Well-logging Correlation – Analysis and correlation of
well logs in Rio Grande do Norte basin wells
Ricardo Afonso Salvador Pernes (March, 2013)
[email protected] Master thesis
Abstract
During drilling operations one can obtain, with coring, mud-logging and well logging, all the
information needed to study a formation in terms of its physical characteristics. With well logging
data concerning resistivity, gamma radiation, density, porosity, existing faults, underground
wave velocity and dips is recovered and send up to the surface during and after drilling.
Well logging methods allow the establishment of porosity, saturation and, indirectly, permeability
parameters in order to take conclusions about the existence and location, along the drilled hole,
of pay zones rich in hydrocarbon to exploit.
The work centered on the analysis and correlation of provided logs from tree wells located in
Potiguar Basin, Brasil, with the objective of pay zone identification and to explain similarities
between logs in order to get a general definition of the drilled formations.
Software Petrel was used in order to make a correlation between the wells, after a previous
analysis. The correlation was successful and allowed to take conclusions about the porosity,
permeability and saturation of the formation, as well as a general characterization of the
constituting rock.
Keywords: drilling; well logging; analysis; correlation; Potiguar Basin
through the drilling fluid. All the data helps
1. Introduction formation evaluation and, in this specific
case study, will be used to estimate
The proper knowledge of the petrophysical porosity, permeability and saturation of the
properties of a reservoir depends on the formation drilled in three well located in the
investment in coring or well logging. Potiguar Basin, Rio Grande do Norte.
Logging allows the access to physical data The estimation will be based on the
of the formations while drilling occurs, analysis and correlation of six chosen logs,
sending it to the surface to be analyzed of which data is present in the three wells.
1
2. Logging resistivity. This parameter increases with
the porosity of the formation. If the
The purpose of well logging is the formation has low permeability both
acquisition of physical data of the standard and deep resistivity values are
formations drilled in order to figure out identical but, in the presence of a high
where the payzones are. A payzone is a permeability formation, the standard
hydrocarbon rich formation which can be resistivity decreases significantly, unlike the
explored with profit. A formation with deep resistivity. The higher the discrepancy
payzone characteristics is porous, of values between standard and deep
permeable and saturated with resistivity, higher the permeability of the
hydrocarbons, so logging’s final objective is formation is.
the estimation of the porosity, permeability
and saturation of the formations. Spontaneous Potential: Spontaneous
Logging tools acquire data concerning the Potential logs identify the changes of
resistivity, gamma ray emission, neutron electric potential along the formation.
interaction, density, seismic wave velocity, These changes occur between permeable
temperature, inclination and azimuth of the
and impermeable formations. When
formations.
hydrocarbons are present, the electric
These tools are nowadays mostly placed in
potential diminishes in the log.
the bottom-hole assembly, 3 to 20 meters
above the drill bit and measure the
properties of the formations as the bit Gamma-ray: In sedimentary basins,
advances, in a practice known as Logging Potassium-rich formations emit gamma-
While Drilling (Hearst et al., 2000). rays by decaying of K40. Some clay minerals
Not only the inclination and azimuth of the are rich in Potassium, so gamma-ray logs
formations is measured, the orientation of are used to identify clay formation. As
the bit is measured and corrected with the these formations are impermeable, the log
help of a technique called Measurement can, in a way, identify the impermeable
While Drilling. MWD helps the driller zones drilled. The most common tool used
reaching his objective in horizontal wells. to count the gamma-rays and identify the
Both LWD and MWD data is transferred to percentage of clay is a Sodium Iodine,
the surface through the drilling fluid column activated with Thallium scintillator.
in wave form, although most of it is saved
for posterior analysis. Density: Density logs apply a principle of
The logs chosen to help determine the gamma-ray interaction with matter, known
formation physical properties are the as Compton effect, to measure the density
follows: of the formation. The sensor counts the
number of scattered gamma-rays, inferring
Standard and Deep Resistivity: the number of electrons interacted. This
Resistivity logs measure the formations allows a measure of the atomic number of
2
the elements present in the formation and, and speed up in impermeable formations,
consequently, its density. The density can such as shale. When fluids are present,
be correlated with the porosity of only the primary seismic waves are
formation, through this equation: measured. A porous and saturated
formation is enables a longer travelling time
in the sonic logs.
[1]
This establishes that the porosity ϕD with
density log can be inferred knowing the 3. Local Geology of the
matrix density ρma, the measured bulk case study
density ρb and the fluid density ρf.
