Objetives of petrophysics

Identify and quantify hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface and evaluate fluid & rock
properties.

Deliverables:

Static & dynamic reservoir description and fluid distribution at and away from the wellbore.

The petrophysicist has to measure the down-hole rock and fluid properties. Since the rock and
fluid are all down-hole, the only type of measurements he can make are indirect.

Almost the complete range of physics (Resistivity, Nuclear, Acoustics, Magnetic Resonance, etc) is
used in trying to achieve the goal of quantifying rock and fluid properties down-hole.

The petrophysicist uses not only data covering the complete range of physics, but also uses a wide
range of scales of resolution, from microscopic analysis on cores to the hundred meter-plus
resolution of wellbore seismic.

Petrophysical data & sources.

Mudlog (data/cuttings)
Cores (drill core/ sidewall samples)
Open hole logs (wireline/ while drilling)
Cased Hole Logs (during well production)
Borehole seismic.
Fluids: Contacs, saturation
Rock: porosity, permeability, lithology

It is essential to build a realistic static and dynamic reservoir description to maximize the returns
from the reservoir. A team of geologist, geophysicist, reservoir enginer, production engineer and
petrophysicist work together to combine all the data from various measurements at various
scales, to come up with a Static and Dynamic model of the reservoir.

1.2 Measurement
1.2.2 Mud logging

Mud- logging is one of the first direct evaluation methods available during the drilling of an
exploration well. During the drilling operations, the fluid is continuously circulated down the inside
of the drill pipe, through the bottom of the bit, and back up the annular space. The drilling mud
carries broken rock fragments to the Surface.

The rock fragments are caught by the screens in the shale shakers and are collected at regular
intervals to provide information on the lithology, texture and presence of hudrocarbons whick
stain these cuttings.
The air above the returning mud from the wellbore is diverted to detect gas using a gas detector
or can be analyzed for its composition using a gas chromatrograph.

A Mudlog consists of the following information recorded vs. Depth:

1. Weight on Bit (WOB), Drill string rotation speed (RPM), Mud pump speed (SPM), Mud
pump pressure (SPP)
2. Drilling Rateo r Rate of Penetration (ROP)
3. Lithology and texture of cutting
4. Percentage of gas in air and/or gas composition
5. Hydrocarbon staining on the cuttings
And information such as bit diameter (D) and Drill-string configuration.

Applications of Mudlogging

Monitoring of bit performance

Determination of lithology
Early indication of wells position within predicted stratigraphy for determining.
- Casing depth
- Total depth
- Coring depth
Indication of hydrocarbon type
Indication of pressure conditions using d-exponent:
-ROP=RPM (WOB/D)^d

Limitations of Mudlogging
Depth accuracy of +- 5 meters
- The cuttings are transported to Surface by mud flow which varies depending upon the
volumen of annulus and circulation rate.
Rock fragments from various depths are mixed when they reach the Surface.
- The rate of transportation of rock cuttings also depends upon their size and density
resulting in mixing of cuttings from various depths.
Unstable Shales contaminate the rock cuttings
- The caving shales higher up the well-bore contaminate the cuttings from the lower
depths.

1.2.2 Core Analysis

A formation geological simple, known as the core simple, can be taken to recover a portion of the
reservoiur rock, so that it may be examined in the laboratory to provide geological and
engineering information. The sample can be obtained either via drill string coring or via Wireline.
The cost of drill string coring is high but the value of information in most cases justifies it.
Drilll string coring is done using special drilling bits, with an inner and outer metal barrel, each of
approximately 9 meters in length. These can be joined in multiples for an increased core recovery.
In conventional coring methods, the inner barrel remains stationary, while the outer barrel, on
which the bit is attached, rotates, pushing the rock into the inner barrel. The core ctcher prevents
the simple from slipping out.

At the well-site, the recovered core is carefully marked, cut into 1 meter pieces, packed and sent
to the laboratory for further analysis. At the laboratory, the plug samples are drilled out of the
core sample, to allow measurement of petrophysical and other properties.

Informacin from conventional cores

Petrophysics
- Basic rock properties (porosity, permeability, grain density)
- Saturation from capillary pressure.
- Effect of stress and production induced compaction
- Electrical properties (m,n)
- Cation Exchange capacity
- Acoustic properties
Geology
- Facies analysis
- Mineral identification
- Diagenesis and clay typing
- Depositional information
- Formation age
- Microscopic and X-ray analyses

Reservoir Engineer
- Relative permeability
- Capillary pressure curves
- Critical gas saturation
- Pore volume compressibility
- Flooding tests
Production Engineer
- Well injectivity
- Sand control parameters
- Rock mechanical data
- Mineralogy for acid stimulation

The most common method for coring using Wireline is percussion coring. Hollow bullets
connected to the tool by wires are fired into the formation wall thereby collecting the sample.

