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WELCOME TO
CRAIN'S PETROPHYSICAL
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POCKET PAL
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This page is a highly abbreviated version of Chapter 14 on this website. For more about
eater resistivity, water saturation, alternate methods and examples, go to the Main Index
Page.
The fourth step in a log analysis is to determine the water resistivity since most
methods for computing water saturation require knowledge of this value. Water
resistivity data can be sparse or overwhelming, depending on where you are working at
the moment.
THIS PAGE
Formation Water Resistivity
Water Resistivity From Catalog
Water Resistivity From Water
Zone
Water Resistivity From SP
Water and Hydrocarbon
Saturation
Determination of Saturation
Parameters A, M, N
Saturation From Archie Method
Saturation From Simandoux
Catalogs and lab reports usually provide results at 77'F (25'C) and this value must be
transformed to a different value based on the formation temperature.
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USAGE RULES:
Use in preference to other methods if data is available.
Do not use if DST recovery is small; the sample may be contaminated with mud filtrate.
Use data from last sample recovered from DST.
Use minimum value if more than one sample or catalog value is available.
Check chemical analysis for mud contamination.
Many people like to use the graph below to manipulate RW, temperature, and salinity.
Compare measured lab or catalog RW values to RW from water zone method. Use your best judgment to choose
one over the other.
Plot a graph of all available temperatures versus depth (eg from log headings, DSTs, temperature logs) to obtain
BT and GRAD by regression if needed. The line may not be straight. Most log heading values are too low due to
cooling from mud circulation. DST values may also be low if gas expansion occurred during the test.
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chosen
SPECIAL CASES:
If no obvious or known water zones exist, many zones may be calculated with the above equations and results
scanned for low values which MIGHT be water zones. This is called the RWa method instead of the R0 method, but
the math is the same:
1: RWai = (PHIti ^ M) * RESDi / A
Scan the list of Rwai values to find the minimum value of Rwa in clean, moderately high porosity zones close to the
zone of interest. This Rwa value becomes RW@FT:
2: RW@FT = Min (RWai)
The above step is the equivalent to finding RW@FT directly from an "obvious" water zone:
3: RW@FT = (PHIwtr ^ M) * R0 / A
Note that this is the same as the Rwa equation, but R0, the resistivity of a defined water zone replaces RESD.
USAGE RULES:
Use in preference to SP method and to check catalog or DST values.
Use to find RW@FT in a clean water bearing zone only. Use the result (RW@FT) to calculate water saturation in
nearby hydrocarbon zones.
Use to help calibrate A and M if RW@FT is known from DST or produced water.
Do not attempt to find RW@FT in low porosity (less than 5%) or where shale content is high (> 20%).
Do not attempt to find RW@FT in a hydrocarbon bearing zone.
If zones are not "obviously" wet, calculate Rwa in many zones and scan for the minimum value. This MAY be
RW@FT, but remember, there may be NO water zones in the area of your calculation, or the minimum value may be
too far away to be useful.
If there are no obvious water zones nearby, scan the well history cards or database for wells that tested water from
the zone in nearby wells. Analyze logs from these wells to find RW@FT.
To find possible hydrocarbon zones, scan for zones with Rwa greater than three times the minimum expected value.
A shale corrected equation can be constructed by rearranging the Simandoux saturation equation.
PARAMETERS:
for sandstone
A = 0.62 M = 2.15 N = 2.00
for carbonates
A = 1.00 M = 2.00 N = 2.00
NOTE: A, M, and N should be determined from special core analysis if possible.
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Reservoir at initial saturation conditions; black is hydrocarbon, white is irreducible water (left); same
reservoir after depletion with residual oil and higher water saturation (right).
All methods rely on work originally done by Gus Archie in 1940-41. He found from laboratory studies that, in a shale
free, water filled rock, the Formation Factor (F) was a constant defined by:
1: F = R0 / Rw
He also found that F varied with porosity:
2: F = A / (PHIt ^ M)
For a tank of water, R0 = Rw. Therefore F = 1. Since PHIt = 1, then A must also be 1.0 and M can have any value. If
porosity is zero, F is infinite and both A and M can have any value. However, for real rocks, both A and M vary with
grain size, sorting, and rock texture. The normal range for A is 0.5 to 1.5 and for M is 1.7 to about 3.2. Archie used A =
1 and M = 2. In fine vuggy rock, M can be as high as 7.0 with a correspondingly low value for A. In fractures, M can be
as low as 1.1. Note that R0 is also spelled Ro in the literature.
For shale free rocks with both hydrocarbon and water in the pores, he also defined the term Formation Resistivity
Index ( I ) as:
3: I = Rt / R0
4: Sw = ( 1 / I ) ^ (1 / N)
Archie used an N of 2 and the usual range is from 1.3 to 2.6, depending on rock texture. It is often taken to equal M,
but this is not supported by core data in all cases. Rearrangement of these four equations give the more usual Archie
water saturation shown in the next section.
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Shale corrections are applied by adding a shale conductivity term with an associated shale porosity and shale
formation factor relationship. Numerous authors have explored this approach, leading to numerous potential
solutions for water saturation. Two of the most common are given in Section 8.03 and 8.04.
If you want to estimate moveable hydrocarbon, as opposed to hydrocarbons in place, you will have to calculate water
saturation in the invaded zone. Water cut is derived from the differences between actual water saturation and
irreducible water saturation.
