Hydrocarbon Generation and

Migration

&

Open Hole Logging

By
G J Raj Bob, DGM-HLS
 Origin: Plankton

Plant plankton Animal plankton

would fit on a pinhead!
10,000 of these bugs

Most oil and gas starts life as microscopic plants and animals that live in the ocean.
Organic matter in sediments
 On the sea bed
When the plankton dies it rains
down on sea bed to form an
organic mush

If there are any animals on the

sea bed these will feed on the
Sea bed
organic particles

Where sediment contains organic

matter, it eventually forms a rock
known as a Black Shale
 Sources of Organic matter

• Plants
• Animals

• Organic rich sediments are buried in a basin

• Through time, under pressure & temperature

associated with deep burial, organics undergo
physical & chemical changes, eventually
forming oil
 Cooking

As source rock is buried, it is heated.

Organic matter is first changed by the

Kerogen increase in temperature into kerogen,
which is a solid form of hydrocarbon
Around 90°C, it is changed into a liquid
Oil state, which we call oil

Gas
Around 150°C, it is changed into a gas

A rock that has produced oil and gas in

this way is known as a Source Rock
 Migration, and Trapping of Hydrocarbons

Fault
Oil/water
(impermeable)
contact (OWC)

Migration route
Seal
Hydrocarbon Reservoir
accumulation rock
in the
reservoir rock
Top of maturity

Source rock
Structure, reservoir,
oil/gas
EXPLORATION
Sedimentary
Basin
A depression in the crust of the Earth where in sediments can accumulate.

26 such basins recognized in India

Geological
Structures
Locations favorable for occurrence of HC

Examples: Anticlines, Domes

Drilling
Well
Formations are penetrated by a rotatory bit.
Well Logging
Open hole services
 WELL LOGGING
Logging - “Eye” of E&P Industry
What is Well Logging?

Well logging is a continuous

recording of physical
properties of earth
formations as a function of
depth.
 CLASSIFICATION

OPEN HOLE CASED HOLE PRODUCTION AUXILLIARY JOBS

RESISTIVITY CCL TEMPERATURE PUNTURE

NEUTRON CBL-VDL FLOW METER
FREE POINT INDICATOR
DENSITY PERFORATION PRESSURE
SONIC FLUID DENSITY STRING SHOT
GR PIPE CUTTERS
SP B/P SETTING
CALIPER
 Well Sketch
Casing Tubing

Packer

Perforations
Cement
Gas Zone Gas Zone

Oil Zone-1 Oil Zone-1

Shale Shale

Oil Zone-2 Oil Zone-2

Water Zone Water Zone

PLUG
 Well Logging
Gather detailed information about layers of Rocks

Surface System
Cable

Logging Tool
Well Logging
 Well Logging

Measurement
Acquisition of formation Data

Well log: Is a record of a measurable

parameter plotted against depth

 Measurement

Properties of formations & fluids

 Electrical Property – Resistivity

 Density – Gamma rays
 Neutron Porosity – Neutrons
 Elastic properties – Acoustic travel time
 Natural radioactive properties – GR
 Spontaneous potential – SP
 Electromagnetic properties - EPT
 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance – NMR
 Fluid type, Mobility, pressures –RFT
 Dip -SHDT
 Formation temperatures –Thermo log
Resistivity measurement
An electrical current is passed into the formation and the resultant voltage
is measured from which resistivity is derived.
 Particle interactions

TheoryGamma Ray
Photo electric effect Er < 100 Kev
Compton scattering 75Kev < Er > 5 Mev
Pair production Er > few Mev

Neutron interaction
Scattering - elastic (CNL) & inelastic (c/o log)
Fast reaction
Thermal absorption

Neutron energies
0.1 – 15 Mev fast
~ 1 Kev slow
~ 1 ev epithermal
~ 1/40 ev thermal
 Density tool
Gamma rays
Physical emitted from source CS137 interact with the electrons of the
principle
elements of the formation. Two detectors in the tool count the returning gamma
rays which are related to formation density.
Density Tool

