ABSTRACT

NMR logging, a subcategory of electromagnetic

logging, measures the induced magnet moment of
hydrogen nuclei (protons) contained within the fluid-
filled pore space of porous media (reservoir rocks).
Unlike conventional logging measurements (e.g.,
acoustic, density, neutron, and resistivity), which
respond to both the rock matrix and fluid properties
and are strongly dependent on mineralogy, NMR-
logging measurements respond to the presence of
hydrogen protons. NMR logs provide information
about the quantities of fluids present, the properties
of these fluids, and the sizes of the pores containing
these fluids. From this information, it is possible to
infer or estimate volume (porosity) and distribution
(permeability) of rock pore space, Rock composition.
Type and quantity of fluid hydrocarbons and
Hydrocarbon producibility. The basic core and log
measurement is the T2 decay, presented as a
distribution of T2 amplitudes versus time at each
sample depth, typically from 0.3ms to 3ms. The T2
decay is further processed to give the total pore
volume (the total porosity) and pore volumes within
different ranges of T2. The most common volumes
are the bound fluid and free fluid.

NMR LOG Saud Qadir Khan

Its Working Principle, Output, Application and
Advantages & Disadvantages over normal tool 2015-PET-17
Pet-E-313 Well Logging
Pet-E-313 Well Logging 2015-PET-17

NMR Tool
A nuclear magnetic resonance logging tool comprises spaced-apart arrays of magnets,
oppositely polarized, to produce a homogeneous static magnetic field parallel to the borehole
when positioned adjacent the borehole wall. Magnetic material is positioned between the arrays
of magnets and the ‘borehole fluid when the logging tool is so positioned against the borehole
wall to create a weaker magnetic field within the borehole. Transmitter means produces a radio
frequency polarization pulse. Receiver means detects nuclear magnetic resonance in the
formation following the termination of the polarization pulse. (Givens, 1986)
In Modern NMR tool, the sensor is skid-mounted to cut through mud cake and provide good
contact to the formation. Two powerful magnets provide the static magnetic field Bo. The
antenna act both as transmitter of the CPGM sequence and as receiver of the pulse echoes from
the formation. (borehole-lecture10-NMR.pdf, 2017)

Modern NMR Tool

Working Principle of NMR Tool

Principle of early NMR tools. The Schlumberger NML Nuclear Magnetism Logging tool
measured transverse relaxation, T2. Protons in the formation are aligned to the Earth’s magnetic
field—considered to be homogeneous on these scales. Horizontally-mounted coil tips the
protons 90°(Borehole). They then start to precess about the Earth’s field and gradually relax
back towards it(Magnetization). The same coil measures the decaying horizontal magnetization
Pet-E-313 Well Logging 2015-PET-17

as protons relax. The envelope of the decaying signal gives T2(NML Signal). T2 Amplitude
was extrapolated back to the start of the measurement to give NML porosity, assumed equal to
free-fluid index. One big drawback with this type of tool was that the borehole signal had to be
eliminated by doping the mud system with magnetite—not very popular with drillers

Figure 2: NMR designs from NUMAR and Schlumberger (left).

The two tools currently available are the Schlumberger second generation, pulse-echo NMR
tool—the CMR tool—and NUMAR’s MRIL Magnetic Resonance Imager Log. Both use
permanent magnets, instead of the Earth’s magnetic field, to align protons, and a system
providing controllable radio-frequency (rf) magnetic pulses allowing T2 measurements. The
use of permanent magnets means that the position of the measurement volume can be
controlled by tool design—eliminating borehole doping.
Nuclear magnetic resonance refers to a physical principle—response of nuclei to a magnetic
field. Hydrogen (H) has a relatively large magnetic momentum and is also abundant in rocks.
By tuning NMR logging tools to the magnetic resonance frequency of hydrogen, the signal of
the precessing nuclei is maximized and measured. The decay of the NMR signal (transverse
Pet-E-313 Well Logging 2015-PET-17

