Geology Reading Notes:

Geological Interpretation of Well Logs Rider

Ch. 5: SP Logs:
Uses:
- the principle use of the SP log are to calculate formation-water
resistivity and to indicate permeability
- Facies (shaliness) and correlation
Principles of Measurement:
3 factors are necessary to provoke an SP current:
1. A conductive fluid in a borehole
2. A porous and permeable bed surrounded by an impermeable
formation
3. A difference in salinity (or pressure) between the borehole
fluid and the formation fluid
SP currents are created when two solutions of different salinity
concentration are in contact by two principle electrochemical effects;
diffusion or liquid junction potential and shale potential.
If a bed is not permeable, ions will not be able to move, there will be no
current flow and thus no potential change: that means no SP. However,
even the slightest permeability will permit current flow and an SP
change will be recorded.
SP useless and ignored on floating rigs die to lack of effective earth.
Log Characteristics:
-SP bed resolution is also poor. For a full SP deflection and proper bed
resolution, as a rule of thumb, a bed should be thicker than 20 times
the borehole diameter.
The exact minimum SP bed resolution will obviously depend on depth
of invasion and salinity differences, in the same way as described
above for the bed boundary definition.
Qualitative Uses:
Qualitatively, the SP log is used mainly for the evaluation of formationwater resistivities but it can also be used for the shale-volume
calculation.
The definition of the SP zero is make on thick shale intervals where the
SP does not move; it is called the shale base line.

Frequently the SP does not show its full deflection, for a number of
reasons: the bed is not thick enough, there is shale in the formation,
the invasion is very deep, there are adverse lithological effects
(junction beds with high resistivity) or hydrocarbons present.
The greater the SP deflection, the greater the salinity contrast between
the mud filtrate and the formation water.
Deflections to positive values however, occur with fresh formation
waters, or at least those fresher than the mud filtrate.
Ionic activity is the major contributing factor to the electrochemical SP,
as explained previously. There is a direct relationship between ionic
activity and the resistivity of a solution, at lease for the most
frequently-encountered values of logging.
Qualitative Uses:
The amount of deflection, however, does not indicate the amount of
permeability: a very slight permeable bed will give the same values as
a permeable bed (other values being equal).
Mineral Identification:
The rare exceptions when the SP will deflect and the formation is not
permeable are due to mineralization. Pyrite is an example. It is also
possible that the SP reacts to excessively reduced and excessively
oxidized beds (shales or sandstones), which are not in subsurface
electrical equilibrium or no deflection at all, although the reasons are
obscure.
Facies:
SP follows grain-size changes
SP now largely replaced by GR for facies identification
Correlation:
The SP is still useful for correlation, however, in areas of varied water
salinities.
If wells are quite close (and drilling mud fluids are similar), correlation
should only be made between sands with similar salinity values. For
this the SP is the only log that can be used as a guide.

A typical fining-upwards, channel sandstone giving a bell-shaped SP

curve.

Ch. 6 Resistivity and Conductivity Logs:

The log:
The resistivity log is a measurement of a formations resistivity, that is
the resistance to the passage of an electric current. It is measured by
resistivity tools. Conductivity tool measure a formations conductivity or
its ability to conduct an electric current. It is measured by the induction
tools. Conductivity is generally converted directly and plotted as
resistivity on log plots.
Most rock materials are essentially insulators, while their enclosed
fluids are conductors. Hydrocarbons are the exception to fluid
conductivity, and on the contrary, they are infinitely resistive. When a
formation is porous and contains salty water the overall resistivity will
be low. When this same formation contains hydrocarbons, its resistivity
will be very high. It is this character that is exploited by the resistivity
logs; high resistivity values may indicate a porous, hydrocarbonbearing formation.
Limitations:
Resistivity tools can only function in boreholes containing conductive
muds, that is muds mixed with salt water. They cannot be run in oilbased muds or freshwater based muds. Induction logs on the contrary,
are most effective with non-conductive muds, oil-based or fresh water
based. However, induction logs are also run in salt water based muds
and are reasonably effective, although corrections to the raw readings
may be necessary for quantitative use.
Conductivity is essentially restricted to formation waters. They vary
from fresh to very saline; usually they are saline and the salinity
increases with depth.
Resistivity factor F: strongly influenced by grain shape, size and
assortment.
F is an independent element in the expression of rock resistivity. The F
value of a particular rock reservoir will remain constant no matter what
the resistivity of the fluid filling the pores. In other words, F will not
vary with changes in formation-water salinity which entail overall rock

resistivity changes. The F value is therefore constant between the

reservoir containing oil and the same reservoir containing water.
Profile Variations:
3 types of mud:
- saltwater mud
- freshwater mud
- oil-based mud
when hydrocarbons are present, the systems becomes three phase and
are much more complex. The mud filtrate will replace the oil and gas
immediately around the borehole, essentially replacing them through
the flushed zone, while the original saturation in hydrocarbons is only
found in the virgin formation.
Both oil and gas are infinitely resistive and show the same effect on
resistivity logs. The resistivity profile then shows a big increase away
from the borehole, the exact reverse of a water zone. This increase in
resistivity deeper into the formation, away from the borehole, is
expressed very distinctly on the logs. Shallow looking tool which read
in the flushed zone show lot (relatively) resistivity values, while deep
reading tools show very high resistivities.
Induction Tools:
- Important because they provide the only resistivity measurement
in wells drilled with oil-based mud. With the older standard tools,
signal distortion was common and it was not possible to have a
flushed zone resistivity, only a deep reading.
- Induction logs give very poor bed-boundary resolution but, at the
same time, they average all the bed effects in such a way as to
make the lithology trends stand out.
Qualitative Uses:
- The resistivity of a rock is intimately related to texture. The
simplest expression of this is the variation of resistivity with
porosity changes. When the porosity decreases, the resistivity
increases other things being equal.
- Formation resistivity factor is sensitive to grain shape, size,
composition, orientation and arrangement.
- Salt, anhydrite, gypsum and coal all have unusually high
diagnostic resistivities.
- High resistivities will also be associated with tight limestones and
dolomites
- Pyrite = low resistivity, chamosite

