SPE

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 20573

Workstation-Based Fracture Evaluation Using Borehole Images

and Wireline Logs
P.S-Y. Cheung, * Etudes et Productions Schlumberger, and D. Heliot,
Schlumberger Well Services
'SPE Member

Copyright 1990, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation althe 65th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held in New Orleans, LA, September 23-26, 1990.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
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of where and by whom the paper is presented, Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ever, one must overcome a serious problem of processing and

Abstract
Wireline images and logs can be processed effectively to derive
quantitative information relating to fracture orientation, den-
sity, aperture and porosity. A methodology based on analyses
at the levels of individual fractures and fracture sets is pre-
sented. A program has been implemented on a workstation
allowing a flexible blend of expert-user input and machine
processing power.
Introduction
In recent years, there have been important advances in the
evaluation of fractures using wireline logs. Two of the major
developments are : 1) the extensive availability of imaging
tools, and 2) techniques to estimate fracture aperture. These
developments have enabled fracture evaluation from logs to
progress beyond fracture detection to a quantitative process.
Imaging of the borehole wall is achieved using either ultra-
sonic! or electrical 2 scanning methods. Images allow frac-
tures intersecting the borehole wall to be 'directly' observed.
Consequently, fracture detection becomes a much less am-
biguous process, and in principle, important statistics such
as fracture count, orientation and spacing can be obtained.
Other information which are evident from images, such as the
shape of fractures, their relation to bedding, and the direc-
tion of borehole elongation, also contribute towards a better
understanding of the fracture system.
For the estimation of fracture aperture, several techniques us-
ing the response of resistivity logs 3, the reflection4 of Stoneley
waves, and the electrical scanner response itselrs, have been
proposed. These allow, for example, the producibility and
porosity of the fractures to be assessed.
integration which arises from the quantity and diversity of the
information contained in the logs, especially the images. In
this paper, we demonstrate that this problem can be tackled
effectively using a computer workstation. We shall present
the methodology and illustrative examples. Mathematical
formulae and algorithms are given in the appendices.
The problem of extrapolating measurements made on small
samples (the volume close to the borehole in the case of wire-
line measurements) to the fracture system as a whole, is be-
yond the scope of this paper. The quantitative data obtained
from wireline images and logs can however serve as input
for methods such as that proposed recently by Howard and
Nolen-Hoeksema6 .
Methodology
We have adopted a methodology which consists of three main
steps:
Characterization of individual fractures,
Classification of fractures into sets, and,
Output of fracture logs.
In the first step, the attributes of individual fractures are de-
termined from the log responses. In the second, the statistical
properties of the fracture population are ascertained. Both
steps require extensive data manipulation, which is provided
by the computer program, and judgements of interpretation,
which are input by the user. The information generated by
these two steps may be summarized, if desired, in the form
of logs giving, for example, the fracture density, porosity, etc.
for each fracture set.

To fully exploit these developments on a routine basis, how- Inputs into the process requires at the minimum a borehole

