2

Why are we Logging Wells ?

Wireline logging can be used in a number of ways by a number
of people to provide solutions to questions they have about a particular
well. Some of the ways different people in an office will use these logs
are:

Geophysics look to logs for:
Where are my tops (as predicted?)
Does seismic interpretation agree with log data?
How is my synthetic doing with this new information?

Geologists look to logs for:
Where are my tops ?
Do I have any reservoir ?
Is there any Hydrocarbon in the well ?
What type of Hydrocarbon(s) is there ?
How good is my reservoir ?
What kind of reserves do I have ?
How does this tie in to my offsets ?

Drilling Engineers are looking for:
What is my hole volume (cement) ?
What is my dog leg severity ?
Where can I get a good packer seat for testing ?
Where can I set up my whipstock ?

Production Engineers are looking for:
Where should complete this well ?
What will be my expected production rates ?
Will I have to deal with water ?
How should I complete this well ?
Do I need to stimulate this well ?
How should I stimulate it ?
3
In this course, we are going to be concentrating on reservoir
characterization and quality aspect of these uses. Specifically, we will be
learning a method to quickly interpret open hole wireline logs to determine
if there is a potential reservoir and then how to evaluate it for hydrocarbon
production. To do this, we will look at the basic tools used in open hole
logging, and then find out how to interpret the readings from these tools
and combine them to evaluate your well. The first step along this path will
be looking at open hole logs and determining if we could possibly have a
reservoir.

The Gamma Ray Log
One of the first things we need to look for when we look at a log is
a suitable reservoir. Preferably this will be a clean (little to no shale)
formation. The Gamma Ray log can help give an indication of this. The
tool itself reads the natural gamma radiation in the formation adjacent to
the detector. Since clays and shales tend to accumulate radioactive
materials, the gamma ray (GR) log is used as a shale indicator with a high
gamma ray indicating shale (around 100 GAPI) and low gamma ray
indicating clean formation (~30 GAPI in sands, and about ~15 GAPI in
carbonates). Some typical GR values are shown below.


0 150
GAPI
Shaly Sand
Shale
Clean Sand
Sandy Shale
Limestone
Volcanic Ash
Coal
Anhydrite / Salt
Gypsum
Dolomite
4
Other materials commonly found in the well bore also affect the
GR log. For example, volcanic ash can be very radioactive and thus
cause an unusually high GR reading. As well, feldspar (mineral) that is
common some sands can cause the GR to read high in a clean sand (an
example of this is the granite wash around the peace river arch). Coal,
Anhydrite, Salt, and Gypsum are typically contain little radioactive material
and thus show up as clean.
In some cases, it is valuable to know not only that there are
radioactive elements present in the formation, but also the amount of the
particular radioactive mineral is present. This allows us to do things like
minimizing the effect of feldspar (potassium) to determine a clean sand, or
to actually get the clay type in any particular shale (I.e. swelling shales,
brittle shales, shales prone to collapse). To do this, it splits the natural
gamma rays into there respective energy spectrum and quantifies the
three main radioactive elements; Thorium, Potassium, and Uranium.

0 150
GAPI
Potassium
Thorium
Uranium
Clean Formation
Shale
Uranium Rich Clean Formation
Potassium Rich Clean Formation
5
Now that we know how to identify clean formations, the next thing
to look at is weather or not these formations have any storage space.

Porosity Logs

In any reservoir, we need to have a certain amount of open space
so that hydrocarbons have some where to exist. We call this storage
space porosity, and typically use three basic tools to determine what
porosity (F) might be. These are the Neutron tool, the Density tool, and
the Sonic tool. While all of these tools give a porosity output, they only
infer this from different properties of the rock and fluid in the rock.

The Sonic Log
The Sonic log, as the name implies, uses the travel time of sound
through the formation to infer porosity. That is, it sends a sound pulse or
a click out from a transmitter, and then measures the time it takes to
travel through the formation and back to a receiver on the tool. By
comparing how fast the click travels through the rock to how fast it
should travel if there were no porosity, and knowing how fast sound will
travel through fluid, we can infer a liquid filled porosity. Since sound
travels at different speeds through different types of rock, it is important to
know rock type (sandstone, limestone, or dolomite). Also, it is important
to note that whatever is in the pore space (porosity) will also have a small
affect on the porosity (for example, sound travels through gas at lower
rates than through fluid, therefore porosity estimates in gas will appear
high). The equation for finding porosity (commonly we use the Wyllie
Time-Average Equation which is based on laboratory measurements) is a
follows;



