Study Reference

Petrophysics (petro is Latin for "rock" and physics is the study of nature) is the study of the
physical and chemical properties that describe the occurrence and behavior of rocks, soils and
fluids. Conventional Petrophysical Properties those are determined during formation evaluation
are-

Porosity is the porous volume by unit of volume of a formation. The porosity of a formation can
vary considerably depending on its grain size and shape. Porosity can be of two types-

Total porosity- It is defined as the ratio subsisting between volume of the pore spaces to the
bulk rock volume.
Effective porosity- According to the reservoir engineers effective porosity is the
interconnected pore volume in a rock that contributes to fluid flow in a reservoir per unit rock
volume. But in petrophysics, effective porosity is expressed as the total porosity minus the clay-
bound water and water held as porosity within the clays.

Effective porosity = Total porosity-Vsh. sh


Water saturation is the fraction of water in a given pore space. It is expressed in
volume/volume or percent scale. It can help to determine the probability of there being
hydrocarbons in a rock formation and the existing volume of hydrocarbons in a determined
reservoir, that is, calculation of reserves.

Permeability is a measurement of a rock's ability to transmit fluids. To be permeable, the rock
must have interconnected pores or fractures; therefore, there is a general relation between
porosity and permeability.

Stage:1 Identifying the Reservoir

The main object of this step is to identify the reservoir and non-reservoir intervals. The logs that
can act as reservoir rock indicators are:

Density-Neutron Logs: Generally in reservoir intervals, density log is moving to the left (lower
density) and touching or crossing the neutron curve. Shales (commonly non-reservoir) can be
clearly identified as zones where the density lies to the right of the neutron.

Gamma Log: In clastic reservoirs in nearly all cases this will correspond to a fall in the gamma
ray (GR) log. Gamma ray log detected the amount of natural radiation being released by the
formation which is actually originating from K, Th, and U. Shale has higher concentration of the
these element bearing minerals. So the API values are high in case of shales. In a few
reservoirs, the GR is not a reliable indicator of sand, due to the presence of radioactive minerals
in sands.



Gamma log can be used to determine the volume of shale (Vsh), which is an important
parameter to distinguish reservoir and non-reservoir. Following is the equation to determine
shale volume(Vsh):
Volume shale = (GRlog-GRsa) / (GRsh-GRsa)
Determine an average GR reading in clean sands (GRsa) and a value for shales (GRsh). For
GRsh, do not take the highest reading observed, but rather the mode of the values observed.

Stage:2 Identifying the Fluid Type

Start by comparing the density and deepest reading resistivity log for any evidence of
hydrocarbons. In the classic response, the resistivity and density (and also GR) will be seen to
tramline (i.e., follow each other to the left or right) in water sands and to Mae West (i.e., be a
mirror image of each other) in hydrocarbon bearing sands. However, some hydrocarbon/ water
zones will not exhibit such behavior, the reasons being:
When the formation-water salinity is very high, the resistivity may also drop in clean sands.
In shaly sand zones having a high proportion of conductive dispersed shales, the resistivity
may also fail to rise in reservoir zones.
If the sands are thinly laminated between shales, the deep resistivity may not be able to
resolve the sands, and the resistivity may remain low.
If the well has been drilled with very heavy overbalance, invasion may be such as to
completely mask the hydrocarbon response.
When the formation water is very fresh (high Rw), the resistivity may Mae West even in water-
bearing zones.

Resistivity Logs: The most important use of resistivity logs is the determination of hydrocarbon
versus water bearing zones. Because the rocks matrix or grains are nonconductive, the ability
of the rock to transmit a current is almost entirely a function of water in the pores.
Hydrocarbons, like the rocks matrix, are non-conductive; therefore, as the hydrocarbon
saturation of the pores increases, the rocks resistivity also increases.

Neutron-Density Log: is used to detect gas-bearing zones. Where an increase in density
porosity occurs along with a decrease in neutron porosity in a gas-bearing zone, it is called gas
effect. Gas in the pores causes the density log to record too high a porosity (i.e. gas in lighter
than oil or water), and causes the neutron log to record too low a porosity (i.e. gas has a lower
concentration of hydrogen atoms than oil or water).

Stage:3 Calculating the Porosity

Porosity should be calculated from the density log using the equation:

b = D.f + (1- D)ma

Where ma = matrix density
b = bulk density
f = density of fluid
D = Porosity from density log

So, it can be written as
D=(ma- b ) / (ma- f )

The density tool actually works by injecting gamma rays into the formation that are then
scattered by electrons in the formation, a process known as Compton scattering. These gamma
rays are then detected by two detectors. Since the tool actually measures electron density,
there is a slight miscalibration due to the variation in electron density between different minerals.
The correction is typically small (typically 1% or less), so is no major cause for concern.

For sandstones, ma typically lies between 2.63 and 2.67 g/cc. Where regional core data are
available, the value can be taken from the average measured on conventional core plugs. Fluid
density, f, depends on the mud type, formation fluid properties, and extent of invasion seen by
the density log. Following table gives some typical values that may be used:


After determining total porosity, effective porosity can be calculated. Effective porosity can be
defined as the total porosity minus the clay-bound water and water held as porosity within the
clays. It may therefore be defined as:



Where C is a factor that will depend on the shale porosity and CEC (cation exchange capacity).
It may be determined from calculating the total porosity in pure shales (Vsh = 1) and setting
eff to zero. Here shale porosity is determined using the following formula:

sh=(ma- log ) / (ma- f )

Where , ma= 2.75 gm/cc and
f= 1gm/cc (as only water is present here)

Stage:4 Calculating the Water Saturation

Here Archies equation is used to calculate saturations. The equation is
Sw
n
= (a/m) (Rw/Rt)
Where Rw = formation water resistivity (measured in ohmm)
m = the cementation, or porosity, exponent
Sw = water saturation
n = saturation exponent.
a= Humble constant, which is equal to 1.

The deepest reading resistivity tool directly indicates the value of Rt. In the absence of any
regional core values, the following values are assumed m = n = 2.
Stage:5 Formation Pressure Testing

After determining shale volume (Vsh), porosity (PHI) and water saturation (Sw), the suitable
locations to conduct Formation Pressure testing are chosen. Minimum 3 points are chosen for
each gas, oil and water bearing zones on the basis of the low Vsh and Sw values and high PHI
values. Pressure tests can provide the following information:

The in-situ fluid densities of the gas, oil, and water legs
The absolute value of the formation pressure
The depths of any OWC or GOC in the well
A qualitative indication of mobility and permeability

Additionally, they can provide the following information:
Pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) properties of the oil and gas in the reservoir
Formation-water salinity
Additional mobility/permeability information

From the MDT values of formation pressure are obtained at different depths. Plotting the
formation pressure data (in psi) vs depth (mTVDSS) in the curve pressure gradients for different
fluid types are determined. Then it is checked whether the determined fluid gradients are
realistic and consistent with interpreted fluid, because there are certain standard ranges for fluid
gradients. They are-

For gas the gradient is <0.2 psi/ft
For oil the gradient is 0.2 -0.3 (max 0.4) psi/ft
For water the gradient is >0.4 psi/ft