Technical Journal Paper: PTRE 303 - Well Logging
Technical Journal Paper: PTRE 303 - Well Logging
Technical Journal Paper: PTRE 303 - Well Logging
Assignment
By
Submitted to the
Instructor
Fall 2020-2021
Table of Contents:
A. The SPE Journal chosen.
B. Some details concerning this technical paper.
1. When was this paper published?
2. Where was this paper published?
3. Why was this paper written?
4. What did the author do to achieve the purpose of the paper?
5. How did the author achieve the aim of the paper?
6. Limitations.
7. Results.
8. Conclusion.
C. A summary for this Journal Paper.
List of Figures:
1. Table 1: Sandstone Rock Properties.
2. Table 2: Sandstone Rock Properties.
3. Figure 1: A graph showing PV reduction under stress with respect to time.
4. Figure 2: A graph showing the resistivity index with respect to brine
saturation and low stress in a sandstone rock.
5. Figure 3: A graph showing the resistivity index with respect to brine
saturation and low stress in a limestone rock.
6. Figure 4: A graph showing the impact of stress on resistivity index for
drainage curves for a sandstone.
7. Figure 5: A graph showing the impact of stress on resistivity index for
drainage curves for limestone.
8. Figure 6: A graph showing the ratio of Pc with respect to brine saturation.
A. The SPE Journal chosen is:
“Effect of Overburden Pressure and the Nature and Microscopic Distribution of Fluids on Electrical
Properties of Rock Samples.”
Archie’s relation:
a
o Equation 1: Formation resistivity factor= FR= Fc
( porosity)
o Equation 2: Electrical resistivity index=IR=SW-n
1. When was this paper published?
This paper was published in “Elf Aquitaine, Total CFP, Inst. Français du Pétrole, and Gaz de France.”
This paper was written to indicate the effect of stress, fluid type, as well as the fluid’s microscopic
distribution on electrical properties of both rock samples, carbonate and sandstone, in order to check
the extent of validity for Archie’s relation (both equations, 1 and 2).
These assumptions were taken to proceed through the experiment and then test the extent of the
above equations, to be able to check the validity of these taken assumptions also:
o A one-to-one relation is considered to be found between porosity and the F R, as well as between
SW and IR.
o The n value is considered to be static for a specific porous medium.
o The porous medium is considered to be an insulated medium. Moreover, the values of n, F C, and
a determined under laboratory conditions, are assumed to be same values under the reservoir
conditions.
7. Results:
8. Conclusion:
The interpretation of the experimental results show that the impact of effective stress is dependent on
the rock sample’s nature. Moreover, the relation between resistivity and SW relies on the fluid type,
either water-oil or water-gas, and on the direction of saturation, whether we have an increase in S W
(imbibition) or a decrease in it (drainage).
C. A summary of this Technical Paper:
This paper serves to determine the consequence of effective stress, fluid’s type and microscopic
distribution on the electrical properties, during imbibition and drainage, of carbonate and sandstone
rock samples. To study the influence of effective stress on porosity, F R, and IR, as well as to determine
the relation between SW and IR, and to measure the capillary pressure (P C) and electrical resistivity
(RW) as a function of SW, the porous-plate method was conducted to take these measurements. At the
end, all these interpreted measurements at varying parameters, allow the determination of the extent
of validity for both equations mentioned above (Archie’s relation), as well as the limitation of the
considered assumptions.
The porous-plate method is performed by an apparatus that keeps almost same conditions as the
reservoir’s ones. It measures the sample’s electrical conductivity nonstop that is saturated with both
fluids, oil and water, as well as the difference in pressure between them. The examination of the
stress’s effect on resistivity as well as on S W for this sample takes place after evacuating the core
sample, saturating it with brine and then measuring its initial conditions such as pore volume and F R.
Then, a series of measurements were made at different saturations, increasing the effective stress
gradually, during imbibition and drainage. However, for a system of gas and water, measurements
were only collected during the drainage process at 21˚C, using a capillary-desorption cell.
In this study, two rock samples are tested, sample 4 from a sandstone reservoir and sample 5 from
a carbonate reservoir, both with a good inter-granular porosity. R W for these two rock samples is
measured after the brines were put for almost one week at about 40˚C in order to reach the point of
chemical equilibrium. After measuring RW, we reach the part of interpreting the experimental results.
