Reservoir Saturation Tool

Chapter 6
Evaluation and Monitoring of Existing Wells
Chapter overview
Saturation through casing
Porosity through casing
Lithology through casing
Permeability and pressure
Advances in production logging
Hydraulic integrity
Permanent monitoring systems:
Extending the life of a reservoir
E VA L U AT I O N A N D M O N I T O R I N G O F E X I S T I N G W E L L S
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
A key factor in improving production

from old wells is a proper evaluation of its
current condition. Although much can be
inferred from surface measurements, a study
of production history, and general knowledge of the field, there are many ambiguities
that can only be resolved by examining the
in-situ state of the well downhole. This is
particularly true for the large number of
wells that are producing from different
layers, horizontal wells with long sections
open to the formation, or wells that
penetrate multiple reservoirs. This chapter
discusses the techniques for in-situ
evaluation in old wells, and shows how
advances in technology have led to
considerable improvements in this area.
The first key is to understand the state of
the reservoir around the well. The main
concern is the fluids, but in old wells there
are often limited data, so that it is also
necessary to determine the lithology and
porosity. Although all this has been possible
for several years using nuclear spectroscopy
and other techniques, there have been two
recent improvements. The first is a significant
increase in accuracy because of better hardware and vastly improved characterization in
laboratory formations. The second is the
development of slim tools that can log the
reservoir without pulling the tubing.
The evaluation of water saturation,
lithology and porosity is discussed with
examples in the first three sections. Two
important dynamic properties are also
needed: the permeability and pressure of
each layer. These can be obtained directly
by special tests, or indirectly from logs and
correlation with new wells.
Since its invention, production logging

relied heavily on the spinner for fluid
velocity and the gradiomanometer for
holdup. The difficulties are well known,
particularly in two- or three-phase flow and
deviated wells. They become insurmountable in horizontal wells. The large increase
in the number of horizontal wells, together
with laboratory studies and advances in
technology, have led to a whole new range
of production logging sensors that can today
provide three-phase holdup and two-phase
flow at any deviation, and will soon provide
quantitative three-phase flow. Section 5
describes these new techniques and shows
how they can be used alone or together to
evaluate flow at any deviation.
Good hydraulic integrity is important,
and so is knowing whether or not it exists.
In old wells it is particularly important, since
cement and casing can deteriorate and the
original completion practices are not always
well known. Section 6 shows how modern
acoustic techniques can give detailed
information on both cement and casing
quality in a wide range of conditions.
The future lies with permanent sensors,
and the ability to continuously monitor the
in-situ state of the well and the reservoir
beyond it. At present, pressure inside the
well is the only routine permanent
measurement made. Examples from many
parts of the world show the advantages of
permanent sensors, not only for reasons of
logistics, but also for improved reservoir
management. A conceptual view of future
developments is also presented.
S AT U R AT I O N T H R O U G H C A S I N G
Production in old wells is affected by

natural depletion and, when reservoirs are
under waterflooding, by the progression of
the front of injected water. A major concern
in these wells is the increased water cut that
may quickly become uncontrollable.
Production logs such as Flowmeter and
Gradiomanometer logs help to diagnose
existing problems. These logs describe the
fluid flow behavior (rate and type) for each
open interval. However, well repairs that use
only this information often turn out to be
short-lived solutions. The reason is a lack of
knowledge of what is occurring in the
reservoir. Is the water produced from
coning, breakthrough, or encroachment? For
instance, plugging off perforations at the
levels where water is produced with a
cement squeeze may reduce the water cut
only temporarily. If the water finds a
preferential path, it can rapidly reach other
perforations. A thorough diagnosis of the
problem requires additional information on
the current water saturation within the
reservoir. This information, therefore, needs
to be acquired through the casing.
Today, multidisciplinary teams are
focused on enhancing production in existing
wells (Chapter 72). One obvious way to
achieve this objective is to look for zones with
bypassed oil, for which saturation through the
cased hole is a key piece of information.
The first section will describe nuclear
techniques used in wireline logging to
derive water saturation through the cased
hole. We will then illustrate this technique
by two examples from Ta Juana district and
El Furrial Field.
Capture and Inelastic

Scattering logging
Two nuclear reaction mechanisms are
currently used to obtain water saturation
through casing: Pulsed Neutron Capture
(PNC) and Inelastic Scattering (IS). In the
future it may also be possible to make continuous through-casing resistivity measurements,
but at present these are experimental and stationary. The RST* Reservoir Saturation Tool is
designed for both PNC and IS logging techniques (see RST box, page 610). The pulsed
neutron generator, or minitron, operates in
dual neutron burst mode for PNC logging
(referred to as sigma mode) and in single
neutron burst mode for IS logging (referred to
as inelastic or carbon/oxygen mode).
In sigma mode, high-energy neutrons
from the minitron are captured after they are
slowed to thermal energy level by the nuclei
present in the formation rock or fluid. The
rate of decay of the thermal neutron population is characterized by its decay time, t.
Because chlorine is a very efficient neutron
absorber, the decay time in a formation is a
function of the volume and salinity of the
water it contains.
The quantity actually used in petrophysics is not the decay time of the
formation but its capture cross section, S.
It is related to decay time by:
(1)
The expression of S for a composite
formation is a linear function of the
contribution of each solid and fluid component. In the general case of a shaly, porous
formation containing hydrocarbon and
water, it is:
Sf=(1-Vclf)Sma+VclScl+fSwSw+f(1-Sw)Sh (2)
where f is the formation porosity, Vcl is the
volume of clay, Sw is the water saturation,
and Sma, Scl, Sw, and Sh are the capture cross
sections of rock matrix, clay, water, and
hydrocarbon, respectively.
6
Scl is obtained from crossplot techniques. Determining Sma requires knowledge

of the lithology which, in addition to
porosity and clay volume, is usually derived
from an openhole log evaluation. However,
often the data are not sufficient, especially in
old wells. Because the RST can identify most
important rock constituents, it can be used
in such conditions to provide clay volume
and lithology (page 617). It can also
provide a hydrogen index, or neutron
porosity, measurement (page 612).
Because of the presence of the borehole, the rate of decay measured by a PNC
device is a combination of formation sigma
(Sf)and borehole sigma (Sbh). The RST can
separate both components of the decay and
provide Sf and Sbh because of its dual
neutron burst capabilities.
From equation (2), the expression for Sw
can be written as:
IS logging is the alternative technique in

such complex environments. It measures
gamma rays resulting from the interaction of
inelastic (high-energy) neutrons with the
nuclei present in the formation. Spectral
processing is used to extract gamma ray
yields from the inelastic spectrum. The relative contributions of carbon (C) and oxygen
(O) nuclei relate to the volumes of oil and
water in the formation, and the observed C
and O yields are used to determine Sw.
Because the carbon concentration in gas is
extremely low, IS logging is not suitable for
obtaining Sw in gas reservoirs.
The ratio of the carbon and oxygen
(COR) yields is used rather than the
independent C and O yields, because it
reduces the effects of varying borehole size,
casing size, porosity, and other environmental effects.
The equation to convert COR to Sw is
(Scott et al., 1991):
(3)
Charts (Schlumberger Log Interpretation
Charts, 1997) are available to determine Sw
and Sh. Sw is directly related to the salinity
of the water, its value ranging from 20 capture units (c.u.) for fresh water to more
than 120 c.u. for salt-saturated water. Sh
typically varies between 18 c.u. and 22 c.u.
for oil and remains below 17 c.u. for gas.
The quantity f(Sw-Sh) in the denominator
of equation (3) shows that PNC logging
requires a contrast between Sw and Sh. Hence,
the water must be salty and the salinity must
be known to evaluate Sw. There are no hard
limits, but it is generally considered that when
f is less than 10 p.u. and water salinity less
than 30,000 ppm, the contrast is insufficient.
These conditions are usually not met in
reservoirs where production is maintained by
water injection programs. The resulting formation water, a mixture of injection water and
connate water, has a variable and often low
salinity. Also, most Venezuelan reservoirs have
connate water salinities outside this range.
6 3
Matrix Formation Borehole

+Cement
Fluid
Fluid
COR =
YC
K + K f(1-Sw) + KC3(1-yw)
= C1 C2
KOX1 + KOX2fSw + KOX3yw
YOX
(4)
The K coefficients represent the sensitivities to C and O, respectively. The matrix

plus cement term expresses the contribution
from the matrix and cement around the
casing, the formation fluid term from the oil or
water in the formation, and the borehole fluid
term from the borehole oil or water. The
variable yw represents the borehole water
fraction (holdup). Values for the K coefficients
come from an extensive database constructed
with laboratory measurements made from
different borehole environments, formation
lithologies, and porosities. Lithology, porosity,
caliper, casing size and casing ID information
must be known to calculate these values.
The detectors of the 1 1116-in. RST are

sensitive to both borehole and formation
fluids, and so the borehole fluid composition
must be known or measured independently.
Once yw is inserted, equation (3) can be
solved for the volume of water (fSw) and the
volume of oil (f[1-Sw]), independently using
the near or far detector, or a combination of
the two.
Because of the detector shielding in the
1
2 2-in. RST, there is a strong signal contrast
between near and far detector signals.
Equation (4) can then be written for both
detectors and the two-equation system can
solve for Sw and yw.
Figure 6.1
Counts
Hydrogen
Oil
Carbon
Oxygen
Water
Energy (Me V)
RST spectra obtained in an oil tank and a water tank. The broad energy windows
used across the region of the predominant C and O peaks are indicated.
Figure 6.2
VUOI-COR
ELAN effective porosity
Depth 10
(ft)
(p.u.)
VUOI-WIN
40
20
VUOI-ALFA
(p.u.)
70
3650
3675
3700
3725
Alpha processing results in an accurate volume of oil with low statistical variations.
Alpha processing
Spectral processing is hampered by
large statistical uncertainties and requires
very low logging speeds to ensure that
enough gamma rays are measured.
Another approach uses broad energy
windows in the gamma ray spectrum across
the region of the predominant C or O peaks
(Fig. 6.1). This method gives better statistical
precision but the interpretation is prone to
bias. The windows do not only represent C
and O, but are strongly influenced by other
elements present in the formation and by the
gamma radiation induced by the tool itself.
Consequently, the ratio from the C and O
windows is very dependent on environmental
effects, especially borehole effects such as
washouts and cement integrity.
To improve the statistical precision without losing accuracy, a method called Alpha
Processing combines the windows and spectral processing to obtain an accuracy comparable to the C/O yields ratio and a precision comparable to the C/O windows ratio.
Figure 6.2 shows for one well the
formation porosity with the volume of oil
computed from the yields (VUOI-COR) and
windows (VUOI-WIN) ratios, and the same
volume resulting from alpha processing
(VUOI-ALFA). VUOI-WIN exhibits substantially fewer statistical variations than
6
RST Job Planner, input window.
RST Job Planner,

output window.
VUOI-COR and both quantities correlate.

