Gamma ray log

The emitting of the gamma rays and photons from the three main sources with no mass, no charge but with great energy

Gamma ray logging is a method of measuring naturally occurring gamma radiation to characterize the rock or sediment in

a borehole or drill hole

 Principal uses

 Quantitatively

Quantitatively used for derive shale volume

 Qualitatively

Qualitatively used for to correlate or identify lithology

Natural gamma radiation
Simple gamma ray tool
Log Characteristics
Geochemical behavior of potassium, thorium &
uranium
 Radioactivity of shales and clay
 Potassium in petroleum borehole logging the commonest natural radioactivity (volume) is found in shales
(clay)

 Potassium is involved in the chemical makeup of clay mineral structure and also consistent content in most
shales of around 2-3.5%

 This is the case since shales are generally a mix of several of the clay minerals therefore potassium is a
good shale indicator
 Uranium distribution is very irregular because its affinity is to secondary components and not the main
rock forming minerals. Since its distribution is not related to clay volume, uranium is a poor shale
indicator
 The behavior of thorium in shales isn't fully understood because of the varying content in clay minerals

 The average volume is about for a typical shale contributing between 40-50% of the overall shale
radioactivity

 Considering this percentage to the contribution of overall radioactivity, thorium is a very good shale
indicator
 Spectral gamma ray log
 Spectral gamma ray log shows the amount of each individual element contributing to this
radioactivity

Principal uses
 Quantitative
Radioactive mineral volume
 Qualitative
Indicate dominant clay minerals and give indications of depositional environment
 Spectral gamma ray tool
 Like the simple gamma ray tool consists of scintillation counter and photo multiplier. However in spectral
tool the sodium iodide crystal has a much greater volume typically 5cm in diameter and 20cm long and so
gives the tool a much better counting sensitivity
 Log characteristics
 The calibration facility for spectral gamma ray is the same that is used for simple gamma ray
that is API in order to arrive at this value the following multipliers are used :
 1ppm uranium = 8.09 API
 1ppm thorium = 3.93 API
 1ppm uranium = 16.32 API
Quantitative & Qualitative Use Of Gamma Ray
Quantitative & Qualitative Use Of Spectral Gamma Ray