(¢ PETROMAN ‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Poeun Engstng Chapter 3 - Caliper Logs Table of Contents 3.1. Introduction 34 3.1.1 Caliper Logs... oss 234 3.1.2 — Borehole diameter. 32 3.1.3. Cased Hole Use of Caliper Log 33 3.1.4 Caliper Log Interpretation. Bo CHAPTERS ater Logs www.petroman.ir(¢ PETROMAN ‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department f Petroleum Engi Formation Evaluation CHAPTERS Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Chapter 3 - Caliper Logs 3.1. Introduction 344 Ci er Logs. The caliper log is used to measure the size and shape of a borehole (see Figures 3.1 and 3.2), There are many varieties of caliper logs, usually with one, two, three, or four extendable arms. The simple mechanical caliper measures a vertical profile of the hole diameter. It operates with two moving arms, which are pushed against the borehole wall. Movement of these arms is recorded as an electrical current, which is then transformed into a measurement of hole diameter. The caliper log is run with many different tools, and simple calipers are used to apply the measuring pads against the borehole wall. The two arms work at 90 degrees to one another, and measure hole diameter in a single direction. Three and four arm (dual caliper) tools give a better contact with the borehole wall. The four armed tool works with two opposite pairs to measure the borehole diameter in two perpendicular orientations (Figure 3.1). Four arm calipers that record separate measurements from each of the two opposing sets of arms are commonly called X-Y calipers. X-Y calipers give a rough idea of hole shape, and can be used to make somewhat more accurate estimations of hole volume than with a single axis caliper. If a hole were a true ellipse, then an X-Y caliper would give an accurate reading of both the minor and major axes of the ellipse, but real world boreholes are never truly round or truly elliptical. Borehole volume computer modules have been manufactured for use with X-Y calipers. As a generalization, one and two arm calipers tend to measure the maximum dimension of a non-round hole, while three arm calipers tend to measure something closer to the minimum dimension Running the caliper log with different tools allows the condition of the hole to be calibrated each time for the individual tools run. Caliper logs are generally thought of as open hole tools, where they give a good indication of lithology and hole condition. But they are also run in cased hole sections to check the internal casing diameter, which gives an indication of possible restrictions due to scale deposition or enlargement resulting from corrosion. Log Presentation The caliper log is presented as a curve that records the measurement of borehole diameter (usually in inches) with depth. The standard caliper log is accompanied with a reference line, which indicates bit size (Figure 3.2). Any deflection from this reference line will indicate either an increase, or decrease in hole diameter. The weakness with simple caliper tools is that they give borehole diameter in only one dimension. Borehole geometry logs can record the borehole diameter in several directions, but they are not as common these days, as they are being replaced by more modem borehole image logs queers GT Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Geometry logs these essentially consist of several caliper logs with known orientation, and these are displayed in a single track. Logs can be displayed as normal or differential caliper measurements (Figure 3.2). 3.4.2. Borehole diameter Gauged holes and borehole quality The aim of many drillers is to drill a perfectly gauged hole, which is a hole that has the same hole diameter as the bit which drilled it. This indicates a good drilling technique, and a borehole of good quality on which wireline logs can be run without worrying about making complicated corrections for caving or mudcake formation (Figures 3.3 and 3.4), Because hole condition can frequently be related to lithology, the shape of the caliper log can be used as a general indication of rock type. Greater lithological certainty can be gained by displaying the caliper log with other tools (e.g. gamma ray). For example, shales tend to be prone to caving (see below), and show a greater positive deflection on the caliper log than harder sandstones or limestones. The bottom line is that the better the quality of the borehole, the better and more reliable the tool readings, and hence the log interpretations will also be more trustworthy. Some typical responses for the caliper log are shown in Figure 3.3. Caving (Increase in borehole diameter) Parts of the borehole with a much larger diameter than the bit size, are termed caved, or washed out (Figure 3.3). This can occur while drilling, when the borehole wall can cave in, or collapse, or if the borehole wall is broken by the rotating drill pipe, or if it is eroded away by circulating drilling mud. This typically happens to shales, especially if they are shallow, or unconsolidated. This means