Gamma Ray Log

• The gamma ray log is

probably the most widely Caprock and anhydrite

run logging Coal

Salt
measurement. Dolomite
Limestone

• It is used to distinguish sandstone

Sandy limetstone and Limy sandstone

lithologies particularly Greenish-gray sandstone

sand from shale. Shaly sandstone

Shaly limestone
Sandy shale
• It is a relatively simple Calcereous Shale
Shale
measurement and works Organic marine Shale
Lean potash beds
in open hole or cased so it Rich potash beds

is the primary
measurement for deep
control and correlation.
 Log Presentation
• The total gamma ray log is usually recorded in
Track 1 with the caliper log, bit size and SP log.
• The API scale goes from 0 to 200 API,
It is more common to see 0 to 100 API and 0 to
150 API used in log presentations
As data greater than 150 API is not common, and
can always be handled by the use of wrap-
around.
• When gamma ray logging is carried out through
the cement casing, a scale of 0 to 50 API is most
often used, as a result of the lower values
measured due to the attenuation of the gamma
count rate by the casing.
Gamma Log Presentation
• All rocks contain some radioactive material,
although marine shales have a higher gamma ray
emission level than sandstone, limestone and
dolomite.
• This difference makes the gamma ray log useful
for distinguishing shales from non-shales,
therefore the gamma ray is essentially a lithology
log.
 Measurement Principles
• Gamma Rays are bursts of high energy electromagnetic waves which are emitted
spontaneously by some radioactive elements.
• Nearly all of the gamma radiation encountered in the earth is emitted by the
radioactive potassium isotope of atomic weight 40 and the radioactive elements
of the uranium and thorium series.
• For the most part these elements are found in minerals and solid organic material
so almost all the signal comes from the rock matrix and not from the fluid.(some
exceptions do occur, usually tracers or radioactive salts added to muds)
• Gamma rays from the logging environment strike the detector either a solid state
crystal (NaI or CsI), or a Geiger Mueller gas chamber and the incident gamma
rays produce a signal which is recorded as counts/second.
• The counts are converted to API units, a standard defined for gamma ray logs and
units used to display this measurement.
• The higher the API the more gamma ray counts recorded. Gamma rays are only
slightly attenuated by mud , casing and cement so the measurement can be made
under most open and cased hole situations.
 Interpretation
• The radioactivity levels are largely a result of potassium content.

Sand
Line
Reservoir
• Shales exhibit relatively high GR count rates due to the presence

cut off
of potassium ions in the lattice structure of the clay minerals.
• The most common reservoir rock minerals (quartz, calcite and
dolomite) in a pure state do not contain radioactive isotopes and
yield low GR readings.
• The shale content of reservoir rock can be estimated by linear Table shows a typical GR levels (in API units) for a number of
interpolation between the GR log readings across clean rocks (the
common minerals and formation materials
sand line) and shales (the shale line), such that
Vsh<- Grlog-GRsd/GRsh-GRsd
• Permeability generally has a negative correlation with shale
content and a GR cutoff is often used to define the limit of
effective permeability. It is thus possible to distinguish permeable
reservoir rock from impermeable shale.
• For quick look evaluations a GR cut off of 50% shale volume is

Shale
Line
often used to discriminate reservoir quality rock.
• This approach works well in pure sand-shale sequences, however
coal, evaporates or tight carbonates are present low GR readings
do not necessarily imply reservoir rock.
• Minerals like mica and feldspar are radioactive and give rise to
relatively high GR readings, though their presence in a sand need
not destroy reservoir properties. For reliable reservoir thickness
determination, it is wise to cross check for indications of reservoir
quality with other logs.
 Shale Volume
1. Pick a clean GR response
2. Pick a shale GR response
3. Scale between
Vsh= Grlog-Grclean/Grshale-Grclean
(Linear Response Vsh=IGR)

GR90->Vsh=55%
 Shale Volume
1. The gamma ray log has
several nonlinear empirical
responses as well a linear
responses.
2. The non linear responses are
based on geographic area or
formation age.
3. All non linear relationships
are more optimistic that is
they produce a shale volume
value lower than that from
the linear equation.
Larionov (1969) for Tertiary rocks:
Vsh= 0.083 (2power 3.7IGR -1)
Steiber (1970):
Vsh=IGR/3-2*IGR
Clavier (1971):
Vsh=1.7-[(3.38-(IGR+0.7)power 2]power ½
Larionov (1969) for older rock:
Vsh=0.33*2power 2IGR-1)
 Applications
1. To distinguish shale beds from other lithologies.
2. Semi quantitative calculation the volume of shale and/or clay in reservoir rocks; this
assumes the clean zones do not contain radioactive minerals, i.e., granite wash, micaceous
sands, radioactive carbonates.
Vsh = (Grzone- Grclean)/(Grshale- Grclean)
Other nonlinear equations are used in some areas.
3. Correlation and depth control log, between wells and for logging runs in the same well.
4. ID zones of fluid flow (often leaves radioactive scale),fractures, and radioactive tracers.
5. Consistently high uranium readings in shales may indicate high source rock potential due
to the uranium compounds associated with the organic material.
6. Clay Typing:
• The method involves plotting the potassium responses against those of thorium which will
give some indication of the type of clay present in the formation.
This technique assumes the presence of pure clays, which rarely exist in reservoirs.
Because of its limitations, this technique is no longer widely used.
• The uranium-free curve is often a better shaliness indicator than the total gamma ray
curve, because it can distinguish between the gamma rays counted from potassium and
thorium in clays and the gamma rays resulting from uranium which are not necessarily
associated with clays.
• Gamma Ray logs are most commonly used logs for sequence stratigraphic analysis.
 Applications
• Facies and Depositional Environment Analysis:

