Dual water model

In 1968, Waxman and Smits proposed, based on extensive laboratory work and theoretical study, a saturationresistivity relationship for shaly formations that related the resistivity contribution of the shale (to the overall
resistivity of the formation) to the CEC of the shale.[2] The Waxman-Smits relationship is

....................(8)
where F * is the formation factor of the interconnected porosity, Sw also relates to the interconnected pores, B is
the equivalent conductance of the sodium clay-exchange cations as a function of the formation water
conductivity, and Qv is the CEC of the rock per unit pore volume. Unfortunately, a continuous in-situ
measurement of rock CEC was not available when this study was presented. As a result, the dual water model
was developed as a practical solution.[3] The dual water method is based on three premises:

The conductivity of clay is because of its CEC.

The CEC of pure clays is proportional to the specific surface area of the clay.

In saline solutions, the anions are excluded from a layer of water around the surface of the grain. The
thickness of this layer expands as the salinity of the solution (below a certain limit) decreases, and the
thickness is a function of salinity and temperature.

Therefore, because CEC is proportional to specific area (area per unit weight) and to the volume of water in the
counter-ion exclusion layer per unit weight of clay. Consequently, the conductivity of clay is proportional to the
volume of the counter-ion exclusion layer, this layer being "bound" to the surface of the clay grains. For clays,
this very thin sheet of bound water is important because of the large surface areas of clays relative to sand
grains (several magnitudes greater). Therefore, in the dual water model, a clay is modeled as consisting of two
components: bound water and clay minerals.
The clay minerals are modeled as being electrically inert; the clay electrical conductivity is modeled as being
derived from the conductivity of the bound water, Cwb. Cwb is assumed to be independent of clay type (from the
second postulate described previously). The amount of bound water varies according to clay type, being higher
for the finer clays (with higher surface areas), such as montmorillonite, and lower for coarser clays, such as
kaolinite. Salinity also has an effect; in low-salinity waters (roughly < 20,000 ppm NaCl), the diffuse layer
expands.
The bound water is immovable under normal conditions; therefore, the volume it occupies cannot be displaced
by hydrocarbons. Because the clay minerals (dry colloids) are considered electrically inert, they may be treated
just as other minerals. Schematically, shaly formations are modeled with the dual water model, as illustrated
in Table 1.

Table 1

For most rocks (except for conductive minerals such as pyrite, which cannot be treated in this way) only the
porous part needs to be considered when discussing electrical properties, and it is treated according to the
Archie water-saturation equation. The equation becomes

....................(9)
where a, m, and n have the usual Archie connotations. t is the conductivity of the noninvaded, virgin
formation (1/Rt), and we is the equivalent conductivity of the waters in the pore space.
Note that t and Swt refer to total pore volume; this includes the pore volumes saturated with the bound water
and the formation connate water (sometimes called the "free" water). The equivalent water conductivity, we, is

....................(10)
where Vw and Vwb are the bulk volumes of formation water and bound water, respectively, and w and wb are
their conductivities.
In terms of saturation, Eq. 10 becomes

....................(11)
or

....................(12)

or

....................(13)

where Swb is the bound water saturation (i.e., the fraction of the total pore volume occupied by the bound water).

Eq. 13 describes the equivalent-water conductivity as a function of the formation water conductivity plus the
bound-water conductivity. The saturation equation (Eq. 9) becomes

....................(14)
The porosity and water saturation of the sand (clean formation) phase (that is, the nonclay phase) of the
formation is obtained by subtracting the bulk-volume fraction of bound water (t Swb). Therefore, the effective
porosity is

....................(15)
and the water saturation is

....................(16)
To evaluate a shaly formation using the dual water model, four parameters must be determined. They
are w (or Rw), wb (or Rwb),t, and Swb. A neutron-density crossplot provides a good value of t. Swb is obtainable
from a variety of shale-sensitive measurements (SP, GR, N, Rt, N B, t B, etc.). Rwb and Rw are usually
determined by the log analyst and entered as input parameters.