that cavings can be related to lithology. However, caving is also very common in coals, or organic rich shales. Cleats, or fractures in coals can make them prone to caving, and this can occur at certain stratigraphic levels (Figure 3.4), Overpressured rocks also tend to cave, especially when the mud weight is not adequate to control the formation pressure. Boreholes through salt or evaporates must be supersaturated with salt or other chemicals to prevent the borehole washing out by dissolution ‘Mudcake (Decrease in borehole diameter) Calipers can sometimes show a hole diameter smaller than the bit size, This might seem strange at first, until we consider the effect of hole condition, such as mud cake, or clay swelling and sloughing (Figure 3.5). If the hole size is smaller, and smooth, then this indicates a build up of mud cake on the borehole wall. This is an extremely useful indicator of permeability, as only permeable beds will allow mud cake to form. Hence, the vertical limits of the mud cake will be a good indicator of the vertical limits of the potential reservoir. It is possible to estimate the thickness of the mud cake from the caliper by dividing the decrease in hole size by two. queers GE Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Pavolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation The appropriate equation is as follows: Bit Size (Diameter) - Caliper Reading (Diameter) = Mud Cake Thickness 2 It should be remembered that the caliper log can be run several times in a hole, with different tools, so this thickness can vary between each of the tools. For example, the caliper of a density tool is applied with more pressure than the caliper of a microlog. This may give a larger caliper reading for the density tool, as the caliper may cause a groove in the mud cake. Hence, there is a thinner log derived mud cake thickness. Note: mud cake is also known as filter cake. If a borehole diameter is smaller than the bit size, and the curve shape is serrated, not smooth, then the borehole size has probably expanded due to hole collapse. This can be caused by the swelling of clays. Collapsed holes form tight spots where the bit may get stuck. Smectite is a swelling clay that takes water from the drilling mud and expands, causing the formation to squeeze (slough) into the hole. Geometry / Linearity Measurement Considerations One problem that should be noted about caliper logs, is that they do not make linear measurements of hole diameter (as the arm extends). The measurement is reasonably linear out to an arm extension of something less than 45°, becoming increasingly non-linear as arm extension approaches straight out, or 90°. Most designs physically restrain the arms so as not to extend much past 60". Many attempts have been made to linearize calipers, both electronically and mechanically, but these have proven too complicated and expensive to operate in the field. Hence, the best linearization solution is a computer logging system, which will linearize calipers. This problem will be considered later during caliper log interpretation. 3.4.3 Cased Hole Use of Caliper Log Many people only consider the use of caliper logs on open hole completions. However, calipers can be used on cased holes to check the quality of the casing, and to calculate the internal diameter of the casing. The internal diameter is required to make an accurate calculation of fluid rate, but this will not be covered in this course. Cased hole caliper logs are usually made differently to openhole caliper logs. Instead of having one to four mechanical arms the measurement is made by numerous multifinger tubular inspection calipers. Multifinger mechanical calipers are among the simplest and most accurate measurement tools for the inside condition of pipe (Figure 3.6). They are principally used to evaluate wear and corrosion of the borehole casing. The tool is centralized with an array of fingers or feelers that reach out to the inside wall of the tubular ouereRs GET Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation material under investigation. Multifinger calipers are made with as few as 12 fingers on some tubing calipers, and up to 80 fingers or more on some casing calipers. The following lists some of the applications of caliper logs in cased holes: For Determining * Cement volumes for well construction or plugging / plugback purposes. Gravel volumes for gravel pack jobs. Optimal locations to seat packers (as in well testing). Optimal directional drilling kick-off points. Optimal perforation points. The location of parted or collapsed casing, The location of liners and casing size reductions For Evaluating * Scale build up, + Well shots (high explosives shots and propellant shots). * Acid jobs in open hole (before and after surveys). * Hole conditions prior to fishing 3.1.4 Caliper Log Interpretation Breakouts and washouts Four armed caliper tools can yield much more information about hole condition than single, or double armed tools. Data from a four armed caliper enables the shape of a borehole to be