• The gamma ray log is often used to measure the shaliness of a

formation.
• In reality, the shaliness often does not change suddenly, but occurs
gradually with depth.
• Such gradual changes are indicative of the litho-facies and the
depositional environment of the rock, and are associated with changes
in grain size and sorting that are controlled by facies and depositional
environment as well as being associated with the shaliness of the
rock.
• All possible combinations of these shapes may be encountered.
 Applications (The Gamma ray log and depositional Environment)

Shape Smooth Environments Serrated Environments

Cylinder Aeolian dunes Deltaic distributions
Tidal sands Turbidite channels
Represents Fluvial Channels Proximal deep-sea fans
uniform deposition

Bell Shape Tidal sands Lacustrine sands

Alluvial sands Deltaic distributaries
Fining upwards Braided streams Proximal deep-sea fans
sequences Fluvial channels
Point bars

Funnel Shape Barrier bars Distributory mouth

Beaches bars
Coarsening Crevase splays Delta marine fringe
upward sequence Distal deep-sea fans
 Depth of Investigation
• The gamma rays are attenuated by Compton Scattering by all materials between the atom that
emitted the gamma ray and the detector, which includes the rock itself and the drilling mud.
• The degree of attenuation depends upon the number density of atoms in the material, and this is
related to the density of the material.
• There is a distribution of gamma ray energies, BUT at distance from the emitting atom increases,
the energy of the gamma rays decreases.
 Compton scattering until they are too low to be measured by the Scintillation Counter. Clearly,
therefore, there is a maximum depth of investigation for the tool that depends upon formation and
mud density.
• For average values of drilling mud and formation density, we can say that approximately 50% of
the gamma ray signal comes from within 18 cm (7 inches) of the borehole wall,
 Increasing to 75% from within 30 cm (1 foot). Hence, the depth of investigation, if defined at
75% of the signal, is 30 cm.
• However, this will decrease for denser formations of the same radioactivity, and increase for less
dense formations of the same radioactivity.
• The zone of sensitivity is almost hemispherical, so the 30 cm depth of investigation applies both
horizontally (perpendicular to the borehole wall) and sub-vertically (sub-parallel with the
borehole wall).
 This has implications for the vertical resolution of the tool.
 Borehole Quality
• The gamma ray log usually runs centered in the borehole. If the borehole suffers from
caving, the gamma ray log can be badly affected. In intervals that suffer from caving,
there is more drilling mud between the formation and the gamma ray detector to
attenuate the gamma rays produced by the formation.
• Note that the denser the mud used, the greater the underestimation will be, because of
increased compton scattering in the drilling mud. Barite muds are a particular problem as
barite is very efficient at absorbing gamma rays.
• The measured overestimation may usually be corrected if the caliper log for the well is
known.
• Figure 11.3 also shows the corrected gamma ray log. Comparison of the two show the
degree to which the caving has affected the gamma ray reading. Corrections are carried
out using correction charts supplied by the logging tool company.
• Each tool design has its own set of charts, which are drawn up for a range of drilling
fluids and tool geometries. Figure 11.4 shows an example of such a correction chart.
• Note that the tool can also be run in eccentred mode (pressed up against the borehole
wall).
• When run in eccentred mode the corrections are much smaller as the drilling mud
contributes less to the gamma ray signal, and has less opportunity to attenuate the
gamma rays
 Key Points
1. Gamma Ray logs are lithology logs that measure the natural radioactivity of a
formation
2. Because radioactive material is concentrated in shale, shale has high gamma ray
readings and generally sands and carbonates have low gamma ray readings;
exceptions are granite wash, micaceous sands, and radioactive carbonates.
3. The gamma ray provides bed information in those environments where the SP is
not diagnostic, i.e., salt muds, oil based muds, air or gas drilled holes, and cased
holes.
4. Vertical resolution is affected by logging speed, but is approximately 2' at a
logging speed of 1800 feet/hr.
5. The gamma ray is a statistical measurement not every wiggle on the curve is
significant. In general the tools that are run the slowest give the better readings.
6. Depth of investigation of the gamma ray is approximately 10 - 12".
7. The gamma ray log is nearly always recorded in track 1 of the log display. It is
scaled so that low radioactivity is near the left side of the track and increases to the
right toward the depth column.