However, VUOI-WIN is not accurateits
value is as much as 30 p.u. above the porosity
value. VUOI-COR, on the other hand, agrees
with the porosity when it is oil-filled.
The result of the Alpha Processing is an
accurate volume (VUOI-ALFA has the same
average value as VUOI-COR) with improved
statistical precision (the statistics on VUOIALFA are equivalent to the statistics on
VUOI-WIN).
Precision and job planning

Unlike most logging tools, there is no
standard logging speed at which to run the
RST in C/O mode. The speed is determined
by the client objective and especially the
statistical precision that is required for the
water saturation, Sw. To improve the statistical precision requires an increased counting
rate at the detector, hence a slower logging
speed. This counting rate also depends on
the tool environment, such as borehole and
casing geometry and formation porosity.
To help the logging engineer plan the
data acquisition, an RST Job Planner routine
has been developed that determines, for all
well conditions, the logging speed needed
to produce an Sw answer that meets the
client objective.
The environmental parameters are entered in the input window (Fig. 6.3a): lithology,
hole and casing sizes, casing weight, formation oil carbon density value, average formation porosity and downhole temperature. Also
required are processing parameters such as
alpha processing window length and vertical
averaging filter length. Finally, the desired
precision on the water saturation is entered.
The output window (Fig. 6.3b), repeats
all the input parameters on the left and shows
the calculated logging speed on the right. The
logging speeds are indicated for both waterfilled and oil-filled hole. Note the speed
improvement when using alpha-processing.
Station logging is usually not used with the
RST since alpha-processing cannot be done
with stationary data. Using alpha-processing
on continuous logs gives the same quality
answer in less time than performing stations.
The logging speeds are computed for two
degrees of confidence on the statistical precision of Sw. In this example, where the required
precision is 10 saturation units. (s.u.), the logging speed needed to return Sw within 10 s.u.
at one standard deviation is given in the first
column and at two standard deviations in the
second column. Ten s.u. at one standard deviation implies that 68% of the measured values
Oil in borehole
rh = 0.74 g cm3
Gravel pack f = 35%
Sw (gravel pack) = Sw (for
.7
Near detector C O ratio
Figure 6.3a & 6.3b
.6
Sw = 0 %
.5
.4
.3
Sw = 100 %
.2
.1
.0
0
.1
Porosity
(a)
Figure 6.4
Oil in borehole
rh = 0.74 g cm3
Gravel pack f = 35%
Sw (gravel pack) = Sw (formation)
Bit size = 8.5 in.

7-in. csg. 23 lbs ft
4.5-in. liner 11.6 Ibs ft
.7
.7
.6
Far detector C O ratio
Near detector C O ratio
Red = Without gravel pack

Green = With gravel pack
Sw = 0 %
.5
.4
.3
Sw = 100 %
.2
.1
.6
Sw = 0 %
.5
.4
.3
Sw = 100 %
.2
.1
.0
.0
0
.1
.2
Porosity
(a)
Response of the near (a) and

far (b) RST detectors as a
function of porosity and
saturation, with and without
gravel pack and liner.
.3
.1
.2
.3
Porosity
(b)
will be within 10 s.u., while 10 s.u. at two

standard deviations implies that 95% will be
within 10 s.u.
Recording speed with RST ranges from
100 ft/hr to 200 ft/hr. Hence, an effective logging speed of 20 ft/hr will require five passes
at 100 ft/hr or 10 passes at 100 ft/hr. For
practical purposes, the number of passes is
often limited at 10, which implies a minimum
effective logging speed of 10 ft/hr. If the RST
planner returns a lower logging speed, then
the precision requested cannot be met in this
environment. Such environments are reservoirs with porosities below 15 p.u. For lower
porosities, less and less precision must be
accepted. In addition, small errors in the
interpretation parameters in equation (4)
become increasingly important.
Inelastic scattering in gravel pack
The original database from which the
C/O interpretation coefficients were determined (equation (4)) did not include gravel
pack completions. Internal gravel packs are
quite common in Venezuela, particularly in
the Miocene sandstones of the Maracaibo
Basin. The internal gravel pack not only puts
more distance between the RST and the
formation, but also introduces an additional
material (the gravel pack) with C and O.
Several extra variables are introduced in the

response: the size of the liner; and the
porosity, density and water saturation in the
gravel pack. Recently, however, many
common gravel pack situations have been
modeled using a Monte Carlo simulation.
Typical results are shown in Fig. 6.4. It can be
seen that the far detector is relatively
unaffected while, as expected, the near is
affected. In either case, the proper response is
now available. The similarity in response
shows that even when conditions such as
gravel pack density are not known precisely,
we can use the far detector with confidence
and the near detector as a check. More gravel
pack and dual pipe completions are being
modeled and measured in the laboratory.
Example 1: Looking for the oil-water contact
and bypassed oil in Ta Juana District
Some reservoirs in the Ta Juana District

in western Venezuela, operated by Lagoven,
are currently under waterflooding. The
Lagunillas Inferior (LGNF-5) is one of the
most complex reservoirs because of its
geology and lithology. It is an undersaturated
reservoir flowing from unconsolidated
sandstones. To further complicate matters,
this reservoir was first developed almost 60
years ago and the wells have old and limited
sets of openhole logs.
One of the most complicated areas of
the reservoir is the east-central region of
LGNF-5. It contains several sandstone layers
open to flow, all of which have different
petrophysical properties.
Using the Production Enhancement
Group (PEG) approach (Chapter 72), the
well LL-1841 was chosen as the best candidate
to run an RST log to monitor the current oil
saturation and identify bypassed oil zones.
This well is injecting water into a lower
horizon, so that the fluid in the borehole is
constant and well known, and the reservoir
is undisturbed by production at the well.
Figure 6.5
Sigma borehole
Depth
(ft)
250
(c.u.)
GR
(gAPI)
Sigma formation
0
100 .2
Deep induction
(ohm-m) 2000
Near COR
60
(c.u.)
.1
60
RST porosity
(p.u.)
.1
.4
Far COR
.4
3500
3600
3700
Openhole and RST logs in

well LL-1841. The RST logs
complement the limited
openhole data set.
Being old, any invasion fluids should have

been displaced long ago. Therefore,
information obtained from this well could be
a good indicator of the state of the reservoir,
and could be used to design workovers in
neighboring wells.
The RST was logged inside the 3 12-in.
tubing and 7-in. casing from 3300 to 3800 ft,
corresponding to the LGNF-5 reservoir.
Because of fresh water, the tool was run in
inelastic mode to derive water saturation.
It was also run in capture mode to obtain
a porosity log that would complement
the limited information available from openhole logs.
Figure 6.5 shows the RST measurements

(near detector and far detector CORs,
borehole and formation sigmas, and
porosity) together with the openhole logs.
The increase of COR within the sandstone
from 3692 to 3715 ft indicates an increase of
formation oil saturation. Sigma does not
respond to this change because the formation oil and water have a similar capture
cross section caused by very low water
salinity. As expected with fresh injection
water filling the tubing, borehole sigma
remains low and changes very little.
With only GR and deep induction
resistivity measurements, there was not
enough information to do a volumetric
evaluation of the openhole logs. However,
with the additional measurements from
the RST, such as neutron porosity and formation sigma, it was possible to perform
the evaluation.
The interpretation of openhole and RST
logs is shown on Fig. 6.6. Clear oil-water
contacts occur at 3703 ft and 3504 ft.
Injection water has completely swept the oil
in sandstones 3 and 4. There is remaining oil
at the top of sandstones 1 and 5, while
sandstones 2, 6, 7 and 8 do not show any
depletion. This confirms that the sandstones
are not always in communication throughout
the reservoir.
These results were correlated to
equivalent sandstones in neighboring wells.
LL-408, which had been shut in because of
excessive water production, was selected as
an excellent candidate for workover. The
well is located only 100 ft east of LL-1841
and has a sandstone that is correlated with
sandstone 8 in LL-1841. A NODAL*
(production system analysis) showed a
potential of 230 BOPD assuming a water cut
of 30% (Fig. 6.7).
Figure 6.6
Water
Moved oil
Sw RST
100 (p.u.)
Sw OH
RST porosity
50 (p.u.)
0 100 (p.u.)
Depth
(ft)
Oil
Water
Water
Oil
Oil
0 Fluid analysis
from RST
0 50 (p.u.)
Sand
Bound water
Fluid analysis
from OH logs
0 50
(p.u.)
Clay
0 0
Volume analysis
(p.u.)
100
8
7
6
3500
After fishing the slotted liner and

squeezing cement into existing perforations,
the interval corresponding to sandstone 8
was perforated with 4-in. (tubing-conveyed
perforating system) guns loaded with
51Jultra penetrating charges. Finally, a gas
lift was installed. After the workover, the
well is producing 250 BOPD, close to the
NODAL analysis prediction, and the water
cut is only 6%.
Example 2: Monitoring
water front and looking for bypassed oil in

El Furrial Field.
The El Furrial Field started producing in

1986 from the Naricual Formation, which is
divided into three members: Superior,
Medium, and Inferior (Chapter 237).
Producing wells are often completed with
two strings: the Naricual Inferior produces
through the long string and the Naricual
Medium and Superior through the short
string. Because of a rapid pressure drop in
the reservoir, a water injection program was
initiated in 1991. Results from this flood
scheme were very satisfactory until recently,
when some wells started producing water.
Within a few months the water cut reached
levels as high as 80%, and even new wells
had to be shut in early.
When well FUL-29 started producing
water from the long string, it was thought
that the Naricual Inferior would have to be
shut in. Before doing so, an RST was logged
in inelastic mode to monitor the water front
at this well.
3600
3700
RST log interpretation in well LL-1841.
Figure 6.7
1400
Fluid conduit
Theoretical performance
Predicted performance
assuming 30% water cut
Pressure (psig)
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0
100
200
300
400
Liquid rate (BOPD)
The NODAL analysis predicts a production of 230 BOPD in well LL-1841.

,
,,

@@
A

B

B

,

,
,,
,

@

A
C
BB
,
@

,

,

A
,,
@@

,

,

BB
C

A
,,
@@

,

BB
C

A
,,
@@

,

,

,

,

,,
,

@

A
BB
,
@

,

,
Figure 6.8
Water
Moved oil
Water
Perfs.
Depth
(ft)
Sw RST
100 (p.u.)
Sw OH
Permeability
0
(md) 200 100 (p.u.)
Oil
0
0 25
(p.u.)
2
15,300
15,500
9
15,600
10
11
12
13
15,700
RST log interpretation in well FUL-29.
Sand
Oil
Fluid analysis
from RST
15,400
Oil
Water
Bound water
Fluid analysis
from OH logs
0 25
(p.u.)
0 0
Clay
Volume analysis
(p.u.)
100
The interpretation of the RST survey

performed over the Naricual Inferior (Fig.
6.8) shows a waterflood profile very
different from the previous example. The
water front does not uniformly progress in
the reservoir. Some sandstones are almost
completely invaded with injection water (7
and 8), others are partially flooded (4, 6, and
10), and sandstones of lower porosity
exhibit the original reservoir oil saturation
(2, 3, 4, 12, and 13).
In track 1 of Fig. 6.8 is the average
permeability, computed from openhole logs,
for each perforated sandstone. It is clear that
the injected water has flushed the oil in
high-permeability sandstones (7 and 8)
without reaching those that were less
permeable.
These results led Lagoven to plan a workover on the well instead of simply shutting in
the long string. The workover consisted of
injecting a polymer in the flooded sandstones
to block the water migration.
Based on the findings in well FUL-29,
the perforation strategy was revised in both
new injector and producer wells. In the
injectors, the high-permeability sandstones
are now perforated with a lower shot density
to reduce the injection rate. In the producers,
these sandstones are not perforated at all.
Conclusion
A crucial piece of information for
reservoir monitoring is water saturation.
By combining and improving two techniques
to obtain this information, the RST is a breakthrough in cased-hole logging. Sigma logging
can quickly provide Sw in formations
with known and high water salinity.
C/O logging is the alternative in reservoirs
with low formation water salinity or under
water injection.
AB@,,,B@,

CBB
RST
RST
Figure 6.9
Figure
6.10a
Inelastic scattering
Nucleus
Fast
neutron
C, O, Si, Ca, Fe, ...
6.10b
Principles of measurement: The

measurement section of the RST, (Fig. 6.9),
consists of a pulsed generator of highenergy neutrons, a near and a far GR
detector each with cerium-doped
gadolinium oxy-ortho silicate crystals.
There are two sizes, 11116-in. and 212-in. In
the 212-in. size the near detector is
shielded from the formation and the far
detector from the borehole. For throughcasing formation evaluation, two modes
are usedInelastic Capture Mode and
Sigma Mode. For production logging,
Activation is used for Water Flow Logging,
and a special form of Sigma
Excited
nucleus
Mode for measuring marker
arrival times in Phase
Velocity Logs.
g-ray
Thermalization
Fast
neutron
Nucleus
Primarily H (mass close to neutron mass)
6.10c
Neutron capture
Slow
neutron
Nucleus
H, Cl, Si, Ca, S, Fe, Gd, Ti ...
6.10d
Excited
nucleus
Inelastic Capture Mode:

