PE 306 Well logging

Lecture 3
Borehole environment and Caliper logging
Borehole environment

• Borehole fluid (affects logging tool response):

• Mud circulation and mud properties
• Drilling mud (Rm), mud cake (Rmc), mud filtrate (Rmf)
• Invasion
• Borehole size & shape (Caliper Log)
• Temperature
• Pressure
 Borehole size & shape

• In gauge: borehole Bit size HOLE DIAMETER

Scale : Inches
diameter is equal to drilling 5 7 9 11 13 15

bit size cave

Caliper
“caved hole”

• Borehole reduction: mud

cake buildup “in gauge”
Mud
• Borehole enlargement: cake

• Swelling and sloughing of

shales
• Collapse of poorly cemented
rocks sloughing

• Dissolution of salts,
evaporites

The caliper log showing hole diameter: some typical responses.

Shape & size

• A: in gauge: hard, consolidated

and impermeable formations
• B: permeable formation leads to
mud cake buildup (Pmud>Pformation)
• C: enlargement due to soft
unconsolidated sediments
(scouring effect of drilling fluids);
water soluble formations (salt);
breakouts
 Caliper Logging
Applications
– Evaluate the borehole environment for logging measurements
– Identification of mud cake deposition, evidence of formation permeability
– Estimate hole volume to determine cement volume requirements
– Determine competent formations to set packers
– Provide position data for dipmeter interpretation
Methods
• mechanical
• acoustic
• electromagnetic
 Microresistivity caliper log

1. Centered
2. Two pads
3. The contact pads are at
least 6 inches.
4. Maximum tool stretch is
usually limited to 16 or 18
inches.

Log reading: Borehole diameter from drilling

minus twice the mud cake thickness
Density and pad-type
neutron log calipers Sonic log caliper
Elliptical boreholes

• Due to anisotropic mechanical properties of the

formation.
• Four arm caliper necessary for better definition of
non circular boreholes (also breakout analysis).
Comparison of various caliper devices

After Bassiouni (chapter 4)

Example:
The right Figure shows an interval of a microcaliper
(i.e., a two-arm caliper measurement) that
accompanies the microlog. The interval logged
consists of sands and shales. The vertical line on the
log represents the nominal borehole diameter,
which is taken to be the bit size.
a. What bit size was used to drill this hole?
b. Does the log show mud cake buildup? What is
the thickness of the permeable zone?
c. What is the best estimate of the mud cake
thickness?
d. Does the log show severe borehole enlargement?
What is the maximum diameter recorded by the
log?
e. What is the lithology in the enlarged interval?
Borehole fluids and invasion

• Interpretation of logs without a working knowledge of borehole

conditions is one of the chief causes of interpretation errors.
Mud Circulation System
Most of the mud used in a drilling operation is recirculated in
a continuous cycle:
1. Mud is mixed and kept in the mud pit.
2. A pump draws it out of the mud pit and sends it, through
the hollow center of the drill pipe, down into the borehole.
3. Mud emerges from the drill pipe at the bottom of the
borehole where the drill bit is grinding away at the rock
formation.
4. Now the mud begins the return trip to the surface carrying
the pieces of rock, called cuttings, that have been scraped off
the formation by the bit.
5. The mud rises in the annulus, the space between the drill
pipe and the walls of the borehole. The typical diameter of a
drill pipe is about 4 inches (10 centimeters). At the bottom of
a deep well, the borehole might be 8 inches (20 centimeters)
in diameter.
6. At the surface the mud travels through the mud return line,
a pipe that leads to the shale shaker.
7. The shale shakers consist of a series of vibrating metal
screens which are used to separate the mud from the
cuttings. The mud drips through the screens and is returned
to the mud pit.
8. The rock cuttings slip down the shale slide to be disposed
of. Depending upon environmental and other considerations,
they may be washed before disposal. Some of the cuttings are
taken to be examined by geologists for clues about what is
going on deep down inside the well.
Drilling fluid types

• Water based mud

• Oil based mud
• Air
• Foam

• Additives to increase weight,

viscosity, etc.
Invasion process
• The pressure difference between the
mud in the annulus and the formation
pore pressure (PM>Pp; overbalanced
drilling) forces drilling fluid into the
formation.
• Invasion leads to mud cake buildup.
• Fluid that filters into the formation during
invasion is called MUD FILTRATE.
 Mud cake buildup process

Step 2: As mud continues to invade, large

Step 1. Mud filtrate and mud solids mud particles are screened out and coat
invade permeable formations a formation face with mud cake. Some solid
short distance. particles invade a short distance, while the
mud filtrate invades the farthest.
Model of mud invasion

Depth of invasion:
– f (filtration properties, formation properties, pressure differential)
– minimum invasion depth for high porosity
Ideal Invasion Profile

Flushed zone
Invasion terminology
Invasion profiles
Invasion profiles
Invasion profiles
Invasion profiles
Fluid saturations

• Water saturation: Sw
• Hydrocarbon saturation: 1-Sw
• Residual oil saturation (after invasion): Sor=1-Sxo
• Fractional movable oil volume: f(Sxo-Sw)
• Fraction of original oil in place which has moved: (Sxo-Sw)/(1-Sw)
(indicator of the quality of the pay zone)
Exercise
 Uninvaded
Parameter Borehole Mud cake Flushed zone Invaded zone
zone

Formation
Resistivity ------- R mc Rxo Ri Rt

Fluid resistivity Rm ----- Rmf Rz Rw

Porosity ------ ------ ------ ------- ------

Formation Factor ----- ----- Rxo/Rmf Ri/Rz Rt/Rw

𝒏 𝒂 Rmf 𝒏 𝒂 Rz 𝒏 𝒂 Rw
Saturation 𝑺𝒙𝒐 = 𝑺𝒊 = 𝑺𝒘 =
𝝓𝒎 𝑹𝒙𝒐 𝝓𝒎 𝑹𝒊 𝝓𝒎 𝑹𝒕
Temperature Gradients
Temperature of the formation is a key
step in interpretation. Luckily,
temperature gradients can be
determined from bottom hole
temperature measurements. The
Geothermal gradient is usually
measured in °C/100m or °F/100ft. The
geothermal gradient typically varies
between 0.3°- 4.9°F/100ft of depth
and is generally between 1.3°-
2.2°F/100ft. It averages 1.4°-
1.6°F/100ft in sedimentary basins.

T2  T1  gG ( D2  D1 )