PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

(EGE 4222)
Noorzamzarina binti Sulaiman
Aspects of Well Logs
Noorzamzarina Sulaiman, PhD
Geoscience Programme
Faculty of Earth Science
Universitiy Malaysia Kelantan
Semester February 2021/2022

Discussion based on:

Evenick, J., 2008, Introduction to Well Logs & Subsurface Maps: PennWell,
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 236 p.
• Hydrocarbon volume
▪ Thickness
▪ Porosity
▪ Hydrocarbon saturation
• Hydrocarbon producibility
▪ Thickness
▪ Permeability
• Mechanical properties
 h  (1−S w ) A
OOIP = Original oil in place.
OGIP=original gas in place
OOIP =
Bo h = net pay thickness.
 = Porosity
Sw = Water saturation (in fraction)
h  (1− S w )A A = Drainage area in acres
OGIP = Bg = Gas formation volume
Bg

The numerator in both equations quantifies the

reservoir volume of hydrocarbons, and the
formation volume factor for oil or gas converts that
volume at reservoir conditions to surface conditions.
 Openhole well logs can be used to
determine
h= Net pay thickness
= Porosity
Sw= Water Saturation
• LAS = LogASCII
Standard (It is a textfile)

• Developed byCanadian
Well LoggingSociety

•It is easily transported from

software package to
software package

•Must link to deviationsurvey,

asappropriate

• May or may not contain

environmental information,
etc.

• May or may notcontain datum

and locationinformation
 Measures the diameter of the borehole in inches or centimeters
 Is a crude indicator oflithology
 Shale, coal, and bentonite result in increased borehole diameter
 Sandstone and carbonates intervals will not deviate muchfrom
the borehole diameter
 A decreased borehole diameter indicates the presence of
mudcake in the borehole
 Caliper logs can be used to indicate washouts that may affect
readings of logs, such asGR
 001) B ONANZA 1 ILDC RHOC DT
GRC 0 .2 200 1.95 150 us/f 50
150 0 2.95

SPC SNC CNLLC

-160 MV 40 .2 200
0 0.45 -0.15

ACAL MLLCF
.2 200
6 16 0

10700

GR
Log

10800

10900
 Measures natural radioactivity of a rock in American Petroleum
Institute (API) units
 Radioactivity is result of radioactive decay in potassium (K),
thorium (Th), and uranium (U)
 Shales have highAPI values, whereas sandstone and limestone
have lowvalues
 Very commonly run because it has good vertical resolution and is
easy to interpret
 However, some high values may correlate with borehole collapse,
rather than stratigraphy – therefore other logs, such as caliper
should be looked at with the GR log to aid identification of these
washoutzones
 Measure the resistivity or resistance to the flow of electricity in a formation in
ohm-meters (ohmm).
 Resistivity is related to porosity and the amount and kind of fluid in the rock
 An important use of resistivity is to distinguish hydrocarbons from water
 Numerous types of resistivity logs are run – usually related to depth of
measurement (shallow, medium, and deep penetration)
 Shallow resistivity logs record the interface of the borehole and drilling fluid
 Deep resistivity logs record the true (or uninvaded) formation resistivity
 Hyrdorcarbons may be present where deep resistivity is greater than shallow
resistivity
 Shales typically have low resistivity, whereas sandstones and carbonates have
higher resistivity
 GRC ILDC RHOC DT 0
150 0.2 200 1.95 2.95 150 us/f 50
SPC SNC CNLLC
-160 MV 40 0.2 200 0.45 -0.15
ACAL MLLCF
6 16 0.2 200

10700

Resistivity
Log

10800

10900
 SP logs record the electrical current (in millivolts – mV) due to
salinity differences between saltwater based drilling mud and the
fluid in the formation
 SP is an indicator of formation permeability
 SP is used to distinguish shale from carbonates and sandstone
 A diminished SP response may indicate hydrocarbons
 SP logs are not good indicators of bed boundaries and havelower
vertical resolution than GR logs
 Shales typically have values of 0 to -20 mV, whereas sandstones
and carbonates have values between -20 and -80 mV
 001) B ONANZA 1 ILDC RHOC DT
GRC .2 200 1.95 150 us/f 50
0 150 0 2.95

