VIETNAM OIL & GAS GROUP

PETROVIETNAM UNIVERSITY

BASIC CONCEPTS

Lecturer : Nguyen Viet Khoi Nguyen, MSc.

Email : [email protected]
Website : www.pvu.edu.vn
 Outline

1. Introduction
2. Porosity
3. Permeability
4. Water Saturation
5. Lithology
6. Other Properties
7. Summary

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 Introduction

Nguyen Viet Khoi Nguyen, MSc. Formation Evaluation 3

 Introduction

❖ Discuss how different log types measure various

properties in the wellbore and surrounding
formations, what factors affect these
measurements, where on a standard log display a
particular curve is recorded, and how interpreted
information is obtained from the logs using both
charts and mathematical formulas

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 Introduction

❖ Spontaneous Potential (SP) and Gamma Ray (GR)

logs are used to correlate and interpret the gross
lithology (the distinction between reservoir and
nonreservoir).
❖ Next, the porosity logs are used (i.e., sonic, density,
neutron logs)
❖ Then, the resistivity logs are covered
❖ Although the nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR)
logs provide porosity, they are presented after
resistivity logs
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 Introduction

❖ Besides the traditional methods were used in

exploration to correlate zones and to assist with
structure and isopach mapping, logs help define
physical rock characteristics (lithology, porosity,
pore geometry and permeability)

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 Introduction

❖ Logging data are used to:

▪ Identify productive zones
▪ Determine depth and thickness of zones
▪ Distinguish between oil, gas or water in reservoir
▪ Estimate HC reserves

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 Introduction

❖ The two primary parameters determined from well

log measurements are:
▪ Porosity
▪ Fraction of pore space filled with HC (i.e., HC saturation)
❖ The parameters of log interpretation are
determined directly or indirectly and are measured
by one of three general types of logs:
▪ Electrical
▪ Nuclear
▪ Acoustic or Sonic Logs

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 Introduction

❖ Rock properties or characteristics that affect

logging measurements are:
▪ Porosity
▪ Lithology
▪ Mineralogy
▪ Permeability
▪ Water Saturation

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 Porosity

❖ Porosity can be defined as the ratio of voids to the total

volume of rock, it is represented as a decimal fraction
or as a percentage

Vb − Vs V p
= =
Vb Vb
▪  – Porosity
▪ Vs – Volume of solids
▪ Vb – Volume of bulk rock
▪ Vp – Volume of pore

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 Porosity
❖ Effective porosity

Interconnected Pore Space

e =
Bulk Volume

Rock matrix Pore space

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 Porosity
❖ Effective porosity

Interconnected Pores + Cul -de-sac Pores

e =
Bulk Volume

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 Porosity

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 Porosity
❖ Porosity may be measured by a variety of methods,
including:
▪ Borehole gravimetrics
▪ Wireline logging
▪ Core analysis

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 Permeability

❖ Permeability is the ability of rock to transmit fluids.

❖ Absolute permeability is the ability of rock to
transmit a single fluid, when it is completely
saturated with that fluid
❖ Effective permeability refers to the ability of the rock
to transmit one fluid in the presence of another fluid
when the two fluids are immiscible
❖ Relative permeability is the ratio between effective
permeability of a fluid at partial saturation and the
permeability at 100% saturation.
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 Permeability

❖ Relative permeability:
▪ Oil keo
kro =
k
▪ Water kew
krw =
k

▪ Gas keg
krg =
k
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 Permeability

❖ Sources of permeability measurement:

▪ Well test: The most accurate method of measuring the
permeability of a formation.
▪ Wireline logs: There is no direct measurement of k but there
are certain empirical relationships
▪ MDT (Modular Formation Dynamics Tester) tests: The MDT
tool is a wireline tool which has a probe which pushes against
the borehole wall. Formation fluid flows into the tool and
drawdown pressure and recovery time is measured.
▪ Laboratory measurements on rocks: Conventional cores,
sidewall cores, or field samples may be analyzed in the lab.
▪ NMR

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 Permeability

❖ The relationship between permeability and porosity

on rock type.
❖ In general, the log of permeability is linear with
porosity for a given rock type.

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 Permeability

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 Permeability

 3
k = ( const ) d 2

(1 −  )
2

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 Permeability

❖ As with porosity, there are many ways to estimate

permeability:
▪ Pressure buildup from DST
▪ Pressure drawdown and buildup from wireline formation
testers
▪ Log analysis
▪ Core analysis

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 Permeability

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 Water Saturation

❖ Water saturation is the amount of pore volume in a

rock that is occupied by formation water. It is
represented as a decimal fraction or as percentage
and has the symbol Sw.

Formation water occupying pores Vwater

Sw = =
Total pore space in the rock V pore

S HC = 1 − S w

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 Water Saturation

❖ Archie’s equation:

1
 a  Rw  n
Sw =  m 
 Rt   
▪ a – Tortuosity factor
▪ Rw – Resistivity of formation water (m)
▪ Rt – Resistivity of formation (m)
▪  – Porosity (%)
▪ m – Cementation factor
▪ n – Saturation factor

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 Water Saturation
❖ Archie’s equation:

Ro
Rw =
F
a
F=
m

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 Water Saturation
a: Tortousity m: Cementation
Comments
factor factor
1.0 2.0 Carbonates*

0.81 2.0 Consolidated sandstones*

0.62 2.15 Unconsolidated sands (Humble formula)*

1.45 1.54 Average sands (after Carothers, 1968)

1.65 1.33 Shaly sands (after Carothers, 1968)

1.45 1.70 Calcareous sands (after Carothers, 1968)

0.85 2.14 Carbonates (after Carothers, 1968)

Pliocene sands, southern California (after
2.45 1.08
Carothers and Porter, 1970)
Miocene sands, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast
1.97 1.29
(Carothers and Porter, 1970)
1.0 (2.05-) Clean granular formations (after Sethi, 1979)
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 Water Saturation

❖ Exercise: Given the following reservoir data:

▪ Bulk Volume Vb.
▪ Porosity 
▪ Water Saturation Sw.

