Problems Specific To Well-Log

Measurements
Lecture 4.2
Problems Specific To Well-Log Measurements

•Borehole effects, invasion

• The effect of tool geometry
• Logging speed
• Hostile environments
Borehole effects, invasion
1. Drilling mud (a) Hole diameter (b) Mud-type and mud-density

2.Invasion
3. Casing and cement
4. Fluid mobility
2. Invasion
Ignoring for the moment wells drilled with air or emulsion,
the functions of the drilling mud are:
• (a) cooling of the drill-bit.
• (b) preventing the hole from collapsing inwards.
• (c) preventing flow of formation fluids (an extreme case of which is the
“blow-out”
• (d) bringing the cuttings up to surface.
In principle, the mud is kept at a slightly higher pressure than the
formation pore-fluids, by careful control of the mud-density. Because of
this pressure difference, there is a tendency for the mud to infiltrate
porous, permeable beds. This is known as invasion.
2. Invasion
The solid particles in the mud are usually larger than the pores, and
only the liquid content can invade the formation. So during drilling,
there is a build-up of mud-cake on the wall of the hole wherever the
mud-filtrate infiltrates. Eventually the mud-cake forms an almost
impermeable membrane which impedes further invasion.
2. Invasion
• The reservoir rock near the hole does not contain the same fluids as
before invasion. Changes have occurred both in the nature of the
fluids and their proportions. Since the logging tools will always read at
least some of the invaded zone signal, these changes must be taken
into account when attempting to evaluate the fluid saturation of the
virgin zone, which represents the reservoir at large.
• There is no perfect solution to this problem. A satisfactory approach
models the invasion fluid distribution as a step-profile (shown in
below) between the flushed zone of resistivity, Rxo and the virgin
reservoir, of resistivity Rt. The resistivities measured by tools of
different depths of investigation are combined to solve for the
saturations of the two zones (Sxo, Sw, respectively).
3. Casing and cement
The presence of casing and cement precludes certain logging
measurements (resistivity for instance). Generally, only nuclear (and
some acoustic) measurements can be made through casing.
4. Fluid mobility
• Although a troublesome phenomenon from a reservoir evaluation point of
view, invasion can be used as an indication of the mobility of the reservoir
fluids. Hydrocarbon mobility is its ease of displacement.
• The difference between the saturations Sxo and Sw, calculated in the
invasion and virgin zones is the quantity of hydrocarbon displaced by the
filtrate. The producible oil index, POI, (also called the movable oil index) is
defined as:
• POI = Φ(Sxo – Sw)
• If we are justified in assuming that the displacement of hydrocarbon during
filtrate invasion is representative of what will occur during subsequent
production by water-drive, then the POI is a useful index of probable
recoverability
• Certainly, if the difference (Sxo – Sw) is small, it is likely that the
hydrocarbon mobility is poor, and recoverability will be low *.
• Conversely, a large difference promises good recoverability.
• The recoverability factor, f, is defined as
𝑓 = (Sxo – Sw)/ (1 – Sw)
Problems Specific To Well-Log Measurements
• Borehole effects, invasion