Fast neutrons from the
pulsed neutron generator
collide inelastically with
formation nuclei, losing
some of their energy and
emitting gamma rays of
characteristic energy (6.10a).
The spectrum, or number
and energy of these gamma
rays, is measured by the
detectors during the neutron
burst, gate A (Fig. 6.11).
Time (msec)
Fig. 6.11
100
80
C
60
Net inelastic =
A bB
40
Net inelastic
B
20
A
Counts
21/2 -in. RST tool
Counts
Neutron
generator
Counts
Far
Near
detector detector
Counts
Acquisition
cartridge
Neutron
burst
Telemetry,
casing collar
locator
(CCL)
Gamma ray
(optional)
After slowing down to thermal

energy, mainly by interaction with
hydrogen (Fig. 6.10b), the neutrons are
captured by formation nuclei, emitting
other characteristic gamma rays (Fig.
6.10c). The spectra of these capture
gamma rays are recorded in timing gates
B and C. A fraction of gate B is used to
remove the capture background present
in gate A. The measured spectra are
compared with the standards for each
element (Fig. 6.12) to determine the
relative contribution, or yield, of each
element to the spectrum. The Inelastic
Spectrum is used to determine the COR.
The COR is also determined by
comparing the counts in windows C and
O of the Inelastic Spectrum. The Capture
Spectrum is used to determine the relative
yields of Si, Ca, Fe, S, Ti and Gd.
Neutron
burst
111/16 -in. RST tool
Energy
0
Energy
g-ray
Activation
n + 16O 16N + p 16O* + b 16O + g with half life = 7.1s
6 10
RST
Fig.
6.12
Counts
Oxygen
Silicon
Tool background
Calcium
Iron
Carbon
counts in the near and far detectors. The

background counts are measured
periodically between bursts. In the Phase
Velocity Log, another timing sequence is
used with rapid, short bursts so that the
precise time of arrival of a high S marker
can be measured.
Activation Mode: A short burst of
neutrons from a stationary tool activates
atoms which, after a certain time delay,
decay back to normal with the emission of
a gamma ray (Fig. 6.10d). Most decays are
very short. However, the half-life of the
oxygen decay is 7.1 sec. This is sufficiently
long that at normal flow rates the activated
oxygen in moving water is decaying and
emitting gamma rays as it passes one of
the detectors a few seconds later. This
signal is distinct from the background
radiation and from the signal created by
stationary oxygen, which decays
exponentially (Fig. 6.14)
Energy (MeV)
Flowing
signal
Stationary
signal
Slow flowing signal
Background
signal
Fast flowing signal
Count rate
Sigma Mode: Fast neutrons from the

pulsed neutron generator are slowed
down and captured as they diffuse away
from the source (Figs. 6.10a & 6.10b). A
capture cross section (S) is inferred from
the decline in total gamma ray counts at
the detectors. A Dual Burst technique
(Fig. 6.13) is used, in which the count-rate
decay is measured after both a short burst
and a long burst. Data from both
detectors and both bursts are used, with
Sformation being obtained principally from the long burst of
Neutrons
on
the far detector, and Sborehole
No flowing signal
from the short burst of the near
detector. Porosity is estimated
from a ratio of the late time
Time
Long burst
Fig. 6.14
Counts
Short burst
500
1000
Time (msec)
Fig. 6.13
6 11
1500
POROSITY THROUGH CASING
Various methods are used to obtain porosity in old wells. If an adequate modern openhole logging suite is available, it is usually
sufficient to rely on the openhole porosity.
However, in many cases the openhole logging
suite is insufficient or non-existent. In other
cases, the openhole porosity is no longer accurate; for example, carbonates that have been
acidized. Nuclear and acoustic measurements
must then be used to determine the porosity.
The most commonly used technique is a
neutron-type porosity measurement. Such
measurements are relatively insensitive to the
casing and the cement, and can be characterized so as to remove these effects. The
most convenient is a through-tubing measurement, such as from the 11116-in. or 212-in. RST .
The
next
section
describes
the
characterization and processing of this
measurement and shows an example in a
complicated completion. Density tools are
also used. However, in general, the effects of
casing and cement are significant, and unless
the cement bond is excellent, the results are
considered unreliable.
Compressional and shear slownesses (Dtc

and Dts) can also be measured through casing
and transformed into porosity. When cementation is very good or when the formation is
faster than the casing, the first arrival can be
used to determine Dtc. However, this is not
generally reliable and it is recommended to
record full waveforms and process accordingly (see the DSI box, page 433). The last
section describes how the DSI can be tuned
and processed to give optimum results in
these conditions, and shows one example.
Porosity from RST
In the sigma mode, the RST makes a
pulsed neutron capture measurement that
can be used to determine porosity. As
described in the RST box (page 6.10), the
neutron generator emits a short and a long
burst that are recorded at each detector.
Figure 6.15a shows typical time decay spectra
for the short burst at the near detector, while
Fig. 6.15b shows spectra for the long burst at
the far detector. It is clear that the slope of
the short burst/near detector decay is strongly
dependent on borehole salinity, whereas the
long burst/far detector is not.
Figure 6.15
Borehole
salinity
0 kppm
Count rate
Count rate
Borehole
salinity
0 kppm
200 kppm
200 kppm
Long
burst
Short
burst
50
100
150
200
600
1000
1400
Time (ms)
Time (ms)
a.) Typical signal decay from the short burst of the RST near
b.) Typical signal decay from the long burst of the RST far
detector for different borehole salinities.
detector for different borehole salinities. Note the time scale.

The short burst decay is already completed before the start of
this figure.
6 12
Figure 6.16
Input
Time decay spectra
Correction to spectra
Counting loss corrections
Background adaptive filtering
Background subtraction
Compute apparent quantities

Near apparent borehole sigma
Far apparent formation sigma
Near far capture count rate ratio
SBNA
SFFA
TRAT
etc.
Environmental
parameters
Database
Borehole size
Casing size weight
Lithology
Transform from apparent to

corrected quantities
Outputs
Borehole salinity Cross section
Porosity
Corrected near and far sigma
Sigma formation
BSAL SIBF
TPHI
SFNC SFFC
SIGM
Block diagram showing

Sigma/Porosity
processing of RST data.
Table 6.1
Hole size
Casing
Lithology1
Size
Weight
(in.)
(in.)
(lbm/ft)
4.125
4.12
4.125
Openhole
6.4
2.8755
3.5
12.7
Porosity2
Formation
flush3
(kppm NaCl)
Borehole
fluid4
(kppm NaCl)
LS
LS
LS
Z*M H
Z*M H
Z*M H
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air
0 25 50 100 200 Air
6
6
6
4.5
5.0
Openhole
10.5
18
LSD
LSD
LSD
Z*M H
Z*M H
Z*M H
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air
0 25 50 100 200 Air
8
8
8
5.5
7.0
Openhole
15.5
32
LSD
LSD
LSD
Z*M H
Z*M H
Z*M H
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air
0 25 50 100 200 Air
10
10
10
5.5
7.0
7.625
15.5
32
26.4
LSD
LSD
LSD
Z*M H
Z*M H
Z*M H
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air
0 25 50 100 200 Air
11
12
12
7.625
9.625
9.625
26.4
32.3
53.5
LS
LS
LS
Z*M H
Z*M H
Z*M H
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 70 140 210
0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air
0 25 50 100 200 Air
1) L=Limestone S=Sandstone D= Dolomite

2) Z=zero (0 p.u.) M=medium (15-20 p.u.) H=high (33 p.u. for sand, 38-43 p.u. in lime and dolomite)
3) For sand the 70 and 210 kppm points are modeled, for dolomite 70 and 210 kppm are omitted.
4) For sand the 25 and 100 kppm points are modeled, for dolomite 25 and 100 kppm are omitted.
5) RST-A only since RST-B will not fit inside this completion.
*) These 0 p.u. points are modeled for sand.
Current Sigma/Porosity database.
6 13
On the other hand, the slope of the long

burst/far detector is strongly dependent on formation capture cross section (S), whereas the
short detector/near decay is not. Borehole
salinity is one of many factors that influence
the decays. The goal of sigma processing is to
extract three parameters from the data-formation sigma, borehole salinity and porosity.
The processing steps are summarized in
Fig. 6.16. The first step is to correct the spectra
for background counts and loss in counts at
very high counting rates. The second step is to
compute apparent decay times and count rates
from the spectra, mainly far formation sigma
(SFFA), near borehole sigma (SBNA) and nearto-far capture ratio (TRAT). TRAT is obtained
in the late time region by dividing the corrected counting rate of the near detector by
that of the far detector. These are apparent
quantities in the sense that they are still
dependent on the environment (e.g., casing
size, casing weight, borehole size). Corrections for all these factors are made in step 3.
The heart of step 3 is the database of
more than 1000 measurements taken with the
RST in different borehole and formation conditions. Table 6.1 lists the database as of 1996,
but it is being added to regularly. The
measurements are made with the tool flush
against the casing/borehole wall. All casings
are steel and are centered in the borehole. All
cement sheaths are class H cement mixed
with fresh water. The porosity of the formation is determined by measuring the weight
and volume of the rocks, and is accurate to
approximately 0.1 p.u.
The desired outputsFormation S
(SFFC), Porosity (TPHI), and Borehole Salinity
(BSAL)are found to be functions of the
environment and of each other, as follows:
BSAL = f (SBNA, TRAT2, SFFA,
CID, Tcsg, Tcem, Lith)
TPHI = f (TRAT, TRAT2, BSAL,
SFFA, CID, Tcsg, Tcem, Lith)
SFFC = f (SFFA, TPHI, BSAL,
CID, Tcsg, Tcem, Lith)
Figure 6.17
Measured sigma (c.u.)
60
50
40
30
20
10
-1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
Deviation from assigned sigma (c.u.)
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Assigned sigma (c.u.)
Measured Sigma versus

assigned sigma for 900
points where Sf < Sb.
where CID is the casing inside diameter, Tcsg

is the casing thickness, Tcem is the cement
thickness, and Lith is the lithology. In the past,
specific equations were developed with static
coefficients that were direct functions of the
above quantities. This leads to equations that
are very cumbersome and possibly unstable
when extrapolating outside the range of the
database. In the new technique, the coefficients are determined at each depth level
through a weighted multiple linear regression
technique that weights heavily those points in
the database that are closest to the measured
data. This dynamic technique is found to be
stable and robust, as confirmed in the example below. The final sigma (SIGM) is alpha-
Figure 6.18
Water
Gas effect (RST)
Gas
Gas effect (OH logs)
Depth
(ft)
CALI
30 (in.)
CALI
0 (in.) 30
50
TPHI
(p.u.)
50
NPHI
(p.u.)
1.85
RHOB
(g / cm3)
2.65
50
Moved Oil
Oil
Water
Sand
Gas
Bound water
Oil
Clay
Fluid analysis
(p.u.)
Volumetric analysis
0
(p.u.)
100
5800
B
C
5900
E
6400
Example of porosity and C/O measurements from an RST run inside a 3 1/2-in.
processed (see page 64) to improve precision, using SFFC as the accurate measurement and SFFA as the more precise one.
The accuracy of the processing has been
checked against the database itself. Figure
6.17 shows the measured sigma versus. the
assigned sigma for 900 points where Sf < Sb,
which is the normal situation. The average
absolute errors for the RST-A tool are 0.22 c.u.
for SIGM, 0.9 p.u. for TPHI, and 5.5 kppm for
BSAL. For the RST-B tool the corresponding
errors are 0.2 for SIGM, 1.7 p.u. for TPHI and
6.9 kppm for BSAL. The overall accuracy of
the measurement has also been checked
against the industry standard calibration
pits in Houston and in the EUROPA facility
in Aberdeen.
Figure 6.18 shows an example of a well
logged from inside a 312-in. tubing lying within a 958-in. casing. The well produces from a
lower formation and has a packer set at
6963 ft, approximately 500 ft below the
interval logged. Since the well is deviated 20,
the tubing is expected to lie against the side
of the casing. There is a gas lift mandrel in the
interval logged at 5933 ft, which could
possibly cause some stand-off. However, this
is opposite a shale and the effects on the RST
outputs are not significant. There was water
in the tubing and the tubing-casing annulus at
the time of logging.
Such a dual-string completion had not
been included in the database at the time of
logging. However, it could be approximated
by taking the total thickness of both casings
as the casing thickness. The results show
that this is a good approximation, with good
agreement between the openhole neutron
(NPHI) and the RST porosity (TPHI).
Track 4 shows the evaluation of the openhole logs. Track 3 shows the openhole fluid
analysis compared to the fluid analysis from
the RST C/O measurement. As in Figs. 6.6 and
6.8, moved oil is the difference between the oil
seen by the RST and the openhole logs. Track
2 shows NPHI, density and TPHI.
tubing lying inside a 9 5/8-in. casing.
6 14
Figure 6.19
GR
0
(gAPI)
S / T Projection
Depth
150
(ft)
40
(ms / ft)
Sonic Waveform
240
500
(ms )
1700
S / T line
150
S / T Plane : P & S (Rec.)
3660
(Depth = 15,048.8 ft)