Where: F = porosity
t
LOG
=sonic travel time read from the log
t
ma
=sonic travel time in a clean 0 porosity matrix
t
fl
=sonic travel time in the wellbore fluid
F=(t
LOG
-t
ma
)/(t
f
-t
ma
)
6
Some common values for sonic travel times (Dt) are:

Sand Dt = 182 ms/m
Limestone Dt = 156 ms/m
Dolomite Dt = 143 ms/m
Anhydrite Dt = 164 ms/m
Fresh muds Dt = 620 ms/m

In sand, you can have formations that are not fully compacted.
That is, the sand grains are not perfectly packed on top of each other as
they were in Wyllies measurements. To correct for this, we look at
adjacent shale beds (where sound velocity is highly effected by
compaction) and divide the sonic velocity read from the log by 328 ms/m.
The porosity from the Wyllie equation is then divided by this Bulk
Compaction Factor (Bcp) to give a more realistic porosity.
Alternately, we can use the Raymer - Hunt transform from chart
Por -3m (the red field observations lines). This chart is actually an easy
way to calculate porosity from a sonic log using either method. The
advantage to using the field observations is that they have used a
transform based on field data to eliminate bulk compaction factor from the
equation.

Use chart Por-3m and/or the equation above to find porosity in the clean
zones below.

500 100
GR
Dt
0
150
GAPI ms/m
7
Since we only infer porosity from sonic travel time measurements,
a number of factors can affect the sonic porosity:
Fluid type; since the depth of investigation of the sonic log is fairly shallow,
most of the fluid seen by the sonic will be mud filtrate. Residual gas will cause
the sonic to read slightly high porosity's.
Compaction; lack of compaction will cause the porosity reading to be high
unless compaction is factored in, either using the Bcp or field observation
transform.
Secondary porosity; secondary porosity (such as vugy porosity) will not be
detected by the sonic because there is always a travel path for the sound waves
past the pore space. This fact actually benefits us by allowing us to determine
how much secondary porosity there is by comparing the sonic porosity to the
porosity from another tool.
Borehole; The condition of the borehole is usually corrected for with modern
tools however highly rugose boreholes will affect the sonic travel time and cause
unreliable sonic porosity's.

The Neutron Log
The second porosity tool we will look at is the Neutron porosity
tool. The neutron tool uses the amount of hydrogen in a formation to infer
porosity. Since water / oil has a relatively constant amount of hydrogen
atoms by volume, the amount of hydrogen can be used to infer the
amount of fluid in a formation, which in a clean formation is the porosity.
Neutron tool theory can be summed up as follows. Neutrons are
electrically neutral particles having a mass almost identical to the mass of
a hydrogen atom. High energy (fast) neutrons are continuously emitted
from a radioactive source within the tool. These neutrons collide with the
nuclei of the formation materials in what may be thought of as elastic
billiard ball collisions. With each collision the Neutron looses some of its
energy. The amount of energy lost per collision depends on the relative
mass of the nucleus with which the neutron collides. The greater energy
loss occurs when the neutron strikes a nucleus of equal (or almost equal)
mass ( Hydrogen). Since collisions with larger or smaller nuclei do not
affect the energy of the Neutron much, the slowing of the neutron is
largely due to the amount of Hydrogen in the formation. Within a few
micro seconds, the neutrons have been slowed through successive
collisions to energies of about 0.025 eV. They then float around until they
are captured by the nuclei of atoms such as Chlorine, Hydrogen, or

8
Silicon. By using a detector that measures the amount of low energy
Neutrons, and by knowing what quantity of neutron capture elements
(Chlorine, Silicon, etc.) in the formation material, we can say how much
hydrogen is in the formation. The amount of hydrogen in the formation is
also known as the Hydrogen Index (HI), which is the measurement of the
amount of Hydrogen per unit volume of formation.
The Neutron log is presented in porosity units based on a
particular matrix type (sandstone, limestone, or dolomite). Since the
amount of neutron absorbers in the formation greatly affect the porosity
readings of the log, it is essential that the correct matrix be used.
The factors that may affect the neutron log are are:
Lithology; A single known matrix must be present to accurately determine
porositys. Large errors may occur if matrix selection is incorrect.
Shale; The presence of chemically bound water in shales causes the the
neutron log to read high porositys in shales or shaly formations.
Fluid Type; since liquid hydrocarbons contain similar hydrogen concentration to
water, they do not affect the porosity readings. Gas hydrogen concentration is
much lower than that of water and therefore will give low porositys.

