WELL LOGGING (PE413)

Measure of Porosity
Porosity: is the pore volume per unit volume of formation; it is the fraction of the total
volume of a sample that is occupied by pores or voids. The symbol for porosity is ᴓ.

A dense, uniform substance, such as a piece of glass, has zero porosity; a sponge, on the
other hand, has a very high porosity. Porosities of subsurface formations can vary widely.

Dense carbonates (limestone's) and evaporates (salt, anhydrite, gypsum, etc.) may show
practically zero porosity; well-consolidated sandstones may have 10 to 15% porosity;
unconsolidated sands may have 30%, or more, porosity.

Shale's or clays may contain over 40% water- filled porosity, but the individual pores are
usually so small the rock is impervious to the flow of fluids.

Porosity log types:

I. Bulk density

II. Sonic (acoustic)

III. Compensated neutron

These logs do not measures porosity directly. To accurately calculate porosity, the
analyst must know:

Formation lithology / Fluid in pores of sampled reservoir volume.

Porosity log types:

I. Neutron log tool

Neutron source.

High energy neutrons are slowed down by hydrogen atoms in water (or oil) and detected
by tool.

Porosity is function of rock type.

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II. Density log tool

Gamma ray source.

Electrons reflect gamma rays back to detector in tool.

Electrons in formation proportional to density. Porosity is function of rock type and

density.

III. Sonic log tool

Measures speed of sound in formation.

Porosity slows sound.

Porosity is function of rock type and measured speed of sound

Measure Porosity by Sonic log

There is two method to measure porosity from sonic Log:

1- Equation 2-Sonic porosity chart

1-Porosity By equation method:

Sonic tool First step indicate a wanted depth porosity.

Apply one of two equation: I-Wylie –Time- average II-Raymer-Hunt-Gardner

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I-Wylie –Time- average

Wylie proposed that for clean and consolidated formations with uniformly distributed
small pores, a linear time-average or weighted average relationship between porosity
and DT exists

DT log = DT fl Ǿ + DT ma ( 1- Ǿ)

and solving for Ǿ:

Ǿ = (DT log – DT ma) / (DT fl – DT ma )

DT fl is the transit time of the fluid in the pore space. Typically the fluid in the pore space
is the filtrate of the fresh water mud during drilling.

DT fl is about 620 us/m or 189 us/ft

Fresh water mud in well =189𝜇𝑠𝑒𝑐/𝑓𝑡

Salt water mud= 185𝜇𝑠𝑒𝑐/𝑓𝑡

II-Raymer-Hunt-Gardner

Ǿ =5/8 (DT log – DT ma) / (DT log – DT ma )

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2-Sonic porosity chart

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Measure Porosity by Density log

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