225
Slowness (ms / ft)
200
15,000
175
150
125
100
75
50
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Time (ms )
S / T line
150
3660
(Depth = 15,109.8 ft)

225
200
Slowness (ms / ft)
15,100
175
150
125
100
75
50
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Time (ms )
S / T line
150
3660
(Depth = 15,204.8 ft)
15,200
225
Slowness (ms / ft)
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
500
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Time (ms )
15,300
Data from the P and S mode

of a DSI recorded through
casing. Waveform 1 is
shown in track 3. The S/T
plane projection is in track 2.
Three typical STC contour
plots are shown on the right.
6 15
The comparison of NPHI and TPHI shows

some interesting features. In the shales at the
top (e.g., between 5800 ft and 5850 ft) there
is very good agreement. In the gas zone, A, at
5775 ft, they also agree, indicating that the gas
has not moved since the well was drilled. The
apparent moved oil in track 3 should be
ignored. In a gas zone, the COR is only a
qualitative measure of saturation.
Zone B at 5870 ft was found to contain oil

with a thin gas cap when the well was drilled,
as shown in track 4. Zone C at 5880 ft also
contained gas. However, both are now found
to be water-filled by the C/O measurement
(track 3). Unlike in zone A, TPHI shows no
gas effect in either zone, confirming that they
have been flushed.
only shows the current state of the reservoir

but also indicates some interesting features of
fluid movement.
Figure 6.20
CALI
(in)
Vp Vs
SP
20
(mV)
GR
(gAPI)
0.1
120
150
16
Depth
(ft)
LLS
(ohm-m)
1000
1.825
LLD
0.1
(ohm-m)
1000
113
RHOB
(g / cm3)
DTCO
(ms / ft)
2.65
55
15,000
15,100
15,200
15,300
Openhole logs and DSI

results through casing.
The compressional slowness
(DTCO) is on a compatible
scale with the density
(RHOB). (50 p.u. to 0.0 p.u.
for a sandstone matrix
and for the Raymer-HuntGradner transform in this
porosity range).
Zone D (5900 ft) was found to be gasfilled when the well was drilled. However,
TPHI shows no gas effect, and the COR
indicates oil. This is an interesting indication
of the movement of fluids in the reservoir.
Zone E (6375 ft) shows no change in
fluid content between the openhole logs
and the RST log. NPHI and TPHI overlay
almost exactly, as they do in the water zone
below, except opposite the shalier intervals
where NPHI reads higher.
Overall, this example confirms that the
RST porosity gives good results through two
strings in 1214-in. hole in these conditions of
25 p.u. sands and eccentered tubing. It also
shows the benefit of monitoring old wells.
The comparison of RST porosity and saturation with the original openhole results not
Acoustic measurements
through casing
First arrivals have been used for many
years to determine compressional slowness
through casing. However, success depends
on the cementation being good enough to
allow the generation and transmission of
strong formation signals. Also, unless there is
a near-perfect cement bond, the formation
slowness and casing slowness must be
significantly different.
These limitations can be overcome by
recording and processing full waveforms.
Two special techniques are recommended to
improve the results. First, the data should be
acquired at a lower transmitter frequency
than in openhole. Second, the processing
should include a wave separation technique
to remove the casing signal.
The amplitude of the compressional signal
increases with frequency because of the effects
of borehole resonance. However, in cased
holes more casing propagation modes are
excited at higher frequency, especially when
the cement bond is poor. Therefore, the frequency must be lowered, but without reducing
the amplitude of the compressional signal below measurable limits. This limit depends on
formation slowness, since the compressional
amplitude also increases with formation
slowness because of lower contrast (better
coupling) between borehole and formation.
Therefore, the recommended transmitter frequency is 7.5 kHz in a hard formation, which
is reduced to 5 kHz in medium and soft formations, and 3 kHz in very soft formations
(Dtc > 130 msec/ft). Other parameters, such as
filter range, sampling interval and length
must be chosen accordingly.
6 16
A DSI was run in a 7-in. casing lying

within an 812-in. hole with washouts up to 15
in. The shear was obtained from the upper
dipole mode, and the compressional from the P
and S mode, which was run using a 5-kHz
doublet. The data shown in Fig. 6.19 is from the
P and S mode. The waveform in track 3 shows
a strong constant arrival above 15,080 ft. This is
the casing signal. Below 15,080 ft. the casing
signal is barely visible, while the formation
compressional and sometimes the shear are
clearly seen. These results are also seen in the
S/T planes in track 4 and the S/T projection in
track 2. In the middle S/T plane at 15,109.8 ft.
peaks can be seen for all four arrivals. The shear
is missing from the top S/T plane and the casing
from the bottom one.
The waveforms were first processed
through a waveform separation module
(WAVSEP), using a median filter to detect and
then remove the casing signal. Standard STC
processing was then applied to find Dtc and Dts.
The results of processing are shown in Fig. 6.20

alongside the openhole data recorded some
years earlier. The compressional slowness
(DTCO)isdisplayedonascalethatiscompatible
with the density. The openhole density and the
cased hole compressional overlay very well in
the cleanest sand around 15,230 ft, and also
follow each other opposite the zone of strong
casing signal above 15,080 ft. The Vp/Vs ratio
(=Dts /Dtc) is in the range expected throughout
the log. These results confirm the quality of the
compressional and shear measurements. With
this data the operator was able to evaluate the
mechanical properties of his reservoir and the
surrounding formations.
LITHOLOGY THROUGH CASING
Lithology is an important component of

formation evaluation. It is needed not only
for its geological significance, but also as an
input in the determination of petrophysical
parameters such as porosity, permeability
and saturation. In old wells the formation
lithology is often uncertain because of the
limited amount of data gathered at the time
of drilling.
6 17
The examples discussed below are from

shaly sandstones, where it is important to
determine the percentage of clay. Knowing the
clay percentage is essential for interpreting the
other through-casing logs, such as COR and
capture cross section. In old wells with shaly
sandstone intervals, the GR is often the only
measurement available to determine clay percentage and to distinguish sandstones from
shales. However, the GR has many limitations
as a quantitative measurement of clay, and
alternative solutions must be examined.
Figure 6.21
Clay wt%
100
Well 1
Well 2
Well 3
Well 4
Well 5
Well 6
Well 7
Well 8
Well 9
Well 10
Well 11
Well 12
50
Clay wt%
100
50
Clay wt%
100
50
0
0
100
200
Gamma ray
Synthetic GR (computed
from Th, U and K concentrations) plotted against total
clay (kaolinite, illite, smectite,
chlorite and glauconite)
measured on the same
sample for 12 data sets.
Wells 3 and 7 are from
Lake Maracaibo.
100
200
Gamma ray
100
200
Gamma ray
100
200
Gamma ray
The first two sections will review the

limitations of the GR and the advantages of
capture GR spectroscopy for clay determination. The following sections will show how
elemental yields from a through-tubing
pulsed neutron tool are corrected for casing
effects and converted into elemental and
mineral concentrations. Capture GR spectroscopy can be used to give more reliable
estimates of clay percentage even through
casing. The whole procedure, known as
SpectroLith, is illustrated with an example
from Lake Maracaibo and supported with
another from the Orinoco Belt.
Limitations of the GR
Figure 6.21 shows the relationship
between GR and clay weight percentage
(wt%) from core data in 12 wells. The
GR was synthesized from laboratory
measurements of thorium, potassium and
uranium, while the clay percentage was
measured by Fourier Transform Infrared
(FT-IR) techniques (see Chapter 539).
As expected, there is a general correlation.

However, the slopes and offsets vary widely
and there is often considerable scatter.
The wide range in slope can be seen by
comparing Wells 1 and 2. An extrapolation
to pure clay would give a GR reading of
about 100 API units in Well 1, while it would
read about 500 API units in Well 2. The
range in offsets, or zero clay readings, can
be seen by comparing Well 4 and Well 12.
The offset is 30 API units in Well 4, whereas
in Well 12 an extrapolation gives 70 API
untis. Such variations are well known and
are partially circumvented in practice by
using local knowledge and calibrating the
GR to core data in a particular reservoir.
In the examples of Fig. 6.21, this
calibration would give good clay predictions
in Wells 2, 11 and 12. However, the results are
still not satisfactory. After calibration the
reliability must be judged in terms of the
scatter and dynamic range of the data. Several
wells show a large scatter, especially in lowclay, reservoir-type rocks where small changes
can lead to large relative errors. For example,
in Wells 3, 5, 7 or 9 the scatter at about 20 wt%
clay is such that even a calibrated GR would
indicate clay percentages varying from 0% to
40%. This can make the difference between
reservoir and non-reservoir rock, and relatively clean zones may be wrongly condemned as
too shaly to be considered. Wells 11 and 12 are
examples of small dynamic range.
Although the GR is an essential qualitative
indicator of clay percentage, it should be used
with caution in quantitative evaluation. This is
particularly true in old wells where core data
may not be available for calibration.
6 18
Figure 6.22
Clay (wt%)
100
50
0
0
10
20
Thorium (ppm)
10
Uranium (ppm)
2.5
Potassium (wt%)
Clay (wt%)
100
50
0
0
10
20
Aluminum (wt%)
Titanium (wt%)
10
Gadolinium (ppm)
Clay (wt%)
100
50
0
0
25
50
Silicon (wt%)
15
30
Iron (wt%)
20
40
Calcium (wt%)
Comparison of individual chemical elements that can be measured by logging

against total clay for Well 3.
Figure 6.23
100
Clay wt%
Well 1
Well 2
Well 3
Well 4
50
Clay=1.67(100-SiO2 -CaCO3 -MgCO3 -1.99Fe) (5)