relaxation time, or T2-time), i.e. the response of the hydrogen nuclei to an outside external
magnetic field, and the total signal amplitude are the measurements exploited with NMR
logging tools. The measurement sequence starts with proton alignment, spin-tipping and
precession, followed by repeated dephasing and refocusing. The relaxation time T 2 depends
on the size of the pore-space and is thus a direct measure of porosity. The advantage of the
NMR technique is that the porosity measurement is independent of lithology (not like density-
porosity) and is carried out without radioactive sources.
Three magnetic fields are important to the NMR experiment:
➢ Static magnetic field (Bo) polarizes the hydrogen nuclei in their equilibrium state
➢ Pulsed, oscillating magnetic field (B1) excites the nuclear spins, and rotates the
magnetization
➢ Local magnetic fields due to other atoms/ions in the surrounding area (particularly iron
and chromium ions)
T1 Relaxation Time
T1 is a measure of the amount of time required for the nuclear “spins” to equilibrate or
repolarize after a disturbance.
T1 relaxation occurs when the nucleus transfers energy state (along Bo) to a neighboring spin,
hence relaxing back to its lowest. In addition, interaction with pore surfaces makes the energy
transfer easier, and so the nuclei can relax faster.
T1 is the most direct measure of the distribution of pore size. Since the pore surfaces contribute
to the nuclear relaxation, information about the rock matrix can be deduced
T2 Relaxation
T2 is a measure of the time taken for the nuclear spins to dephase in the transverse plane
(eliminating effects due to magnet inhomogeneities).
A CPMG sequence (Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill) is used to measure T2. It comprises a 90°
pulse, followed by a train of 180° pulses.
This pulse sequence eliminates effects due to local variations in magnetic field. Therefore, the
signal decay is due to interactions with neighbouring spins and surfaces. The CPMG pulse
sequence takes only a few seconds to run, and therefore is a more practical measurement both
in the laboratory and for logging.
Factors affecting the Relaxation Time
Relaxation processes are largely determined by the types of molecules present and their
interactions
➢ Different fluids have different relaxation times, but each one is characteristic.
➢ Surface interactions enhance relaxation (i.e. T2 gets shorter).
➢ Paramagnetic ions (either in the fluid or on the pore surfaces) causes very fast
relaxation.
➢ Diffusion. For fast diffusion, the molecules have time to move into a different part of
the inhomogeneous Bo field and cannot be refocussed. Hence the observed T2 is faster.
➢ Temperature
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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR) LOG

Shaly-sandstone log

In this predominantly shaly-sandstone, T2 distributions fall mainly below the 33-msec cutoff
line, indicating capillary-bound water. However, the interpretation made without CMR data—
shows high water saturation, implying water production. The interpretation with CMR data
clearly shows that most of the water is irreducible. This well produced at 30% water cut,
validating the CMR results.

Output of NMR Logging Tool

Two pieces of information are obtained from a typical NMR experiment:
Signal amplitudes
➢ Used to calculate porosity or fluid volumes.
➢ Used to calculate hydrogen indexes of fluids
➢ Can be used to calculate Swi by NMR (rough estimate)
Relaxation time, either T1 or T2
➢ Used to convert relaxation time distribution into a pore size distribution
Pet-E-313 Well Logging 2015-PET-17