▪ Determine Pore volume occupied by water

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 Lithology and Mineralogy

❖ The terms lithology and mineralogy are used with

some ambiguity
❖ In the early days of log interpretation, lithology is
often used to sufficient describe the solid (matrix)
portion of rock, generally in the context of a
description of the primary mineralogy of the rock
▪ Sandstone as a description of a rock composed primarily
of quartz grains
▪ Limestone composed primarily of calcium carbonate

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 Lithology and Mineralogy

❖ With the improved understanding of the constitution

of the solid part of the formations of interest, the
determination of mineralogy instead of lithology
❖ However, some measurements are made as the
results of molecular-level interactions between the
formation and the logging tool might be considered
as being affected by the formation’s mineralogy (as
nuclear). And others, like acoustic measurements,
interact with the formation on a bulk or framework
level could be more affected by lithology.
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 Other Properties

❖ Resistivity is the rock property on which the

entire science of logging first developed.
▪ It is a basic measurement of a reservoir’s fluid
saturation and is the function of porosity, type of
fluid (i.e., HC, salt water of fresh water), amount
of fluid and type of rock
▪ Resistivity is measured by electric logs,
commonly known as laterologs and induction
logs

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 Other Properties

❖ Hole Diameter (dh) is determined by the

outside of the drill bit. But the hole diameter
may be:
▪ Larger than the bit size because of washout
and/or collapse of shale and poorly cemented
porous rocks
▪ Smaller than the bit size because of the buildup
of mud cake on porous and permeable
formations (What is mud cake?)

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 Other Properties

❖ The common
size of
borehole
normally vary
from 7 7Τ8 in. to
12 in. The hole
diameter is
measured by a
caliper log.

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 Other Properties

❖ Drilling mud Resistivity (Rm)

▪ Many of solid particles (clay minerals) are
trapped on the side of the borehole and form
mud cake and have a resistivity of Rmc.
▪ Fluid that filters into the formation during invasion
is called mud filtrate with a resistivity of Rmf.

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 Other Properties

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 Other Properties

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 Other Properties

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 Other Properties

❖ Formation Temperature (Tf) is important in log

analysis because the resistivities of the drilling mud
(Rm), the mud filtrate (Rmf) and the formation
water (Rw) vary with temperature. The temperature
of a formation is determined by knowing:
▪ Formation Depth
▪ Bottom Hole Temperature (BHT)
▪ Total Depth of well (TD)
▪ Surface Temperature

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 Other Properties

❖ Formation Temperature (Tf) is determined by:

▪ Linear Regression Equation
y = mx + c

− x: Depth
− y: Temperature
− m: Slope (In this case, it is the geothermal gradient)
− c: Constant (In this case, it is the mean annual surface temperature)

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 Other Properties

▪ Chart

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 Other Properties

▪ Exercise:
Given
− Surface temperature = 600F
− Bottom hole temperature = 2200F
− Total depth = 17,000ft
− Formation depth = 10,000ft
Determine
a. The Geothermal Gradient.
b. Formation Temperature.

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 Other Properties

❖ Formation Temperature (Tf): After Tf is

determined, the resistivities of the different fluids
(i.e., Rm, Rmf, Rw) can be corrected to Tf by:
▪ Arp’s formula:

Rtemp (Temp + 6.77 )

RTF =
(T f + 6.77 )
Rtemp (Temp + 21.0 )
= for depth in meters
(T f + 21.0 )

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 Other Properties

▪ Chart

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 Other Properties

▪Exercise:
Given
− The results in previous exercise
− Resisitivity of Drilling mud is 1.2 m at 750F
Determine
✓ The Resistivity of Drilling mud at Formation
temperature

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 Other Properties

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❖Exercise: From 2 log strip-chart in the
previous slide
1. Read the average porosity in the zone
from 5,320 to 5,350 ft
2. Read the porosity at 5,350 ft. Then,
convert this to an F value using
a=0.62, m=2.15. Next, read Rt at
5,350ft. Use Rw=0.18m. Determine
Sw at 5,350ft

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 Summary

❖ The four fundamental rock properties used in well

logging are:
▪ Porosity
▪ Permeability
▪ Water Saturation
▪ Lithology
❖ Archie’s equation for water saturation is:
1
 a  Rw  n
Sw =  m 
 Rt   
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 Summary

❖ When drilling, the liquid part of drilling mud

invades the formation as mud filtrate and
resistivity is symboled Rmf. And mud filtrate
creates invaded zones around the wellbore.
Shallow-, medium- and deep- reading resistivity
measurements provide information about the
invaded and uninvaded zones and about the
depth of invasion of the drilling mud.

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 Summary

❖ The lithology of a formation will be known because:

▪ A matrix value (usually sandstone, limestone or dolomite)
will be used to determine porosity from logs
▪ The formation factor varies with lithology
▪ The variation in the formation factor changes the water-
saturation values

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 Summary

❖ The four fluids affect logging measurements are:

▪ Drilling mud (Rm)
▪ Mud filtrate (Rmf)
▪ Formation water (Rw)
▪ Hydrocarbons (assumed infinite resistivity, no symbol)

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 Summary

❖ The resistivity of the drilling mud (Rm), mud cake

(Rmc), mud filtrate (Rmf) and formation water (Rw)
will vary with temperature. So, formation
temperature (Tf) must be determined first and all
resistivities will be corrected to Tf.

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 Rock permeability relationship

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