0
Clay wt%
100
Well 5
Well 6
Well 7
Well 8
Well 9
Well 10
Well 11
Well 12
50
Clay wt%
100
50
0
0
50
100 0
Estimated clay
50
100 0
Estimated clay
50
total clay for all 12 wells.
100 0
Estimated clay
Clay estimated from Si, Ca, Mg and Fe in wt% plotted against
6 19
GR spectroscopy
The same database was used to examine
other estimators of clay. Figure 6.22 shows
the relationship of various elements to clay
in Well 3. Of the three elements thorium,
uranium and potassium (Th, U and K) that
make up the natural GR signal, only K shows
a better correlation than the total GR.
Aluminum (Al) correlates well, and silica (Si)
anti-correlates well except for a few points
that have a high iron (Fe) percentage.
In general, the most reliable estimator
is found to be Al. However, it is a complicated
measurement to make in a borehole, currently
requiring a chemical source, two spectrometers and a measurement of formation capture cross section. K is not generally as
reliable as in the example in Fig. 6.22.
Therefore, an alternative estimator is used
which is based on the observation that as the
clay percentage increases, the amounts of
several elements decreases. This was already
noted for Si in Fig. 6.22. Similar anticorrelations can be observed with calcium
(Ca) in carbonate intervals, and with Fe where
siderite or pyrite are present. After converting
from elemental to oxide concentrations and
optimizing the coefficients for the data from
Wells 1-10, the following algorithm has been
found:
50
100
Estimated clay
The result is shown in Fig. 6.23, where

the estimated clay from equation (5) is plotted
against the measured clay. The estimate has a
correlation coefficient of 0.94 and a standard
error of 6.9 wt%, and is an improvement over
the GR estimate shown in Fig. 6.21. The
scatter is drastically reduced, particularly at
low clay concentrations where clay estimation
is most critical. Even in Well 8, where the
overall change is smaller, there is an
improvement in the cleanest sandstones.
Wells 11 and 12 are drilled in feldspar-rich
sandstones and are best treated by using an
alternative
algorithm
with
different
coefficients.
The remainder of the rock is divided into

carbonate (calcite + dolomite) and quartzfeldspar-mica. For the carbonate fraction, the
sum (Ca + 1.455Mg) represents 40 wt%
carbonate regardless of the mixture of calcite
and dolomite. Then, after optimizing the
coefficients with the database, the carbonate
fraction is determined as follows:
Figure 6.24
Calcite + dolomite wt%
100
50
0
0
50
100
Estimated calcite + dolomite wt%
Calcite + dolomite estimated

from equation (6) plotted
against measured calcite +
dolomite for all 12 wells.
Carbonate = -7.5 + 2.69 (Ca + 1.455Mg)
(6)
The non-zero offset of 7.5 and the

slightly higher coefficient account for a small
Ca contribution from plagioclase feldspars.
The result is shown in Fig. 6.24, where the
estimated carbonate from equation (6) is
plotted against the measured carbonate. The
correlation coefficient is 0.98.
The quartz-feldspar-mica fraction is then
simply (1 - clay - carbonate). Note that these
are weight rather than volume fractions, and
that, unlike the GR, they are independent
of porosity.
Figure 6.25
10,000
10,100
10,200
Depth (ft)
10,300
10,400
10,500
10,600
10,700
10,800
0.1 0 0.1
Silicon
0.1 0 0.1
Calcium
0.2 0.4
Iron + .14Al
0.1
Sulfur
0.1 0.1
0.1
0.2 0.4
Titanium Gadolinium
Capture yields from the RST far detector in a Lake Maracaibo well, unsmoothed
and not corrected for casing or cement.
These observations provide the basis for

a practical, convenient through-casing lithology measurement. Spectroscopy has been
used for many years to provide detailed
mineralogical information. However, it has
generally been based on the measurement of
at least nine elements, including Al, and the
measurement taken in openhole conditions.
The equations above depend on a much
simpler set of measurements, although some
modifications are needed before applying
them to log data. These will be discussed
later, after describing how accurate elemental
concentrations are measured through casing.
Elemental measurements
through casing
The RST measures the yields of Si, Ca, Fe,
sulfur (S), titanium (Ti), and gadolinium (Gd).
Figure 6.25 shows the yields obtained in the
Inelastic Capture mode in a Lake Maracaibo
well. This is the same as Well 3, for which the
detailed core data was shown in Fig. 6.22.
From the raw yields, we can see evidence
of a shaly sandstone sequence; the silica yield
alone suggests the location of sandstone and
shale beds. The high Fe is predominantly from
the casing, as expected in this environment. In
addition, the Inelastic Capture spectrum of Fe
contains GRs from both Fe and Al, such that
the measured yield should be considered as
the sum (Fe + 0.14 * Al).
The first step in the processing chain
is removing the casing signal from the
Fe yield. This is accomplished by a background subtraction that is based on a histogram of the Fe yields, shown in Fig. 6.26. The
casing Fe correction is generally taken close
to the leading edge of the histogram
in order to zero-out the lowest values. Using
this histogram, a value of 0.35 was selected
for the Fe correction in this data set. Typical
values are in the range of 0.2 to 0.4.
6 20
Figure 6.26
350
300
Frequency
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Fe yield
Histogram of the far detector

capture Fe yield.
Figure 6.27
300
250
Frequency
200
150
100
50
0
0.1 0.05
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Ca yield
Histogram of the far detector
The other elemental yield that normally

needs a casing or cement correction is Ca.
The size of this signal is more variable, but
an estimate can be made with knowledge of
the borehole and casing size. The correction
ranges from 0 to about 0.10. This well has a
5.5-in. casing in an 8.5-in. hole, for which
the laboratory data indicates a cement
contribution to the Ca of about 0.05.
The histogram correction technique is
also used to make the Ca cement correction,
but the correction is taken near the peak
instead of at the leading edge of the data
distribution. If significant formation Ca exists,
it would show up as either an asymmetrical
tail or a second peak in the histogram.
The histogram of the Ca yields is shown in
Fig. 6.27, from which a value of 0.045 was
selected. Note that these corrections are
about an order of magnitude smaller than the
Fe casing corrections.
The corrected yields, after truncating at
zero, are shown in Fig. 6.28. Note that the Ca
yields have dropped to nearly zero, but most
of the well still has significant Fe.
capture Ca yield.
10,000
10,100
10,200
10,300
Depth (ft)
Wi = F Yi /Si
10,400
10,500
10,600
10,700
10,800
0.1 0 0.1
Silicon
0.1 0 0.1
Calcium
0.2
0.4
Iron + .14Al
0.1
Sulfur
0.1 0.1
0.1
Titanium
Capture yields from the far detector, after casing and cement correction.
0.2 0.4
Gadolinium
(7)
where Wi is the absolute weight fraction of

element i, Yi is the relative yield for element i
as measured by the tool, Si is the relative
sensitivity of the measurement to element i,
and F is a normalization factor. The relative
sensitivities, Si, are tool constants that can be
measured in the laboratory. The normalization
factor, F, is a complex function of nearly every
physical parameter of the borehole/formation
environment, and has to be derived at each
level. As in earlier techniques, F is determined
by an oxide closure model. This is based on
the principle that the sum of the weight
percent of all oxides must be 1. The weight
percentage of an oxide can be determined
from that of its element using an oxide
association factor. Then, using equation (7),
the oxide closure model can be written as:
F (XSiYSi/SSi + XCaYCa /SCa + XsYs /Ss
+ XTiYTi /STi + XGdYGd /SGd + XFeYFe /SFe ) = 1
Figure 6.28
6 21
Yields to elemental concentrations

Unfortunately, because the total signal
depends on the environment, the yields are
not measurements of the absolute concentrations of each element, but indicators of the
relative concentrations. However, the two are
related by the equation:
(8)
where X i is the oxide association factor to

convert element i to its common oxide.
Several oxides are not accounted for in this
model, mainly Al and K. However, it has been
observed that the weight percentage of these
oxides is strongly related to the amount of
clay and hence to the amount of Fe.
Therefore, XFe is chosen to compensate for
these missing oxides such that the left-hand
side of the equation does sum to 1.
The value used is based on empirical
observation from a very large range of core
samples from different environments. XFe
also takes into account the contamination of
the Fe yield by Al mentioned above.
Figure 6.29
10,100
10,200
Depth (ft)
10,300
10,400
10,500
10,600
10,700
0
50 0
Silicon
(wt%)
20
Calcium
(wt%)
40
10
20
Iron + .14Al
(wt%)
10
Sulfur
(wt%)
20
Titanium
(wt%)
20
40
Gadolinium
(ppm)
Elemental Concentration Logs computed with SpectroLith are compared with cores.
Thus, while the normal oxide association

factor for Fe is 2.075, the one used in the
above model is typically close to 6.
The model as described is suitable for shaly
sandstone intervals. In carbonates and
evaporites, further refinements are made to
account properly for dolomite and anhydrite.
The elemental concentration logs
computed using this processing are presented
in Fig. 6.29 as solid blue curves. Core data are
presented as red dots for comparison. In
general, the correlation between core and log
data is quite good. It is particularly good
considering that the data were obtained
through casing with a 11116-in. tool. Both the
core and log data distinguish the silica-rich
sandstones (Si > 40 wt%) from the shales.
Both data sets show the near-absence of Ca.
The Ca peak at 10,650 ft actually represents a
cement-filled washout that can be identified
on the openhole caliper. The Fe, Ti and Gd
logs all agree reasonably well with core.
Elements to minerals
Equations (5) and (6) provided a means
for obtaining minerals from elements, based
on core data. There are two complications
using log data. First, magnesium (Mg) is not
normally measured by spectroscopy logging
tools, although recent work shows this can be
done. However, as discussed above, the sum
(Ca + 1.455Mg) is independent of whether
there is calcite or dolomite, which is the same
as saying that this sum equals the Ca
measured by logs. Therefore, the log Ca can
be used to estimate the total carbonate.
Second, the optimization for clay percentage
needs to allow for the fact that the
Fe measurement is contaminated by Al.
Equations (5) and (6) are therefore modified
as follows:
Clay (log) =1.91 ( 100 - SiO2
- CaCO3 - 1.99Fe)
(9)
Carbonate (log) = -7.5 + 2.69Ca
(10)
Quartz - Feldspar - Mica = 1 - Clay

- Carbonate
(11)
In the case of sandstones rich in feldspar or mica, such as Wells 11 and 12, the
alternative clay computation is as follows:
Clay2(log)=
-18.5+3.34(100-SiO2 -CaCO3 -1.99Fe)
(12)
The results for Well 3 are shown in Fig.

6.30, and are compared with core data
acquired with FT-IR measurements. For the
sandstones and shaly sandstones, where the
quartz-feldspar-mica component is greater
than 70 wt%, the core and log data agree
very well. The absence of calcite and
dolomite is clear in both the core and log
data. The SpectroLith interpretation correctly
quantifies the clay content in the sandstones
and shaly sandstones where accurate
quantification is most critical. In the shales,
the SpectroLith clay quantity is somewhat
lower than the core data.
6 22
core measurements permit a very thorough

comparison. The GR has been scaled to give
a clay wt%, using GRmin=11 API units to
match the minimum reading at X890 ft, and a
GRmax=80 API units. Then, following the
work of Bhuyan and Passey, a scaling factor
has been used because many shales have a
clay percentage around 0.6. Hence:
Figure 6.30
10,100
10,200
Depth (ft)
10,300
10,400
ClayGR = 0.6 * (GR - 11)/69
10,500
10,600
10,700
0
50
Clay (wt%)
Mineral weight percentage

computed with SpectroLith,
and compared with cores.
100
50
100
Carbonate (wt%)
50
100
Quartz-Feld-Mica (wt%)
The response of the GR log can be

judged from the core measurements, shown
as Well 3 in Fig. 6.21. It can be seen both
from Fig. 6.21 and the SpectroLith results in
Fig. 6.30 that there are no entirely clean
zones. This will make an empirical pick of
GRmin very difficult without core data. Even
with core data, it can be seen from Fig. 6.21
that the GR regularly overestimates the clay
in the sandstones (clay wt% < 30%).
Another example comparing the two
techniques is shown in Fig. 6.31. In this well,
from the Orinoco Belt, the large number of
Figure 6.31
100
90
GR
Spectrolith
80
Clay (wt%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
X650
X700
X750
X800
X850
Depth (ft)
Clay weight percentage in a Orinoco Belt well from SpectroLith, GR and cores.
The SpectroLith value clearly agrees more closely with the cores.
6 23
X900
(13)
The SpectroLith processing was automatic. As can be seen, the two log estimates
agree well between X855 ft and X885 ft.
Elsewhere, and in spite of the scaling factor,
the GR gives too high a clay percentage by
about 10 to 20 wt%. Furthermore, it shows
excursions, such as at X760 ft and X815 ft,
which would be interpreted as sealing shales,
but which are not shales at all. SpectroLith
gives a better picture of the reservoir.
Summary
In shaly sandstone intervals, it is important to know the percentage of clay to estimate
porosity, saturation and permeability. Very
often the clay percentage is estimated from the
GR. However, it has been shown that the GR
is unreliable as a quantitative estimator of clay.
This is especially true in old wells where core
and other logs are not often available to
calibrate and help interpret the response.
An alternative technique is to use
capture GR spectroscopy yields from an RST
tool. Using the SpectroLith procedure, these
yields can be turned into elemental and
mineralogical concentrations. Based on
examples from Lake Maracaibo and the
Orinoco Belt, it has been shown that more
accurate clay percentages can be obtained by
this technique. This improvement was
significant in enhancing the reservoir
evaluation, so that potentially good zones
were not falsely judged to be poor quality
reservoir, and so that facies with high GR
were not treated as reservoir barriers.
PERMEABILITY AND PRESSURE
In the last three sections we have seen