465
 WORKSTATION-BASED FRACTURE EVALUATION USING BOREHOLE
2 IMAGES AND WIRELINE LOGS
image. We assume for the remaining discussion that an elec-
trical scanner image is available since this allows the fracture
aperture to be estimated. Other logs and information are
brought into the analysis as required.
Characterization of Individual Fractures
First, fractures are picked on an image, as shown in Fig.la.
On an electrical scanner image, fractures appear as conduc-
tive or resistive anomalies according to whether they are filled
with conductive or resistive material. Open fractures invaded
by drilling mud usually appear as conductive. The user lo-
cates a fracture either by overlaying the trace with a template
sinewave (this being the intersection of a planar fracture with
a cy [jTldrical borehole, when unfolded onto a flat surface), or
by entering a series of points to mark out fractures which
are not well-represented by a sinewave (non-planar, strata-
bounded etc.) The computer program then refines the trace
by tracking the path of maximum conductivity or resistivity
in order to obtain an objective and detailed determination of
the trace geometry (Appendix A).
If the fracture can be assumed to be filled with conductive
mud, the local aperture of the fracture along the trace is com-
puted, using the method developed by Luthi and Souhaite 5
(Appendix B). The aperture information may then be dis-
played by color-coding the trace according to local aperture,
as shown in Fig.lb.
A fracture record is generated automatically by the program,
giving the geometrical and aperture information for the frac-
ture as indicated in Fig.2. The trace is fitted to a plane and
its dip, azimuth and planarity index (Appendix C) are com-
puted. The orientation is given in three coordinate systems,
relative to the earth, the borehole and a user-defined refer-
ence, for example, the local bedding. The planarity index
allows the trace to be classified as planar or otherwise. Aver-
aging the local aperture gives the simple- and hydraulic-mean
apertures of the fracture (Appendix D). In addition, the re-
sponse of the caliper, sonic and laterologs in the vicinity of
the fracture are noted when available. Hole condition is de-
termined from caliper data (Appendix E). On the ha.sis of
the above information and information obtained elsewhere,
the user may classify or interpret the fracture as natural or
borehole-induced, associated with a fault, etc.
The fractures picked can be displayed in a Well Overview dis-
play, with other logs plotted alongside (Fig.3). Production
logs indicate directly the fractures which produce. Laterolog
response 3 and Stoneley wave reflectivity 4 have been proposed
as means to estimate fracture aperture. These logs comple-
ment the information obtained from images because they look
deeper into the formation: up to 1 m for the laterologs, and
about 0.5 m for the Stoneley wave. Fracture aperture and
porosity derived from scanner images alone should be treated
with care owing to the shallow depth of investigation of the
tool. In Fig.3, the separation of the laterolg deep and shal-
low indicates vertical fractures extending at least 1 m into the
formation. On the other hand, the laterolog curves do not
have the vertical resolution to see individual fractures and
appear in Fig.3 to respond to the fracture density.
Three dimensional displays provide views of the fracture traces
to clarify fracture geometry (Fig.9).
466
SPE 20573
Classification of Fractures into Sets
Once individual fractures have been characterized, the frac-
ture population is analysed in terms of fracture sets. Conven-
tionally, a fracture set is taken to mean fractures which have
the same orientation. Here, we broaden the meaning of 'set'
to include classifications based on other criteria, i.e. it will
be possible to make 'the set of borehole-induced fractures',
'the set of fractures with aperture exceeding 1 mm', etc.
Set records, as shown for example in Fig.4, can be created
by the user. Fractures are then selected for inclusion into the
sets by several means.
The Stereonet display allows fractures to be classified on the
basis of their orientation (Fig.5). On the display, fractures are
selected graphically by a cursor and placed into the required
set(s).
In the Well Overview display, fracture attributes such as dip,
azimuth, aperture or planarity index, can be plotted against
depth (Fig.3). This allows fractures to be classified by depth
and/or the displayed attribute, with the aid of any relevant
log plotted alongside.
For each set, pertinent statistics are computed (Fig.4 and
Appendix F).
Fracture Logs
Finally, the program computes fracture density, fracture trace
length, fracture aperture and apparent fracture porosity logs
(Appendix G), either on all fractures or only those in a given
set (Fig.6).
This latter feature enables induced fractures or the natural
fractures that are not connected to the effective fracture net-
work to be excluded, for example, from the porosity compu-
tation.
Note that the meaning of fracture porosity in the small vol-
ume investigated by a logging tool is not at all clear. A
pragmatic approach is adopted here that should provide an
order of magnitude estimate (Appendix G).
Examples
In this section we present the results obtained on two exam-
ples. Depths and orientation information have been altered
for reasons of confidentiality.
Example 1 : Strata-bounded Fractures