Potiguar Basin formations span from the
Neutron: Neutron emission tools are used lower Cretacic to Holocenic. The most
to estimate the formation porosity. These ancient formations are conglomerates and
tool use isotopes of nuclear waste, for sandstones disposed in a fluvial system
example Californium-252, as neutron (Araripe and Feijó, 1994). The region
sources (Hearst et al., 2000). The neutrons formations can be represented as follows,
emitted interact with the formation and are chronologically: Açu, Ponta do Mel,
detected with the tool sensor. The more a Quebradas and Jandaíra. Açu is
neutron interacts, the higher is the atomic conglomerate and sandstone rich; Ponta do
number of the elements of the formation. Mel is a carbonate-rich formation originated
This log can be used as well to infer the from shallow seas. Ponta do Mel is dated
Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen present in from the neo-Albian period (Araripe & Feijó,
the formation. An effective porosity ϕeff can 1994).
be calculated knowing the response of the Quebradas formation is a sandstone and
neutron log ϕN and the value obtained in the clay mixture from the Cenomanian. These
previous equation for ϕD. sediments were deposited in a marine
plateau environment (Araripe & Feijó,
[2] 1994).
Jandaíra is a sandstone/carbonate
formation of which sediments were
Sonic: Sonic logs measure the travel time
deposited in an ancient lake, dating from
of seismic waves reflected through the
the Mesocampanian. This formation
formation. Wave velocity in inferred
contacts with Açu and Quebradas
knowing the distance travelled. The waves
(Sampaio & Schaller, 1968). An overview of
emitted are slowed in porous formations
the formations is disposed in picture 3.1.
3
Figure 3.1 - Location of the Potiguar Basin, including formations Açu and Jandaíra (Mont'Alverne et al., 1998)
indicate a higher time of response in the
4. Analysis and indicated depths, around 150s/f. As for the
Correlation standard and deep resistivity logs it is noted
a deviation of the standard resistivity from
the deep resistivity, showing a permeable
The three wells were named “Seco”,
zone. The cited zones are highlighted in
“Minor Oil” and “Produtor”. Logs of
figure 4.1.1.
standard resistivity, deep resistivity,
spontaneous potential, gamma-ray, density
and neutron logs were analyzed for the
three wells. In addiction a sonic log was
analyzed for the “Seco” well. The depths
analyzed are between 300 and 350 meters,
in measured depth.
4.1. Analysis
“Seco” well: The porous and permeable
zones are located around 307, 318 and 350
meters depth. The logs concerning these
zones indicate low spontaneous potential
values, around -60mV. The gamma-ray log
shows low values as well, around 80gAPI.
Figure 4.1.1 - "Seco" well logs. The spontaneous
The density and neutron log values are and gamma-ray logs are displayed on the left side
crossed, which indicates a porous and of the log. The resistivity logs are in the middle and
the porosity plus sonic logs are on the right.
saturated zone. The density values are
3
around 2,1g/cm and the porosity is around
35 porosity units. The sonic time logs
4
“Minor Oil” well: Porous and permeable Zone 2 has higher density, reaching
3
zones where identified from 315 to 320 and 2,25g/cm and a lower porosity than 1,
around 350 meters depth. Gamma-ray logs reaching only 30 porosity units in the
show values around 100gAPI for both neutron log. As for permeability, it is higher
cases and the spontaneous potential values in zone 2, because the deviation between
reach -30mV. As for porosity from density the standard resistivity and the deep
and neutron logs, zone 1 has higher resistivity logs is more accentuated. The
3
porosity, with a density of around 2,15g/cm cited zones are highlighted in figure 4.1.2.
and neutron porosity of 35 porosity units.
“Produtor” well: The last well log contains
three porous and permeable zones, located
from 300 to 303, 308 to 310 and 338 to
340 meters depth. The gamma-ray log read
a value of around 150gAPI for zones 1 and
2. The value is rather high and may infer
that the sandstone has a considerable
percentage of clay minerals. As for zone 3
the gamma-ray log shows a value around
120gAPI, considerable less than the other
two. The spontaneous potential log is
relatively steady around -10mV, showing
no significant formation changes through
the log. The porosity from the three zones
is very high. Density values reach 2g/cm3
Figure 4.1.2 - "Minor Oil" well logs. The
spontaneous and gamma-ray logs are displayed on and neutron porosity values reach 45
the left side of the log. The resistivity logs are in the
middle and the porosity logs are on the right.
porosity units for the three zones, much
higher than the zones described in “Seco”
and “Minor Oil”. The standard resistivity
deviation from the deep resistivity is more
accentuated in the “Produtor” zones,
showing a more permeable formation as
well. The chosen zones are highlighted in
figure 4.1.3.
5
Figure 4.1.3 – “Produtor” well logs. The spontaneous and gamma-ray logs are displayed on the left side of the log.
The resistivity logs are in the middle and the porosity logs are on the right.