Water saturation can be calibrated by comparing log analysis results with water saturation from capillary pressure
data on core samples, and in some cases from oil base cores.
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USAGE RULES:
Use Simandoux method when Vsh > 0.20 and RSH < 8.0. The dual water method may also be used and the choice is
usually a personal preference.
The (2 / N) exponent in Equation 4 is an approximation and works when N is near 2. More sophisticated iterative
techniques are available when N is far from 2.
Calibrate water saturation to core by preparing a porosity vs SW# graph from capillary pressure data. Adjust RW, A,
M, N, RSH, Vsh, PHIe until a satisfactory match is achieved.
PARAMETERS:
RSH
read from log
for sandstone
A = 0.62 M = 2.15 N = 2.00
for carbonates
A = 1.00 M = 2.00 N = 2.00
for fractured zones M = 1.2 to 1.7
NOTE: A, M, and N should be determined from special core analysis if possible.
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Buckles Number can be found by observing the porosity times water saturation product in pay zones where
RW@FT is known, or where a water zone can be used to calibrate RW@FT.
KBUCKL can also be found from capillary pressure data by averaging the product of minimum wetting phase
saturation and core plug porosity for a number of samples.
The (1 Vsh) term can be replaced by (1 Vsh^2) if needed.
Calibrate water saturation to core by preparing a porosity vs SW graph from capillary pressure data. Adjust
KBUCKL, Vsh, PHIe until a satisfactory match is achieved.
PARAMETERS:
Sandstones
Carbonates
KBUCKL
Very fine grain
Chalky
0.120
Fine grain
Cryptocrystalline
0.060
Medium grain
Intercrystalline
0.040
Coarse grain
Sucrosic
0.020
Conglomerate
Fine vuggy
0.010
Unconsolidated
Coarse vuggy
0.005
Fractured
Fractured
0.001
Use these parameters only if no other source exists.
Water saturation is usually trimmed between 0.02 and 1.00. Results from a number of different methods are shown
below.
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Capillary pressure curves define irreducible water saturation SWir (vertical dashed line near left edge of graph).
Irreducible water saturation varies inversely with porosity: Sw = Constant / Porosity, but the Constant can vary with
pore geometry. A reservoir with Sw > SWir will produce some water with the hydrocarbons.
The difference between Sw and SWir, and relative permeability of water and hydrocarbon, determine the water cut.
These concepts are best described by the capillary pressure curve and relative permeability curves illustrated above.
Irreducible water saturation is a necessary value for water cut and permeability calculations.
STEP 1: Find Buckles number from special core analysis or from log analysis in a known clean pay zone that
produced initially with zero water cut.
1: KBUCKL = PHIe * Sw (in a CLEAN zone that produced initially with no water, or from core data)
STEP 2: Solve for irreducible water saturation in each zone.
2: IF zone is obviously hydrocarbon bearing
3: THEN SWir = Sw
4: OTHERWISE SWir = KBUCKL / PHIe / (1 Vsh)
5: IF SWir > Sw
6: THEN SWir = Sw
An easier, but equivalent, model is:
7: SWir = Min (1.0, Sw, KBUCKL / PHIe / (1 Vsh))
USAGE RULES:
Use always in preparation for permeability calculations.
Buckles Number can be found by observing the porosity times water saturation product in pay zones where
RW@FT is known, or where a water zone can be used to calibrate RW@FT. Data can also be found from capillary
pressure data.
If Sw is greater than SWir, then the zone will produce with some water cut (if it produces anything at all).
If Sw is less than SWir, then the Buckles number for the layer is wrong.
The (1 Vsh) term can be replaced by (1 Vsh^2) if needed.
Calibrate water saturation to core by preparing a porosity vs SWir graph from capillary pressure data. Adjust
KBUCKL, Vsh, PHIe until a satisfactory match is achieved.
PARAMETERS:
Sandstones
Very fine grain
Fine grain
Medium grain
Coarse grain
Conglomerate
Unconsolidated
Fractured
Carbonates
Chalky
Cryptocrystalline
Intercrystalline
Sucrosic
Fine vuggy
Coarse vuggy
Fractured
KBUCKL
0.120
0.060
0.030
0.020
0.010
0.005
0.001
MOVEABLE HYDROCARBONS
The process of drilling fluid invasion into the formation displaces oil or gas much the same as water influx from an
aquifer or a waterflood. The oil or gas that is swept ahead of the invasion is called moveable hydrocarbons. That left
behind is called residual oil or residual gas.
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Because we record resistivity logs at different depths of investigation, we can calculate water saturation close to the
borehole as well as in the undisturbed formation. The difference between the shallow and deep saturation tells us
how much oil has moved. The shallow water saturation, called Sxo, is obtained from the same equation as used for
Sw but RW @ FT is replaced by RMF @ FT and RESD is replaced by RESS. Then:
1: Smo = Sxo Sw
2: Sro = 1 Sxo
USAGE RULES:
Invasion must be deeper than the zone investigated by the shallow resistivity.
Invasion must not be too deep and affect the deep resistivity.
These conditions are rare so Smo is not accurate in many cases.
Verify that Sxo = Sw = 1.0 in water zones; adjust RMF and/or RW to achieve a reasonable result.
Set RMF = 10 to kill Smo and Sro calculations in computer programs that insist on presenting this answer even
when the answer is wrong.
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