From Tables 1 and 2, we noticed that as the stress value increases, the reduction in the mean relative
porosity for both samples (4 and 5) is almost the same (3.6 to 3.8%). Regarding F R, the relative mean
increase for sandstone (12.5%) is greater than that for carbonate (11.6%). Another issue was
recognized, that for the same loading rate, sandstone was directly deformed unlike the carbonate rock.
Fig. 1 shows that several days are needed to reach equilibrium which is recognized by the lack of
fluctuation of the PV (pore volume) in two days, after a 3 MPa rise in stress exerted in eight hours. At
the last loading level (16.7 to 20 MPa), it is essential to wait 14 days. The sample size will return to
its initial values once PV is unloaded. The formation resistivity factor’s variation with respect to
porosity can also be measured. The analysis of these measurements show that the influence of
effective stress on the link between FR and porosity for carbonate reservoirs is considered to be null.
However, not considering this effect on the link between porosity and F R in sandstone reservoirs leads
to the underestimation of the FR, as well as SW.
Once studying the behavior of reservoirs subjected to water flooding, the imbibition curve should
be studied due to the increase in SW; unlike the drainage process that could be studied when
hydrocarbons are being deposited due to the decrease in S W. For sandstone reservoirs having a low
stress, Archie's equation is confirmed with an approximate value of n =2.08, between SW and
interstitial water saturation (SiW) =0.28. From figure 2, we can notice that fluids are differently
distributed during drainage and imbibition. For a specific I R value, SW is more in the drainage curve
than it is in the imbibition one (also, the extreme S W difference found is 4% PV at IR= 6). During the
second drainage curve, variation of I R almost like that during imbibition. For S W < 0.38, these curves
might superpose.
For carbonate reservoirs, figure 3, where drainage takes place under low stress, the equation
linking SW to resistivity takes the form mentioned by Archie until S W=0.45. In this figure, a resistivity
hysteresis is also observed between drainage and imbibition. Unlike sandstone rocks, S W with a static
IR is less during drainage than that during imbibition (also, the extreme S W difference found is 5.3%
PV at SW=0.488).The sandstone in figure 4 displays the impact of effective stress during drainage on
IR, where drainage at a high effective stress value provides an outstanding linear relation (I R/SW) as
SW< 0.9. So we can notice from figure 4 that the effective stress’s impact is very small. However, in
the carbonate in figure 5, we have obtained the perfect straight lines (passing through I R=1 and SW=1).
This provides similar values for the n-exponent for both, low (n=1.65) and high stresses (n=1.63).
Unlike the sandstone sample, SiW value for the carbonate sample if influenced by the effective.
Regarding the effect of fluid type, we notice that the measurements of resistivity are more
dispersed with a system of gas-water due to the less complicated process such as the temperature
variations. Concerning the mean values for both samples of the exponent n in Archie's equation,
higher values are present for a system of water-oil than that for gas-water. Because of the interfacial
tension difference, PC of gas-water is always higher than that of oil-water. Fig 6 displays that for both
samples, the ratio of PC is inversely proportional to SW. According to the difference between I R and PC,
it is found that it is due to the non-wetting fluid type (liquid or gas) that is used for drainage. For
example, gas drainage would end up in several thicknesses and locations for water, the wetting fluid.
This thickness of the film is greater than that for fluids with similar viscosities, like water and oil, due
to its dependency on viscosity and the capillary forces.
As a conclusion, it was found that the impact of the effective stress on both a and FC in Archie's
equation which relates the FR to porosity is weaker in carbonates than it is in sandstones. In addition
to that, the relation between SW and resistivity isn’t always defined by Archie. Also, this relationship
isn’t a one-to-one relation, where it relies on the fluid’s microscopic distribution, and thus on the
saturation’s direction, whether it is drainage or imbibition, as well as on the non-wetting fluid.
Regarding the effect of stress on n-exponent, we noticed that with the stress increase, n increases
slightly in a sandstone rock, whereas it decreases in carbonate rocks. And last but not least, in order to
study resistivity well logs but in oil reservoirs specifically, it is suggested that the equation between
resistivity and SW to be adjusted in laboratories for a reservoir system of oil and water.
Figure 1: A graph showing PV reduction under stress with respect to time.
Figure 2: A graph showing the resistivity index with respect to brine saturation
and low stress in a sandstone rock.
Figure 3: A graph showing the resistivity index with respect to brine saturation
and low stress in a limestone rock.
Figure 4: A graph showing the impact of stress on resistivity index for drainage
curves for a sandstone.
Figure 5: A graph showing the impact of stress on resistivity index for drainage
curves for limestone.
Figure 6: A graph showing the ratio of Pc with respect to brine saturation.