Resistivity logs are inface responding to two things: changes in texture

and changes in composition.
The shale rich in organic matter shows a low resistivity; it is probably
well laminated and was deposited in deep water. Organic material is
structureless, indicative of an anoxic environment. The overlying
shales are slightly silt and also probably laminated. They contain
woody organic matter, typical of more open, oxygenated waters. These
then grade upwards into silty shale.
Increase in resistivity corresponds to an increase in the silt (quartz)
content.
A coarser-grained sand will generally have a lower irreducible water
saturation and hence higher resistivity, the saturation in hydrocarbons
being higher. A fine-grained sane with higher irreducible water will
show lower resistivity. A clean, fining-upwards sandstone filled with
hydrocarbons should show a regular upwards decrease in resistivity.
As compaction increases so the resistivity increases (in a homogenous
shale)
When a zone of overpressure d shale is encountered, shale
conductivity increases abruptly and considerably.
Ch 7: Gamma Ray Log:
A record of a formations radioactivity.
The radiation comes from naturally-occurring uranium, thorium and
potassium
As a first indicator of lithology, the GR log is extremely useful as it
suggests were shale may be expected. The higher the gamma ray
value, the higher the percentage of shale
Quartz and sandstones show low gamma ray values. However,
associated detrital minerals are radioactive: feldspars, micas, heavy
minerals and lithic fragments. The first two contain potassium, the
third thrium and the last shale.
Carbonates in their pure state are not radioactive and this aids their
identification. In certain facies, carbonates contain organic matter and
is frequently radioactive due to uranium. Shaley carbonates will show
the presence of potassium and thorium.
Evaporates, salt and anhydrite, give extremely low GR values.
Coals have low GR values. The contrast in this response between pure
coals and organic shales is remarkable, especially when, in typical
cycle deltaic sequences, a low gamma ray coal is immediately overlain
by a high gamma ray, organic-rich shale.
Unconformities:

Unusually high gamma ray values often occur as narrow,

isolated peaks. Considering the geochemistry of the
radioactive minerals, these peaks are generally associated
with uranium concentrations.
Uranium concentrations indicate extreme conditions of
deposition.
Experience has shown that these conditions frequently
occur around unconformities where a long passage of time
is represented by little deposition.

Ch 8: Sonic or Acoustic Logs:

The sonic log provides a formations interval transit time. It is a
measure of a formations capacity to transmit sound waves.
Uses:
- Quantitatively, the sonic long is used to evaluate porosity in
liquid-filled holes.
- It can help identify lithology and may help indicate source rocks,
normal compaction, overpressure and to some extent fractures.
- Frequently used for correlation
Features:
- Very sensitive to rock texture, even subtle changes.
- The way in which sound travels through a formation is intimately
associated with matrix, matrix minerals, grain size distribution
and shape, and cementation.
- Velocity of coals is very low (high interval transit times)
- High velocities associated with carbonates, middle velocities with
sands and shales and low velocities with shales.
- Evaporates also have low velocities.
Ch 9: Density Log:
Overall density of minerals and the free fluids which it encloses.
The density log is used to calculate porosity and indirectly,
hydrocarbon density.
Useful lithology indicator, can be used to identify certain minerals, can
help to assess source rock organic matter content, and may help to
identify overpressure and fracture porosity.
Shales:

The compaction of shales with burial is a well-known

phenomenon and it can be followed on the density log

Shale compaction involved a series of textural and

compositional changes, resulting in a progressive increase
in density.
Shale density often indicative of age. Older shales more
dense.
An increase in carbonate content is generally accompanies
by an increase in shale density
When organic matter is present, the reverse occurs and the
density diminishes, organic matter having very low density.

Lithology:
Coals = low densities
Pyrite = high densities
Evaporates = impure and densities will be altered
Ch 10: Neutron Log:

Log provides a continuous record of a formations reaction to fast

neutron bombardment.
Related to the formations hydrogen index, an indication of its
richness in hydrogen
Log is principally a measure of a formations water content
(bound water, water of crystallization or free pore-water
Used to measure porosity, excellent discriminator between gas
and oil

Lithology:
Neutron porosity is real porosity in clean limestones limestone
curve
Shows abnormally high porosiities in shale or clay intervals
Organic matter with clays = an increase in hydrogen index
Combination logs:
Pure shale is recognized on the neutron-density combination
when the neutron value is high relative to the density value.
If shale becomes diluted by matrix grains such as quart or calcite
with low hydrogen indexes, the neutron-log value decreases
rapidly.
Used properly, the neutron-density combination is the best log
indicator of shale.
Coals are easily recognized from their very distinctive neutrondensity response of unusually low density combined with
unusually high neutron values.

Pyrite, hematite and to some extent siderite, are recognized by

having very high density values with zero neutron response.

Neutron and density logs are difficult to use from gross lithology
identification