~'ig. J shows electrical scanner images of a well in the Mid-
dle East. The well was drilled in a complex structure, in-
cluding a large-scale roll-over, some associated normal faults
and slumps. Thin conductive beds (marl) and some strata-
bounded fractures are observed. Both the bedding planes
and the fractures were picked and classified into two different
sets.
SPE 20573 P.S.Y. CHEUNG AND D. HELIOT
The average aperture of the strata-bounded fractures, as com-
puted from the electrical scanner image, was found to be 0.05
mm and the fraction porosity at less than 0.1 per cent. The
well does not flow.
The relative orientation of the fractures was computed with
respect to the local bedding. Fig.7 shows the stereonets be-
fore (a) and after (b) this dip removal. The fractures are
observed to be perpendicular to bedding. Furthermore, the
bedding dips fit closely to a great circle with a pole at N205E
88N, as can be observed from Fig.7a. This has been interpre-
tated in terms of a roll-over oriented at N115E. After dip
removal, the average fracture azimuth is Nl2lE, which is
practically the same as the roll-over orientation.
Example 2 : Horizontal Well
Horizontal wells are often drilled perpendicular to presumed
fracture orientation in order to intersect and drain the max-
imum possible number of fractures. Electrical scanning has
provided usable and essential data in such wells 7 .
Fig.8 shows the scanner image of an horizontal well in South
Texas. The local coordinates used to display the borehole
wall images refers to the 'Top-of-Hole' as zero, since North
is ill-defined in a horizontal well. The apparently low dip
features observed are in fact vertical fractures intersecting
the borehole at about 20 degrees. The feature running along
the top-of-hole is a borehole/drilling induced failure which
is not reproduced at bottom-of-hole. The template sinewave
was used to pick the fractures in the interval of interest.
Fig.9 shows a 3D view of the fractures picked in a 4-ft thick
interval. Note that the low dip fractures in the scanner image
(Fig.8) become nearly vertical in true reference. The well
was oriented N112E, only about 20 degrees from the mean
fracture azimuth at N133E. Future wells should be drilled at
N133E to cross the maximum number of fractures. In this
case, the fracture density would increase by a small factor of
co;2iJ = 1.07.
From the electrical scanner images, we computed an average
fracture aperture of the order of 0.5 mm and a fracture poros-
ity of about one per cent. The well in fact produces entirely
through the fractures.
Conclusions
A workstation-based computer program for fracture evalua-
tion has been presented. It attempts to simplify the complex
task of fracture evaluation by providing a number of inter-
active displays to allow a user to pick and classify fractures,
to examine associated log data, and to output quantitative
data abstracted from images and logs as 'fracture logs'. Rel-
evant parameters and statistics are computed automatically
by the program, but complex decisions of interpreLation <1nd
classification are left to the user.
In the two examples, the computer program is shown to be
a flexible tool to provide useful information in different geo-
logical and economic environments.
467
Acknowledgement
We wish to thank the oil companies for permission to use their
data and Pierre Delfiner for many suggestions to improve the
mil.Iluscript.
References
1. Zemanek, J., Caldwell, R..L., Glenn, E.E., Holcolmb,
S.V., Norton, L.J., Straus, A.J.D., "The Borehole Tele-
viewer - a New Logging Concept for Fracture Location
and Other Types of Borehole Inspection" : Journal of
Petroleum Technology, 1969, vol 21, pp 762-774.
2. Ekstrom, M.P., Dahan, C.A., Chen, M.Y., Lloyd, P.M.,
Rossi, D.J., "Formation Imaging with Microelectrical
Scanning Arrays" : Transaction of the SPWLA 27 th
Annual Logging Symposium, 1986, Houston, paper BB.
3. Sibbit, A. M., Faivre, 0., "The Dual Laterolog Re-
sponse in Fractured Rock" : Transaction of the SP-
WLA 26 th Annual Logging Symposium, 1985, Dallas,
paper T.
4. Hornby, B. E., Johnson, D. L., Winkler, K. W., Plumb,
R.A., "Fracture Evaluation using reflected Stoneley-
wave arrivals" : Geophysics, 1986, vol 54, pp 1274-1288.
5. Luthi, S., Souhaite, P., "Fracture aperture from elec-
trical borehole scans" : Geophysics, 1990, vol 55, no 7
(July issue).
6. Howard, J.H., Nolen-Hoeksema, R.C., "Description of
Natural Fracture Systems for Quantitative Use in Pe-
troleum Geology" : AAPG Bulletin, 1990, vol 74, No
2, pp 151-162.
7. Stang, C. W., " Alternative electronic logging technique
locates fractures in Austin Chalk horizontal well" : Oil
Gas J., 1989, vol 87, No 45, pp 42-45.
Nomenclature for Appendices
hydraulic mean aperture of fracture segments
located sampling interval
mean aperture of fracture segments located
sampling interval
local aperture of segment j of a fracture
trace
hydraulic mean aperture of a fracture trace
mean aperture of a fracture trace
c fraction of borehole covered by scanning tool
apparent fracture density (# / unit length)
fracture density corrected for apparent dip
(# / unit length)
FI fracture length per unit area of borehole wall
<P cost function to refine trace
<PI apparent fracture porosity
II sampling interval (along borehole)
L,u () 5-function indicating if fracture i is inside
sampling interval at depth z
 WORKSTATION-BASED FRACTURE EVALUATION USING BOREHOLE
4 IMAG ES AND WIRELINE LOGS SPE 20573

