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R.E.(Gene)Ballay,PhD
www.GeoNeurale.Com
Intodaysbusyofficeenvironment,itisalltooeasytobecomefocusedontheendproduct
(andtheassociateddeliverydeadline),attheexpenseofbasicdataqualityandinterpretation
algorithmissues:weare,inasense,workingwithourEyesWideShut.
Asoneofmanypossibleexamples,itiscommontoassociateanincreaseinGRwithanincrease
inclaycontent,indicativeoftheneedtoperformaclaycorrectiontobothporosityandSw.
Figure1istheRhobPefcrossplotacrossawellunderstoodMiddleEastlimestone,withGRin
thezdirection.Thefirstobservationtobemadeisthatmostofthewellunderstood
limestonedataisnottrendingalongthelimestoneline(Pefisoffset)?
Wehaveobservedthisshiftedbehaviorinmultiple(other)carbonatereservoirsinwhichthere
werecoreandgeologicallyestablishednormalizationhorizons:tightlimestoneandanhydrite
(Ballay1994).Theissueisfurthermorereportedintheliterature(Kennedy2002).Andsowe
realizethatwhilethePefisavaluablemineralogyindicator,itscontributioncanbeenhancedif
normalizationhorizonsareavailable.
ThenextobservationisthatGR(clay?)increasesastheRhobPefdatapairsmoveinan
increasedporositydirection.However,whenthezaxisisCGR(ratherthanSGR),the
perspectivechanges.Wenowrealizethatthelimestoneportionofthereservoirisresponding
touranium,notclay,andsoroutineporosityandwatersaturationalgorithmsareareasonable
startingpoint.
Oneexplanationforthis
behavioristhatthehigher
porosity/permeability
intervalshave(historically)
accommodatedmorefluid
flow(relativetothelower
qualityintervals)which
thenresultedinan
increaseinuranium
precipitation.Asimilar
responsecansometimes
beobservedopposite
perforatedintervals,when
theoriginalopenholeGR
iscomparedtotheGR
fromtimelapse
surveillance
measurements.
September2014
Figure 1
Reservoir known to be predominantly
limestone
Higher GR coincides with (apparently) higher
porosity and/or an increase in dolomitization
Black points are invalid data (ie ignore)
R. E. Ballay
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Thesamephenomenonhasbeenobservedinclasticreservoirs(Malaybasinisoneofseveral
possibleexamples),inafieldforwhichtherewasnospectralgammaray.Inthatinstanceitwas
SPdeflectionthatseparatedthereservoirrockfromtheboundingshale,bothhavinghighGR.
Aspetrophysicistsweareoftenfacedwithtightdeadlines,andanswertomanagementwho
havenotbenefitedfromhandsonpetrophysicalinterpretationsacrossnonsimplereservoirs.
AndwhilenoonewantstobetheMessengerwhobringsuncertaintytothetable,Due
DiligencerequiresthatweavoidtheEyesWideShutmentality.
Focus
Weallrealizethatourevaluationscanbenobetterthanthedata,andmodel,allow.Atthe
simplestlevelwemightselectOptimistic,ExpectedandPessimisticparameterestimates,and
therebybothboundtheuncertainty(highandlow)inthecalculatedestimate,andfurther
identifywhichoftheinputattributesaredominatingthatuncertainty.
Itis,however,relativelysimpletoaddresstheuncertaintyissueinamorecomprehensiveand
analyticalfashion,andtherebymoreefficientlyfocusourtimeandbudget,insearchofan
improvedevaluation.
Incarbonates,ourSwestimatesaretypicallycompromisedbyuncertaintyinthe(simple)
Archieequationattributes.
Swn=aRw/(mRt)
InshalysandsthesameapproachcanbeappliedtoanappropriateSw(ShalySand)relation,and
indeedthemethodologyisapplicabletoanyofthedeterministiccalculationsthatweuseona
dailybasis,farbeyondpetrophysics.
Where to focus
0.50
a
Figure 2
Rw
Phi
0.40
RelativeUncertainty
RelativeContribution ToSwUncertainty
m
n
0.30
Rt
0.20
0.10
0.00
0
0.1
0.2
Porosity
0.3
0.4
R. E. Ballay
September2014
Bytakingthevarious
partialderivativesof
Archiesequation(orany
equationofinterest)one
isabletoquantifythe
individualimpactofeach
attributeuponthe
ultimateresult,andthus
recognizewherethe
biggestbangforthe
buck,intermsofacore
analysesprogramor
suiteofpotentiallogs,is
tobefound:Figure2.
Aspreadsheet
formulation(Chen&
Fangsresultshavebeen
codedinExcel)allows
onetonotonlyeasily
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
RelativeContribution ToSwUncertainty
Figure 3
0.50
Phi
0.40
RelativeUncertainty
performthecalculations,
buttoalsoconsiderwhat
theeffectofachangein
reservoirquality
(porosity,asoneof
severalpossible
examples)wouldmean
(becausetheimportance
ofmandnislinkedto
porosity),withlocally
specificvalues.
m
n
0.30
Rt
0.20
0.10
0.00
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
At20pu,formation
Illustrative application of the concept, after C. Chen and J. H. Fang.
Sensitivity Analysis of the Parameters in Archies Water Saturation Equation. The Log Analyst. Sept Oct 1986
evaluation(withChen&
Fangsillustrative
parameters)shouldfocusonimprovedporosityandmestimates,withnofrelativelyless
importance:Figure3.
Ifporosityrisesto30pu,however,improvedporosityestimatesbecomemoreimportantwith
mandnhavingsimilar,andless,impact.
Asporositydropsbelow20pu,itistheporeconnectivity(m)thatbeginstodominatethe
accuracy.
Thinkbackforjustamoment,onhowdiscussionsofuncertaintywhichyoumayhave
participatedin,becamefixatedonasingleissuewithoutanykindofquantitativeconsideration
Light Green Cells require User Specification
orrealizationthatthe
RelativeContribution ToSwUncertainty
Light Blue Cells are calculated results
Individual
Best
Relative Un
dominateattributecan
Attribute Uncertainty Estimate On Sw(Arch
The Rw Dependence
a
0.0%
1.00
0.0000
Rw
4.4%
0.02
0.0019
changefromone
Figure 4
Phi
15.0%
0.20
0.0900
m
10.0%
2.00
0.1036
intervaltothenext.
n
5.0%
2.00
0.0480
0.50
Rw
Phi
Rt
1.0%
40.00
0.0001
RelativeUncertainty
0.40
m
n
0.30
Rt
0.20
0.10
0.00
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
RelativeContribution ToSwUncertainty
0.50
The Rw Dependence
September2014
RelativeUncertainty
a
Rw
Phi
0.40
0.4
Porosity
m
n
0.30
Rt
Ifthewaterwere
fresher,sayRw=0.2
insteadof0.02,n
diminishesin
importanceas
comparedtoboththe
amountofporosity,
anditsconnectivity
(m):Figure4.
0.20
0.10
0.00
0
0.1
0.2
Porosity
0.3
0.4
R. E. Ballay
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Keyobservationsare:
1)theimpactofuncertainty(orvariability)inmand/orn(asanexample)uponthe
ultimateSwestimateislinkedtotheother,independentinputparameters,
2)anunfortunatebadexperiencewithapreviousevaluationmaypromptonetofocustimeand
budgetonaninappropriateattributeinthenextinterpretation.