Principle of density measurement

Electron - gamma rays 662 Kev interaction
Compton scattering (pb)
Photoelecttic effect (Pe)
Energy ranges of the Compton and photoelectric effect

Tool description
Two detector system
Raw density measurement
Correction
photoelectric absorption index

Bulk density of formation

Mineral identification

Formation density 1.7 – 3.05 gr/cc

Mud cake density 1.19 – 2.32 gr/cc
 Neutron Log
Basic Physics

• Neutron tool contains a radioactive source, emitting fast (high energy) neutrons.
• As neutrons enter formation, they collide with nuclei and slow down (loss of energy).
 Neutron Log
Basic Physics

• As neutrons enter formation, they collide with nuclei and slow down (loss of energy).

• Most energy loss occurs when a neutron collides with a nucleus of equal mass.

• The mass of hydrogen’s nucleus is almost equal to the mass of a neutron.

• Within microseconds of entering formation, successive collisions reduce energy of

neutrons to “thermal energy.”

• Thermalize is considered to be to reduce energy of neutron from 4 MeV to less than 0.10
MeV

• A thermal neutron continues to diffuse randomly at low energy through the formation.
 Neutron porosity
Principle

• Response of tool is determined by rate at which the thermal neutron

population decreases with distance from source

• This rate of decrease is principally determined by the porosity of the

formation.

• Quantity measured is the ratio of counting rate from near-spaced

detector to that from the far-spaced detector. 

• The dual-spacing measurement provides compensation for the effects

of hole conditions - salinity, temperature, mud type, and mud cake.

• In the process of slowing down, neutron "cloud" spreads out spatially

• The width of this spatial distribution is frequently characterized by a

single property, called the slowing-down length
 Neutron log …cont

• Eventually, the thermal neutrons

• are “captured” or absorbed by the
• nuclei of atoms of the formation.

• Earlier neutron logs did not detect

• neutrons directly, instead they
• measured gamma rays that were
• emitted when hydrogen and chlorine
• captured the thermal neutrons.

• The neutrons that do not reach

• thermal velocities and are not
• subject to nucleus capture are
• called epithermal neutrons.
Neutron Log…cont
• Neutrons emitted from radioactive source
• Collide and lose energy while travelling through formation
• Primarily dependent on hydrogen concentration or index
• Detect either epithermal neutrons, thermal neutrons,
capture gamma rays or combination
• Thus, measures the formations ability to attenuate the passage of
neutrons
Principle of Operation
Single detector neutron tool in borehole Neutron Log
• GNT (obsolete)
• SNP (limited)
– borehole effects minimized
– automatic corrections
– applicable to empty holes
* Rugosity and mudcake effects
• CNL (widespread)
• DNL (next generation)
– Improved gas detection in shaly rese
Sonic Tool

Basic principle
Measurement of sound wave transit time gives the inter connected porosity

Waves
Compressional waves
Shear waves
Rayleigh waves
Stoneley waves
Sonic tool …cont

Transmitter - Acoustic power radiation

Transducer transforms electric energy into mechanical

Transformation is made by using
• Piezoelectric material - ceramic
or
• Magnetostrictive materials – Nickel, cobalt and ferrite
(Physical dimension changes when magnetized)
Receiver - incident sound wave changes dimension generating electric signal
Piezoelectric
Magnetostrictive
Electro Magnetic Propagation Tool

Background
Propagation of EM wave in a medium is governed by dielectric properties represented by
Dielectric permittivity(epsilon star)
Polarizability (epsilon prime)
Dipolar relaxation(epsilon x) – dielectric constant
Conductivity (sigma/omega)

Dielectric permittivity is a complex combination of above three

Dielectric constant of water is 78.3 against range 2-9.2 for formations
Measured permittivity is mainly a function of water - filled porosity

Measurement
Phase shift and attenuation of the EM wave between the receivers
Phase shift (radians/m)
Attenuation (dB/m)
Travel time, Tpl (nano sec/m)
 EPT…cont