➢ Used to identify fluids by their bulk NMR properties

Applications
Borehole NMR instruments are shallow-reading devices. In most cases, they measure
formation properties in the flushed zone.
This has some advantages as mud filtrate properties are well-known and can be measured at
the wellsite on surface. When fluid loss during drilling is low, as in the case of low permeability
formations, hydrocarbons may also be present in the flushed zone.
In these cases, NMR tools may measure fluid properties such as viscosity and so distinguish
oil from water. A published example of the effects of hydrocarbon viscosity comes from Shell’s
North Belridge diatomite and Brown shale formations, Bakersfield, California, USA
(Freedman, et al., 1997). Both CMR logs and laboratory measurements on cores show two
distinct peaks on the T2 distribution curves. The shorter peak, at about 10 msec, originates from
water in contact with the diatom surface. The longer peak, at about 150 msec, originates from
light oil. The position of the oil peak correlates roughly with oil viscosity. The area under this
peak provides an estimation of oil saturation. T2 distribution measurements were also made on
crude oil samples having viscosities of 2.7 cp to 4300 cp (below). Highly viscous oils have less
mobile hydrogen protons and tend to relax quickly. The CMR log showed the T2 oil peak and
correctly predicted oil viscosity. It also showed that the upper 150 ft. of the diatomite formation
undergoes a transition to heavier oil. Capillary pressure curves, used by reservoir engineers to
estimate the percentage of connate water, may also be predicted from T2distributions.
Typically, these curves—plots of mercury volume versus pressure are produced by injecting
mercury into core samples. Under low pressure the mercury fills the largest pores and, as
pressure increases, progressively smaller pores are filled. The derivative of the capillary
pressure curve approximates the T2 distribution. Some differences in shape are expected as
mercury injection measures pore throat sizes, whereas NMR measurements respond to the size
of pore bodies.
Other applications and techniques are likely to follow with more complex operations that might
involve comparing logs run under different borehole conditions. For example, fluid may be
injected into the formation that is designed to kill the water NMR signal so that residual oil
saturation may be measured. This type of technique, called log-inject-log, has been used with
other borehole logs to monitor infectivity or to monitor acid treatments
NMR logs provide lithology-independent measurements of effective porosity as well as total
porosity, thus overcoming many of the limitations of conventional porosity measurements (i.e.,
neutron, density, and sonic).
NMR logs provide estimates of permeability, grain-size and pore-size distributions, and even
viscosity; all of which are problematic or impossible to determine with conventional porosity
and resistivity logs.
Through a variety of direct hydrocarbon-typing methods, NMR logs are capable of identifying
hydrocarbons and determining their saturations without incorporating data from conventional
porosity and resistivity logs.
Pet-E-313 Well Logging 2015-PET-17

Advantages and Disadvantages over Normal Tool

Advantages
A major advantage of NMR logs is the ability to differentiate between irreducible and
moveable fluids in a reservoir. This, combined with effective porosity measurements, leads to
more accurate estimates of the amount of producible water.
Conventional porosity and resistivity logs provide the geologist with a first look at the
reservoir, but there are practical limits to the accuracy and usefulness of these data. Neutron,
density, and sonic porosities are more sensitive to lithology than to reservoir fluids (this is not
always the case in a gas-bearing formation). As a result, even small amounts of clay minerals
may cause errors in porosity measurements.
The result is a porosity measurement that is sensitive only to fluids occupying the pore space.
Other petrophysical information may be deduced from the manner in which hydrogen protons
react to magnetic fields created by the tool.
At the well site, NMR tools are capable of providing measures of both effective and clay-bound
porosity (a combination of which yields total porosity), estimates of permeability, hydrocarbon
type, pore size distribution, and information pertaining to the move-ability of fluids.
In many cases, the data obtained from NMR logs are in close agreement with core data. Post-
processing of the data away from the well site, incorporating conventional logs and capillary
pressure data from core analysis, may provide for a comprehensive evaluation of the uninvaded
zone.
Disadvantages
➢ Any diamagnetic or paramagnetic ions present in the formation can affect the tool
response
➢ Tool is very expensive
➢ Logging speed is slower than the other tools
➢ Slimhole tools are not available
➢ Its depth of penetration is shallow
➢ Value of permeability obtained from NMR Tool is actually an empirical measurement
and should only be used to compare the permeabilities

References
borehole-lecture10-NMR.pdf. (2017, December 15). Retrieved from mcgill:
eps.mcgill.ca/~courses/c551/c550_borehole/borehole-lecture10-NMR.pdf
Freedman, R., Johnston, M., Morriss, C. E., Straley, C., Tutunjian, P. N., & Vinegar, H. J.
(1997). Hydrocarbon Saturation And Viscosity Estimation From Nmr Logging In The
Belridge Diatomite. Society of Petrophysicists and Well-Log Analysts.
Givens, W. W. (1986). Nuclear magnetic resonance borehole logging tool. Retrieved 12 15,
2017, from https://google.com/patents/us4714881
Kenyon, B., Kleinberg, R., Straley, C., Gubellin, G., & Morriss, C. (1995). Nuclear magnetic
resonance imaging - technology for the 21st century. Oilfield Review., (pp. 19-33).