Chart Por-13b allows you to convert between different matrices to arrive
at a true porosity for the particular matrix type present.

Use Chart Por-13b to convert the following to both sandstone and dolomite porositys
.
0 150 60 0
GAPI %
GR NPOR
Limestone
9
The Density Log

The third common type of porosity tool is the Density tool. The
density tool, as its name implies, uses the electron density of the
formation to infer a porosity. It makes use of a radioactive source which
emits medium energy gamma rays into the formation. The amount of
number of gamma rays that are received at the detector indicates the
formation density. This density that the tool reads is a combination of the
density of the matrix (solid portion of the formation), the porosity of the
formation, and the density of the fluid in the pore space. So, for a clean
formation of known matrix density (r
ma
), and having a porosity (F) that
contains a fluid of density (r
f
), the formation bulk density (r
b
) will be:

r
b
= Fr
f
+ (1-F)r
ma

or, re writing this for porosity, we can use:

F
D
= r
ma
- r
b
/ r
ma
- r
fl

Where:F
D
= Density porosity
r
ma
= density of matrix material
r
b
= measured by density tool
r
fl
= density of fluid in the borehole

Some common Densities ( r ) are:
Sandstone - 2650 Kg/m3
Limestone - 2710 Kg/m3
Dolomite - 2870 Kg/m3
Fresh Water - 1000 Kg/m3
Oil - 850 Kg/m3

Appendix B in the Chart book has density values for various rocks. As
well, Chart Por-5 may be used to calculate porosity from bulk density.


10
Convert the following bulk densities to porosity. Calculate for sandstone, limestone,
and dolomite. Fluid is fresh water.

















Typically, the bulk density will be converted to porosity and presented with
the neutron porosity log. The matrix density used for the porosity
calculation should be noted on the bottom and top of the logs.
In addition to the bulk density measurement, the toll also
measures the photoelectric absorption index, which can be related to
lithology. The photoelectric absorption factor is presented on the log as a
PEF curve and can be used in conjunction with the bulk density to
indicate the matrix type. Appendix B in the chart book gives different
values of bulk density and PEF values. The values for the common
matrix types are:
Sandstone PEF ~ 1.8 RHOB ~ 2650 Kg/m3
Limestone PEF ~ 5.1 RHOB ~ 2710 Kg/m3
Dolomite PEF ~ 3.1 RHOB ~ 2850 Kg/m3

On the following log, check the lithology and determine the proper porosity readings.
Assume fluid density of 1000 Kg/m3.

0 150 2000 3000
GAPI K/m3
GR
rhob
11
Factors that may effect the Density Log are:
Lithology; the correct matrix density must be known to get a correct porosity.
Shale; the density of shale ranges from 2200 to 2650 Kg/m3 but is usually close
to 2650. This means the shale appears as matrix to the density tool and it gives
a good indication of effective porosity
Fluid type; since the depth of investigation of the density tool is shallow, the fluid
generally seen is the mud filtrate. If residual fluid is in the area of investigation,
it will have the following effect;
Oil; residual oil will drive the density porosity high.
Salt water will drive the density porosity low
Gas; residual gas will drive the porosity reading high.
Borehole effect; in very rough boreholes, the density tool may lift off the
formation wall causing incorrect bulk density readings. (Density porosity will be
high)


0 10
PEF
0 150
60 0
%
GAPI
GR
PEF DPHI
MDEN=2650
12
Total Porosity Determination

We have now seen that the basic porosity measurements are
inferred from measurements of bulk density, hydrogen concentration, and
acoustic travel time. These porositys are valid under the following
conditions:
The porosity type is intergranular, not fractured or secondary.
The matrix type is known and constant
The rock is clean (I.e. no shale present)
The porosity is filled with fluid
If any one of these conditions are not met, the porosity measurements will
disagree in one fashion or another. This difference can be used to
determine a number of factors including: lithology, primary/secondary
porosity, gas vs. liquid filled porosity, etc. The following is a table of the
responses of the basic tools in various situations.
0 150 60 0
GAPI %
Gamma Ray
Total Porosity
Neutron Porosity
Density Porosity
Sonic Porosity
Uncompacted
Shale
Uncompacted
Clean
Sand
Compacted
Shaly
Sand
Compacted
Clean
Sand
Compacted Shale
C
a
r
b
o
n
a
t
e

Intercrystaline
Vugy
Gas
Oil / Water
Gas
Oil / Water
Gas
Oil / Water
Gas
Oil / Water
Gas
Oil / Water
13
So, which porosity measurement should be used? Depending on
the formation and the tools available, we use the following.

