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Neutron Logging

The document summarizes the use of neutron logging tools to determine reservoir properties like porosity and lithology. It discusses how neutron logs work, how to interpret the logs, and applications like determining porosity, identifying lithology, and cross-plotting density and neutron logs. It also notes some factors that can affect neutron log values and limitations of the technique.

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56 views

Neutron Logging

The document summarizes the use of neutron logging tools to determine reservoir properties like porosity and lithology. It discusses how neutron logs work, how to interpret the logs, and applications like determining porosity, identifying lithology, and cross-plotting density and neutron logs. It also notes some factors that can affect neutron log values and limitations of the technique.

Uploaded by

sher afgan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You are on page 1/ 27

A talk on

“Application of Neutron Logging in


Reservoir Estimation”

By
Shan Shahzad
M.Phil (2nd Semester)
Institute of Geology
University of the Punjab
Lahore
Topics of talk
• Introduction
• Tools
• Log Presentation
• Application in Reservoir estimation
• Determination of Porosity
• Factors affecting log data
• Determination of Lithology
• Cross-plot of density-neutron
• Summary
Introduction
• Neutron logs are used principally for the
delineation of porous formations and
determination of their porosity.
• They responds primarily to the amount of
hydrogen in the formation. Thus, in clean
formations whose pores are filled with
water or oil, the neutron log reflects the
amount of liquid-filled porosity.
• A combination of the neutron log with
one or more other porosity logs yields
even more accurate porosity values and
lithology identification, even an
evaluation of shale content
• Neutrons are slowed down and absorbed
very quickly in a short distance in
formations with a large amount of
hydrogen atoms. The count rate of slow
neutrons or capture gamma rays is low in
the tool. Hence, the count rate will be low
in high porosity rocks.
• The neutrons are slowed down and absorbed
more slowly and travel further through the
rock before being absorbed in formations with
a small amount of hydrogen atoms. The count
rate of slow neutrons or capture gamma rays in
the tool is therefore higher. Hence, the count
rate will be higher in low porosity rocks.
• The hydrogen richness is called the hydrogen
index (HI), which is defined as the weight
percent hydrogen in the formation divided by
the weight percent hydrogen in water, where
HI of water is 1.
Tools

There are three main types of detectors, which


are used to detect different types of neutrons.
• The Gamma Ray/Neutron Tool (GNT)
• The Sidewall Neutron Porosity Tool (SNP)
• The Compensated Neutron Log (CNL)
Log Presentation

• The scale at the


top of the log
shows (negative)
-15% porosity on
the right, 0%
about 1/4 of the
way over, and 45%
porosity on the
Fig 1: Showing presentation of log
left. 
Application in Reservoir Estimation
Porosity
• The main application of the neutron log is to
provide porosity information.
• The tool is sensitive to the amount of
hydrogen in the formation and to a less extent
upon other elements. It is assumed that the
contribution to the measurement by elements
other than hydrogen is negligible, and that the
contribution to the measurement from hydrogen
comes entirely from the fluids fully occupying
the pore space.
• However, in real rocks elements other than
hydrogen that exist in the rock matrix do
contribute to the measurement (e.g., chlorine
in formation water, mud filtrates and in some
evaporite formations), and hydrogen is present
in the matrix (e.g., bound water in shales).
• The problem is partially overcome by
calibrating the tool to give the porosity in
limestone units. Pure limestone saturated
with fresh water is chosen because it
contains no elements which contribute
significantly to the measured signal other
than hydrogen.
• The porosities that are read by the tool in
other lithologies or with other fluids need
to be corrected by a chart such as that
shown in Fig 2.
Fig 2 : Correction chart for obtaining porosity values for lithologies
other than limestone.
Factors Affecting Log Data
• There are three effects that are not corrected for
in the log data, that need to be briefly mentioned:
• The Hydrocarbon Effect. The presence of
hydrocarbon liquid (oil) does not effect the tool
response as it has approximately the same
hydrogen index as fresh water. Hydrocarbon gas,
however, has a much lower hydrocarbon index
resulting from its low density, and its presence will
give rise to underestimations in porosity.
Fig 3 : The Hydrocarbon gas effect in the neutron log
The Shale Effect: Shale contain clays that have
a significant amount of bound water molecules
on their surfaces. This increases the hydrogen
index of the formation. Even very low porosity
shales can give erroneously high porosity
readings due to the presence of these bound
waters.
The Chloride Effect: Chlorine is a good
absorber of neutrons, and can lead to
overestimations of porosity if present either as
formation fluid or mud filtrate.
Determination of Lithology
• The direct use of the neutron log to identify
lithologies depends upon the recognition of
which lithologies may contain hydrogen
atoms.
• The values of apparent porosity in shales
varies considerably, but is usually higher
than the apparent porosity in carbonate or
sandstone rocks (i.e., 45 to 75%).
• The apparent neutron limestone porosity
is affected by the amount of shale and
sand, or shale and limestone in a mixture
of the two.
• Hence we can recognize coarsening-up
and fining-up sequences in the neutron
log. While one can calculate a shale
volume from the neutron log directly, it is
not recommended because of the effect of
hydrocarbon gases which may be present
to disturb the log.
Lithological and fluid indicators for
the neutron tool
• The first three of these give apparent limestone
porosities of about 60%, while polyhalite give about
25%. The apparent limestone porosities for halite,
anhydrite, and sylvite are very low (-3, -2, and –3
respectively) as they contain no water. Note that
there is no effect of the chlorine atom in halite or
sylvite (Fig. 5).
• Organic mater, often present in shales may cause an
even higher apparent neutron limestone porosity than
the bound water in the shales alone.
• The neutron log can detect evaporites by either their
waters of crystallization. The most common example
is gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), but also include kainite,
carnalite and polyhalite.
Fig 4 : The neutron log response to mixtures of shales and sandstones.
Fig 5 : The neutron log response to evaporites (after Rider, 1997).
Cross-Plot of density and Neutron
Logs
•Both the formation density log and the neutron
log give a direct measurement of total porosity.
Hence, if they are plotted on compatible scales,
they should overlie each other.
•For limestone with 0% porosity, the density log
reads 2.71 g/cm3 and the neutron log reads zero .
• For limestone with 100% porosity, the density
log reads 1.00 g/cm3 and the neutron log reads
100.
• We can join up the two points with a
straight line, and calibrate the line for
porosity. The graph is called the density-
neutron crossplot and the line is called the
clean limestone line.
• The sandstone separation is called
negative and the dolomite separation is in
the other direction and slightly larger, and
is called positive.
Fig 8: Showing positive and negative Separation
Fig 7: The density-neutron cross-plot
Limitations

• Environmental conditions and tool selection.


• The neutron log needs corrections for borehole
size, formation temperature, formation
pressure, mud salinity and barite content in
mud. In air or gas filled wells, the thermal
porosities can not be calculated.
Summary
• Neutron logging is used to determine porosity.
• Hydrocarbon gas, choride and shales effect the log
values.
• Both the formation density log and the neutron log
give a direct measurement of total porosity. Hence,
if they are plotted on compatible scales, they should
overlie each other.
• The sandstone separation is called negative and the
dolomite separation is in the other direction and
slightly larger, and is called positive.
References

• Rider, M. (2002) ,“The Geological


Interpretation of well logs”, Rider-French
Consulting Ltd , Sutherland pp133-146
Scotland
• Glover, P. “The Neutron Log- Petrophysics
MSc Course Notes ” , pp 152-156
• Engler , T . W .(2012), “Neutron Logs-
Lecture Notes For PET.370”

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