Jz,HU) a-function indicating if fracture segment j is

lj
inside sampling interval at depth z
length of segment j of a fracture trace
<I>(path) =!
path
m
I1 dl (1)

"\1,2,3 eigenvalues of matrix XX T or RRT where 11 denotes the resistivity value, 1 the length
M number of fractures in a set of the path and m a coefficient which is set by ex-
m exponent of resistivity in cost function <I> periment to achieve the best compromise between
N number of points in fracture trace minimum resistivity and minimum trace length.
nil number of divisions in trace refinement grid
in direction along fracture trace This first method is fast, but in cases of intersecting
nJ. number of divisions in trace refinement grid fractures and/or heterogenous background, the refined
in direction perpendicular to fracture trace path may be excessively tortuous, following every resis-
Q planarity index tivity low which mayor may not be part of the frac-
11 resistivity ture trace. The second method is slower but gives a
R the 3 x M matrix [r1,r2, ... ,rM] straighter path which may follow more closely the frac-
ri orientational vector of fracture i ture.
p borehole radius
S fracture spacing
811 trace refinement grid-size in direction
along fracture trace
Appendix B: Fracture Aperture
8J. trace refinement grid-size in direction
perpendicular to fracture trace The fracture aperture may be computed from the electrical
()i apparent dip of fracture i scanner sensor response if the conductivity of the fluid filling
(j mean apparent dip of fractures the fracture is much higher than the conductivity of the sur-
111,2,3 eigenvectors of matrix X X T or RR T rounding rock. This condition is achieved when the fracture
X the 3 x N matrix [Xl,X2, ... ,XN] is invaded by conductive drilling fluid.
Xj positional vector of point j of fracture trace
X' positional vector of point j of fracture trace The fracture trace is approximated by a polyline according to
J
relative to centroid of trace the method described in Appendix A. The aperture of each
Xg positional vector of centroid of fracture trace segment is estimated by computing the integral of the scan-
Zmin minumum depth of fractured interval ner button current in excess of the current in the unfractured
Znul.x maximum depth of fractured interval background along a line through the segment in a direction
Z depth perpendicular to it. Numerical modeling results 5 have shown
that whereas the peak current and the width of the profile are
affected by the button size and the standoff of the tool pad
Appendix A: Fracture Trace Refinement from the formation (mudcake thickness), the excess current
integral depends only on the fracture aperture and the the re-
The following algorithm refines a trial trace entered by the sistivities of the unfractured rock and the fracture fluid. The
user, to obtain an objective determination of trace geometry. rock resistivity is measured by the scanner and the fracture
In the program, a trace will be approximated by a polyline fluid may be assumed to be mud. Thus the fracture aperture
of short segments. is obtained.

