Engineering College

Petroleum Engineering Dept/Second stage Petroleum Geology MSc. Yasmin Fadhel

Well logs
The well logs one of the effective tools to study the properties of the layers below the
surface of the earth through the study of their physical properties.

logs of wells used to compare and determine the relations between the rocks under the
surface, as well as to determine the porosity of the reservoir rocks and the nature of the
fluid and the degree of saturation. The log information proving the form of a diagram or
a vertical sequence according to the depths of one or several attributes of the rock layers
and fluids.

Conducted well logs in practice through vehicle or car equipped with an electric
generator mounted with crane , wire and geophones, there are recording devices inside
the car for these data are recorded either through automatically pen moves on graph
paper or a special recording device .

Types of well logs

There are many types of logs for multiple properties can be recorded for the rock
layers:

1. Electrical logs

varies rocks in the conductive of electricity and depend mainly on the presence of
fluid, whether water or oil or other gases are trapped between the pores or stuck rocks
grains according to the nature of the rocks depending on the degree of permeability or
porosity, for example, dry rocks are usually not electrically conductive but on the other
hand electrical resistance also depends on the amount of salinity or freshness these
fluids, especially water. While longer crystalline rocks igneous and metamorphic and
some sedimentary rocks such as gypsum, anhydrite and coal have high electrical
resistance, while oil is an organic material it isn’t conducts electricity so the electrical
resistance becomes dependent on the degree of saturation and concentration of salts in
the water.

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Engineering College

Petroleum Engineering Dept/Second stage Petroleum Geology MSc. Yasmin Fadhel

a. Spontaneous Potential (Self Potential) SP

It is a very simple log that requires only an electrode in the borehole and a
reference electrode at the surface. These spontaneous potentials arise from the
different access that different formations provide for charge carriers in the
borehole and formation fluids, which lead to a spontaneous current flow, and
hence to a spontaneous potential difference. The spontaneous potential log is
given the generic acronym SP. This sensor is used only in uncased wells filled
with mud electrical conductive depends on the difference between the drilling
mud salinity and formation water , voltage cause flow ions Na+ and Cl- from high
concentration to diluted solutions concentration

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Engineering College

Petroleum Engineering Dept/Second stage Petroleum Geology MSc. Yasmin Fadhel

b. Resistivity log
Resistivity logging is a method of well logging that works by characterizing the rock or
sediment in a borehole by measuring its electrical resistivity. Resistivity is a
fundamental material property which represents how strongly a material opposes the
flow of electric current. The log must run in holes containing electrically conductive
mud or water.
Resistivity logging is sometimes used in mineral exploration and water-well drilling,
but most commonly for formation evaluation in oil- and gas-well drilling. Most rock
materials are essentially insulators, while their enclosed fluids are conductors.
Hydrocarbon fluids are an exception, because they are almost infinitely resistive. When
a formation is porous and contains salty water, the overall resistivity will be low. When
the formation contains hydrocarbon, or contains very low porosity, its resistivity will
be high. High resistivity values may indicate a hydrocarbon bearing formation.

Usually while drilling, drilling fluids invade the formation, changes in the resistivity
are measured by the tool in the invaded zone. For this reason, several resistivity tools
with different investigation lengths are used to measure the formation resistivity. If
water based mud is used and oil is displaced, "deeper" resistivity logs will show lower
conductivity than the invaded zone. If oil based mud is used and water is displaced,
deeper logs will show higher conductivity than the invaded zone. This provides not only
an indication of the fluids present, but also, at least quantitatively, whether the
formation is permeable or not.

2. Radioactivity log

a.Gamma ray log

Gamma ray logging is a method of measuring naturally occurring gamma radiation to
characterize the rock or sediment in a borehole or drill hole. It is a wireline logging
method used in mining, mineral exploration, water-well drilling, for formation
evaluation in oil and gas well drilling and for other related purposes.[1] Different types
of rock emit different amounts and different spectra of natural gamma radiation. In
particular, shales usually emit more gamma rays than other sedimentary rocks, such as
sandstone, gypsum, salt, coal, dolomite, or limestone because radioactive potassium is a
common component in their clay content, and because the cation exchange capacity of
clay. This difference in radioactivity between shales and sandstones/carbonate rocks
allows the gamma tool to distinguish between shales and non-shales.

The gamma ray log, like other types of well logging, is done by lowering an instrument
down the drill hole and recording gamma radiation variation with depth. In the United

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Engineering College

Petroleum Engineering Dept/Second stage Petroleum Geology MSc. Yasmin Fadhel

States, the device most commonly records measurements at 1/2-foot intervals. Gamma
radiation is usually recorded in API units.

Three elements and their decay chains are responsible for the radiation emitted by rock:
potassium, thorium and uranium. Shales often contain potassium as part of their clay
content, and tend to absorb uranium and thorium as well. A common gamma-ray log
records the total radiation.

.An advantage of the gamma log over some other types of well logs is that it works
through the steel and cement walls of cased boreholes. Although concrete and steel
absorb some of the gamma radiation, enough travels through the steel and cement to
allow qualitative determinations.

Sometimes non-shale also have elevated levels of gamma radiation. Sandstone can
contain uranium mineralization, potassium feldspar, clay filling, or rock fragments that
cause it to have higher-than usual gamma readings. Coal and dolomite may contain
absorbed uranium. Evaporite deposits may contain potassium minerals such as
carnallite. When this is the case, spectral gamma ray logging can be done to identify
these anomalies.

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Engineering College

Petroleum Engineering Dept/Second stage Petroleum Geology MSc. Yasmin Fadhel

c. Neutron Log
Neutron Log is another kind of radioactive logs . It uses chemical or pulsed
sources to produce fast neutrons .These neutrons radiate into formation &
collide with nuclei of the atoms they encounter. The process slows down fast
neutron to a thermal state, which ultimately captured by a nucleus with induces
gamma ray emitted. The thermal neutron count rates and induced gamma rays
can be recorded to estimate hydrogen content
3.Density log
Density logging is a well logging tool that can provide a continuous record of a
formation's bulk density along the length of a borehole. In geology, bulk density is a
function of the density of the minerals forming a rock (i.e. matrix) and the fluid
enclosed in the pore spaces. This is one of three well logging tools that are commonly
used to calculate porosity, the other two being sonic logging and neutron porosity
logging
This method is the most reliable porosity indicator for sandstones and limestones
because their density is well-known. On the other hand, the density of clay minerals
such as mudstone is highly variable, depending on depositional environment,
overburden pressure, type of clay mineral and many other factors. A fluid bulk density
of 1 g/cm³ is appropriate where the water is fresh but highly saline water has a slightly
higher density and lower values should be used for hydrocarbon reservoirs, depending
on the hydrocarbon density and residual saturation.
4.Sonic log
Sonic logging is a well logging tool that provides a formation’s interval transit time,
designated as , which is a measure of a formation’s capacity to transmit seismic
waves. Geologically, this capacity varies with lithology and rock textures, most notably
decreasing with an increasing effective porosity. This means that a sonic log can be
used to calculate the porosity of a formation if the seismic velocity of the rock matrix,
and pore fluid, are known, which is very useful for hydrocarbon exploration.