Theissuecanalsobeaddressedwith(anExcelbased)MonteCarlosimulation.Anattractionof
MonteCarloisthatoncethespreadsheetisunderstoodandsetupforaspecificmodel,itis
straightforwardtomodifyitforacompletelydifferentquestion(coreanalyses,asoneof
manypossibleexamples).Indeed,ourSw(Archie)spreadsheetoriginatedasareservoir
volumetricexercise,kindlypostedtotheWWWbyanunidentifiedLSUfaculty.
Additionally,nonGaussiandistributions,whichdoindeedoccurintheoilfield,canbe
addressedwithMonteCarlo,andthevisualuncertaintydistributionoutputfacilitatesanother
dimensionofunderstanding.FinallyonegainsinsightintotheUpandDownsidepossibilities:
Figure5.
With95%probability,theestimatedvalueisbetterknownthanonewouldhavethought
fromthesimplemaxandminvaluecalculations.Thissituationarisesbecauseitisunlikely
(butnotimpossible)thatthevariousminimumvalueswilloccursimultaneously,nordowe
expectthatallthemaximumvalueswillbefoundinasingleinstance.
Sw
Frequency
400
300
200
100
0
0.00
Figure 5
September2014
0.10
0.20
0.30
Sw
0.40
0.50
R. E. Ballay
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
MonteCarloDistribution
900
700
Frequency
MonteCarloResults
Phi(Rhob)
Mean
Std_Dev
0.181
0.0048
Phi(Rhob)
800
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0.10
0.15
0.25
DeltaAveragePorosityDistribution
10
0.20
Porosity
DeltaPhi
Frequency
Andthereisyetonemore
bitofgoodnews.Whileour
attentionistypicallyfocused
onthefootbyfoot
estimates,reservevolumes
(andthevalueofthe
Company)areusuallybased
uponlayeraverages.Solong
astheuncertaintyis
random,LayerAveragesare
moreprecisethanarethe
individualfootbyfoot
estimates:Figure6.
DeltaAvgPorosity
Mean
Std
0.0002
0.0006
6
4
2
Inthisparticularillustration,
Figure 6
0
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
0.01
thestatisticsresultfroma
DeltaAveragePorosity
physicallyrealisticMonte
CarlosimulationofPhi(Rhob).Inpractice,onemayperformthecomparisonbaseduponthe
actuallogrepeatdata(MainvsRepeatPasses).
Insummary,theattractionofthedifferentialapproachisthatasetofanalyticalequations
result,whichmaybeeasilycodedintoafootbyfootevaluation,andthendisplayed
alongsideourbestestimateresults.
Repeatability does not ensure accuracy
Figure 7
IL is Low
September2014
TheattractionsofMonte
Carloisinsightintothe
upanddownside,the
easytransitionfromone
simulationtoanother
(oncethespreadsheetis
setup)andthevisual
displayofthefinal
estimate.
Regardlessofwhich
approachisbeingused
tofocusourefforts,
wemustrememeber
thatrepeatabilitydoes
notnecessarilyensure
accuracy:Figure7.As
welookatthisresistivity
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
0.02
0.03
R. E. Ballay
comparison,letusaskourselfhowmanytimeswehaveseenSwcalculated(andreported)to
onesaturationunitprecisionwithnodiscussion(ortest)ofthebasicmeasurementaccuracy.
Finally,CarlosTorresVerdincautionsmyexperienceshowsthatthebiasingofapparent
resistivitycurvesduetopostprocessingtechniques(e.g.deconvolution)couldbemore
detrimentaltouncertaintythanArchie'sparameters.Themostconspicuouscaseistheoneofa
thin,hydrocarbonsaturatedbed,wherebedthicknessandinvasioncangiveyoumuchmore
uncertaintygriefthanArchie'sparameters.
PreconceivedNotions
Experienceandpreconceivedexpectationsgotogether,andwhilebotharevaluablewemust
alsorememberthatMotherNaturemaywellhaveasurpriseforus,atthenextforkintheroad.
Asweallknow,
molecularvolumesare
suchthatthetransition
fromcalciteto
dolomiteisexpectedto
createabout12puof
porosity..butthat
doesnotmeanthatthe
dolostonewillalways
havemoreporosity
thanthelimestone:
Figure8.
(core)
Figure 8
(core)
Basedupon50yearsof
data,JerryLuciafound
R E Ballay. Porosity Log Quality Control in a Giant
thattheporosityin
Carbonate. SPE Abu Dhabi. 1994
dolostonecanbeless
thanthatoflimestone,eventhoughthedolostonemaybethebetterqualityreservoir,with
thelowerporevolumebeingcounteredby
dolomitecrystallizationresultedinamoreefficientporesystem,
dolostoneislesssusceptibletocompaction.
Thereare,then,countereffectsatplayandonedoesnotinitiallyknowifthelimestoneor
dolostonewillbethebetterquality.
Thereisasecondpreconceivednotionwhichcanleadtomisinterpretationsinthecarbonate
world:theeffectofvuggyporosityonthesoniclog.
Formationevaluationcomplicationsintheclasticworldoftencenteruponclayconductivity
issues,whereasinthecarbonateworldtheissueismanytimestheporesystem/geometry.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Figure 9
Thereisalonghistory
ofcontrasting
Phi(Densityand/or
Neutron)versus
Phi(Acoustic)asaway
topartitionporosity
intoInterparticleand
vuggy,butarecent
detailedinvestigation
byWegeretal(2009),
whichtookintoaccount
thedigitally
determinedpore
geometry,revealed
thatthisaccepted
methodologyisinfact
highlydependentuponspecificporegeometry:Figure9.
Yes,thereareindeedgeometriesforwhichthePhi(Dt)vsPhi(DN)approachwillsuffice,butthe
situationisoneofCaveatEmptor(LetTheBuyerBeware),andneedstobeverifiedonacase
bycasebasis.
Asanotherexampleofan
issueforwhichthe
answerisobvious,let
usconsiderArchiesm
exponentasafunctionof
porosity.Intuitively,it
wouldseemthatwhen
theporositybecomes
low,mwouldtypically
increase,andindeedthis
kindoftrendcanbe
foundinsomeofthe
olderServiceCompany
chartbooks.
Yetwithaninquiring
mindandthemagicof
GoogleSearch,we
quicklyrealize:
Chart Book
Figure 10
Three of four data sets have m
decreasing as Phi (Total) decreases
Petrophysical Characterization of Permian Shallow-Water Dolostone. M H Holtz, R. P. Major. SPE 75214, 2002
http://www.beg.utexas.edu/mainweb/presentations/2002_presentations/holtz_spe0402ab.pdf
See also
Focke, J. W. and D. Munn. Cementation Exponents in Middle Eastern Carbonate Reservoirs. SPE 1987.
Wang, Fred P. and F. Jerry Lucia Comparison of Empirical Models for Calculating the Vuggy Porosity and Cementation
Exponent of Carbonates from Log Responses. Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas. 1993.
Verwer, Klaas and Gregor P. Eberli, Ralf J. Weger. Effect of pore structure on electrical resistivity in carbonates. AAPG
Bulletin, v. 95, no. 2. Feb 2011.
1)thereareanumberofsituationsinwhichmactuallydecreasesasporositydrops,
2)theChartBooktrendcanbetraced(FockeandMunn)towhatwasintendedtobea
specific(notgeneral)reservoir:Figure10.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Afundamentalissueisthegeometryoftheporesystem,andthefactthatasmallamountof
electricallyefficientporesremainingpresentevenasthetotalporositydecreases,cancome
todominatethenetcementationexponent.
WangandLucia(1993)documentedearlyconcernaboutusingPhi(Dt)vsPhi(DN)for
identificationofvuggyporosity,andalsoputforwardanumericalDualPorosityCementation
ExponentModelwhichnicelyillustrateshowthiscounterintuitivemvsbehavior(m
decreasesasdecreases)canoccur.