how to obtain water saturation, porosity and
lithology in old wells. Two important
components of the formation evaluation are
missingthe permeability and pressure.
These are also some of the hardest data to
obtain. Both can be derived from a build-up
test. This is straightforward in a single-layer
reservoir (e.g., Permanent Monitoring, page
641). However, in a multilayer reservoir,
several different layers are usually open to
flow. Isolating and testing each zone is
difficult and expensive. Special tests may be
made. In the Selective Inflow Performance
(SIP) test, production logs measure the
contribution of each layer at different
surface flow rates. From this data, the inflow performance relationship and the
formation pressure of each layer can be
derived. In a Layered Reservoir Test (LRT)
the pressure and flow rate of a layer are
recorded versus time while a step change in
the flow rate is induced at the surface by
changing choke size. After this is repeated
for each layer, the permeability, skin and
reservoir pressure of each layer can be
estimated. The interpretation is complex.
The zones must be isolated, and flow rates
must be reasonably high to get sufficient
accuracy. Clearly these types of tests cannot
give information about zones not open to
flow. However, many successful examples of
both SIP and LRT have been published.
A cased-hole wireline formation test is a
possible solution for unperforated zones.
The tool is set opposite the zone to be tested
and a hydraulically operated drill bit is used
to drill a hole through the casing to the zone
to be tested. After the test, the hole is
plugged with a Lee plug. As in the openhole,
such tests can measure formation pressure
and a permeability close to the borehole
wall. However, the zone tested must still
be well isolated from other zones behind
the casing.
After the direct methods described

above, the next-best solution is to use
indirect methods; for example, estimating
permeability from logs and pressure from a
nearby new well. In new wells there are
several ways of estimating permeability from
logsfrom the CMR tool and from the
Stoneley wave (Chapter 4) or from porosity
and mineralogy. Unfortunately, in many old
wells adequate openhole logs are not
available. However, with the methods
described above of determining porosity and
lithology through casing, it is now possible
to estimate permeability in old wells. These
methods of estimating pressure and permeability are discussed with an example below.
Permeability
The link between porosity, mineralogy
and permeability is provided by the socalled L parameter, which relates permeability to L and Archies formation factor F
as follows (Johnson et al., 1986):
KL = L2 / 8F and 1/L = S / Vp
(14)
where S is the surface area and Vp the

volume of the pores. The ratio S/Vp is
related to the total porosity, grain density
and specific surface area of the rock (in units
of m2/g) as:
S/Vp = S0 rg f / (1-f)
(15)
Furthermore, minerals have fairly

unique and constant specific surface areas,
S0i, which may be determined by laboratory
analysis. Thus, the total specific surface area
S0 can be computed from the mineral
abundances Mi, as:
S0 = S Mi S0i
(16)
The above equations can be combined

to give a direct expression for permeability:
KL = A f (m+2) / (rg2 (1-f) 2 S Mi ni S0i )
(17)
6 24
Pressure
One of the simplest and best established
methods of obtaining layer pressure is to
make openhole wireline formation tests in a
nearby new well. The key to success is a
good correlation between the old and new
well, and a good knowledge of sealing faults
and other factors that might cause a
discontinuity in pressure. Typically in old
wells the correlation is based on a good
geological model, and on GR and resistivity
logs. Here again the SpectroLith lithology
can improve results. Chemostratigraphy,
which is based on the elemental volumes
from SpectroLith, can help make correlations
that are better than those from GR and
resistivities alone (Herron, 1988).
Figure 6.32
10,500
10,600
10,700
Depth (ft)
10,800
10,900
11,000
11,100
Shell
core data
Maraven
core data
11,200
0
50
Clay (wt %)
Comparison of core and

K-L permeability for a
Lower Lagunillas well
(Herron, 1995).
6 25
100
0.1
10
100
1000
10,000
Permeability (md)
The factor n was introduced to account

for low predictions in shalier sandstones. It
has been suggested that in these sandstones
not all the specific area participates in the
flow. Much better fits to core data are
achieved if the specific area is reduced by
n, which is between 0.1 and 0.2 for clays
and 1 for non-clays. Figure 6.32 shows a
comparison of the K-L prediction and core
for a Lower Lagunillas well.
Example
The example shown in Fig. 6.33 is from
Bloque IV in the Maracaibo Basin. VLD-1112
is a new well and VLD-775 is an old well in
the same block. An extensive study of cores
and logs in this area led to a new definition
of layers for the reservoir, shown as layers I
to XII on the left. This layering was strongly
confirmed by the MDT* Modular Formation
Dynamics Tester pressures recorded in VLD1112. Some layers are clearly much more
depleted than others. The permeabilities
were estimated with the K-L method using
the openhole mineral volumes.
The old well, VLD-775, is about 1 km
SE of VLD-1112 and was drilled in 1978.
After producing about 5 MMBbl of oil it
recently showed a large increase in gas cut.
The fluids in the different layers at the time of
the original openhole and a recent RST are
summarized on the right of Fig 6.33. In this
case, the openhole logging suite was
sufficient to make a reasonable estimate of
porosity and lithology. The permeability in
track 2 was derived from the mineralogy and
the K-L model. The correlation between the
two wells is based on the new layer model,
PERMEABILITY AND PRESSURE
Laguna
(gAPI)
-20
GR
120
f =19%
k =31 md
XI
f =18%
k = 4 md
f =19%
k =152 md
10,500
IX
10700
f =16%
k= 3 md
f= 16%
k = 2 md
VI
10,600
VII
VI
V
f= 22%
k =1498 md
IV
IV
10800
III
II

,
XI
VIII
VII
10000
XII
VIII
KINT (md)
1
10600
f =23%
k = 306 md
IX
md
ft
2 79
-80
10,400
XII
Lagunillas I nferior
SP
Hist + RST 4 94
GR
0
Layer
MDT Pressure (psig)
Average
1300
1050
Porosity and
K (md)
120 Depth
Permeability
(ft) 1.00
10000.
Layer
Sand
Layer
Member
2 79
6 94
12 91
VLD 775
VLD 1112
Openhole 12 78
Figure 6.33
f 24%
k 1585 md
10,700
III
II
Open perforations
Oil
Sequence boundary
Flooding surface
Other marker
Gas
Closed perforations
Water
Indirect estimates of dynamic properties in an old well (VLD-775). Permeability is from openhole measurements and pressure by correlation
with the new well VLD-1112, (after Bryant, et al, 1996).
using the layer VIII shale as a datum horizon.

The tops were refined and made consistent
with flow units using the permeability.
Note that if the correlation had been based
on GR alone, layers II to VI would have
been harder to define. With this correlation
we can take the layer pressures from VLD1112 as our best estimate of the layer
pressures in VLD-775.
All the formation characteristics needed

to make a sound decision about VLD-775
are now known: porosity, lithology,
permeability, current fluid saturations and
layer pressures.
6 26
ADVANCES IN PRODUCTION LOGGING
Production logging tools were first

introduced more than 30 years ago. Even
with the fairly simple technology that existed
at that time, a monophasic flow profile in a
well could be quantitatively defined. The
key sensor for determining flow rate was the
same as is used today, namely the spinner.
The spinner can be calibrated in-situ so that
its rotational speed can be directly related to
fluid velocity. The major challenge for
production logging over the years has been
achieving quantitative flow profiling in diphasic and tri-phasic flow. This challenge
has only increased with the greater number
of highly deviated and horizontal wells now
being drilled.
The most common di-phasic flow
condition encountered is that of water and
oil flowing together. We can write the
general equations for two-phase flow as
follows:
qhp = qt yhp - qs
qlp = qt ylp + qs
(18)
(19)
where:
q = flow rate, hp = heavy phase
lp = light phase, y = phase hold-up,
vs = slippage velocity,
qs = slippage flow rate defined as
yhp ylp A Vs
In a bubble flow regime; i.e., when one
phase is continuous while the other is
distributed as bubbles within it, then it is
assumed that the spinner can determine the
total flow rate qt. The hold-up of the phases
has to be determined from measurements,
while the slippage velocity is found from
laboratory-established correlations.
6 27
Phase hold-up measurement

The measurement of phase hold-up has
never been a direct measurement. It has
usually been derived from fluid density. The
fluid density is typically determined from the
difference in pressure between two vertically
displaced points, and the sensor is known as
a gradiomanometer. If the densities of the
pure phases are known, then the density of
the fluid mixture can be expressed as a simple linear combination of each phase present.
Thus, in two-phase flow, the following
equation can be used to find hold-up:
Fluid density = rf = yhp rhp + ylp rlp
also yhp + ylp = 1
(20)
(21)
rearranging and substituting for ylp from (21)

yhp = (rf - rlp) / (rhp - rlp)
(22)
The method of using differential

pressure to calculate fluid density is subject
to many drawbacks:
The measurement includes the frictional
pressure losses of flow and requires correction at high flow rates to avoid calculating an erroneously high fluid density.
The measurement must be corrected in
deviated wells because the pressure
difference depends on the true vertical
depth between the ports. It becomes
less sensitive for the same reason. In a
horizontal well, a differential pressure
measurement of fluid density will not
work at all as there is no difference in
elevation between the measuring ports.
The use of density to determine phase
hold-up is an indirect method. If a well
has entries of different salinity water, and
entries of different density oil, then in
equation (22) no unique values of rhp or
rlp can be found. This problem leads to
inaccurate estimation of hold-up and may
incorrectly cause an interpreter to diagnose a fresh-water entry as an oil entry if
the wellbore contains saline water.
Figure 6.34
Probe
Probe
Flow
Digital Entry and Fluid Imaging

Tool (DEFT). The local impedance around the probe
changes as bubbles of the
dispersed phase pass the
probe tip. The signal level indicates which phase is observed,
leading to a direct measure-
The recognition of the shortcomings of

gradiomanometry has led to attempts to determine hold-up by other methods, such as:
Measuring the capacitance of a twophase wellbore fluid. This capacitance
can be related to hold-up if the capacitance of each pure phase is known.
Measuring electron density by determining the ability of the fluid mixture to
absorb gamma rays emitted by a Cesium
source. In this case, the density can be
used to determine hold-up in the same
way as the density from gradiomanometry is used. The density measured in
this way, however, is not affected by frictional pressure losses.
The first of the above techniques suffers
because the change in capacitance is not
linear with hold-up, and the
response exhibits a discontinuity when the continuous
phase changes from water to
Probe output
oil. The response also deNot conducting
pends on the flow regime as
Conducting
the electrical properties are
affected by the spatial dispersion of the phases. The
electron density from nuclear
measurements is strongly
affected by the casing,
cement and formation.
These drawbacks have motivated research into a technique for directly measuring
Oil
water hold-up. The result is
Gas
the Digital Entry and Fluid
Imaging Tool (DEFT), also
known as the FloView,
which is the only tool in the industry that
directly measures water hold-up.
The tool consists of four probes (Fig.
6.34) that are protected from damage by
being placed inside a protective cage. Each
probe is, in essence, a small coaxial antenna.
A high-frequency alternating current is