In a sand shale sequence, for initial computations:
If F
D
is available, use F
Total
= F
N

If only F
N
and Dt are available, use F
Total
= F
S
with compaction
corrections.

In a carbonate, for initial computations:
If FN and F
D
are available, then use F
Total
= (F
N
+F
D
)/2
If only Dt is available, use F
Total
= FS + Estimated F
Vugs


So now we can pick a clean formation and we can determine
weather or not the formation has any pore space to contain hydrocarbon.
Now, how do we tell if the formation fluid can actually move?

Permeability Indicators

Permeability is the measurement of how well fluid moves through
a formation. The greater the permeability, the easier it is for fluid to move
in the formation. Although there are quantitative ways to determine an
actual number for permeability, we will only deal with relative permeability
in this course.
Spontaneous Potential
One of the first indicators of permeability we look at is the
Spontaneous Potential (SP) curve. A spontaneous potential is created
when fluids of different salinity come in contact with each other, either
directly, or through a permeable membrane such as a shale. Ion transfer
between the fluids causes a electric potential to be created at the
boundary. Because Ion movement must occur, this becomes a good
indicator of permeable zones. The difference between the mud filtrate
resistivity and the formation fluid resistivity will affect the amount and
direction of the SP deflection.


14
As well as the SP, some other common logs can be used for permeability
indication.
Microlog

The Microlog tool measures resistivity at two depths, then
compares them to indicate permeability. If there is permeability, then
mudcake should build up. Therefore, the shallow reading on the microlog
(Microinverse) will read the mud cake (generally lower) and the deeper
reading (Micronormal) will read the invaded formation (generally higher)
producing a positive curve separation.

Caliper

Another good indicator of permeability is the caliper device. Since
permeability produces mudcake, the borehole should be constricted
where a permeable formation is. So if we look at the caliper curve and it
is smaller than the bit size in a porous zone, than that zone is most likely
permeable.
Shale
Sand
Shale
Rmf = Rw Rmf < Rw Rmf > Rw
Salt mud
Fresh mud
(most common)
15

On the following logs, pick the apparently permeable zones.















So, we now have a clean, porous, permeable formation. All we
have to do now is find out what will come out of it.

Water Saturation Calculations

To find out weather pore space will contain water or hydrocarbon,
we need to look at a few of the physical properties of the formation and
the fluids it may contain.
1) Rock does not conduct electricity
2) Hydrocarbon does not conduct electricity
3) Water does conduct electricity

So, to begin looking at what it is in the pore space, we need to look at
what we can measure, the water saturation or Sw. We measure it using
the Archie equation. It can be derived as follows:

Micorinverse
Micronormal
GR
SP
Caliper
Bit Size
0 20
OHMm
16
Consider a cube of water (F = 100%, Sw = 100%). If we measure the
resistance across it, we get a resistivity we will call Rt. If we vary the
resistivity of the water in the cube, the total resistivity of the cube will vary
proportionately.




Rt a Rw

Now, take the cube and put some rock in it. Since rock is an insulator, as
we add rock (decrease F) we increase the total resistivity.





Rt a 1/F

If we replace some of the fluid with hydrocarbon (an insulator) we are
effectively decreasing Sw. Since rock is an insulator, a decrease in Sw
will increase Rt.




Rt a 1/Sw

So if we combine these equations, we get; Rt a Rw * 1/F * 1/Sw
or re-writing it for Sw

Sw a Rw / F Rt
17
Archie did some laboratory work and placed a few constants in the
equation to remove the proportionality and provide a solvable formula.



Where:
Sw = water saturation
Rw = water resistivity
Rt = total resistivity
F = porosity
m = cementation factor
n = saturation exponent
a = constant of proportionality

For basic interpretation, we use a n of 2.
Depending on the formation, we use different values for a & m.
For sands a = .62 m = 2.15
or a = .81 m = 2

For carbonates a = 1 m = 2

So, we know how to find F for this equation, what we need to find is Rt
and Rw.