Andonefinalexample,theassumptionthatthesalinityofthebrineinthewaterlegisthe
sameasthatinthehydrocarboncolumn:Figure11.
Whilethiswouldatfirstglanceappeartobeobvious,itisinfactnotunusualtofind
exceptions.Kuttanetal(1986)illustratehowtorecognizetheproblemandthenidentifythe
followingprovincesinwhichitoccurs:MahakamDelta(Indonesia),NigerDelta(Nigeria),Lake
Maracaibo(Venezuela)plusseveralAustralianbasins(Eromanga,Surat,Canning,Bonaparte).
TheauthorencounteredthisverysituationinCentralSaudiArabia.
Variable Salinity
The oil sands are underlain by freshwater (wedge) sands of variable salinity
Figure 11
Hydrocarbon and water leg salinity differences are also present in other welldocumented examples, around the world
Freshwater Influx in the Gippsland Basin: Impact on Formation Evaluation, Hydrocarbon Volumes and Hydrocarbon
Migration. K. Kuttan, J.B. Kulla, and R.G Neumann. The APPEA Journal, 1986.
Clinchetal(2011)cautionTheassumptionthatwaterpropertiesinthewaterlegarethe
sameasthoseinthehydrocarbonlegneedstobeproved,notassumed.
Experience,andexpectationsbaseduponthatexperience,areinvaluablebutneverforgetthat
eachnewevaluationcanbealearningexperience.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
CoreData
Coredataprovidesavaluablereferenceagainstwhichtocompareourlogbasedcalculations.
Andjustastheindividuallogmeasurementsmustbeplacedondepthwithoneanother,so
toomustthecorebeadjustedtothelogs.
Inshalysands,withsignificantGRvariations,theCoreGammaRaycanfacilitateanimproved
depthmatch.Incarbonatereservoirs,whichmayexhibitarelativelysuppressedGRsignature,
CTScansthatyieldapseudobulkdensitycancontribute.
Inmanycases,however,wewillfindourselveswithcoreinformationandneitheraCoreGRor
CoreCTforcomparison.Insuchanevent,evenwithwelllabeledcoreboxesingoodcondition,
weshouldbearinmindthepotentialformislabeledboxes:Figure12.
Logs
Mislabeled Core
Core
R. E. Ballay
Selectionofthecoredepthstobesampledisanexampleofanimportantissuethatseldom
getstheattentionitdeserves.Althoughwewillworkwithwhateverresultsareavailable,ifthe
opportunityarisesthequestionofsampleselectiondeservescarefulattentionandPatCorbett
(1992,2001andothers)hasseveralrelevantarticlesonthesubject(seereferences).Andif
conventionalcoreisnotanoption,RotarySidewallswillbesufficientforsomebasic
measurements.
ThemostcommoncoreporositymeasurementisbaseduponBoylesLaw(P1V1=P2V2),and
inherentlyincludeseverythingneededtocalculatethecorrespondinggraindensity.Yet,inthe
busyofficeenvironmentwehaveobserved,overandover,thatwhilethecoreporosityvalueis
usuallycomparedtologestimates,littleattentionisgiventothecoregraindensity.Indeed,in
manycasesthegraindensityisnotevenloaded/displayedwiththelogcalculations.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Thecoreporosityandcoregraindensitymeasurementsarelinked.Ifoneisinerror,theother
isalsolikelyinerror,andsoinanenvironmentforwhichthelowestexpectedgraindensityis
known(beit2.65gm/ccor2.71gm/ccorsomethingelse),themeasuredcoregraindensity
providesQConthecoreporositymeasurement:Figure13.
Mostproblemswiththe
BoylesLawporosity
measurementaresuch
thatthegraindensity
willbelow:incomplete
cleaning/drying
especiallywithheavyoil
andresidualsaltcrystals
insidetheplug(insaline
brineenvironments)are
twoexamples.
R. E. Ballay
About50%oftheField
Figure 13
Studieswehavedone,
The problem with g infers a problem with core porosity
evenwithmoderndata, About 50% of recent field studies done by the author, with modern data, exhibited
exhibitthisproblemand this same problem
itwasnotoriginally
recognizedbecausethecoregraindensitydidnotreceivesufficientconsideration(EyesWide
Shut).Nordidthecoreanalysesvendorcommentontheproblem,whenthedatawasissued
(Didtheyevennoticeit?Theytoo,arepressedfortime.).
Itisworthmentioningthatunconnectedvugporositycouldalsoleadtounrealisticallylow
coregraindensity,andsothatpossibilityneedstobeeliminatedbeforeinquiringwiththecore
vendor(examinetheplugs,asastartingpoint).Innearlyeverycase,ourgeologicalpartnerwas
abletoprovideguidanceonthisquestion(itwasveryseldomanissue).Itisalsopossibleto
simplydisaggregatethesampleandremeasurethegraindensityandaddressthequestionin
thatmanner.
NotonlydoesthecoregraindensityprovideaQConthecoreporositymeasurement,butit
shouldbefurthercomparedtothelogbasedmineralogy(byweightedvolumes).Comparing
Phi(Core)againstPhi(Log)isonlyhalfthequestion;weshouldalsocompareRhog(Core)
againstRhog(Log).
Ifthebudgetallows,wewouldliketomovebeyondtheroutinegraindensity,porosityand
permeability:CapillaryPressure.Vavraetal(1992)provideaniceoverviewofthis
measurement,whichcanbedonebythreedifferentmethods(PorousPlate,Centrifuge,
MercuryInjection).
Mercuryinjectionisthemostcommonmethod,andcomestousfromBobPurcell(1949).The
NMRenthusiastsamongstuswillrecognizethenamePurcellasthePinCPMGsequence:yes
thebrotherofthemanwhogaveusmercuryinjection,wonaNobelPrizeforhisNMRwork.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Atthesimplestlevel,MercuryInjectionprovidesuswithaSaturationHeightreferenceanda
porethroatsizedistribution,andhereagainisanexampleofhowthebusyofficeenvironment
cancauseustooverlookyetmoreapplications.ForBrownandHusseini(1977),andmany
otherssince,demonstratethatthesemeasurementscanalsobeusedtoconstructlocally
specificpermeabilitytransformsthatcanbesurprisinglyrobust(evenascomparedtomodern
NMRtransforms).
MICPcanbedoneonbothcoreplugsandthesocalledTrimmedEndfromaplug.Both
methodsyieldmercurysaturation,buttheporosityuponwhichthereportedsaturationis
based,isdeterminedverydifferently.
InthecaseofhighpressureMICPonTrimmedEnds,thereferenceporositymayverywellbe
thevolumeofmercuryinjectedintotheporesystematsomeveryhighpressure(~55,000psi),
withtheinherentassumptionthatthesamplebulkvolumewasaccuratelydeterminedpriorto
porepenetration,andthatalltheporevolumewasfilledwithmercuryatthehighpressure
limit.
Inmanycasestheavailabledatawillalsoincludeagasporosityonthecorrespondingplug,
andduediligencerequiresthatthetwobecompared.Rockheterogeneitywillresultinan
unavoidablescatter,andsosomenoiseisexpected.Asystematicshift(orbias)inthetwo
porositiesthough,relativetothe45degreeline,deservesaninquirywiththecoreanalyses
vendor:Figure14.
Mercury Injection Porosity
Phi(Gas)vsPhi(Hg)
0.3
Figure 14
Phi(Hg)
Inourexperience,differentlabshavedifferentpolicies,butoneshouldatleastinquire.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
WhileitisthePressureandInjectedVolume(ofHg)thatareactuallymeasured,thecore
analyseslabwilloftenalsoreportacorrespondingPoreThroatRadii,andhereweagainhave
aQCcheck,forthemathematicaltransform[typicallyrc(microns)=107.7um/Pc(psi)]infersa
constantrelativevalueofrcandPc.