•The effect of tool geometry

• Logging speed
• Hostile environments
The effect of tool geometry
a) Tool diameter, excentralization
b) Spacing of sensors, depth of investigation.
c) Vertical resolution
The effect of tool geometry
a) Tool diameter, excentralization:
There is a minimum hole diameter (or casing inner diameter) through
which a tool of a certain size may safely pass. For most logging services,
there exists a range of tool diameters appropriate to the common hole-
sizes, including special “ slim-hole’’ equipment.
The logging tool may take any of three positions relative to the hole
axis (as shown fig below);
• centralized,
• excentralized against the wall(δ=0)
• stood-off from the wall by a small amount(δ=constant)
a) Tool diameter, excentralization
Correct tool positioning is mandatory for some measurements, and is
ensured by mechanical means;
• One or several multi-armed centralizers (BHC);
• one-armed excentralizer (CNL, FDC);
• rubber stand-off (induction logging).
This equipment becomes even more important in deviated wells, where the
logging sonde would otherwise tend to lie along the low side of the hole. (In
fact, wells are rarely perfectly vertical.)
The coefficient of excentralization is defined as:
Є = 2δ/(dh – dtool)
• Є is 1.0 for a perfectly centred tool sonde, and 0 when it is against the hole
wall.
b) Spacing of sensors, depth of investigation
• Logging tools do not take point readings, the signals they measure
come from a finite volume of formation (and borehole) surrounding
the sensor.
• Single-detector devices (the S.P. electrode, the natural gamma-ray
detector, for instance) respond to a volume whch would be a sphere,
centred on the sensor, if the surrounding medium were
homogeneous.
• Logging tools which use a source or emitter (current electrodes array,
induction coils, neutron source,acoustic wave transmitter, etc) and
one detector(measuring electrode, receiver coil, neutron or gamma-
ray detector, acoustic receiver, etc) receive a signal from a volume of
formation whose height is of the same order as the source-detector
spacing.
• Where two detectors are used (e.g. compensated neutron or sonic
tools), the difference between the received signals is a measure of the
formation over a distance roughly equal to the detector-detector
spacing.
We categorize logging devices according to their “depth of
investigation”
• (a) Micro-tools, whose sensors and emitters are usually mounted on a
pad which is pressed against the hole-wall. The volume investigated is
small; for a compensated density tool it is a hemisphere of radius less
than 10 cm; for the microlog * (ML) the hemisphere is only a few
centimetres radius; for a micro-laterolog * (MLL) it is trumpet shaped,
extending perhaps 10 cm into the formation; for the micro-spherically
focussed log (MSFL) the volume is bean-shaped rather than spherical
• (b) Macro-tools measure over a volume of, say, 0.5 to 5 m3, which
may be spherical, cylindrical or even almost a disc (Fig. 2-5), with the
tool sonde as axis. (Although not strictly true, this is usually assumed
to coincide with the hole axis.)
c) Vertical resolution: A sedimentary series consists of a sequence of
beds of various thicknesses, with differing lithological and
petrophysical properties. In theory, each bed should be distinguished
from its neighbours by its own particular reading on each of the logs.
This is indeed seen in practice when the beds are thick.
Thin beds present a different picture-on certain logs it will be barely
possible to pick out the bed boundaries, on others not at all. Two
factors must be taken into account,
• one related to the logging tool design,
• the other to the fact that the measurement is made while the tool is
moving.
• The bed resolution on a log run across a sedimentary series depends
on a number of factors, and will be different for each tool: (a) the
thickness of the beds; (b) the tool geometry and type of
measurement being made, inasmuch as they affect the volume of
investigation (relative to the bed-thickness); (c) the contrast between
readings in the bed in question and its immediate neighbors; and (d)
in a few cases, ancillary or parasite tool responses, (such as the
• blind-zone and inverse deflections characteristic of
• the conventional resistivity measurements, the normal
• and lateral) whch may mask or distort bed thickness,
• and give erroneous values
• The bed resolution on radio-active logs is affected by the “time
constant” and logging speed.
• Bed boundaries on logs are not perfectly sharp, but appear as a more
or less gradual transition between a lower and a higher reading. The
steepness of the transition depends on the bed resolution of the
logging tool.
• Thin” beds, (that is, beds thinner than the spacing of the logging tool)
may still be discerned on the log. The measured signal, however, is an
average of contributions from all the beds within the volume of
investigation, and the true log value in a thin bed is rarely obtained,
even after correction.
Electrobed: correspond to the beds we discern by eye on a log. Electro-
beds have the following features:
• (a) they are at least as thick as the effective spacing of the logging
tool, and may well be made up of several thinner lithological strata
which are being “averaged” over the volume of investigation;
• (b) their lithology is a volume for volume mixture of each of these
substrata; and
• (c) their apparently homogeneous log response is in fact an average
of the contributions of any substrata, according to their thicknesses
and log characteristics.
• An electro-bed corresponds to an interval of depth in which log
response is constant (within certain limits).

Note: Discern: distinguish (someone or something) with difficulty by sight or with the other senses
• Logging devices with fine bed resolution which may be used for
distinguishng the detailed structure of a sedimentary series are the
electromagnetic propagation tool (EPT), microproximity (MPL), micro-
laterolog (MLL), or better still, the microlog (ML) and high-resolution
dipmeters (HDT and SDT).
• Since the electro-bed definition of the longer spacing tools is inferior
to the micro-tools, it is customary to apply “depth-smoothing” or
vertical averaging to the latter so as to render the bed resolution of all
logs more or less compatible, before an evaluation is at tempted.
Problems Specific To Well-Log Measurements
• Borehole effects, invasion
• The effect of tool geometry

•Logging speed
• Hostile environments
Logging Speed
• Logging speeds are by no means the same for all types of log. Since
natural and induced radio-active phenomena are random by nature, it
is necessary to accumulate count data over a period of time and
compute the mean in order to obtain a representative reading.
• This accumulation or sampling period corresponds to the “Time
constant” of conventional (capacitative type) measuring equipment.
The time constant is chosen according to the count-rate level and
measurement precision desired;
• the logging speed is then usually adjusted such that the tool travels 1
f t (0.30 m) in one time constant period, as shown in Table below.
• Vertical resolution of 2-3 f t (0.60-0.90 m) may be attained under
these conditions.
Problems Specific To Well-Log Measurements
• Borehole effects, invasion
• The effect of tool geometry
• Logging speed

•Hostile environments
Hostile environments
• Well-bore temperature and pressure increase with depth as a function of
the geothermal gradient, and mud density, respectively.
• Logging tools must be able to withstand extreme hole conditions which
might be encountered. (Freshly circulated drilling mud may initially be
considerably cooler than the formations with which it is in contact.
• The “warming-up” period may provide a short safe period for logging very
hot wells.)
• The presence of corrosive gases, such as hydrogen sulphide, may require
special precautions, and resistant equipment (H,S-proof cable, for
instance).
• Logging companies provide the operating limits for each tool. Outside
these limits, there is the risk of breakdown or destruction of the equipment
by temperature failure of electronic components, leaking of mud past
pressure seals, collapse of the pressure housing, and so on.