better defined than other simpler caliper tools. Using a single armed caliper does not yield any information on borehole shape. However, a four armed (dual caliper) tool can determine if a hole is on gauge, or if it is oval and washed out, or enlarged by single cavities. When oval shaped, the direction of enlargement can be given, but much more information can be determined by examining borehole shape and orientation. Three main types of elliptical borehole have been recognised, and are termed: (a) key seats, (b) washouts and (c) breakouts (Figure 3.7). Washouts generally occur in shales, and dipping beds, and develop from drilling wear, A washout has considerable vertical length, and both calipers are larger than the bit (one being larger than the other). The shape of the caliper is variable, and changes are gradual. Keyseats are asymmetrical oval holes, which form by wear against the drill string, when borehole inclination and/or azimuth changes sharply (doglegs). Doglegs should be avoided as good drilling practice, and new 3D computer software is now used to design wells that measures dogleg severity, to prevent doglegs, and design well paths that intersect the ‘sweet spots’ within drilling limits. omerers Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Breakouts are believed to form as a result of the interaction of stresses induced by drilling on the existing stress regime of the country rock The criteria of Bell (1990) can be used to define breakouts. The criteria are as follows: 1. Tool must stop rotating (ideally the tool should rotate before, and after the breakout zone) 2. Calipers should separate to indicate an oval hole. The larger caliper should exceed hole gauge: the smaller caliper should not be less than the hole gauge, and its trace should be straight. 3. The caliper difference should be larger than 6mm and the zone of elongation should be greater than 1.5 metres. The limits of the breakout should normally be well defined. 4, The larger diameter of hole elongation and its direction should not. consistently coincide with the azimuth of hole deviation. Unprocessed and oriented four-arm caliper logs are frequently used to interpret borehole breakouts. The information needed from these logs for interpretation is: * Azimuth of caliper pad 1 relative to magnetic north; * Diameter of the borehole in two orthogonal directions (Caliper 1 between pad 1 and 3 and Caliper 2 between pad 2 and 4) * Borehole deviation from vertical; * Azimuth of borehole drift * Bearing of pad 1 relative to the high side of the hole Breakouts are often considered in terms of in situ stresses, where fragments are spalled in a direction parallel to the minimum (least) horizontal stress (Sh). Borehole spalling (chipping) occurs along intersecting shear fractures generated soon during drilling and progresses with time. The identification and analysis of borehole breakouts as a technique for in situ measurement of stress orientation and magnitude, and for identifying orientation (azimuth) of both naturally occurring and induced fractures has been a hot topic of research for the last 15 years or more. Structural geologists apply the knowledge of the orientation of horizontal earth stresses derived from analysis of borehole breakouts in an attempt to predict areas prone to breakouts (Figures 3.8 - 3.9). The complex mathematics used for this analysis will not be covered. One of the best methods for identifying breakouts is from borehole image tools, or televiewer tools. However, dipmeter data are widely available, and less expensive and are therefore commonly used in regional and field studies. ‘An example of a breakout from an image tool is shown in Figure 3.10. Borehole image tools will be covered later in the course. ouereRs Caper Logs www.petroman.ir‘Curtin University of Technology Master of Patolaum Engineering Department of Pevoleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Influence of hole condition on tool measurement Understanding the condition of the hole in combination with how tools operate and generate measurements is of paramount importance before interpreting well logs. Firstly, the tool does not operate properly in an uneven, or caved hole, because the pads will not touch the formation correctly, and hence the tools will not be reading the formation correctly. Incorrect readings due to bad hole are illustrated in Figure 3.11. This figure shows how a correction is automatically applied to the density log from the caliper. However, the density correction is not sufficient for areas with extreme caving. Figure 3.12 demonstrates the interpretation of a well suffering from bad hole, where cavings are recognisable on the caliper log. A bad hole flag has been generated using the caliper as a guideline. The density log is significantly affected by the bad hole, which is indicated by a sharp decrease in density, where the tool is reading less of the formation and more of the borehole environment. This density log has been used to calculate the porosity logs. * Porosity log 1 was generated without