Differentpeoplemay
useslightlydifferent
parameters(andhence
theconstantcanbe
slightlydifferent,one
datasettothenext),but
forasingledatasetwe
doexpectaconstant
value:Figure15.
Pore
Throat
Radius,
Conversion
Parameters
Not Constant??
Vp
microns
Rc * Pc
0.000
0.006
0.010
0.013
0.020
0.026
0.035
0.038
0.041
0.044
0.049
0.054
0.061
0.071
0.082
0.092
0.119
0.145
0.147
0.159
0.175
0.190
0.206
0.225
0.235
0.254
0.266
0.289
50.192
44.130
38.408
34.056
30.162
26.633
23.594
20.670
18.148
16.081
14.116
12.376
10.898
9.574
8.421
7.422
6.546
5.806
5.426
5.042
4.439
3.903
3.428
3.018
2.702
2.394
2.084
1.866
95.866
97.527
96.403
95.697
96.819
96.143
96.501
97.148
96.185
96.325
97.120
96.406
96.774
96.506
96.668
96.336
96.684
95.622
91.482
96.596
96.549
96.745
96.611
96.547
94.851
97.857
96.399
94.975
Mercury
Injection Satn,
Pressure, fraction
psia
1.9
2.2
2.5
2.8
3.2
3.6
4.1
4.7
5.3
6.0
6.9
7.8
8.9
10.1
11.5
13.0
14.8
16.5
16.9
19.2
21.8
24.8
28.2
32.0
35.1
40.9
46.3
50.9
Inthisillustration,the
Figure 15
productofthetwo
R. E. Ballay
numbers,asdeliveredby
thecoreanalyses
vendor,isnotconstant.Somethinghasgonewrong,andthismustbeaddressed,beforethe
datacanbeused.
Ifwethegeoscientistssometimesfindourselvesnearoverwhelmedwithtightdeadlines,then
itisnosurprisethatservicecompanypersonnelareinasimilarposition.Amabeokuetal(2011)
sentsamplestofourdifferentlabsandcomparedbothConventionalandSCALresults,tofind
thefollowing.
SomelabsdonothaveQCprotocolsinhouseandjustreportdataacquired
Thereseemstobelittlesupervisionovertechnicianswhoacquirethedata
Standardlabtemplatesfacilitatereporting,buttherearenoQCchecksforthe
validityoftheunderlyingdata
Additionalusefulcoreanalysesreferencesinclude(butarenotlimitedto)
RecommendedPracticesforCoreAnalysis,SecondEdition.February1998byAmerican
PetroleumInstitute,
SomepracticalLessonsLearnedDuring30YearsintheSCALLab.TedBraun,SCA
InternationalSymposium,September,2011.
SimpleModels
Quicklook,orSimple,evaluationsserveanumberofusefulpurposes.Firstly,forthoseinan
operationsenvironment,theyprovideafast,integratedevaluationoftherecentlyacquired
data.Thatis,whileforexampletheporosityandresistivitylogsappeartobevalidindividually,
onemustalsoensurethattheintegratedresultisreasonable,andwefurthermoreneedfirst
passreservoirattributesfordeliverytoManagement.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Laterintime,theQLresultscontinuetoserveapurposeasareferenceagainstwhichto
comparethemoresophisticated,finalinterpretation.Asanexampleapplication,probabilistic
evaluationsofLWDdata(withgenerallylargerlighthydrocarboneffects)canbevastlysuperior
todeterministicoptions,inanumberofways,butcare(withlocalexperience)mustbe
exercisedinsettinguptheprobabilisticModel.Inthepastwehaveidentifiedfaulty
(improperlyspecified)probabilisticresultsbycomparisontoQLresults.
FailuretoexecuteQLinterpretations,andtocomparethoseresultsagainstthefinal,
sophisticatedevaluation,canresultinoneworkingwiththeirEyesWideShut.
Thechoiceofdisplayscalefortheporositylogsisanimportantissue.Becausethe
environmentalcorrectionsfortheneutronlogtypicallyrequirelimestoneunitsforinput,there
ismeritishavingtheneutronporositiesdeliveredinLSunitsevenifthereservoirisclastic.And
theattractionofworkinginLSunitsactuallygoeswellbeyondthis.
Ifthebulkdensity
measurement(in
gm/cc)isconverted
toequivalent
limestoneporosity,
thesimple
arithmeticaverage
ofPhi(Neutron/LS)
andPhi(Rhob/LS)is
oftenareasonable
porosityestimatein
bothsandstoneand
dolostone(andof
courselimestone):
Figure16.
Ifonethenchooses
thedisplayscales
Figure 16
appropriately,a
reasonablePhi(QL)
displaycandeduced
bysimplydrawingalinedownthemiddleofPhi(Neutron/LS)andPhi(Rhob/LS).
Schlumberger
Ifwefurtherdisplaythefinal(sophisticated)porosityinterpretationalongwiththeproperly
scaledrawdataontheappropriatescale(asinFig.16),wethenexpectthatfinalporosity
valuetoroughlygodownthemiddleofthebasicrawmeasurements.Deviationsareexpected
inshalyandgasintervals,butifobservedincleanoiland/orwaterfilledrock,shouldbe
investigated.
TheaccuracyofthisshortcutvariesfromoneRhobNPhitoolcombinationtothenext,andcan
(should)betestedforaspecificsituationbycrossplottingPhi(QL)(iethesimpleaverage)
againstPhi(Final)(thesophisticatedestimate)acrossthenonshaly,nongasintervalsofan
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Figure 17
Theresistivity
Sxon = Rmf / ( m * Rxo )
measurementsarealso
Swn = Rw / ( m * Rdeep )
amenabletoquicklook
interpretations.Applying
Schlumberger 1979 Chart Book
ArchietoboththeFlushed
Determination of Rw in a Water-bearing Zone
andUnflusheddomains,
andthentakingtheratio
Swn / Sxon = 1 = ( Rw / Rmf ) * ( Rxo / Rdeep )
ofthosetwoequationsin
Rw = Rmf * ( Rdeep / Rxo )
thewaterleg,yieldsthe
apparentformationwaterresistivityasafunctionofRdeep/Rxo:Figure17.
Thissimpleequationmaybecodedintotheflowchartthatwefollowinsettingupthedigital
database.Thatis,followingtracedepthshiftingandsplicing,executethisalgorithmto
provideanestimateofRwwellbywell,therebyjumpstartingtheinterpretation(wehavea
reasonableideaofRwjustassoonasthebasicdatahasbeenassimilated).
Ifthecalculationisperformedinthehydrocarboncolumn,anartificiallyhighRwawillresult,
andweeliminatethisbyscalingthedisplayappropriatelyanddisallowingtracedisplaywrap
around.
Ingeneral,eveninanewarea,wewillhavesomeideaofthebrinesalinity:fresh,moderate,
salty.WhencombinedwiththeformationtemperaturethisgivesanRwestimate,andthe
displayscalesarechosensothatonlytheexpectedrangeofRwvaluesareactuallydisplayed
(thehydrocarboncolumnwrappingaround,withoutdisplay).
Ifadditionaldata,suchastheSPand/orbrinesamples,areavailablethenthatinformation
shouldbefactoredintotheanalyses.