emitted from the probe into the surrounding
fluid. The current returns to the body of the
tool. The amplitude of the signal depends on
the impedance of the fluid around the probe.
Because there is a large contrast between the
impedance of oil and that of water, the tool is
self-calibrating. It sets a high-voltage threshold above which the probe is in oil, and a
low-voltage threshold below which it is in
water. The hold-up of water is calculated
directly as the ratio of the time the signal is
low to the total time. This digital hold-up
measurement is a significant breakthrough
because no input of fluid properties is
required and the measurement is unaffected
by friction effects, deviation, differing water
or oil densities, etc. The measurement is
unaffected by water salinity, providing it is
above 2000 ppm, which covers the large
majority of cases. With four probes distributed across the borehole, the results can be
displayed as an image of the hold-up across
the borehole.
In a bubble flow regime, the changes in
impedance seen by the probes can be
considered as bubbles impinging on the
probe. By counting the changes from the
low-voltage threshold to the high-voltage
threshold, the number of bubbles passing
the probe can be found. The bubble count is
extremely sensitive and can be used to
detect small entries of oil or water.
Example of improved hold-up measurements from FloView
This example from Western Venezuela is
a vertical well completed in selected intervals within the reservoir. It has a 5-in., 18lb/ft casing, with a 312-in. production tubing
set at 4981 ft and equipped with three gaslift valves. At the time of logging seven
intervals were open, giving an average production of 133 bbl/day of oil, 530 bbl/day of
water and 737 Mscf/D of gas.
ment of phase hold-up.
6 28
Figure 6.35
Water
Moved oil
Average BUB count
0
Depth
(ft)
(cps)
Fluid density
.5
Hold up
image 0
(g / cm3)
Sand
Spinner velocity
(rps)
1.5 0
Average holdup
(%)
Oil
Perforated
zones
500
20
Fluid temperature
1 177
(oF)
183 0
Water phase
Clay
Oil phase
Bound water
Flow rate
(B / D)
Combined model
750
(V / V)
B
C
An example of a DEFT log

run in a well in western
Venezuela.
6 29
Before planning how to enhance production, it was decided to determine the

remaining oil saturation in the different
sandstones and the source of the high water
cut (80%). Therefore, the well was shut in
and a combined production logging string
(Manometer-Thermometer-Gradiomanometer-Spinner) and RST were run over the
perforated interval. The well was then put
back on production and a production logging
string with FloView was run in the well.
The tools could not descend below 5423 ft,

probably because of sand or an obstruction.
Thus, the lowest perforated interval could not
be logged. After the well had stabilized,
several passes and stations were recorded.
Figure 6.35, track 5 shows the interpreted results based on the RST and the
original openhole logs (Induction, Density,
Neutron and GR). They show partial drainage of oil in most sandstones, with somewhat less in the upper sandstones and in the
upper part of the sandstone from 5292 ft to
5346 ft. No gas was detected. However, on
the basis of the RST alone, it is difficult to
decide what action to take.
Figure 6.35 also shows the production
logs while the well was flowing. Track 1
contains the FloView hold-up image and
track 2 contains the average hold-up and
bubble count from the FloView, together with
the fluid density from the gradiomanometer.
Track 3 contains the spinner, the temperature
and the perforated intervals. Track 4 shows
the oil and water flow rates based principally
on the FloView hold-up and the spinner. The
FloView hold-up in track 2 reads slightly less
than 1 from the bottom, suggesting an influx
of water with a small amount of oil from the
lower, obstructed interval. The bubble count
curve and image also show that there is a
small flow of oil, while the gradiomanometer
shows no variation. The perforated interval
labeled E contributes some water, as does
most of interval D. At the very top of this
interval, the FloView clearly identifies the first
major entry of oil that is also detected by the
gradiomanometer. Interval C produces mainly
water. The interval B produces some water
and oil. This oil influx is not detected by the
gradiomanometer, as the density shows
no significant reduction. The oil entry at A
also has no perceivable effect on the
measured density.
Figure 6.36
Signal if there is no flow

Signal with water flow
Water flow signal with
static subtracted
Counts sec
600
400
200
10
20
30
40
50
Time (sec)
Water Flow Logging
The advantage of the accurate FloView

hold-up measurement and bubble count is
clearly demonstrated in this case. Without the
FloView, we would have concluded that the
main oil producer was D. Similarly, the small
Neutron influx of oil from below the obstruction
GR
generator
detector
would not have been detected. With this
Near
detector information, suitable actions can be taken to
Far
enhance production. In this case, a gel
Far
detector
detector
injection job was designed to shut off the
Near
main water producing intervals without
detector
GR
significantly affecting oil production. At the
Neutron
detector
generator
same time, the injection profile of nearby
injectors was re-evaluated. Using only conConfiguration
Configuration
for up-flow
for down-flow
ventional measurements an erroneous profile
The pulsed neutron tool is
would have been determined, which could
configured appropriately to
have led to incorrect remedial action.
detect up or down flow of
water. Above, a typical
signal at the far GR detector
is shown with and without
water flow.
Water flow logging

As stated above, in a bubble flow regime
it is reasonable to assume that a spinner
responds to the average flow of the mixture.
However, in other regimes this is not a good
assumption, and in all cases it is beneficial to
measure the individual phase velocities.
An independent measurement of water flow

velocity is possible by a technique known as
Water Flow Logging (WFL). In this technique
a pulsed neutron tool, such as an RST (see
box, page 610), is used to irradiate the
environment around the tool with highenergy neutrons. Atomic nuclei absorb these
neutrons and become unstable atoms that
then decay and emit gamma rays. Most of
these decays have very short half-lives
except for activated oxygen, which has a
half-life of 7.1 sec. Consider a well that has a
flow stream consisting of water and
hydrocarbon. It is only the water that
contains oxygen atoms. So after emitting a
pulse of neutrons, a small slug of activated
water is created that is measured by the
detectors as it flows past them. As shown in
Fig. 6.36, this slug can be clearly
distinguished from the signal due to static
oxygen, which has an exponential decay.
The water flow velocity can then be
calculated from the distance between the
generator and the detector and the time of
flight of the activated water slug. The tool
string has to be configured in the appropriate
configuration to detect either down-flow or
up-flow (Fig. 6.36).
The irradiation of water is not restricted
to water that is inside the wellbore; if there is
water moving behind the casing, through
cement channels, for example, then the WFL
technique can determine the velocity at which
it is moving. This ability to reliably detect
and quantify the movement of water outside
the production casing or tubing makes
the WFL an extremely powerful technique.
6 30
Figure 6.37
LL3
ILM
Water flow log

up flow
ILD
0.02
( ohm-m )
200
Water flow log

down flow
GR
(gAPI)
Perforations
200
Depth
(ft)
11,800
Water velocity up
(ft min)
20
Water velocity down

(ft min)
20
CPS cycle
Time (sec)
11,900
12,000
12,200
CPS cycle
12,100
Time (sec)
12,300
An example of a WFL
showing water flowing down
from an upper zone, and not
up from a lower zone.
6 31
Figure 6.37 shows an example of a WFL

acquired in a well in Western Venezuela. The
well was producing 258 B/D of water and 172
B/D of oil from an interval that was not
expected to have such a large water cut.
The WFL was run in up-flow mode to check

if there was water channeling upward behind
the casing from a lower sandstone. The three
stations below the perforations clearly show
no flow (track 3, Fig. 6.37). The WFL was then
run in down-flow mode to check for channeling downward from the upper sandstone.
The five stations clearly show downward flow
originating from between 11,739 and 11,824 ft,
presumably from the sandstone at 11,770 ft. or
at 11,790 ft (track 4, Fig 6.37). Only the WFL
technique could have determined the source
of water in such a case.
Horizontal well production logging
In recent years there has been a
growing trend in the industry to drill
horizontal wells. They present a significant
challenge from a well servicing point of
view, in particular the acquisition of
production profiles. The environment for
production logging is very complex: a
horizontal well is seldom truly horizontal but
instead has a trajectory that rises and falls
over its length. These minor variations in the
well trajectory create traps at the low points
for water, mud, stimulation fluids, etc., and
traps at the high points for gas. These traps
of stagnant fluid have a dramatic influence
on the measurements made by many
production logging sensors. The type of
completion may also add complexity. For
example, uncemented slotted liners will
allow flow both inside and outside the liner
and flow may enter and leave the liner as a
function of the openhole geometry, which
may easily be confused with production or
cross-flow. Furthermore, as discussed above,
the traditional gradiomanometer cannot be
used to measure hold-up.
Therefore, a new production logging
tool string was designed specifically for
horizontal well logging. First, the mechanics
of fluid flow in a horizontal well were
studied. This involved making experiments
with oil and water mixtures in a flow-loop.
Figure 6.38
Oil
6000
Total flow rate (B/D)
Water
Oil
1500
Water
Oil
600
Water
80
89
90
91
Deviation from vertical
Three different total flow

rates are shown for
experiments in a 5-in. OD
flow-loop. In all cases the
water cut is 50%. The
variation in hold-up can be
observed at four different
pipe angles.
The study revealed some very interesting

phenomena that indicated the type of
measurements that must be made to
successfully understand and quantify the
flow profile in a horizontal well. Two major
conclusions were reached:
1. Oil and water are always flowing in a
stratified flow regime. That is to say that
the oil and water segregate into two
distinct layers, and remain so up to high
flow rates of 30,000 BPD in a 7-in. liner.
2. At low flow rates, typically less than
3,000 B/D in a 5-in. liner, the phase
hold-up is significantly affected by even
small changes in pipe deviation. Figure
Figure 6.39
Combinable Production
Reservoir Saturation Tool
Logging Tool
Oil hold-up
Pressure & temperature Gas indicator
Gamma Ray
Detector
Digital Entry Fluid

Imaging Tool
Flow regime
Water hold-up
Phase Velocity Sonde
Dual DEFT
Spinner
Water velocity
Water hold-up index
Water flow-rate index
Marker injection for oil

and or water velocity
6.38 shows results from the flow-loop

experiments where four different pipe
positions are considered at three
different total flow conditions with a
50% oil/water mixture. If the flow is
going uphill then because the water is
heavier than oil, the velocity of the
water reduces, but to maintain the same
mass flow rate, the hold-up must
increase. Conversely, the light oil phase
velocity increases while going uphill
and so its hold-up decreases. When the
pipe is tipped downhill, then the
water velocity increases with a
corresponding decrease in hold-up,
while the oil velocity decreases with a
corresponding increase in hold-up. At
high flow rates the hold-up is less
dependent on pipe deviation because
the frictional effects become much more
important than the gravitational effects.
From the above observations, it is clear
that a change in hold-up in a horizontal well
could be mistakenly identified as an entry of
fluid, when actually it is only induced by a
change in well deviation. Therefore, to
accurately quantify the production profile in
a horizontal well, the hold-up and velocity
of each phase must be measured along the
wellbore trajectory. Once the flow-loop
experiments defined the parameters that
needed to be measured, then a production
logging suite could be designed to meet the
objectives. The tool-string that emerged as a
result of this development work is known as
the Flagship Integrated Production Logging
String, and is shown in Fig. 6.39.
The Flagship string is designed to
simultaneously measure the phase hold-up
and phase velocity of both oil and water.
However, because of the complexity of the
flow conditions, the philosophy is to make
many redundant measurements to gain high
confidence in the results.
A schematic representation of the Flagship Integrated Production Logging String.
6 32
Figure 6.40
0.5
Flow rate (B D)
6000
0.57
0.52
0.51
0.49
0.74
0.63
0.48
0.40
0.87
0.68
0.34
0.21
1500
0.5
600
1
80
89
90
91
Deviation from vertical (deg)
The cross-sectional hold-up image maps are shown that were acquired with the
Dual-DEFT of the Flagship string during the same flow-loop experiment that is
shown in Fig. 6.38.
Figure 6.41
Marker signal
10
Near detector borehole sigma indicator
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Time (sec)
Oil-miscible marker
Casing
Oil
Water
PVS Phase Velocity Sonde
RST
An oil-soluble gadolinium-based marker is injected into the oil phase. The arrival of
the marker at the RST is detected by a perturbation of the capture cross section of
the borehole fluid. Time of flight is used to compute phase velocity. A water-soluble
marker can be ejected downward for water velocity.
6 33
Flagship hold-up measurements are made in