1. A path grid, which defines the points through which the

refined trace is allowed to pass, is superimposed on the Appendix C: Determination of Fracture Plane
trial trace. It contains nil and nJ. divisions respectively and Planarity Index
in the directions parallel and normal to the trial trace,
with respective step-sizes of 811 and 81.' 8J. is set to Best-fit Plane
2.5 mm (about a sensor button diameter) and n1. to
8, allowing the refined path to deviate up to 10 mID
to either side of the trial trace. nil is set such that The fracture trace is described as a sequence of points Xj (j
the length of the trial trace is subdivided into steps of = 1,2, ... ,N)on the borehole wall. The plane that best-fits
approximately three button widths (i.e. 811 :::7.5 mm), this distribution of points passes through the centroid x g :
which is the minimum length for which a meaningful
aperture can be computed.

2. The path of minimum resistivity, going from one side

(2)
of the path grid to the opposite side by traversing each
of the nil rows in turn, is found using one of the two
Let xj denote the coordinates of the points with reference to
following methods: x g:
(a) At each row, select the column node of minimum
resistivity.
xj = Xj - xg (3)
(b) Use a dynamic programming scheme to minimize
over the entire path, a cost function <I>(path) such and let X be the 3 x N matrix:
as:

468
SPE 20573 P.S.Y. CHEUNG AND D. HELIOT
(4)
The symmetric matrix XX T yields eigenvalues >'1, >'2, >'3,
(with >'1 2': >'2 2': >'3) and corresponding eigenvectors Ul, U2,
113 .
Now, the eigenvectors are the principal axes of the distribu-
tion of the points about their centroid and the eigenvalues
are the mean square deviation along each axis. Thus the
eigenvector U3 corresponding to >'3 is the vector normal to
the best-fit plane.
Planarity Index
The condition for a planar distribution is simply that its
thickness is much smaller than the smaller of its other two
dimensions, i.e.
(5)
We can therefore define a planarity index (essentially an as-
pect ratio) as :
(6)
In other words, Q is the inverse ratio of the thickness of the
distribution to the smaller of its other two dimensions. It
varies from 1 for an ill-defined plane to infinity for a perfect
plane. A Q of 10, for example, would correspond to a mod-
erately good planar distribution. On the other hand, a linear
distribution, which fits a plane very well (in fact a large num-
ber of planes equally well) would give a Q close to 1, since in
this case, >'1 >'2 ~ >'3. This occurs, for example, when a
vertical trace is picked on only one pad of the scanner tool.
Appendix D: Mean Fracture Aperture
Fracture traces are described as series of small segments of
length I j with apertures aj according to appendices A and B.
The aperture of a fracture is then characterized by two mean
values computed over the trace segments j:
1. The simple mean:
(7)
2. The hydraulic mean:
(8)
The hydraulic aperture ah accounts for the well-known cu-
bic relationship between aperture and flow rate between two
parallel plates.
469
5
Appendix E: Hole Condition from Caliper Data
The hole conditions in the vicinity of each fracture is deter-
mined from the behavior of the caliper logs. One or more of
the following hole conditions may apply:
"Normal": The hole is circular. Its diameter com-
pares with the bit size.
"Enlarged": The hole diameter is bigger than the bit
SIze.
"Washout": The hole diameter is much bigger than
the bit size, generally as a result of abrasion.
"Ovalized": The hole is not circular, but elongated.
"Breakout": The hole is ovalised as a result of shear
failure at the wellbore. In such a case, the transition
from normal to ovalised condition is sharp.
Since the caliper data consist of only two hole-diameter read-
ings, in perpendicular directions, only an estimate the hole
condition can be made. Briefly, the conditions listed above
are flagged by setting thresholds to the difference between the
calipers and nominal hole size, the difference between the two
calipers, and the rate of change of each caliper with respect
to depth.
Note that breakouts narrower than the pads of the scanner
will not be registered by the calipers although they may still
appear as conductive anomalies on the scanner images.
Appendix F: Fracture Set Statistics
Great Circle, Mean dip and Azimuth
Let the M fractures belonging to the set be represented by M
points ri on the unit hemisphere S+ = {(x, y, z)lx 2+y2 +z2 =
1, z ? OJ. Let R be the 3 x M matrix:
(9)
The symmetric matrix RR T yields eigenvalues >'1, >'2, >'3,
(with >'1 ? >'2 ? >'3) and corresponding eigenvectors Ul, U2,
U3. Then
iiI is the mean orientation. It yields the mean azimuth
and the mean dip of the set.
U3 is the pole of the best great circle.
Mean Length, Mean Aperture and Mean Hydraulic
Aperture
These are computed as simple means of the correponding
fracture attributes.
 WORKSTATION-BASED FRACTURE EVALUATION USING BOREHOLE
6 IMAGES AND WIRELINE LOGS SPE 20573