Inworkingwithresistivityratios,wemustbearinmindthatoneisessentiallyassumingastep
invasionprofile.MotherNatureisnotalwayssokind,andifforexampleRxoisseeingmostlyRmf
butsomeRw,thentheassumptionswillbegintobreakdown,moreorless.See,forexample,
GoodNewsandBadNews(Ballay2009)andInvasionRevisited(Allenetal1991).
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Figure 18
Theresistivityratio
conceptalsohas
applicationinthe
Sxon = Rmf / ( m * Rxo)
hydrocarboncolumn:
Divide (Ratio)
Figure18.Nowwemake
n
n
twoadditional(firstpass,
Sw / Sxo = ( Rw / Rmf )* ( Rxo / Rdeep )
adjustasappropriate)
Assume
assumptions:n=2and
n = 2 and Sxo = Sw1/5
Sxo=Sw1/5.TheSxovsSw
assumptioninparticular
then
mightappeartobe
Sw2 / Sxo2 = [ Sw / Sw1/5 ] 2 = [ Sw4/5 ] 2 Sw8/5 = ( Rw / Rmf ) * ( Rxo / Rdeep )
shaky,butisinfactfairly
robustandinuse
worldwide.Andwithexperienceinaspecificlocale,onemayfinetunethisexponent.
Swn = Rw / ( m * Rdeep)
AswasthecasewiththeRw(QL)calculationdiscussedabove,wemustbearinmindthe
assumptionofastepprofileforinvasion.
TheutilityoftheSw(QL)calculationbecomesapparentwhen(asoneofseveralpossible
examples)oneisfacedwithavariablemexponent,suchasinavuggycarbonate:Figure19.
Inthisillustration,watersaturationiscalculatedfromArchiewithmtakenas2.0,andalso
fromtheresistivityratio.Inthoseintervalsforwhichsimilarsaturationsresult,thereis
confidence.ButshouldtheratiowatersaturationbegreaterthanSw(Archie),thereiscause
forconcern(havewe
Figure 19
Evaluation of Vuggy Interval
usedtheappropriate
m?).AndiftheBulk
VolumeWaterisalso
high,thatconcern
heightens.
Illustrative Application: Improved Evaluation of Vuggy Rock
Inthisparticularcasethe
From Density-Neutron.
authorhaspetrography
whichrevealsthatthe
The zone at 4810 has good porosity and low Archie Sw: is it pay??
poresystemacrossthe
But the Resistivity Ratio Sw is high (53% vs 38%): a Red Flag !
questionedintervalisin
factoomoldic.The
This suggests that the zone may be wet.
resistivityincrease,which
Sw(m=2)interpretsas
From petrography
hydrocarbon,isinfact
theresultofatortuous
poresystem,andnotthe Author, date and publication n/a. Found with Google Search. Chapter V: Combining Water Saturation by Ratio Method,
Moveable Hydrocarbon Index, Bulk Volume Water and Archie Water Saturation.
presenceof
hydrocarbons.Itisthe
resistivityratiosaturationthatraisestheRedFlag.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Thereareanumberofonlineresourcestowhichonemayreferforthese,andadditional,
concepts.
RossCrain'sOnlineTutorial:www.spec2000.net/index.
KansasGeologicalSurveyTutorial:www.kgs.ku.edu/Gemini.
BakerHughesTutorial:www.bakerhughesdirect.com/.
Forlocalespecificoverviewsandsuggestions,wehavefoundSchlumbergersOilFieldReview
andMiddleEast&AsiaWellReviewtobeveryuseful:www.slb.com/.
MultimodePoreSystems
Multi-mode Pore Systems
Measured MICP curve and Composite
Thomeer curve fits to bimodal sample
Dual Porosity measurements in red
Large Pores per Thomeer model
Vb = 0.035
Pd = 260
Constant = -0.31, G = 0.134
Small Pores per Thomeer model
Vb = 0.035
Pd = 3950
Constant = -0.018, G = 0.008
Hg Injection: Stressed
0.100
1000
0.010
Fractional BV(NonWet)
100
0.001
R. E. Ballay
Figure 20
AlthoughtheThomeerformulationisnotcommonlyusedoutsideShell(whereThomeer
worked),itprovidesaconvenientandphysicallymeaningfulrepresentationofmultimode
poresystems(Ballay,SplitPersonalityandHirasaki&ClerkearticlesintheReferences,for
illustrativediscussions).
Hyperbolicmodels(suchasThomeer)appearinavarietypetrophysicaldiscussions,witha
commonhistoricalapplicationbeingBulkVolumeWater:BVW=Phi*Sw.Abovethe
transitionzone,BVWtakesonarelativelyconstantvalueforaspecificrockquality,androckof
aspecificcategory(BVW)canbeoftenbesafely(withminimalriskofproducingwater)
perforatedinthepresenceofhighSw,solongitfallsalongtheappropriateBVWtrend.
September2014
100000
10000
Hg Pressure
IntheRealEstateworld,
itsallaboutlocation,
location,andlocation.In
theCarbonate
Petrophysicsworld,itis
oftenaboutthepore
system,theporesystem,
andtheporesystem.
Failuretorecognize
variationsinthepore
systemcancauseusto
workwithourEyesWide
Shut.Anditmaybe
mercuryinjection
capillarypressuredata
thatraisestheRedFlag
forthePoreSystem:
Figure20.
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
AlthoughtheBVWgraphicisoftenreferredtoasaBucklesPlot,Archieutilizedthisconceptat
leastasfarbackas1952(wellbeforeBucklespaper,butitwasBuckleswhonicelydocumented
themethodologywithillustrativeexamples)anditisoneapplicationoftodaysmodernNMR
measurements.
TheThomeermodelofcapillarypressureisahyperbolicrelationbetweenMercuryInjection
Pressure(Pc)andBulkVolume(Vb)Occupied(bythenonwettingmercury),expressedas
follows.
[Log(Vb/Vb)][Log(Pc/Pd)]=Constant
Vbisthefractionalbulkvolumeoccupiedbymercuryextrapolatedtoinfinite
mercurypressure:theverticalasymptote.
Pdistheextrapolatedmercurydisplacementpressureinpsi:thepressurerequiredto
enterthelargestporethroat:thehorizontalasymptote.
Constantistheporegeometryfactor,thedistributionofporethroatsandtheir
associatedvolumes:thecurvatureoftherelation.
Amultimodeporesystem,whichcanberecognizedwithmercuryinjectiondata,mayaffect
bothArchiesmandn.
Ifthetwoporosity
Dual Porosity Cementation Exponent Model
componentsforma
parallelcircuit,Wang
Type 1 dual porosity (parallel circuit) m model
andLucia(1993)deduce
whattheyrefertoas
Type1andType2
CementationExponent
av is related to the efficiency of vuggy porosity current paths
modelsthatmaybe
the connectivity between vugs and interparticle pores
usedtoestimatethe
the connectivity between various types of touching vugs
implicationsonSw.And
whiletheparallelcircuit av varies from
Figure 21
assumptioncanbe
unity for reservoirs with well connected planar fractures
questioned(isMother
to infinity for reservoirs with isolated vugs
Natureeverreallythis
Wang, Fred P. and Jerry Lucia. Comparison of Empirical Models for Calculating the Vuggy Porosity and Cementation
simple?),itisacommon Exponent of Carbonates from Log Responses Bureau of Economic Geology, UT. 1993.
approach(Waxman
Smitsshalysandmodel,forexample,andthereareothers):Figure21.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Dual-porosity m Estimates
What If Characterizations
MonteCarloDistribution
Probabilistic Estimate
600
500
Frequency
"m"DualPhi
400
300
200
100
0
Spreadsheet Implementation
of the Probabilistic Estimate
1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.20 2.40 2.60 2.80 3.00
DualPorosity"m"
Figure 22
Dual Porosity / Type 1
4
Cement Exponent
Deterministic Estimate
2
av=1
av=10
av=100
av=1000
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35
Total Porosity [ Phi(v)=0.05 ]
InWang&Lucias
model,itistheav
parameterthat
representsthe
connectivity,orlack
thereof,ofthetwo
poresystems.In
practice,onewill
seldomhaveanexact
valueforthisattribute,
andsoWhatIf(both
deterministicand
probabilistic:Ballay,
RiskyBusinessand
RollingTheDice)
calculationsareoften
usedtoboundtherangeofpossibilities:Figure22.
