University of Basrah College of Engineering Petroleum Department

Basra University
Engineering College
Petroleum Engineering Department
2019-2020
Third Year

Well Logging
Shale (Clayey) Reservoir Analysis

‫مريم نوفل مظفر‬

44
University of Basrah College of Engineering Petroleum Department

Introduction to Shale

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of clay
minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz,
dolomite, and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals varies

The effect of shale on the response of standard logging tools depends on:

▪ The distribution of the clay material ▪ The salinity of the formation water

▪ The type of clay material ▪ The water saturation

▪ The amount of clay material

shale distribution Shale can be distributed in several different ways, as shown below.

❖ Shale can exist in the form of laminae between which are layers of sand.
The laminar shale does not affect the porosity or permeability of the sand streaks
themselves. However, when the amount of laminar shale is increased and the amount of
porous medium is decreased, overall average effective porosity is reduced in proportion.

1 𝑉𝑙𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑅𝑤
𝑆𝑤𝑛 = ( − ) 𝑚
𝑅𝑡 𝑅𝑠ℎ ∅𝑒 (1 − 𝑉𝑙𝑎𝑚)

Mariam Nawfal
 University of Basrah College of Engineering Petroleum Department

❖ Dispersed shale is an inexact term used to describe clay overgrowths on the matrix
material (for example, sand grains). These clay particles reduce porosity and permeability
within the pore structure of the sandstone. may adhere and coat sand grains or they may
partially fill the pore spaces.

𝑎𝑅𝑤 𝑞𝑚 𝑞
√ + −
∅𝑚
𝑖𝑚 4 2
𝑆𝑤 =
1−𝑞

❖ Shale can exist as grains or nodules in the formation matrix. This matrix shale is termed
structural shale; it is usually considered to have properties similar to those of laminar
shale and nearby massive shales. Structural shale used to describe the random replacement
of grains of primary matrix material with fragments of lithified reworked shale.

1 𝑉𝑠𝑡𝑟 𝑎𝑅𝑤
𝑆𝑤𝑛 = ( − )
𝑅𝑡 𝑅𝑠ℎ ∅𝑚𝑒
University of Basrah College of Engineering Petroleum Department

Procedure of Shale (Clayey) Analysis

1- Compute Rw in a clean wet zone. 4- Determine effective porosity

2- Compute RwB in a a shale using 𝑅𝑠ℎ∅2𝑇 5- Determine effective water saturation
3- Determine volume of shale Vsh
Determine volume of shale Vsh from

1) SHALE VOLUME FROM GAMMA RAY LOGS

The two most common shale indicating logs are the gamma ray (GR) and spontaneous
potential (SP) logs

𝐺𝑅 − 𝐺𝑅 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛
𝑉𝑠ℎ =
𝐺𝑅 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑒 − 𝐺𝑅 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛

2) SHALE VOLUME FROM THE SPONTANEOUS POTENTIAL

The algebraic formula to solve for shale volume from 𝑆𝑃 − 𝑆𝑃 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛

𝑉𝑠ℎ =
the SP log is a linear interpolation between the 𝑆𝑃 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑒 − 𝑆𝑃 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛

minimum and maximum log readings, similar to the GR

3) SHALE VOLUME FROM DENSITY NEUTRON CROSSPLOT

The separation between neutron and density porosity is a common method for calculating
shale volume., the algebraic formula to solve for shale volume from the density neutron cross
plot is a linear interpolation of the separation between the density-neutron porosity log curves
(∅𝑛 − ∅𝑑 )
𝑉𝑠ℎ𝑥𝑛𝑑 = (
∅𝑛 𝑠ℎ − ∅𝑑 𝑠ℎ)

4) SHALE CONTENT FROM SONIC DENSITY CROSSPLOT

Separation between the density-neutron logs is a common method for calculating shale
because two logs are recorded simultaneously on one log. The sonic density is also practical,
since the separation in porosity units, is also proportional to shale content

Mariam Nawfal
University of Basrah College of Engineering Petroleum Department

5) SHALE VOLUME FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPAGATION

6) SHALE VOLUME FROM DEEP RESISTIVITY
7) SHALE VOLUME FROM SHALLOW RESISTIVITY

Determine effective porosity

Correcting porosity measurement from the presence of clay minerals ∅𝑒 = ∅(1 − 𝑉𝑠ℎ)

∆𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑔− ∆𝑡 𝑚𝑎 100 ∆𝑡 𝑠ℎ− ∆𝑡 𝑚𝑎

From Sonic logs ∅𝑒 = ( × ) − 𝑉𝑠ℎ ( )
∆𝑡 𝑓𝑙−∆𝑡 𝑚𝑎 ∆𝑡 𝑠ℎ ∆𝑡 𝑓𝑙− ∆𝑡 𝑚𝑎

𝜌 𝑚𝑎−𝜌 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝜌 𝑚𝑎− 𝜌 𝑠ℎ

From Density log ∅𝑒 = ( ) − 𝑉𝑠ℎ ( )
𝜌 𝑚𝑎−𝜌 𝑓𝑙 𝜌 𝑚𝑎−𝜌 𝑓𝑙

(∅𝑛−𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑)2 +(∅𝑑−𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑)2 2
From Neutron-Density log ∅𝑒 = ( )
2

Determine effective water saturation

It’s the percentage of effective porosity occupied by water saturation

√1
𝑛/2 𝑅𝑡
𝑆𝑤𝑒 =
𝑉𝑐𝑙
(1−( 2 ))
𝑉𝑐𝑙 √∅𝑚𝑒
+
√𝑅𝑐𝑙 √𝑎 × 𝑅𝑤

Reference

1- Openhole Log Analysis and Formation Evaluation // Richard M. Bateman

2- Petrophysics // Djebbar Tiab and Erle C. Donaldson
3- https://petrowiki.org/Log_analysis_in_shaly_formations
4- https://www.slideshare.net/SanjanDas1/well-log-analysis

Mariam Nawfal