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Crain'sPetrophysicalHandbookRoleofthePetrophysicist

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CRAIN'SPETROPHYSICALHANDBOOK
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THEROLEOFAPETROPHYSICIST

ROLEOFPETROPHYSICSandINTERACTIONS
Petrophysicistsofferservicesintheareasofwellloggingsupervision,log
analysisandinterpretation,integrationoflogdatawithlabdata,computer
analysisoflogs,seismicmodeling,syntheticseismograms,and
reconciliationsoflogdatawithgeological,geophysicalandexploration
prospects,fieldstudiesandsimulations,reservesestimates,and
submissionstoregulatoryagencies.
Theseservicesareessentialfunctionsinmodernoilandgascompaniesand
cannotbeaccomplishedwithoutinputfromtrainedpetrophysicists.The
financialhealthandlongtermsuccessofacompanydependsonthecentral
roleofthepetrophysicistinallaspectsofthecompanysexplorationand
developmentactivities.
Loganalysisoftenrequiressomenumericalexercise,especiallywiththeuse
ofcomputersandcalculatorssocommon,butinterpretationandjudgment
callsarerequiredfromtheanalystaswell.Thejobisnotjusttodothe
algebra,but,todecidewhatthenumbersreallymean.Willthewellproduce
oil,orgas,orwater,howmuch,andforhowlong?

TrainingMaterialsTopicIndex

THIS PAGE
RoleofPetrophysics
OfficeDuties
Computing
FieldDuties

SEE ALSO
RoleofaPetrophysicist
TrainingofaPetrophysicist
WhatLogsShouldBeRun?
LogQualityControl
ManagingIntegratedProjects

Types/UsesPetrophysicalData
Mr.G.E.DawsonGrove,awell
knownconsultingpetrophysicist, PetrophysicalReports
ComputerAidedPetrophysics
likenstheroleoftheloganalyst
tothatofthe"spiderintheweb." ExpertSystemsforPetrophysics
ExpertSystemSpreadsheets
Heclaimsthatthepetrophysicist
META/LOG"ESP"Spreadsheet
playsa"vital,central,potentially
LogEditing/Reconstruction
controllingposition."Therange
ofhisorherinfluenceiswiderthananyotherdisciplinewithintheoil
industry,withthepossibleexceptionofthefinancialwizard.Tobe
successfulinthisrole,however,theanalysthastorealizetheimportance
andpotentiallypowerfulpositionheorsheisin,andbeabletosellideas
tocoworkersandmanagement.

Becauseofthemultidisciplineapproachrequired,theanalystmust
maintainawebofcommunicationwithmanyseeminglyunrelated
functionswithintheorganization.Theanalystmustbesensitivetothe
vibrationscomingalongeachstrandofthenetworkandrespond
accordingly.Thatresponsemightbeintherealmofgeophysics,
geology,reservoirengineering,petroleumeconomics,secondaryor
tertiaryrecoveryengineering,orcorporatemanagement.
"DG"goesontoexplainthatweshouldnotconsideraresponsewhichsuggeststheminimumeffortneededtoget
ananswer,butshouldemphasizethemaximumcontributionthatapetrophysicist(andalltheavailabletoolsand
datasets)couldmaketoacompany'ssuccess.Wemustconvincemanagementthata"fullevaluation"isnecessary,
notjusttheminimum.Thereareselfishreasonsaswellasaltruisticonestopursuethisroute.Youwilllookgoodif
yourcompany'ssuccessratiolooksgoodespeciallyifyoucanshowhowyourcontributionhelped.

JOBDESCRIPTIONOFFICEDUTIES
Apetrophysicisthasmanyandvariedduties.Intheoffice,allofthefollowingcouldcrossyourdesk:
1.Designoptimumloggingprograms,consideringtheobjectiveformations,fluid
characteristics,andcompanybudget.
2.Supervisecomputeranalysisofnewandoldwellstoobtainmaximum
reconciliationoflogdatawithcores,drillstemtests,andgeologicalsample
descriptions,usinganinhousesystemorcommercialservicebureausasrequired.
3.Controlqualityandturnaroundtimeofcomputeranalysisjobs
4.Analyzedipmeter,production,andfractureidentificationlogs.
5.Analyzelogs,byhandorbyprogrammablecalculator,whencomputeranalysisis
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impossibleorinappropriate.
6.Coordinateloganalysisforintegrationintoreservoirevaluations,reservoirmodel
studies,orgeophysicalprospects.
7.Undertakespecialresearchorindepthstudiesofparticularproblems,suchas
overpressure,variablelogevaluationparameters,orexoticminerals.
8.Evaluatelogsforgroundwater,coal,potash,salt,tarsands,uranium,orother
valuableresources.
9.Prepareandpresentlogevaluationcoursesforgeneralordetailedstudybyoil
companypersonnel.
10.Preparedetailedseismicmodelsfromwelllogsinconjunctionwithstratigraphic
orstructuralassumptions,andcreatesyntheticseismogramsforeachmodelusinga
computerizedsystem.
11.Attendwellcompletion,drillinglocation,partner,andprogressmeetings.
12.Superviselogisticsoflogging,coring,testing,andlaboperations.