Fromtheprecedingwerealizethatthecompositemwillbeafunctionoftheporosity
partition.Asanexample,considerasystemofsmallandlargepores,eachofwhichhavean
individualmof2.0(FockeandMunnfordetailedinvestigationofm).
EventhoughboththeMicro&Mesoporesystemseachhavem=2,thecompositemmay
differfrom2.0.
Phi(Micro) Phi(Meso) m
0.25
0.00
2.00
0.20
0.05
2.28
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
2.47
2.47
2.28
2.00
AndbecausethetwodifferentsizeporesystemsdesaturateaccordingtodifferentPccurves
(ascanbenicelyenvisionedviatheThomeerPcmodel),theporositypartitioneffectsmaynot
belimitedtothemexponent.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Figure 23
1000.00
10000
Phi(Macro)=0.20
Phi(Meso)=0.05
100.00
Resistivity Index
1000
Hg Pressure
MaintainingtheDual
Porosityconcept(asput
forwardbyWangand
Luciaform),itis
straightforwardtoset
uptheThomeer
representationofany
(locallyspecific)dual
porosityPccurve,and
tothencalculatethe
correspondingnetn
exponentasthat
(locally)specificporosity
partitionisde
saturated.
n~2.3
10.00
100
Macro
10
Meso
1.00
Total
MacroPores
MesoPores
Vb
0.2
Vb
0.05
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
10
0.1
0.05
2
2
1.25
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
0.1
0.05
2
2
20
100
Macro
Meso
Total
Becausethetwo
Sw
Sw
Sw(Net) ~ 0.365
populationsdesaturate
Sw ~ 0.206
R. E. Ballay
differently,thenetn
exponentcanbenonlinearevenwheneachindividualpartitionhasannof2.0:Figure23.
1
0.10
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.01
0.1
Resistivity Index
100.00
10.00
MacroPores
1.00
0.10
MesoPores
Vb
0.2
Vb
0.05
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
10
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
0.1
0.05
2
2
20
0.01
0.1
0.05
2
2
1.25
100
0.1
Sw
Macro
Meso
Total
1
R. E. Ballay
September2014
Onceagain,weall
realizethatthe
reservoiristypicallynot
asimpleparallel
network(orseriesfor
thatmatter),butthis
mathematicalapproach
isindeedrelatively
commoninboththe
clasticandcarbonate
world,andthe
resultingpredictedn
behaviorhasbeen
reportedin
independent
laboratorystudies
(Diederix,Swanson):
Figure24.
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Figure 25
1000.000
10000
Phi(Macro)=0.125
Phi(Meso)=0.125
100.000
Resistivity Index
Hg Pressure
1000
10.000
100
1.000
Macro
10
Meso
Total
1
0
0.2
0.4
Sw ~ 0.206
0.6
0.8
Sw
MesoPores
Vb
0.125
Vb
0.125
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
10
0.1
0.05
2
2
3.2
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
0.1
0.05
2
2
3.2
0.100
0.01
n~1.3
MacroPores
100
0.1
Meso
Total
Sw ~ 0.60
Sw
R. E. Ballay
Macro
Astherelativeportionofthetwo(largeandsmall,eachwithm=2.0andn=2.0)porosity
partitionsisvaried,wefurtherfindthatnotonlycannbenddownwards,itcanalsobend
upwards:Figures25and26.
Dual Porosity Effects in Hydrocarbon Saturated Rock
As Pc exceeds 100 psi, the small pore system just begins to contribute. At this point
Sw(Macro) ~ 0.206 and R(Macro) ~ R(0)/(Sw^n) ~ [0.05/(0.05^2)]/(0.206^2) ~ 471.
Sw(Meso) ~ 1.00 and R(Meso) ~ R(0) ~ [0.05/(0.20^2)]/1.00 ~ 1.25
Sw(Net) ~ [0.05*Sw(Macro) + 0.20 * Sw(Meso)]/0.25 ~ 0.84
The resistivity of the charged parallel network is 1/R(Net)=1/R(Macro)+1/R(Meso) R(Net) ~ 1.25
The resistivity of the water filled parallel network is 1/R(0)=1/R(Macro)+1/R(Meso) R(Net) ~ 1.18
The effective n exponent is n ~ [Log(R(0)/R(T))]/Log(Sw) ~ 0.33, NOT 2.0, even though both
porosity partitions are described by n = 2.0.
Routine Semi-Log Format Pc Display
Figure 26
1000.000
10000
Phi(Macro)=0.05
Phi(Meso)=0.20
100.000
Resistivity Index
Hg Pressure
1000
10.000
100
1.000
Macro
10
Meso
Total
0.2
Sw ~ 0.206
0.4
0.6
Sw
0.8
MesoPores
0.05
Vb
0.2
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
10
Pd
Constant
Rw
m
n
Ro
100
0.100
0.01
1
0
MacroPores
Vb
0.1
0.05
2
2
20
0.1
Sw
R. E. Ballay
0.1
0.05
2
2
1.25
n~0.33
Macro
Meso
Total
Sw ~ 0.84
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Sincethereisoftenarelationbetweenporethroatradii(Pc)andporebodysize(NMR),one
wouldexpectthatNMRT2distributionsmightofferanalternativeillustrationoftheissue,
andthatisindeedthecase:Figure27.
RI-Sw From T2(NMR) Perspective
The relation between the slope of RI-Sw and the multimode pore system can be visualized in terms of the NMR
T2 distribution
We measured the electrical responses of different
water wet sands and carbonates and present a
numerical approach based on the "Random Walk"
technique
The carbonate sample at right exhibits a bimodal pore
size distribution
The drainage RI-Sw curve exhibits a non-Archie bend
upwards at Sw ~ 40%.
The T2 distribution was measured (at each centrifuge
step) and shows that the macro-pores are drained
progressively, with brine persisting in the micro-pores.
Han, M and V, Tariel, S. Youssef , E. Rosenberg, M. Fleury & P. Levitz. THE
EFFECT OF THE POROUS STRUCTURE ON RESISTIVITY INDEX CURVES.
AN EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL STUDY. SPWLA 49th Annual
Logging Symposium, May 25-28, 2008
Figure 27
Themorphologyoftheporesystemthusrepresentsanotherdimension,beyondsimplythe
magnitudeoftheporosity.
Adualporositysystem(largeandsmallpores)whereinmandnareboth2.0,forboth
individualporesystems,candisplayasurprisinglylargerangeofnetmandnvalues.
MercuryinjectioncapillarypressuredatacanbethemeasurementwhichOpensOurEyesto
thisphenomenon.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
TheTransitionZoneandLowResistivityPay
Inadditiontogeneralshortcomings(asabove)withmeasurementsand/orinterpretation
algorithms,wemightalsofindourselvesfacedwithintervalissues.
Consider,asoneexample,asituationinwhichwehaveconfidenceinboththehydrocarbon
columnSwcalculations(bycomparisonofSw(Archie)andSw(Pc)orsomeothercrosscheck)and
thewaterleg(RwawithappropriatemisconsistentwithmeasuredRw,orsomeother
comparison).Althoughcomforting,wedonotnecessarilyknowthatthetransitionzoneis
beingproperlyevaluated.
