AS SEEN IN
JUNE 2014
Reservoir mapping-while-drilling
tool expands well placement
By mapping multiple formation layers at reservoir scale, the mapping-while-drilling service
provides a more detailed characterization of production capability.
Bret Peppard, Cristina Arroyo-Garcia, Gunnar Holmes
and Pablo Tejera-Cuesta, Shell Brazil; and Rajeev
Samaroo, Jean Seydoux, Charles Silva, Igor Hernandez
and Jean-Michel Denichou, Schlumberger
W ith the rapid development of LWD technology,
more detailed real-time information allows
improved reservoir understanding. The LWD data collec-
tion can provide critical measurements for determining
the position of subsurface layers and fluid boundaries,
which bridge the gap between surface seismic data and
near-wellbore petrophysical information.
Ongoing innovation has taken the industry from the
first nondirectional LWD methods with minimal depth of
investigation capabilities to a new deep-directional resistiv-
ity tool that can map bed boundaries more than 30 m
(100 ft) from the borehole.
The electromagnetic directional mapping-while-drilling
service delineates intrinsic layering of contrasting resistiv-
ity and maps multiple reservoir boundaries and fluid lay-
ers in real time. As operators shift their focus to new
frontiers with reservoirs of increasing complexity, the new
reservoir mapping tool service greatly expands the capa-
bility to strategically drill and place well trajectories.
The reservoir mapping-while-drilling service provides
a more detailed characterization near the wellbore of a
reservoir’s ability to produce hydrocarbons. This is possi-
ble through the mapping of multiple formation layers at
reservoir scale, identifying fluid contacts to determine
sweep efficiency and indicating transitions between large
sand/shale formations.
FIGURE 1. Possible scenarios were identified on crossing the major fault (pre-job planning phase). (Source: Schlumberger)
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Applicable in any well type, the tool consists of multiple
subs in the bottomhole assembly that measure resistivity
changes along the borehole and map the environment to
characterize the reservoir structure at a larger scale. By
mapping the reservoir while drilling, the service provides
a real-time capability to update reservoir models.
Shell Brazil Petroleo Ltda. used the service with other
LWD tools to identify and map the boundaries of a deep-
water reservoir to optimally place a horizontal production
well. By mapping reservoir boundaries as far as 22 m (72
ft) above and below the wellbore, the service enabled
Shell Brazil to more accurately and completely character-
ize the reservoir and make informed drilling decisions
that resulted in significant time and cost savings.
Mapping faulted formation
The well drilled by Shell Brazil was in a deepwater reser-
voir that targeted a reservoir zone that extended across
two fault blocks. The objective was to drill and steer the
horizontal production interval from downthrown to
upthrown blocks of the fault zone to access reserves on
both sides while targeting the reservoir areas with the
highest porosity. A pre-job model was built based on con-
ventional seismic and structural data and incorporated
petrophysical properties from the surrounding wells.
A small area of the model was updated after a pilot well
was drilled in the downthrown fault block. The geological
environment of the reservoir is interpreted as unconfined
turbidite sands characterized by amalgamated distributory
channels with shale zones above and below the reservoir.
The complexity of the reservoir led Shell Brazil to plan
for deep electromagnetic directional measurements while
MWD/LWD
FIGURE 2. Final interpretation of the major reservoir structural
and stratigraphic features is shown along with the new interpre-
tation overlaying the seismic section. (Source: Schlumberger)
drilling, mapping the horizontal well path beginning at
the casing shoe just above the downthrown fault block,
traversing the block and crossing a normal fault into the
upthrown fault block. The primary challenge was to deter-
mine the degree of offset along the fault plane in conjunc-
tion with the uncertainty of reservoir quality encountered
after crossing the fault into the upthrown fault block.
Shell devised three scenarios based on the degree of dis-
placement along the fault plane. The first scenario (A)
assumed an accurate interpretation of the seismic map,
while the other two scenarios (B and C) assumed a smaller
or larger than expected fault throw. Scenarios A and B
would require only minor adjustments to place the well
path in the most productive zone of the reservoir, while
scenario C would require a trajectory change upward to
re-enter the reservoir (Figure 1).
Based on those scenarios, the mapping tool would allow
Shell Brazil to determine the dip, thickness and resistivity
profile of the reservoir in the downthrown fault block;
ascertain the relative position of the wellbore to the reser-
voir upon crossing the fault plane; and map the bound-
aries of the reservoir geometry and resistivity profile while
drilling through the upthrown fault block.
Assessing reservoir quality
After exiting the casing shoe, the tool mapped the top of
the reservoir to be about 4 m (13 ft) above the well path,
COPYRIGHT © HART ENERGY | 1616 S. VOSS, STE. 1000, HOUSTON, TX 77057 USA | +1 713 260 6400 | FAX +1 713 840 8585
as expected from the pre-job model. However, the tool
detected the base of the reservoir in the downthrown
fault block to be roughly 8 m (26 ft) total vertical depth
(TVD)—more shallow to the well path than predicted
from seismic.
As drilling progressed, real-time interpretation high-
lighted the quality of the reservoir, which was within
expectation in the downthrown fault block. As the well
approached the interpreted fault plane, conventional
LWD measurements, including laterolog resistivity images,
showed no direct indication of the fault or fault zone,
while the electromagnetic directional inversion did.
This revealed significant changes in the resistivity profile
away from the wellbore as well as a change of structural
dip. As the well entered the upthrown fault block, the base
of the reservoir was mapped at about 3 m (9.8 ft) TVD
below the well path, while the top of the reservoir was
mapped at 22 m TVD above the trajectory. This led to the
conclusion that the reservoir was similar to scenario C.
As drilling continued, the inversion continuously
mapped key features of the base of the reservoir. After
crossing the fault, the resistivity profile from the top to
the base of the reservoir was shown to be consistently
high, a signature of a more highly cemented interval
that was later confirmed with mud-logging data.
While drilling into the upthrown fault block, the top
of the reservoir was shallower than pre-job modeling and
seismic data had predicted and was at the limit of the
tool’s detection capabilities.
When the trajectory passed the cemented zone, the
resistivity profile of the formation abruptly lowered and
continued to reduce as drilling progressed. This area of
the reservoir coincided with the high-amplitude zone of
the seismic dataset, which was the primary target in the
upthrown fault block. The mapping data identified four
layers from top to bottom: a low-resistivity reservoir layer, a
conductive and likely shale layer or lens just above the tra-
jectory, the lower resistivity reservoir layer in which the tra-
jectory was being drilled, and the underlying shale below
the reservoir (Figure 2).
Using the reservoir mapping-while-drilling information,
Shell Brazil decided to lower the trajectory from the origi-
nal plan to better access the more prolific part of the
lower reservoir. As drilling neared the planned total depth
of the well, reduced resistivity was detected away from the
wellbore as well as at the bit. The decision was made to
stop drilling 100 m (328 ft) measured depth short of the
plan to avoid unnecessary and costly drilling over a non-
productive interval. Following the successful operation,
Shell Brazil used the service in 15 wells in 2013 and is cur-
rently deploying it for 20 more wells in 2014.