JOBDESCRIPTIONCOMPUTERRELATEDDUTIES
Usingthepetrophysicalsoftwarepackage,dutiescouldincludeanyofthefollowing:
1.Digitizer,magnetictape,orkeyboarddataentryofrawlogdata.
2.Editdata(rescale,depthshift,pointedit).
3.Enterandeditanalysisparameters.
4.Permanentstorageofdataondiscortape.
5.Prepareneat,printedresultswithinputdataandcomputeddata.
6.Prepareporosityandhydrocarbonvolumeaccumulationswithorwithoutcutoffs
detailorsummarylistings.
7.HandlemetricorEnglishunitslogswithequalease.
8.Providemanydifferentloganalysismethods,withuserdefinedoptions,the
choicesdependingondataqualityandformationcharacteristics.
9.PreparefourorthreedimensionalcrossplotswithX,Y,ZandWaxesandscales
definedbytheuser.
10.Displayversatileandhighlyselectiveplotsofresultsorinputdataorboth,in
colour.
11.Input,edit,averaging,printoutandplottingofcoreandmudlogdataand
calibrationofcoreandmudlogdatawithlogcurvedata.
12.Createreservoirsummariessortedbyzone,projectandcutofflevels.
13.Provideseismicdataresults(e.g.acousticimpedance,velocity,integratedtime
ordensity)printedorplotted.
14.Prepareseismicmodelstudies,includingeffectofhydrocarbonsandchanging
lithology.
15.Preparesyntheticseismogramsonoriginalormodeleddata,withvariable
wavelettypeandfrequency,andcreatesyntheticseismicsection.
16.Providefastturnaround,typicallytwohoursforonezonelessthan300feetthick.
(Lesstimeperzonecanbespentformultiwellormultizoneprojects).Timewill
dependonlogqualityandtype,availabilityofotherdata,andwhetherornotthat
dataiscontradictory.

JOBDESCRIPTIONFIELDDUTIES
Althoughtraveltothefieldislesscommonnowthaninearliertimes,hereisalistofpossibletasks:
1.Gettotherigontime.
2.Prepareforthejobbystudyingpriorworkbeforearrival,andbystudyingthe
sampledescription,DSTreports,coredescriptionsandwellhistoryafterarrival.
3.Discusswellhistoryandresultstodatewithwellsitegeologistanddrilling
engineer.
4.Prepareinstructionsfortheloggingengineerasthoroughlyaspossible,basedon
loggingprograminwellprognosis.
5.Discussjobdetailswithloggingengineer,explainyourspecialrequirements,why
youarethere,andwhatyouexpectfromhim.
6.Monitorprogresscontinuallycheckfilms,repeats,scales,calibrations,logging
speeds,depthcontrol,keeprecordsoftoolfailures,loggingtimes,holeproblems.
Donotrelysolelyontheloggingengineer'sdata,opinions,orserviceorder
information.
7.Monitorlogistics,toolmovements,hotshots,timecommitments(aircraft,land
sales,etc.).
8.Keepwellsitegeologist,wellsiteengineer,anddrillingsupervisorinformedon
progressandproblems,andkeeploggingengineerinformedofchanging
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requirementsandtimecommitments.
9.Dologanalysisbasedonallavailabledata.Recommendinterestingintervalsfor
testing,recommendadditionallogsifanalysisorlogqualitydemandsmoredata.
10.Reportloganalysisbyradioorphonetooilcompanyhomeoffice,report
progressandnextmovestoyourofficeviaoilcompanycontactordirectlyifradioor
phonetimeisavailable.
11.Monitorreplays,filmassembly,andfieldprintingoflogs.
12.Writefinalreports,fillinallappropriatequalitycontrolforms,andloganalysis
reportforms.
13.Collectallfilms,tapes,andprints.Packageforhanddeliverytoclientoffice,or
arrangeforairorcourierdeliveryoflogstooilcompanyoffice(ortopartnersas
requested).Noprintsaretobeleftwithloggingengineerunlessauthorizedbythe
client.
14.Monitorandrecommendparametersforcomputerizedfieldinterpretationsbythe
servicecompany,ifthishasbeenrequested.
15.Setupzonesforcomputeranalysis.Ifrequiredmakeanextrasetoflogsforthis,
tobereturnedtoclientwithfinalcomputerizedanalysis.
16.Gotonextjob(orhome),submitreportstoyourofficefortyping,orfinishreport
andemailtooffice.
17.Checkfinaltypedreportanddelivertoclientpersonally(ifpossible).
18.Requestlogrepairs,inwriting,fromservicecompany,orrelayrequirementsto
youroffice.
19.Requestservicecompanycomputedlog(ifrequired),Supplyparametersand
qualitycontrolintermediateresults(ordelegatetoyourofficestaff).
20.Supplycopyofqualitycontrolreporttoservicecompanysalesengineerandto
servicecompanylocationmanager.
21.Followupresultsandrecommendationswithclient.
22.Checkloggingcontractor'sserviceorderforcorrectandcompletedetails.Ifyou
havesigningauthority,signserviceorderandnotediscrepanciesordisputesfor
futurehandling.
23.Reviewfinalinvoicefromservicecompany.Comparetoyourownrecordofthe
jobandrequestcorrectionsorapproveforpayment.

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Flowofdatafromthewellsitethroughtofinalanalysisandinterpretation.Notethe
integrationofoffsetdata,core,DSTandregionalknowledgetocalibratetheresults.
Thesedutiesarehighlyvariableovertimeandnewsituationsoccuratamomentsnotice.Beprepared!

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