Spacing (12)

For a set of nearly parallel fractures, it is possible to compute
the average fracture spacing.
Let Zmin and Zmax be the upper and lower bounds of the
fractured interval. Let 1J denote the mean apparent dip of
the fractures. The fracture spacing S is simply estimated as:
where 0i is the apparent dip of fracture i.
Although the fracture density Dc is corrected for the orien-
tation bias, it still depends on the borehole size 2R and the
window height f{.

M
S = -,------:--~ (10) Fracture Trace Length Fl
(Zmux - Zmin) cosO

The fracture trace length Fl is the cumulated fracture trace

length seen per unit area of borehole wall.

(13)
Appendix G: Fracture Logs

Fracture logs are computed for either all fractures or those

belonging to a specified set. Mean Fracture Aperture Am

The mean fracture aperture Am is the mean value of fracture

Notation trace aperture averaged over an interval of heigth f{.

The borehole is assumed to be a circular cylinder of radius p.

f{ is the height of the sliding window over which the values (14)
are computed. C denotes the borehole wall coverage as a
fraction.

Fracture traces are approximated as series of small segments Hydraulic Fracture Aperture Ah
such that the i h segment has length l j and aperture aj.
The mean hydraulic fracture aperture A h is the cube root
Let Iz,H be the function defined for any fracture i by: of the cube of the fracture trace aperture summed over an
interval of heigth H.
1 if the fracture i lies within an interval of
Iz,H(i) = height f{ centered at depth z.
1
o otherwise (15)

Likewise, for any fracture trace segment j, define Jz,H by :

Apparent Fracture Porosity 1>/
if the trace segment j lies within an
interval of height f{ centered at depth z. The concept of fracture porosity is valid only in a large vol-
otherwise ume containing many fractures. In the small volume sampled
by a logging tool it is impossible to devise a measure of frac-
ture porosity that is not biased by fracture orientation, the
Apparent Fracture Density D a borehole size or the sampling window H. In the following, a
rough and ready approach is adopted that provides an order
The raw fracture density D a is the total number of fractures of magnitude estimation.
observed per unit length of borehole inside an interval of
heigth H along the hole. In the program, an apparent fracture porosity 1>/ is computed
as the ratio of two areas: the apparent area of fractures as
seen on the borehole wall, and the area of the borehole wall
Da(z) =~L Iz,H(i) (11) covered by the image.
,
(16)
Corrected Fracture Density Dc
This is strictly a 2D formula that makes no assumption about
the fracture aperture away from the borehole or in the volume
The corrected fracture density Dc is the number of fractures drilled away. An approach taking into account 3D geometry
seen per unit length inside an interval of heigth H, corrected is deemed unjustified since it would require assumptions of
for the orientation bias (i.e. the angle between each planar fracture aperture and shape, involve complicated computa-
fracture and the borehole axis). tions for non-planar, or truncated fractures, and still suffer
from the sampling bias noted above.

