MUD LOGGING AND

WIRELINE LOGGING

Why Run Logs

Mud Logging

Principle
While drilling a well, the following information about the drilled formations
is recorded as a function of depth:

The drilling rate or rate of penetration (ROP).

All important parameters which influence the drilling speed, e.g.
type of bit, rotation speed (RPM), weight on bit (WOB), pump speed
(SPM), pump pressure (SPP), etc.
The lithology and texture of the cuttings, which are sampled at
regular intervals (~5meter).
The total combustible gas content in the air above the returning
mud from the well bore. The relatively simple gas detector can be
supplemented with a gas chromatograph to analyze the gas composition.
Hydrocarbon staining on the cuttings.

Accuracy

The information related to the formation and its fluid content is

available on the moment that the mud with the cuttings come to surface.
The lag time between the moments of drilling and sampling (varying
from 0 - 2 hours), depends on the volume of the annulus and the
circulation rate. The depth of drilling is for this reason corrected, using
a lag-time estimate and an average ROP. The depth accuracy is about
+/- 5meter.
Variations in specific gravity and shape of the cuttings from various
lithologies, causes differences in slippage. As a result a sample taken
from the flowline may originate from a range of depths and will consist
of a mix of the lithologies present.
In some cases formations (often shales) higher up in the well bore are
not stable. Cavings (flakes) of this particular formation can
"contaminate" the cutting samples of lower intervals.

Evaluation objective

Monitoring of the bit performance.

Early indication ofthe well's position within the predicted stratigraphy. This
is of particular importance as a basis for operational decissions, e.g. at
what depth to set casing, or where to core a well.

Determination of lithology.

Indication of fluid type.

Indication of pressure conditions.

Evaluation Technique

Every formation has a signature on the ROP log. The depth of

formations can be determined, by correlating this log with the mud
log from a nearby well.
The lithology of the cuttings are given as percentages of the total
sample. An accurate interpretation can be made in combination with
the wireline logs, which have a far better vertical resolution.
The oil" staining on the cuttings is analysed using several small
chemical and fluorescence tests, which can differentiate the light and
heavy hydrocarbons.

In water bearing formation no HC staining is expected.

The presence of only light HC's indicates gas.
In the case of an oil bearing formation more heavy HC's will be present.

Wireline Logging

Principle

After a section of a well has

been drilled , measuring
sondes are lowered into the
open hole at the end of an
electrical cable.
Whilst pulling the tools out of
the well, various properties of
the formations are measured
continuously as a function of
depth.
These physical properties can
be interpreted in terms of
lithology, porosity,
hydrocarbon saturation, etc.

Depth Measurement

The depth is measured along hole(AHO) in meters below derrick floor

(mbdf).
When the bottom of the tool-string touches the drill floor the depth
measurement is set at zero.
The distance between the various tool detectors and the bottom of the toolstring is automatically compensated by the computer in the surface logging
unit.
The length of cable in the hole is measured with an accuracy of around 0.1
%.
In vertical wells the AHD is equal to the true vertical depth (TVD).
In deviated wells, a deviation survey is needed to calculate the TVD from
the AHD.
The TVD is often expressed in meters below a local datum, e.g. meters
subsea (mss).

Log Header

Data, crucial for the evaluation, can be found in

the log header:

Well name & -location,

date,
drill floor elevation (DFE),
Ground elevation (GE),
bit size,
mud -type and -properties,
resistivities of the -mud (Rm), -mud filtrate (Rmf)
&-mudcake (Rmc),
total depth (TD),
bottom hole temperature (BHT),
weight-, size- . &depth- of previous casings,
time of last mud circulation,
list of all tools run in this hole section,
serial number of tools and logging unit used,
name of logging engineer and company
representative.

Log types

Logs, which are used to quantify the hydrocarbon in place, can be classified
into three families:

Reservoir Thickness (Gamma Ray, Spontaneous Potential)

These logs discriminate reservoir from non-reservoir.

Porosity (Density, Neutron, Sonic.)

These logs are used to calculate porosity, identify lithologies, and differentiate
oil from gas.
Resistivity (Laterolog, Induction, Microresistivity.)
These logs, together with porosity logs, are used to calculate hydrocarbon
saturations.
Other types of wireline tools are:

Side wall sampler (Takes small rock samples, which are used forlithology and fluid type
confirmation.)
Formation tester (Measures formation pressures and can retrieve fluid samples.)
Dipmeter & FMS (Measure dip and azimuth ofthe layers)
Well shoot & VSP (Used tocalibrate seismic.)