4.2. Correlation
Figure 4.2.1 - Final correlation. Left-to-right: "Seco", "Minor Oil" and "Produtor" wells.
The selected logs of the three wells were correlation was the standard true vertical
correlated with Schlumberger Petrel depth. The results are displayed in 4.2.1.
software. The depth measure used in the
6
The correlated logs in figure are, in the left previous formation values, around 0,3 to
track, density and neutron porosity, in the 0,4cm3/cm3. The density logs show a
middle track are spontaneous potential decrease of the formation density, to
and gamma-ray and, in the right track, are values around 2,2g/cm3. A neutron-density
displayed deep and standard resistivities. crossover is then shown in some points,
Horizons were placed to distinguish which means this is a saturated and porous
different formations. formation. Gamma-ray values decrease
Between horizons 1 and 2, there are low from the previous formation, so the clay
neutron porosity values of around percentage decrease as well. Spontaneous
0,1m3/m3 and high density, around potential increases a bit from the previous
2.5g/cm3 and higher. Gamma-ray logs formation. There is a clear deviation (filled
show values of around 0gAPI and a sudden with green color in the figure) between
decrease of spontaneous potential is deep and standard resistivity logs, showing
noted. There is little deviation between a permeable formation. The formation
standard and deep resistivity logs, so the between horizons 3 and 4 is sandstone-rich
permeability is low as well. The formation with some clay, especially where the
between horizons 1 and 2 is a carbonate. gamma-ray log values are higher. This is
Between horizons 2 and 3 neutron porosity also the formation with payzone potential.
increases up to values between 0,3 and After the correlation, and using equations
0,5cm3/cm3, a very high porosity. The [1] and [2], an estimation of the porosity of
density decreases to 2,3g/cm3. There is no the formation was calculated for the
neutron-density crossover despite of this. “Produtor” well, at 350 meters depth. The
Gamma-ray values increase up to 150gAPI matrix density value used is 2,7g/cm3, the
and remain high through the formation, fluid density value is 0,9g/cm3 and the
while spontaneous potential logs values density log value is 2,1g/cm3. The neutron
remain stable, only with a steady little porosity log value is 0,3. The obtained
increase in “Minor Oil” well. There is little values were the follows:
deviation as well between deep and
standard resistivity logs, showing low Table 4.1 - Porosity from density, neutron logs and
effective porosity at 350 meters depth in
permeability through the formation. The “Produtor” well.
formation between horizons 2 and 3 is ϕD 0,33
clay-rich.
ϕN 0,3
Between horizons 3 and 4 neutron porosity
ϕeff 0,315
values remains stable and similar to the
7
The software was unable to import the depth down to 320 meters depth. Finally the
available information of density and reservoir formation spans from 320 meters
standard resistivity logs from the “Minor Oil” down.
well, so they could not be studied.
However, the available data was similar to
the data imported for the remaining wells,
so the formations of “Minor Oil” well are
6. References
similar to the other two, with all due
Hearst, J. R., Nelson, P. H.,
differences.
Paillett, F. L., Well Logging for
Physical Properties – A Handbook
for Geophysicists, Geologists and
5. Conclusions Engineers, Wiley, 2000.
Araripe, P. T. & Feijó, F., Bacia
The formation between horizons 3 and 4 is
Potiguar. Boletim de Geociências
the most porous and permeable, consisting
da Petrobras. v. 8, n. 1, p. 127-141,
of sandstone with a low percentage of clay
1994.
minerals. The highest porosity values reach
Sampaio, A. V. & Schaller, H.,
0,315.
Introdução à estratigrafia da Bacia
There is a visible formation correlation
Potiguar. Rio de Janeiro, Bol
between the three wells, with some minor
Técnico Petrobras, v. 11, n. 1 p.
differences in depth, as seen in the logs, so
19-44, 1968.
the geology of the sites drilled is roughly the
Mont’Alverne, A. A. F.; Jardim de
same.
Sá, E. F.; Derze, G.R.; Dantas, J.
Although “Seco” well shares the same
R. A.; Ventura, P. E. O., Mapa
formation characteristics of the other two,
Geológico do Estado do Rio
it’s not productive. A porous and permeable
Grande do Norte. Escala
formation doesn’t necessarily contain
1:500.000. Natal,
hydrocarbons.
DNPM/UFRN/Petrobras/CRM,
The formation between horizons 1 and 2 is
1998.
a carbonate, between 2 and 3 is a clay-rich
Ellis, D., Singer, J., Well Logging
formation and, between 3 and 4, a
for Earth Scientists, second edition,
sandstone-rich. This concludes that the
Springer, 2007.
overburden formation spans from the
surface, down to roughly 180 meters depth.
The reservoir trap spans from 180 meters