470
 SPE 20573

Azimuthal Image
1.
o 90 180 270 (111m)
.3 .03 .003

xx314

xx315

a) 10.00 lnnO .on

Figul'(.l 1. Strat.a-bounded Fractures (ExaIllple 1). J~lectric scanner image (a) showing 0.10 o nn un (OIllOO-1)
.00 1000.00
rr<lc1.llrp~ bounded by strata of thin conductiv<, beds. Fracture traces picked by user and refined
Mean Apert ure (lIM) us (0l00I)
by' program color coded according to amplitude (1)). (Conductive beds are colored black.)
a
!< ~
a
a a ,
XX460 a
)

'I
~
a <;......
~
-~
.... '"
XX480
r( ......
~
Name: F44 Interpretation :
a
a I(

[I
Created Man 5 Feb 1990 @ 10: 26 o Boreho 1e ; nduced a
Revised Wed 6 Jun 1990 @ 17:47 o Breakout
Depth
Len9th
XX292.53 to XX293.38 (ft)
3.03 (ft) Coverage 54 %
o
o
Shear fail ure
Tension gash
"
a
Orientation True Apparent NORTH/TOH Re 1at i ve XX500 I!l
Dip 59.76 60.36 87.88 o Natural

~
a
Azimuth 87.66 87.95 I 215.50 91.28 o Fault
Quality Index 10 o Bed
(mean) 0.188 (hydraul ; c) (mm)
FMS Aperture 0.100 o Conduct; ve bed ~

((
a
ORes; st; ve bed a
Shape: Hole Condition Sonic: Oll :
o
~
Oil" Planar >tNormal o Stron9 o Strong Vert i ca 1
o o a
o En eche 11 on 0 En 1arged o Weak Weak Vert; ca 1
o c :
o Non-planar 0 Oval ;sed o No response 0 Strong Her; zonta 1 0 XX520
a )
o Unknown 0 'Washout Oil" No da ta 0 Weak Hor i zonta 1 0
o Breakout o No response o a
a '\
a
o a
o No data Oil" No data
a
(Show] [Recomputel [Redefinel [Restore) (Save) [Quit) ~
a

ji'igl11'(' 2. Fr.aet.ul'P R(~(:ord. COlJlputPr scrPPI1 showing Lht:, information stored for e.ac:h ffa-duf('
ill 'Hldil.iol1 to its tran' and locnl ap{'r1.11J'(' (Fig.' h). The interpretation is sele<:ted hy the USN.
TIl(l rNIpfjlJp hutton allows tIw llser 1;0 alter the interpretation checklisL. The recompnte button
rcqIH's1,s I'Pcomputation of resul1.s wit.h new parameters.
a /
Ji'i~lIr(, 3. Well Ovprvj(,w Display. A fraduH' atLribut.(' (wean
cll)(II'hlrt') is n'o:'isplotted against dept.h. Th<-, latNolog dcpp and
shallow ar(" plotted a.longside. These curves :'ieparaL(' opposite V(,f-
1.ical fril,cl.ufps E'xtendingat. leas1 I. tIl into tIl(' formation. (Unn'-
lal,(,d t.o other examplet:i shown).