The adventages of percussion coring are:

 1. They are fast and cheap
2. They are available up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit
3. One can individually select the sample depths
4. A large number of samples, up to 90 in total, can be acquired in a single trip.

Disadvantages are that the samples are small and damaged due the impact of the bullet, leaving
them good only for identification of lithology and fluid type.

A wireline rotary coring tool drills samples out of the borehole wall, using an electronicallydriven
retractable rotary coring bit. The rotary action does not impact the formaton and thus the samples
can be used for the analysis of petrophysical parameters. The sample depths can be selected
individually, and up to 75 samples can be taken per trip. The tool Works well in hard formations
and is ineffective in unconsolidated formations and in wash-outs.

1.2.3 Open Hole Logging

Open hole logging provides the most important source of information for well evaluation. Open
hole logging consists of lowering a set of sensors into the well to record the formation properties
as a function of depth, and can be performed:
- After the well has beed drilled by lowering a set of sensor son an electrical cable
(Wireline Logging)
- While the well is being drilled by placing the sensors in the drill string (Logging while
Drilling)

The data acquired from open hole logging, either via Wireline of Logging while Drilling, is then
interpreted to reveal the rock and fluis properties and its complexity can vary depending on the
formation.

The open hole data is recorded using a variety of principles of physics, and has to be interpreted to
obtain the rock and fluid properties.

The objective of this course is to give the petrophysical engineer sufficient knowledge of the
physics of measurements and interpretation techniques so as to be able to interpret open hole log
data in order to obtain the formation properties.

1.2.4 Cased Hole Logging

Cased hole logging consists of lowering a set of sensors, or a perforating gun, into the well at the
end of a seven-conductor or a single-conductor cable, after it has been cased.

Applications of Cased Hole Logging

Cement Evaluation
Perforating
 Reservoir Monitoring
Production Logging
Corrosion Evaluation

For cement evaluation, acoustic sensors are lowered into the well. A transmitter emits a 20 KHz
acoustic signal which travels through the borehole fluid, along the casing wall, through the cement
and formation, and back to a receiver. The amplitude and elapsed time of the first arrival of the
received signa lis recorded and is the basis for interpretation of cement evaluation.

The Cement Bong Log combinen with the variable Density waveform Log (CBL-VDL) is recorded by
a tool consisting of one transmitter and two receivers at 3 ft and 5 ft respectively. CBL measures
the energy loss of an acoustic wave which is propagating in the casing. Well- bonded solid cement
attenuates more energy than a fluis outside the casing. The sample Cement Bond Log Shows how
the amplitude of the waveform increases when there is por cement and decreases in the intervals
where there is good cement. The VDL displays the received waveform and provides additional
information regarding the quality of bonding.

Schlumbergers Ultrasonic Imaging Tool (USIT) consists of a rotating ultrasonic transducer. The
transducer emits an ultrasonic wave towards the casing wall and the records the reflected signal
waveform which provides information regarding the acoustic impedance of the material behind
the casing. The rotating nature of the transducer allows a 360 image of the impedance to be
recorded and analyzed for an improved interpretation.

This USIT log contains the casing and cement quality measurements. The impedance image is a
planar view of the casing unfolded from 0 to 360 azimuth. The dark Brown colors represent the
presence of cement behind the casing, the blue color indicates the presence of liquid behind the
casing. In this example the 360 view enables us to determine the presence of a cement channel.

After the cement evaluation is done and any repair Jobs finished, the perforating gun is lowered to
the desired depth and the casing is perforated to allow the production fluids to flow from the
formation into the casing. Many sizes of guns and techniques are available to suit the
requirements of the well and completion program.

Reservoir monitoring is the determination and reporting of petrophysical parameters after initial
conditions have been disturbed by production. The monitoring of the movement of fluid interfaces
and saturation is an important aspect of the reservoir monitoring. As this is a dynamic process,
many reservoir monitoring methods look at changes in petrophysical parameters over time (the
time lapse method).
The most commonly applied petrophysical logging tools for reservoir monitoring are the pulsed
neutrn tools. These emit very high energy neutrons and are able to measure formation
characteristics through the casing. In this example, the differences in the saturation measured by
Schlumbergers Reservoir Saturation Tool (RST) is compared with the original open hole log
interpretation to evaluate the produced oil and oil in place.

Production logging measurements provide detailed information on the nature and behavior of
fluids in the well during production or injection.
The interpretation of production logs helps identify any problems with the flow inside the well or
the flow in the reservoir. The primary goal of production logging is to cross-check and fine-tune
the results of reservoir modeling.

