Capture Technology for Complex Carbonates

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Recent
developments in the
ECS elemental
capture
spectroscopy tool
have improved yield
measurements of
magnesium—a key
component of
dolomite—to help
petrophysicists
quantify the amount
of dolomite and
other minerals in the
reservoir rock.

An Elemental Solution to a Weighty Matter

Characterization of reservoir quality with logging tools can be complicated by high mud weights.
In northern Kuwait, oil-base mud is often weighted with barite to promote safer drilling in fields
known for high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and high reservoir pressures. This
combination of mud components can affect logging measurements and the formation evaluation
process, so additional data are required to reduce the assessment's uncertainty.

Reservoir quality is primarily defined by the rock's porosity and permeability. Analyses of cores
from carbonate reservoirs show strong correlations between reservoir quality and dolomitization,
which increases the values for these two properties. The quantification of dolomite content thus
becomes important in classifying rock quality. However, as Djisan Kho, senior petrophysicist for
Schlumberger, told a recent gathering of well log analysts, the estimation of dolomite content
from conventional measurements can be hindered by a variety of factors. These include barite
mud effects, invasion of oil-base mud filtrate, complex lithologies, and sensitivity of
measurements to dolomite, as well as differences in each tool's vertical resolution and depth of
investigation.

"Porosity and lithology are normally evaluated using a combination of density, photoelectric
factor, neutron, gamma ray, and sonic measurements," Kho said. "Unfortunately, none of these
tools measures porosity or lithology independently."

This limitation introduces uncertainty into petrophysical evaluations and, where possible, core
data is used to validate log readings used in models. "If core data is not available, identifying and
correcting anomalous logs can become more complicated and create further uncertainties," Kho
told his audience. Additional data may provide answers to help reduce this uncertainty.

The most important variable to be solved for is formation mineralogy, which can be derived from
neutron capture spectroscopy data. Recent developments in the ECS elemental capture
spectroscopy tool have improved yield measurements of magnesium—a key component of
dolomite—to help petrophysicists quantify the amount of dolomite and other minerals in the
reservoir rock. ECS spectroscopy data also provides relative yields of elements such as iron,
silicon, calcium, sulfur, barium, hydrogen, and chlorine.

Because its performance is unaffected by barite muds, the tool is particularly appropriate for
wells such as those in northern Kuwait that require heavy drilling and completion fluids. And
since the spectroscopy data expands the ability to solve for more minerals in complex reservoirs,
the end result is less uncertainty in lithology, porosity, and water saturation computations.

Reference

Kho D, Al-Awadi M, and Acharya M: "Application of Magnesium Yield Measurement from

Elemental Capture Spectroscopy Tool in Formation Evaluation of Northern Kuwait Fields,"
Transactions of the SPWLA 50th Annual Logging Symposium, The Woodlands, Texas, USA.
Related resources

 Elemental Capture Spectroscopy Sonde

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