471
 SPE 20573

Wu 1 ff Stereonet
(Upper Helli sphere)
Name: Natura 1 Fractures
Ref : True
Created Mon 5 Feb 1990 11:24 231' samples
Rev; sed ~ed 7 Mar 1990 11:23
A Strata-bounded
NlIIIber of fractures 191 .. Bedding
Statistics up-ta-date NO a : A11 others
Orientation True Apparent NDRTHlTDII Relative
Mean Dip 55.1 56.4 / 56.1 89.3
Mean Azimuth 129.4 129.3/ 252.3 121.3
Great Circle Dip 54.9 53.3 / 50.8 22.7
Great Ci rc 1e Azimuth 10.0 9.6 / 129.0 29.7

Max / Min Depth XX349.57 to XX205.17 (ft)

Mean Length 2.43 (ft)
Mean Spacing 0.80 (ft)
Mean Aperture 0.077 (mm)
Mean Hydraul;c Aperture 0.150 (mm)
Bedding
Display Colour o Red 0 Ye 11 ow !iii' Green 0 Cyan 0 B' ue 0 Magenta Exc 1ude from S8
Mean Ori entati on
Display Symbol !iil'O DO oX 06 dc> o'il O<J Great Circle >(>-

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Figlll'(, 4. Frad,urp Sf~t R,('('on{. Computer :iC!'('en ~howillg til(' informa- Figur<' 5. St"reonet Display. The fractures selected from the set of 'All
tioll :-,!.on'd 1'01' ('i-l('h I"radure spL The' rpcompuL(' hUt.tOil rcqlle~ts recompu- (eJl!argt'd squares) are being added t.o the 8et of ~Fra.ct,ures'. (N.B.
01.11<'1"'<';'
tation 01" ]'('Slllt:-; v'lhen frad,u["es ha.ve IH'PIl add('<! or removed from the set. til<' ("('tlLN of \.11<' ~tereon(,'t corT(,spollds 1,0 I';('!'O clip.)

Apparent OenlIlty
-~--~~--
Trace L.,gth
~-----
.........
-------
Fr~ePorosity

(It by ttxft of wei) ,%)

o 20.00 o 10,0

300
Vi
+-~+--;-'
!

--+-4 L f-
i
i I
!! I
i
'Ii
Ii!
i 'I'
I,
IiIi 1:1',1:
,
i

320

i
=-;,-f-+!i --+- "------' ~~
!
,:
, :
'340

~ _. !
- j __ J_--!__ ~'--r---l

J
,:
(fT~etwe/ft) eft by ttxtt of wal) ,~)
(%)
o 20.00 0 10.0 0.5
- -

Tr~<:e length
'ppM'"''''"''''.
Fi,1!;ll],(' 6. Fra<,tllr(' Lo~s. An ex<ullph' of I"radlH(, logs of appan'nt. dellRity. trace !enRth, ap('rl,uJ'('
,lIH! ['raclni'{- poro:iiLy. (lInH'lat,('d to otlH'r ('xaJllp](,:i :ihowlJ).

472
 N Wulff Stereonet
(Upper Hemisphere)
Ref: True
~ 231 samples ~

v Bedding
.0.. Fracture

'--t--.t---k--+-+---4-+ E

s
Figure 7a. Dip Removal (Example 1). Stereonet displays showing
true orientation of fractures and beds. (N.B. the center of the stereonet
corresponds to zero dip.)

N Wulff Stereonet
(Upper Hemisphere)
Ref: Relative
~ 231 samples ~

V Bedding
.0.. Fracture

s
Figure 7b. Dip Removal (Example 1). Stereonet displays showing
orientation of fractures and beds relative to bedding.

473
 SPE 20573

X8Hl

X812

X814

Figure 8. Horizontal Well Figure 9. 3D View (Example 2) A

(Example 2). Electrical scan- :~D perspective view of a 4-ft section of a
ner image showing section of a horizontal well. The vertical fractures are
horizontal well. Low dip (appar- observed to intersect the borehole axis at
ent) events are in fact vertical about 20 degrees.
fractures intersecting the bore-
hole axis at about 20 degrees.
The feature running along the
top-of-hole is a borehole/drilling
induced failure which is not re-
produced at bottom-of-hole.

474