Resistivty Tools

Resistivity tools are tools that directly or indirectly measure the
resistivity of a formation. Tools that measure this directly are generally
called Laterolog tools, and tools that induce current to flow in the
formation are called Induction tools. The primary constraint for using one
or the other is the mud fluid type. In order to carry current directly to the
formation, we need to have a conductive mud. The more conductive, the


Sw
n
= a * Rw / F
m
* Rt
18
better the readings. If there is not a good conductive path (fresh water,
invert mud system, foam, gas, etc.) than we need to read the resistivity in
another fashion. Since the basic principle of the laterolog (direct current
device) is fairly simple (you measure the resistivity between two
electrodes) we will skip to the Induction device.
The induction device uses a coil to create a magnetic field. The
magnetic field created from current passing through this coil causes
current to flow in the formation in ground loops. These ground loops in
turn create a magnetic field that causes current to flow in a receiver coil in
the tool. Since the strength of the current in the receiver coil is directly
related to how much current is flowing in the formation, and we know how
strong a current was used to create the current flow in the formation, we
can get the resistivity of the formation.

The resistivity of the formation, if read deep enough to eliminate
any effects of the borehole and invasion, is then the Rt in the Archie
equation. Generally, we use the deepest reading of the induction or
laterolog tool to estimate Rt.

The last step, then, is to find the last piece of the Archie equation,
the formation water resistivity (Rw)

Formation Water Resistivity

One of the keys to identifying hydrocarbon in the formation is knowing the
correct water resistivity (Rw). There are a number of ways to find this
number.
One of the most common ways (in Western Canada) is to use the
Formation Water Resistivities Catalogue. This is a compilation of water
resistivities from formations all over the Western Canadian Sedimentary
Basin. To use this, you find the formation you want an Rw for, turn to the
page that the formation is mapped on, and then use the location to find
the Rw. You then need to correct the Rw to the temperature of the
formation you are looking at. To do this, Chart Gen-9 is helpful. First go
to the bottom and mark a vertical line at 25C. Then mark your
19
resistivity from the catalogue on the left hand side (careful with the
scales). The point at which they intersect will be the salinity of the
formation. We use salinity because it is fixed for a given water despite
temperature. Mark another point on the bottom where your formation
temperature is (I.e. 40C) and draw a vertical line. Now take your point
from the Rw catalogue and follow it down the blue lines (constant salinity)
until it intersects the formation temperature line (vertical). Take this point
a draw a line straight to the left edge and read the Rw at your formation
temperature. If you prefer to use a calculator, you can use the equation
R2 = R1 [(T1+21.5)/(T2+21.5)]
where R2 = Rw at formation temperature
R1 = Rw from the water catalogue
T1 = Temperature in water catalogue
T2 = Formation temperature

Another method of finding Rw is by using actual water sample
from the well. Be careful that this reading is at the correct temperature as
well.
One more method can be used if there is a clean, 100% wet zone
present nearby. In this case (using the Archie equation)
Rw = F
m
* Rt



We now know how to pick a clean zone, check for porosity and
permeability, and evaluate it for Hydrocarbon content. In other words, we
now can start do quick look evaluations of Open Hole logs. One thing to
remember, however, is that this is only a quick look method. As seen
through the beginning of this course, many things can affect the logs and
throw the interpretation off. Even so, you now have a place to start from.

The next page summarizes a method of performing quick look
evaluations in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

20
1) Pick out all the zones that are not shale using the GR

2) Use the porosity log to pick the zones in step 1 that are porous
Sandstone - use the density log if possible
- eliminate all zones with <9% porosity
Carbonate - use the neutron and density porosity's
- eliminate all zones with <3% porosity

3) For zones left from step 2, pick the zones that are permeable using
the SP (and / or any of the other methods)

4) From the zones left from step 3, pick out the zones with high
resistivity. These should be your Hydrocarbon bearing zones.

5) We now have our zones of interest. The Neutron and Density (or
neutron/sonic) logs can be used to identify gas zones (cross over).

6) Water Saturation Calculations


for sands Sw = (.62 * Rw)/(F
2.15
* Rt)


for carbonates Sw = (1 * Rw) / (F
2
* Rt)



Quick Look Method for Evaluating Wireline Logs in the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
21
Will it Produce ??


In Sandstones
If Sw > 0.35 Usually no water will be produced; only
hydrocarbon.

If Sw = 0.6 - 1.0 The Zone will produce only water.


In Carbonates with Vugy Porosity
If Sw = 0.1 The zone will produce only hydrocarbon.

If Sw = 0.35 - 1.0 The zone will produce only water.


In Carbonates with Intergranular or Intercrystaline porosity
If Sw < 0.35 Usually no water will be produced; only
hydrocarbon.

If Sw = 0.60 - 1.0 The zone will produce only water.