Transitionzonesmaypresentadditionalchallenges.Ehrenbergetal(2005)foundthat
hydrocarbonemplacementmorecommonlypreservesrockqualityincarbonates,ascompared
toclastics,andEfniketal(2006)findsneardryoilcansometimesbeproducedinwhatwould
havebydefaultbeeninterpreted(andnottested)asacarbonatetransitionzone.
PulsedNeutronLogsaretypicallyrunlongaftertheoriginalopenholeinterpretationhasbeen
completed(forsurveillancepurposes)butcaninfactcontribute(atalaterdate)toQuality
ControloftheOHevaluationinanumberofways(LaurentMoinard,personal
communication).
Asoneofseveralpossibleexamples,letusconsideradualporositysystemconsistingoflarge
andsmallpores,andtheassociatedtransitionzoneimplications:Figure28.
Complex Pore Systems and the Transition Interval
Carbonate pore structure can exhibit a wide variety of pore sizes
ranging from visible to microscopic
This creates a complex fluid
distribution in the pore network
As hydrocarbon charging occurs,
macro-pore water tends to be
displaced first
Depending upon the buoyancy
pressure and height on the
structure, a portion of the mesopores may become oil charged
Figure 28
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Asonemovesupward
fromtheFreeWater
Level,capillarypressure
increasesandatsome
pointthelargeporeswill
admithydrocarbon,
whilethesmallpores
remainwaterfilled.
If,foranyreason,the
waterfilledsmallpores
formanelectricalcircuit,
Swascalculatedfrom
Archiesequationcanbe
pessimisticacrossthat
interval:Figure29.
Figure 29
Interestingly,thepressureprofileacrossthetransitionzonecanalsobecompromised
(Griffithsetal,2006).
Inrecentstudies,pressuredataacrosstransitionzoneshaverevealed
o Theupperpartofthezonehasanoilgradientbuttheimpliedoildensityistoo
light
Thelowerpartofthezonehasawatergradientandtheresistivityisusuallylow
o buttheuppersectionofthisapparentwatergradientwillsometimeproduceoil
withalowwaterfraction
Simplelineargradientsappliedtothepressurepointscanplacetheinterpretedoil
watercontacttoohigh
o Theresult:hydrocarboninplacemaybesignificantlyunderestimated
Pressureprofilesprovidevaluableformationevaluationandsurveillanceinformation(Ballay
2008),oftenwitharoutine(simplelinear)interpretation,butweshouldnotcloseoureyes
andoverlookpotentialcomplications:Elshahawi1999,Carnegie2006,Larson2009.
BacktoLaurentMoinardandthePulsedNeutronLog.TheoriginalOHinterpretationcanbe
usedtocreateasyntheticcapturecrosssectionaccordingtothePNLbulkvolumeweighted
responseequation,whichcanthenbecomparedtothemeasuredcapturecrosssection.
Synthetic=(1)matrix+ fluid
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Ifthe(calculated
synthetic)OHand
(measured)CH
interpretationsare
consistentwithone
another,thesynthetic
capturecrosssection
shouldagreewiththe
measuredvalue:
Figure30.
Calculated
Calculated
Measured
Measured
Good over-lay
Tool data looks good
Now compare PNL-measured and
OH-calculated
(Tot) calculated from OH results
(mineralogy, & Sw) as input
(Tot) calculated ~ SigmTDT 5 / 6
R. E. Ballay
Inthetransitionzone,however,everysuchcomparisonfoundSynthetic>Measuredindicating
thatSw(PNL)<Sw(Archie):Figure31.
Calculated
Calculated
Measured
Measured
Figure 31
Laurent Moinard: The PNL can cross-check Open Hole Sw(Archie) Interpretation
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
SPWLAAbuDhabiregularlyhostssomeveryinterestingandpracticalconferences(withresults
postedtotheirwwwsite:http://www.spwlaabudhabi.com/).InonerecentConference
(personalcommunication,ChrisSmart)thetopicwasLowResistivityPayinCarbonates,where
theynotedFivedistinctcausesofLRPwereidentified.
Thethreemostlikelycausesallrelyonadualporositystructure.
FracturedformationsSometimes
LayeredformationsOften
DualPorositySystemsMostCommon
Inthecaseoffracturedandlayeredformations,thelargepores(fracturesbeingregardedasof
infiniteporesize)arephysicallyseparatefromthesmallerpores.Inthecaseofdualporosity
systems,thetwoporesizesarejuxtaposed.
Thethreemaincausesoflowresistivitypaycanthusresultfromlimitedentryofoilintothe
smallerpores.Itisthenexpectedthathigherinthecolumn(abovetheTransitionZone)oil
would(eventually)gainaccesstothesmallerporesandbothoilsaturationandresistivity
wouldrise.LRPcanbeaTransitionZonephenomenonandnotbeexpectedinidenticalrock
higherinthecolumn.
CasedholePNLlogs,runforsurveillancepurposes,canserveasaQCdevicefortheoriginal
OHinterpretation.
AdditionalLowResPayconsiderationsmaybefoundinthefollowingreferences:AustinBoydet
al(1995),RogerGriffithsetal(2006),AsbjornGyllenstenetal(2007).
Finally,thereisyetanotherapplicationofthePNLforOHinterpretationpurposes:asan
independentestimateofRw.ForwithmineralogyandporosityfromtheOHinterpretation,and
ameasurementinthewaterleg,oneisabletocalculateWater,andfromthatdeducethe
formationbrinesalinity.
AspointedoutbyLaurentMoinard,consolidationoftheOHandCHdataandinterpretations
canleadtoa1+1=3situation.
StatisticalIssues
Inatimewhenpocketcalculatorshavemorecomputingpowerthandidthespacecapsulethat
firstwenttoamoon,andwhendesktopPCsofferpreprogrammedstatisticalpackagesof
unprecedentedcapabilities,MarkTwainswordsofmorethan100yearsagostillringtrue:
Factsarestubborn,statisticsaremorepliable.
Petrophysicalcorrelationscommonlyencounterthefollowingpitfalls.
Failuretorecognizetheimportanceofresidualorientation,inestablishingnumerical
(leastsquares)correlations.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Establishingcorrelationsbaseduponlogarithms(permeabilityforexample),ratherthan
directlyupontheattributeofinterest.
Considerfirsttheissueofresidualorientation.ThecommonlyusedLinearLeastSquares
Regressioniswellknownandoftenutilized,butwhatiscommonlyoverlookedisthe
(implicitlyassumed)orientationoftheresidualwhosesumofsquaresisminimized.
YonXregression(typicallythedefault)yieldsthatsetofmandb(whereY=m*X+b)for
whichthesumofresidualsquaresisminimizedintheYdirection.
XonYisthesetofmandb(X=m*Y+b)forwhichthesumofresidualsquaresis
minimizedintheXdirection.
ThetwosetsofBestFitmandbcoefficientsarenotthesame,andinfacttheyformthe
extremalboundaryvaluesofaninfiniterangeofpossibleorientations.Thecommonpre
programmedleastsquaresregressionisusuallyYonX,andthismay,ormaynot,be
appropriate(Ballay,2010).
Thepotentialformisidentificationiscompoundedwhenoneisworkingwithanyproperty
thatvariesasafunctionofdepth(PressureProfiles,SaturationHeight,etc)becauseour
naturaltendencywillbetoplacedepthalongtheverticalaxis,whereasinmanyapplications
theresidualthatshouldbeminimizedisinfactalongtheXaxis(Woodhouse,2005andBallay,
2009).
