure at the vertical probe against change in pressure at the
horizontal probe(top right).Reservoir parameter estimates are calculated and displayed
at bottom right.Buttons(bottom left)access pop0up menus for data entry,manipulation
and interpretation model choice.
Sandip’s workstation.Sandip uses the petrophysical interpretation(back-ground right)and
the boreho;e image data(background left)to help analyze wireline formation tester transient
pressure data(foreground).Nirmal and Kuldip use the pressure data,petrophysical
interpretation and the boreho;e image data to decide whether the shale beds are
continuous or simply lenses.
 Funtions
• Wireline formation testing:
Uses Polaris module

• Well testing
Uses Zodiac module.
• Throughout the initial interpretation and
discussions between the geoscientists, the
partners and Kansas Oil’s management are
kept fully informed.
• Composite presentations are quickly displayed
on workstation screens and screen dumps are
sent across networks to color printers in
partners’ offices formed.
• This result in speedy,cost-effective decisions
on how the well should be completed and
tested.
• Meanwhile Shankar has been working on the
shear sonic data onto his workstation for
mechanical properties studies.
 Rock mechanics
• Computing rock properties such as bulk
modulus,shear modulus or Poisson’s ratio.
• Predict the behavior of the formation when it
is subjected to stresses caused by drilling or
production.
Wellbore stability display.In this example the impact module has been used to integrate
log data with core measurement to calculate maximum and minimum mud weight.The
calculated safe mud weight range is presented in track 2.Lowe left is the cross plot
showing the Mohr-Coulomb calibration used to calculate formation strenght and safe
mud weight
 Funtions of the module
• Works within the GeoFrame environment.
• Impact Integrated Mechanical Properties
Analysis Computational Technique module.
- Impact module
- The wellbore stability application
- The sand strength application
- The hydraulic fracture application
• Soon afterward, the readings are set and
the well is tested in five promising zones
picked by our team. The best zone flowed
2175 barrels per day with a wellhead pressure
of 415 psi. The well was then suspended prior
to the partners approving a full-fledged
development plan.
Composite log(background),well test design(middle),borehole stability log(foregrounds)
displayed on his screen.
 Fact or Fiction?
• While Kansas Oil’s story is fictional, all the software
applications used for data processing
and interpretation described here are available.
• What has not been available, earlier, was the
framework to link these applications so that they can
share a common data base that allows input data and
result updates to be coordinated automatically
between different programs.
• Schlumberger’s GeoFrame software provides such a
framework, allowing applications and interpretation
modules to be linked and branched together under the
control of a process manager.
 Cont..
• Data management is handled by an ORACLE
data base that labels and tracks every bit of
information from raw input data to
interpretation results.
• The system runs on UNIX-based workstations
allowing several users simultaneous access to
work.
THANK
YOU