Tool description
Mandrel type tool
The antenna pad is rigidly mounted on the sond body
Contact with the borehole wall is achieved by a powered mechanical arm
Small arm caliper – a rugosity indicator
Transmitter generating more than two watts
Receiver can process a pico watt signal

Applications
Hydrocarbon mobility what ever the invasion
Hydrocarbon detection in fresh water conditions
Unknown water salinities
Thin bed resolution
Unusual textural effects
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Porosity & permeability

 Fluid Sampler – RFT (MDT)

Collects formation fluid sample at any desired depth and measures formation pressures

Pressure gradients – fluid contacts

Type of fluid (LFA)

Mobility of the fluid

Permeability
Evolution of tools

1927 First electric log recorded in France

1931 First continuous recording SP
1936 First photo recording SP, short normal, long normal, lateral
1937 Sidewall coring
1939 Natural gamma ray
1943 Three arm dip meter SP sensor
1949 First induction log
1950 First sonic tool run
1951 Focused electric log introduced
1957 Formation tester developed
1960 Introduced density log
1962 Sidewall neutron tool
1978 EPT
 Formation Evaluation

Locate OIL and GAS deposits (Reservoir )

Estimate How much are these deposits (OIIP / GIIP)

Producible fraction of these deposits (Recovery Factors)

Formation Evaluation
 FORMATION EVALUATION
Characterizing the formation ( Static & Dynamic )
STATIC PARAMETERS (size of the HC deposit)
Porosity
Water saturation (Sw)
Thickness / Lateral extent

DYNAMIC PARAMETERS
Permeability (Grain size and pore connectivity)
Movable fractions of fluids (pore size, Pore geometry and Wettability)

OTHER PARAMETERS
Clay (content & type)
Pore size distribution
Fluid properties (Salinity, composition and Viscosity)
Temperature & pressure
Compressibility (Solid and fluid fraction of the rock)
 WELL LOG INTERPRETATION
Process of converting measured Log data into geologically meaningful parameters of rock.

Identify porous and permeable layers

Interpretation methodology

Identify lithology

quantify shale content

Calculate effective porosity

Estimate Rw

Compute Sw
Calculate the volume of shale content
Shale distribution

DISPERSED

LAMINATED

STRUCTURAL
POROSITY
Estimate of effective porosity
Water Saturation (Sw) computation

Archie clean form 1942

Patdone-Wylie:De Witte two parallel resistors 1950
Winsauer & Mc Cardell ionic double layer 1953
Wylie & Southwick three element system 1954
Simandoux s s model 1963
Waxman – Swmith ionic double layer 1968
Indonesian Poupon & Leveaux 1971
Clavier,Coates&Dumanoir Dual water model 1977

Parameters required
Rw
Clay content
Porosity
resistivity
Sw calculation (using resistivity & porosity)
Measured Data Interpreted Results

2200
Estimation of In-place Hydrocarbons
(OIIP/GIIP)
Lateral extent – Area
Thickness – he
Porosity – Øe
Water Saturation – Sw
Formation Volume factor - Bg /Bo
Producible fraction of HC

Permeability
Drive mechanism
Fluid properties
 Summary

Exploration
 Locating basins
 Finding out structures

Drilling

Well Logging

Formation Evaluation
 Interpretation – characterizing the formation

Estimation of In-place volumes

Producible fractions – based on permeability, drive mechanism, fluid properties

POROSITY TOOLS
1. Density tool

High energy gamma rays emitted from source CS137 interact with the
electrons of the elements of the formation. Two detectors in the tool count
the returning gamma rays which are related to formation density, which
yields porosity.

2. Neutron tool

Fast neutrons from Source bombard the formation and interact with ‘H’
nuclei. Spectrum of received neutrons is function of Porosity.

3. Sonic tool

An acoustic pulse transmitted is received after travelling through formation.

Velocity of the sonic wave in the formation is inversely proportional to
porosity.