The conventional production logging tools include sensors which, after interpretation, give the
flow rate of hydrocarbon phase and wter phase, along with the down-hole pressure and
temperatura in vertical wells. Deviated well and horizontal well flow regimes are complicated and
it is necessary to use the Schlumbergers Production Services Platform (PSP) and Flagship services
respectively in order to acquire interpretable data. An important measurement of both these tools
is the ability to image the cross-section of the fluid flowing in the casing.

Corrosion is the deterioration of metals due to interaction with their environment. Corrosion
attacks every component at every stage in the life of and oil or gas field, yet corrosin monitoring
is the most underutilized service of cased hole logging.

Schlumberger has a range of logging tools for monitoring the conditions of casings. These use
different physical principles, and have different ranges of application and different environmental
limitations. It is therefore advisable to acquire data from more than one corrosin tool, and to
combine the information to accurately describe the casing conditions.
Time-lapse measurements may also be necessary to refine the interpretation and to detect the
advance of corrosin.

1.2.5 Borehole Seismic

In the early stages of exploration and development in a new rea, Surface seismic surveys are used
extensively to delineate prospective structural or stratigraphic traps. However, the resolution of
Surface seismic surveys is limited by low operating frequencies and when the Wells are drilled,
opportunities exist to improve the Surface seismic data through well logs and particularly the
borehole seismic data.

Borehole seismic data is acquired by firing the seismic source on the Surface and recording the
seismic signal with a detector positioned down-hole within a Wireline tool. The data can be
acquired in open hole or cased hole conditions. Recent advances have been made in logging while
drilling services, making it posible to acquire borehole seismic data while the well is being drilled.
There are many applications of borehole seismic data and the acquisition method can vary
depending on the need. It may range from a simple check shot survey to a very complex 3D-VSP
acquisition.

Petrophysicists work together with geophysicists to use the open hole data and borehole seismic
data to improve upon the Surface seismic interpretation. The awareness level covers in more
detail the applications of borehole seismic data.

1.3 Uses of logs

Petrophysics and

Geophysics
- Determination of time to depth relationship
- Synthetic seismic generation
- Gassman fluid substitution
- Investigation of any posible AVO effects}

Geology
- Identify lithology from log interpretation and cores.
- Identify bedding planes, fractures and sub-seismic faults from imaging logs.
- Build 3D model from Deep Reading and imaging logs.
Reservoir Engineering
- Where & how many Wells to place in the reservoir- from reservoir monitoring.
- Relative permeability, capillary curves from Special Core Analysis.
- Pressure testing from Wireline formation testing tools.
- Rock compaction studies.

The petrophysicist is involved in all aspects of subsurface engineering, from exploration and new
field development to the recovery of any remaining hydrocarbons in older fields. Each geo-science
and engineering divisin derives information form petrophysics and some them are listed.
Production Engineering
- Cement evaluation from cased hole logging
- Monitoring well performance from production logging
- Casing inspection for corrosin monitoring
- Sand failure prediction (sanding) from rock strength analysis

Drilling Engineering
- Geologic steering of the well from LWD
- Pore pressure prediction from Mudlogging
- Rock Stability (caving, shale swelling) from rock strength analysis
- Borehole volumen and shape for cementing
This list is not exhaustive and with geo-scientists and engineers working together to maximize the
returns from the reservoir, more and more inter-discipline applications are being found.

2.1 Tools and Methods

After a section of a well has been drilled or cased, tools are lowered into the open holeo r the
cased hole section, at the end of an electrical cable. Whilst pulling the tools out of the well, various
properties of the formation or casing are measured continuosly as a function of depth. The
recorded surves are called Wireline logs. The measured physical properties can be interpreted in
terms of lithology, porosity, hydrocarbon saturation, etc. This process is called log evaluation or
interpretation.

The first log was recorded by Schlumberger in 1927 in a 500m Deep well in France. Only one curve
was recorded, a Resistivity curve, through a point by point system. The instrument was stopped at
a point in the hole. A measured amount of current was sent into the formaton and the resulting
potential was noted.
The resistivity recordings proved to be perfectly repeatable in neighboring Wells, enabling precise
correlation of formations across and entire field.
The Surface logging unit today is a highly efficient laboratory which has computers for acquisition,
data processing and transmission of log data, a hihg powered hydraulic winch (lo lowet and pull
out the logging tools from the well) and a cable depth measuring unit.
The logging unit supports a dual cable system, with a seven conductor cable for open hole logging,
cement evaluation and perforation and a single conductor cable for the other cased hole logging
services.
The down-hole measurements are performed with logging tools. A logging tool typically consists of
a physical measuring device (sonde) and associated electronics which oprate the device, and
which are designed to oprate typically up to 350 F. The measuring device and associated
electronics are housed inside a cylindrical Steel housing, capable of withstanding pressures of up
to 20,000 PSI. It is usually 3 3/8 in diameter.