SPC SNC CNLLC

-160 MV 40 .2 200
0 0.45 -0.15

ACAL MLLCF
.2 200
6 16 0

10700

SP
Log

10800

10900
 Records gamma radiation trasmitted from a
formation after being bombarded with photons
 PE is measured in barns per electron (barns/e)

 The amount of photoelectric absorption within a

formation depends on the mineralogy of the
formation – therefore PE logs are good
indicators of lithology
 One of the few logs that can distinguish
limestone from dolomite
001) BONANZA
0 1 150 0.2 200 1.95 2.95 150 us/f 50
GRC ILDC RHOC DT

SPC SNC CNLLC

-160 MV 40 0.2 200 0.45 -0.15
ACAL MLLCF
6 16 0.2 200
CNLLC
10700
0.45 -0.15

➢Uses a radioactive source to

bombard the formation with
10800 neutrons
➢For a given formation, amount of
hydrogen in the formation (I.e.
hydrogen index) impacts the
number of neutrons that reach the
receiver
10900

Neutron ➢A large hydrogen index implies a

large liquid-filled porosity (oil or
Log water). The hydrogen index is
calibrated to limestone porosity. If
the lithology is sandstoneor
dolomite, the followingchart can
be used to correct the porosity.
 Measures porosity based on the quantity ofhydrogen
present in the formation
 Fluid within a formation, as opposed to gas, can be
identified because water and oil have approximately
the same hydrogen content whereas gas has less
hydrogen per equal volume
 Thus, if gas is present, the neutron log will
underestimate porosity
 Salt units have low neutron porosity and bulk density
readings
 GR RHOB
0 API 200 2 G/C3 3
CALIX DRHO
6 IN 16 -0.25 G/C3 0.25
CALIY
6 IN 16

4100

Gamma ray Density

Density
correction

4200
Caliper
 Density logs measure the porosity of a fomation based on the
assumed density of a formation and drilling fluid (in grams per
cubic centimeter – g/cm3)
 The standard porosity calculation will overestimate porosity in
gas-filled formation because the measured bulk density will be
lower – in comparison with the neutron log.
 This results in a “crossover” with the neutron is an indication of
gas and is called the “gas effect”
 Shale, coal, and bentonite (clay) commonly have low densities;
sandstones and carbonates have higherdensities
 G R C I L D C R H O C D T
0 1 5 0 0 . 2 2 0 0 1 . 9 5 2 . 9 5 1 5 0 u s / f 5 0
S P C S N C C N L L C
- 1 6 0 M V 4 0 0 . 2 0 . 4 5 - 0 . 1 5
2 0 0
A C A L M L L C F
6 0 . 2 2 0 0
1 6

1 0 7 0 0

φformation = ((φDensity2 +φNeutron2)/2G)0.a5 s

1 0 8 0 0 Effect
(crossover)

1 0 9 0 0
 Records the speed of sound transmitted through a formation in
microseconds/foot
 The speed at which a formation transmits sound energy is related to
porosity
 However, the lithology of a formation must be known accurately to
calculate porosity
 Sonic logs also are good indicators of density and the presence of gas

 Measurements in a gas interval will be lower because gas has a lower

transit time
 Sonic logs also may be used to indicated the presence of fractures
 Sonic logs are very useful in tying seismic time to well-log dept (time-
depth conversion)
001) BONANZA 1
GRC ILDC RHOC DT
0 150 0.2 200 1.95 2.95 150 us/f 50
SPC SNC CNLLC
-160 MV 40 0.2 200 0.45 -0.15
ACAL MLLCF
6 16 0.2 200

10700

Sonic
Log
10800

10900
Similar patterns do not necessarily
indicate common depositional
environments because different
log types represent different
borehole environments (e.g.
lithology, density, and resistivity)
and patterns are scale dependent