considering the condition of the hole. This has resulted in an overestimation of the porosity in a shaly zone. * Porosity log 2 has been generated from a manually edited density log, which has attempted to take account of the bad hole by increasing the density in line with the rest of the curve. * Porosity Log 3 uses an alternative approach, where the calculated log has been deleted in the area of bad hole (see below). This is useful when hole condition is extreme, or when there is uncertainty with the density log pattern. The bad hole flag can be used to do this very rapidly in a log interpretation package. Dealing with Bad hole (Bad hole Flags) The caliper log is also a useful log to use to flag bad hole conditions. For example, if the diameter of the borehole (caliper reading) is a certain size larger than the bit, bad hole conditions can be flagged. The cut-off used will vary from well to well, and must be determined both visually and by experimentation. Bad hole flags can be used to either flag areas for borehole corrections, or for removal of calculated log values. If the bad hole is not corrected for, or erroneous readings from calculated logs (e.g. density porosity) are not removed, then errors will remain in the petrophysical interpretation. These errors may then be incorporated into volumetric calculations and reservoir modelling and simulation work. An example of a bad hole flag based on the caliper log is shown in Figure 3.12. ouereRs Caper Logs www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Figure 3.1. Examples of caliper log tools Differential Caliper CALI (in) ra F Hote size Bitsize —_dlamoter= 19" diameter (175°) st base % t Hole size i Ga size diameter = +3" Figure 3.2. Example of caliper log display iametor=0 at base CUPTERT Gros www.petroman.ir¢ PETROMAN) Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation HOLE DIAMETER 911 13 15 caliper “caved hole’ oe ‘ Han <— ‘on gauge’ PERMEABLE mud cake thickness *SANDSTONE = caliper/2 p 1 1 IMPERMEABLE ! * SANDSTONE 1 1 I 1 y i ‘bad hole’ or Hight spor’ SHALE ate Figure 3.3. Example of some typical responses recorded on caliper logs (After Rider, 1996) www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Caliper_Gamma Ray Density Lithology ; — Low Density ~ Shale ~ Coal ~ Hot Shale Figure 3.4, Example of a log suite used to identify lithology in a coal bearing formation. www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Department of Petoleu 45 FEELERS. 15 INTERNAL STYU] KINLEY OALIPER, ORIVE WHEEL ——TRIPPER Taken from the Kinley Website ‘The KINLEY "MEGADATA" Tubing Caliper Service is. designed specifically for 2-3/8"-3-1/2" tubing, Here are the advantages over any other service available. More coverage - With 30 feelers recording independently, simultaneously and continuously you get all the information all the time. Figure 3.6. Example of a Multifinger mechanical caliper for tubing QC dep @d ey Breakout ey) Figure 3.7. Breakouts and washouts (After Rider, 1996). Three main types of elliptical borehole have been recognised, and are termed: (a) key seats, (b) washouts and (c) breakouts www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation ‘shear failure zone ‘SHimin (curvilinear fracturing) ‘at azimuth of SHmin extensional hydraulic fracturing or open pre-existing vertical fractures breskout Stross ie concentrated stimin spall zone S ‘SHmax ‘SHmax SHmax . SHmax crginal borehole shape mt re > calbration! Stina oa Stmin A. Breakout B. Fracture enlargement Figure 3.8. Illustration of borehole breakouts and their relationship to stress fields (From Rider, 1996). Structural geologists apply the knowledge of the orientation of horizontal earth stresses derived from analysis of borehole breakouts in an attempt to predict areas prone to breakouts Figure 3.9. Rose diagrams plotted to illustrate the interpretation of stress fields identified from the caliper log www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation Reagan smug, \ere compressive stress is; concentrat Tensile fractures Drilling-induced tension fractures Breakout ~~. Spall zone Figure 3.10, Example of borehole image tool for the identification of breakouts and tension-related fractures (Courtesy of TaskGeoscience) www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation } nove ceenreo Figure 3.11. Example of poor hole conditions influencing log readings (after Rider, 1996) cn cating ate anny LoqH08) PeregiyLop PogyLos2? _PoxatyLoa3 a Figure 3.12. Example of badhole conditions influencing well log readings and resulting log interpretations. Hand ede Density Log HOE cor www.petroman.ir@ PETROMAN Curtin University of Technology Master of Petroleum Engineering Department of Petroleum Engineering Formation Evaluation 8 20 4 46 Hole size diminution een o the spl alipes. (A) Mca bid up opposite porous and permeable sanstones, (By Tpit spas in le sequence cane by hole sloughing doc to swelling clays Figure 3.5. Changes in hole size (reduction) recorded on the caliper log due to (a) mud cake and (b) swelling clays (After Rider, 1996), www.petroman.ir