Fortunately,inadditiontopreprogrammedfeatures(whichmay,ormaynot,beappropriate),
manysoftwarepackagesofferpowerfuluserdefinedcurvefittingoptions(suchasExcels
Solver).
TheSolver
featureallows
theuserto
specifythe
desiredresidual
orientationand
tothenperform
bothlinearand(a
varietyof)non
linearcurvefits.
September2014
Residuals Orientation
Figure 32
1000
HFWL(DltaHFWL)
HFWL(DltaSw)
800
800
Sw(1)
Sw(1)
Sw(2)
600
Height(Ft)
Sw(2)
Height(Ft)
Theissuecanbe
illustratedby
constructingthe
Saturation
Heightrelation
basedupon
actualcapillary
pressuredata:
Figure32.
Sw(3)
400
600
Sw(3)
400
200
200
0
0.0
R. E. Ballay
0.2
0.4
0.6
Sat(Wetting)
0.8
Residuals calculated as
Sw(Model) Sw(Actual)
1.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Sat(Wetting)
0.8
1.0
R. E. Ballay
Residuals calculated as
HFWL(Model) HFWL(Actual)
The calibration data is identical (left and right) but the results are very different
At left, the best-fitting line visually passes through the horizontal distribution of
values, while at right the best-fitting line passes through the vertical distribution of
values
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
InFigure32oureyeisdrawntotheresultsontheleftbecausewearementallyexpectingthe
distributionofmeasuredvalues,aboutthebestfittingcurvetobecenteredinthe
horizontalsense,andnotthevertical(depth)sense.
Solveralsoallowsonetoavoidthelogarithmpitfall,whichisillustratedinFigure33.
Logarithm Pitfalls
A comparison of Avg(Permeability) and 10^Avg(Log(Perm)) illustrates the
discrepancy that Woodhouse is referring to
Woodhouse: The use of
All Data
logarithms suppresses the highAvg(Prm)
1957.5
perm values.
If arithmetic means for various
sections of the x-axis are
calculated, significantly
higher
Permeability vs Porosity
10000 of average permeability
values
are calculated
Core Data
Avg(Log(Prm)
10^Avg(Log(Prm)
Figure 33
2.53
335.2
Permeability vs Porosity
10000
Core Data
8000
Permeability
Permeability
1000
100
10
1
0.00
R. E. Ballay
6000
4000
2000
0.10
0.20
Core Porosity
0
0.00
0.30
0.10
0.20
Core Porosity
0.30
R. E. Ballay
Inthisexamplewehavesetupaphysicallyrealisticrelationbetweenporosityandpermeability,
baseduponanexponentialrelation.InonecaseitistheLog(Perm)thatisdisplayed(viathe
semiloggraph)whileintheothercaseitisthedirectPorosityPermeabilityrelation;both
graphicsarebaseduponexactlythesamesetofinputvalues.
Beforenonlinearalgorithms(suchasSolver)werecommonlyavailable,oneoftenestablished
thePorosityPermeabilitytransformbylinearleastsquaresregressionappliedto
Log(Perm).
AsWoodhouse(2005)pointsout,theaverageofasetofPermeabilitymeasurementsisnot
thesameastenraisedtothepoweroftheaverageofthecorrespondinglogarithms.
Transformingtothelogarithmdomain,determiningtheaverageandthentransformingthat
averagebackintopermeabilitytendstosuppressthehigherpermeabilitymeasurements.By
workingdirectwiththeattributeofinterest(inthiscasepermeability,ratherthanLog(perm)),
oneavoidsthispitfall.
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay
Summary
ThatoldsayingNevercriticizeamantillyouhavewalkedinhisshoeshasrelevanceinthe
petrophysicalworld.Alltoooften(particularlyinfieldstudies)petrophysicalresultdelivery
deadlinesarehighlyinfluencedbysomeonewhodoesnothavehandsonexperienceineither
basicPetrophysicalDataQualityControl,orconstructionofamultiwelldatabase(including
welltowellcrosschecks).
Itisthendifficultforthemtoaccepttheamountoftimethatcanelapsebeforeany(firstpass)
interpretationisactuallyexecuted,andwhy(tentative)conclusionscanchange,astheproject
proceeds.Aseeminglysimpletasksuchasdepthshiftingcanbecomeverytimeconsuming,
particularlyifthevariousmeasurementsarefromdifferenttoolruns;iftooldragging/sticking
ispresenttheindividualmeasurements(attheirspecificdepths)fromasingletoolrunrequire
carefulconsideration.
IntheRealWorldoneseldomhasthetimetoworkissuesincompletedetail,butweshouldat
theveryleastrecordconcerns,andavoidtheEyesWideShutmentalityaswestrivetomeet
ourdeadline.
Acknowledgement
InthetenyearssincemyretirementfromAramco,duringwhichIdevelopedandpresenteda
CarbonatePetrophysicscourse,itwasmygoodfortunetohavemanybrightandinquiring
mindsintheaudience.ToyouallIsayThankYou,forrightuptotheverylastpresentationI
foundmyselfconsideringnewpossibilitiesasaresultofyourquestionsandcomments.
AlthoughIamnowretiring,theCarbonatePetrophysicscourseisnot:myfriendandcolleague
MartinStoreyhaskindlyagreedtocarryonwithnotonlyCarbonatePetrophysics,buthis
additionalpersonalofferingsaswell.
Martinmaybecontactedatmstorey@merantipetrophysics.com.
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Biography
R. E. (Gene) Ballays 36 years (18 homes, 15 countries) in petrophysics includes both research
and operations assignments with carbonate experience ranging from individual Niagaran reefs in
Michigan to the Lisburne in Alaska through Ghawar, Saudi Arabia (the largest oilfield in the
world).
He holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics with double minors in Electrical Engineering &
Mathematics, has taught physics in two universities, mentored Nationals in Indonesia and Saudi
Arabia, published numerous technical articles and been designated co-inventor on both American
and European patents.
At retirement from the Saudi Arabian Oil Company he
was the senior technical petrophysicist in the Reservoir
Description Division and had represented petrophysics
in three multi-discipline teams, each bringing on-line
multi-billion barrel increments.
Mississippian limestone
Chattanooga shale
Martin Storey started his oil and gas industry career more than 25 years ago as a logging
engineer in Venezuela. He then joined a super-major and was a wellsite petroleum engineer then
a Petrophysicist in Gabon and Brunei Darussalam.
In 1998, he became an independent consultant and a trainer, and has consulted internationally
since, including in Syria, Malaysia, Oman, Iran, Brunei Darussalam, Suriname, the Ivory Coast
and Australia. In most of these countries, he was the Petrophysicist in multi-disciplinary teams
working on carbonate as well as clastic oil and gas reservoirs, at all stages of their life cycle.
From 2001 to 2004, he was the managing director of TRACS International Australasia, a training
and consulting company. He has authored several technical articles and numerous proprietary
reports. His areas of main interest include practical Petrophysics, operations, data management
and quality.
Starting in 2013, he will be delivering Gene Ballays
Carbonate Petrophysics course (and additional
courses) in selected locations. He may be reached at
the following address.
mstorey@meranti-petrophysics.com
Originally from France and now based in Western
Australia, Martin holds a BSc in Mathematics and
Computer Science from Stanford University and an
MSc in Electrical Engineering from the California
Institute of Technology (USA). Prior to joining the
oil industry, he worked as an international aid
worker and a computer programmer.
Pleistocene limestone
Isla Baltra, Ecuador
September2014
R.E.(Gene)Ballay