CHAPTER 4 FORMATION RESISTIVITY ND WATER ATURATION Sedimentary formations are capable of transmitting an electric current only by means of the interstitial and adsorbed water they contain. They would be non-conductive if they were entirely dry. The interstitial or connate water containing dissolved salts constitutes an electrolyte capable of conducting current, as these salts dissociate into positively charged cations, such as Na* and Ca?*, and negatively charged anions, such as CI” andSO;.. These ions move under the influence of an electrical field and carry an electrical current through the solution. The greater the salt concentration, the greater the conductivity of connate water. Freshwater, for example, has only a small amount of dissolved salts and is, therefore, a poor conductor of an electric current. Oil and gas are non-conductors “The electrical resistivity (reciprocal of conductivity) ofa fluid-saturated rock is its ability to impede the flow of electric current through that rock. Dry rocks exhibit infinite resistivity. In electrical logging practice, resistivity is expressed in ohm-m?/m or simply ohm-m. The resistivity of most sedimentary formation ranges from 0.2 to 20000hmm. The resistivity of poorly consolidated sand ranges from 0.20ohm-m for sands containing primacily saltwater, to several ohm-m for oikbearing sands. For well-consolidated sandstones, the resistivity ranges from 1 to 203204 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES 1,000 ohm-m or more depending on the amount of shale inter-bedding. In non-porous carbonate rocks, resistivity may be as high as a few million ohm-m., The resistivity of reservoir rocks is a function of salinity of formation water, effective porosity, and quantity of hydrocarbons trapped in the pore space [1]. Relationships among these quantities indicate that the resistivity decreases with increasing porosity and increases with increasing petroleum content. Resistivity measurements are also dependent upon pore geometry, formation stress, composition of rock, interstitial fluids, and temperature. Resistivity is, therefore, 4 valuable tool for evaluating the producibility of a formation ForMAaTION Resistivity FACTOR A rock that contains oil and/or gas will have a higher resistivity than the same rock completely saturated with formation water, and the greater the connate water saturation, the lower the formation resistivity. ‘This relationship to saturation makes the formation resistivity factor an excellent parameter for the detection of hydrocarbon zones. Resistivity MEASUREMENT “The resistance of brine in a container of length L and cross-sectional area A to the flow of electricity is measured by applying a voltage E, in volts, across the liquid and recording the amount of current I, in amperes, that will flow, as shown in Figure 4.1. According to Ohm's law the resistance, ris equal to tw=— aay aD Now consider a block of porous rock (clean sand) of the same dimension A and L, and 100% saturated with the same brine (Figure 4.2). ‘On applying the same voltage E across the block of sand, a current lp will flow. The resistivity of this porous rock sample, Ro, is: EA 43)FORMATION RESISTIVITY FACTOR 205 = Figure 4.1, Resistivity measurement of salty water [1] Figure 4.2. Resistivity measurement of a porous rock sample (1). Dividing Equation 4.3 by Equation 4.2 and canceling similar terms gives ee Ga Archie defined this ratio as the “formation resistivity factor Fx” or (21: Ro Fr= 45 RR as) For a given value of E, lw will be greater than Ip. Hence R, will be greater than Rw and Fy will always be greater than unity. Figure 4.3 shows the qualitative effect of brine resistivity (assuming all other factors, such as porosity, cementation, and amount of shale remain constant) on Fx for limestone and clean sand, and shaly (‘dirty") sand. The formation factor is essentially constant for clean sand and limestone. For dirty or shaly sand, Fx decreases as brine resistivity, Rw, increases; and although Ry increases, it does not increase proportionately because the clay in the water acts as a conductor. This effect is dependent upon the type, amount, and manner of distribution of the clay in the rock. Equation 4.5