the following ways:
Dual FloView tools are arranged at 45
to each other so that the eight probes
can measure hold-up all around the
borehole. The measurements are
processed into an image that leads to a
direct measurement of phase hold-up.
The FloView measurements corresponding to the flow-loop conditions of
Fig. 6.38 are shown in Fig. 6.40. It can
be seen that the percentage of the pipe
cross-section occupied by the segregated oil and water phases agrees well
with the visual estimation of Fig. 6.38.
The RST measures the neutron capture
cross section of the borehole fluid (page
613). This cross section is a linear
combination of each phase hold-up and
capture cross section. Thus, in a twophase mixture, provided that there is
enough contrast between the fluids
capture cross sections, then the hold-ups
can be calculated knowing the capture
cross section of the oil and the water
The RST also determines the COR of the
borehole fluid (page 64), and the ratio
of total inelastic counts from the near
and far detectors. The former is sensitive
to the relative volumes of water and oil,
while the latter is sensitive to the volume
of gas, so that by combining both it is
possible to measure a three-phase holdup (oil, water and gas).
Flagship phase velocity measurements are
made as follows:
The WFL for the water, as described
above.
Phase Velocity Log (PVL). A tracer ejector
tool (PVS) uses two miscible markers
to independently measure the oil and
water velocities. The tool contains
two chambers, one that carries an
oil-soluble gadolinium-based compound, and the other that carries a watersoluble gadolinium-based compound.
Spinner measurement
Figure 6.42
500
Velocity set in flow loop (fpm)
400
300
200
100
14,000 B D
(5-in. liner)
Oil
Water
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
The Flagship string also incorporates an

in-line spinner (CFS) and a fullbore spinner
(FBS). When two phases are moving in a
stratified flow regime at different velocities,
a spinner cannot be considered as
measuring the average total velocity.
However, because of hold-up variations due
to changes in well deviation and/or fluid
entry, the spinners may at certain points be
immersed in one of the phases, at which
time the spinner will give a representative
measurement of the velocity of that phase.
Taken in isolation it can not be determined
when the spinner is representative.
However, when independent, stationary
measurements are available from the WFL
and PVL, the spinner can be validated in
certain sections and then extrapolated to
give a continuous profile.
PVL velocity (fpm)
Auxiliary measurements
The PVL accuracy was

verified by making measurements in an oil-water mixture
in a flow-loop. The measurements compared well with
the reference flow rates.
The tool has two diametrically opposed

ports that are oriented such that ejection of the
oil-soluble marker is made toward the top of
the hole, while ejection of the water-soluble
marker is made toward the bottom of the hole.
This ensures that the marker is ejected into the
appropriate phase. The arrival of the slug of
marker is detected by the RST in its Sigma mode
because the gadolinium has an extremely high
neutron capture cross section that momentarily
perturbs the borehole capture cross section as
it passes the tool. Similar to the WFL, a time of
flight is used to calculate the oil or water
velocity. Figure 6.41 indicates the measurement principle. Figure 6.42 shows the results of
the PVL measurement in a flow-loop and
demonstrates the accuracy of the technique. It
also shows that the technique is capable of
measuring extremely low velocities. This is
because the marker is not radioactive and is
stable at downhole conditions, and so it will
eventually be detected even if it is traveling
very slowly.
The Flagship also includes pressure,

temperature and deviation measurements,
all of which can help in the interpretation.
Despite the fact that the Flagship tool
string is approximately 110 ft long, it can be
conveyed into a horizontal well in a single
trip on coiled tubing.
The Flagship string can reliably quantify
oil and water flow profiles in a horizontal or
highly deviated well. It has been shown that
the stratified flow model is also applicable in
well deviations of 80 to 100. As discussed
above, the RST is capable of a three-phase
hold-up measurement. In addition, a
measurement of gas velocity is being
developed. With this the Flagship will
measure the velocity of all three phases and
be able to quantify three-phase flow profiles.
These developments will be extended to
vertical and slightly deviated wells so that
three-phase production logging can be
reliably made at all deviations.
6 34
The study of fluid mechanics in a flowloop also enabled a two-phase model to be

constructed for horizontal wells. This model,
called Strat-Flow, enables the flow of one of
the phases to be estimated if the flow of the
other phase, the fluid properties and holdup of both phases, and the well trajectory
are known.
Example of a horizontal well
production log
The following example is from a well in
Trinidad. The well is a horizontal producer that
is completed with 614-in. prepacked screens. A
Flagship string was run in the well without a
PVL measurement, as a tool was not available
at the time of the operation. This well presented
a real challenge for production flow profile
determination as the well was producing oil,
water and gas. Figure 6.43 shows the shut-in
and flowing hold-up images from the DualDEFT tools. The presence of gas is indicated by
the flag that is turned on when the ratio of
inelastic counts from the near and far detectors
of the RST is above a certain threshold. The
RST-WFL was used to determine the water
velocity which, when combined with the water
hold-up from the Dual-DEFT, gave the water
flow rate. As the PVL was not available, an
independent oil velocity was not possible. The
spinners were erratic, probably because of gas,
but in places agreed with the WFL velocity.
Therefore, the spinners were of little help in
determining the oil velocity. As the gas
production was small, it was safe to ignore the
gas and use the Strat-Flow model to determine
the oil flow rate. The total oil rate calculated
from the model agreed very well with the oil
rate measured on the surface when converted
to downhole conditions. This gave confidence
in the assumption that the gas hold-up was
small and could be ignored in the modeling.
6 35
(This assumption can be verified by using the

RST C/O measurement to determine the holdup of the three phases, but software was not
yet available at the time of processing.) Figure
6.43 shows the calculated oil and water flow
rate profiles. It can be seen that most of the
water enters the well between 9500 and 9950 ft.
The oil enters between 10,000 and 10,250 ft and
9500 to 9700 ft.
The gas hold-up changes quite significantly from flowing to shut-in. When shut-in,
the gas accumulates in the high points of the
trajectory. During flow, the gas is distributed
along the wellbore as an equilibrium is set up
between the frictional forces and the gravity
forces. Figure 6.43 also shows the crosssectional hold-up image maps at 9200 ft and
9000 ft. There is no change in the oil and water
flow rates between these two stations, but it can
be seen that the water hold-up is 0.37 at 9200
ft where the well trajectory is going downhill
and 0.65 at 9000 ft where the well is going
uphill. The water velocity increases in the
downhill section and decreases in the uphill
section, and vice-versa for the oil velocity. The
phase flow rate, being the product of the holdup, the velocity and the pipe cross-sectional
area, remains unchanged at these two stations.
These hold-up changes are exactly what has
been observed in the flow-loop experiments
discussed above. Without Flagship measurements, where hold-up and velocity of each
phase are measured, the changes in hold-up
would have led to the erroneous interpretation
of fluid influx.
This example demonstrates that flow
profiles of oil and water can be obtained with
the Flagship string even in a complex threephase environment. A standard production
logging string with only conventional sensors
would have been uninterpretable. When the
model for interpreting RST C/O measurements
for three-phase hold-up and the gas velocity
measurement are available, wells such as this
one can be logged for full quantitative
evaluation of the oil, water and gas flow profile.
Figure 6.43
Oil
Water
Normalized flow rate
Flow profile
2000
(B D)
Q T ratio
Computed oil flow rate
(B D)
WFL station water
flow rate
(B D)
0
7378.0ft
Phase hold-up (well flowing)
Hold-up image
(DFH)
Above 0.94
0.88 - 0.94
0.82 - 0.88
0.76 - 0.82
0.71 - 0.76
0.65 - 0.71
0.59 - 0.65
0.53 - 0.59
0.47 - 0.53
0.41 - 0.47
0.35 - 0.41
0.29 - 0.35
0.24 - 0.29
0.18 - 0.24
0.12 - 0.18
0.06 - 0.12
Below 0.06
10400
10300
10200
10000
9900
9800
9700
9600
9500
9400
9300
9200
9100
9000
8900
8800
8700
7383.0ft
Borehole gas
7378.0ft
Phase hold-up (well shut-in)
Hold-up image
(DFH)
7383.0ft
Borehole gas
Above 0.94
0.88 - 0.94
0.82 - 0.88
0.76 - 0.82
0.71 - 0.76
0.65 - 0.71
0.59 - 0.65
0.53 - 0.59
0.47 - 0.53
0.41 - 0.47
0.35 - 0.41
0.29 - 0.35
0.24 - 0.29
0.18 - 0.24
0.12 - 0.18
0.06 - 0.12
Below 0.06
A Flagship log run in a horizontal well in Trinidad. The hold-up images of water and oil for flow and shut-in conditions are shown
together with gas hold-up indication. The interpreted flow profile of water and oil is shown. The cross-sectional hold-up images at
9200 ft and 9000 ft indicate a difference in oil and water hold-up due to deviation changes only.
6 36
HYDRAULIC INTEGRITY
The evaluation of an old well is not

complete without a check of hydraulic
integrity. For example, measurements of
saturation behind casing and flow within the
well may tell us exactly which zones have
been charged by injection water and which
still have producible oil. However, if there is
communication behind the pipe or a leak in

CCC

BBB

AAA
,,,
@@@
,,,

CCC

BBB

AAA
,,,
@@@
,,,

CCC

BBB

AAA
,,,
@@@
,,,

,
,,

@@
A
BB
C

,

,,

@@
A
BB
C
Figure 6.44
Formation
Cement
Casing
The principle of the

USIT: a) a rotating
Acoustic
beam
transducer,
b) casing resonance
Transducer
and reflections,
Rotation
a)
Metal
plate
c) received signal
with large first
echo and cement-
dependent signals.
b)
Transducer
Zmud
Vmud
Zsteel
Vsteel
a
Mud
Casing

Zcem
Cement
Formation
Cement
Water
tc
Amplitude
c)
50
60
70
Time (sec)
6 37
80
90
the casing, we still may not be able to shut off

the water production. It then becomes
important to evaluate the quality of the
cement and the casing before designing a
workover program.
Cement evaluation logs are often run
after the primary cement job to check that it
was successful and to provide an input into
the better design of future jobs. It is
generally accepted that a good primary
cement job is the single most important
factor in ensuring hydraulic integrity, since
remedial cement jobs are difficult, expensive
and not always successful. However, cement
can deteriorate, particularly when it was not
well set in the first place, and when it
contains channels or microfractures that
allow acids and damaging fluids to act on it.
Regular mud acid has been used in many
Venezuelan sandstone reservoirs to remove
drilling mud residues and formation fines
(Chapter 731). Alternatively, pressure
cycles during injectivity tests and stimulation
can break down a cement bond.
In old wells there is very often no
information on the quality of the original
cement. Even if there is, it is not safe to
assume that the quality is still good. In
addition, the casing can be corroded and
have holes. Corrosive formation fluids are
not common in Venezuela, but the arrival of
injection water or the use of a well for
injection can cause problems. Cement
quality can be checked by the traditional
sonic technique and by the more recent
ultrasonic methods. Ultrasonics can also be
used to check casing quality, as can a variety
of other techniques. The following sections
describe sonic and ultrasonic techniques
with examples.
HYDRAULIC INTEGRITY
Figure 6.45
4
Setting slurry
cement + mud
t
gh
tc
em
en
Slurr
Li
Impedance (MRAY)
Default
threshold
WBM
max
Fluids
Diesel
Gas 200 bar

0
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
Slurry density (g cm3)
Acoustic impedance versus

density for typical materials
found in the casing-formation
annulus.
Cement and corrosion

evaluation techniques
Two main techniques are used for
evaluating the casing-cement bond: the
Cement Bond Log (CBL), which measures the
attenuation of sonic waves along the casing
and is sensitive to shear coupling between
casing and cement; and pulse echo ultrasonic
tools that measure the damping of a thickness
mode resonance and hence the acoustic
impedance of the casing-cement bond
(Hayman et al., 1991). In addition, it is
common to look at the amplitude of the
formation arrival in the sonic wave train as an
indicator of the cement-formation bond.
The traditional sonic CBL is all-directional
and so cannot detect a cement channel, which
may appear as a relatively good bond. A more
recent directional tool is described in the next
section. The CBL is sensitive to the properties
of the fluid in the well, but this can be
corrected by using the difference of amplitude
between two receivers. Other factors that can
make the measurement misleading are fast
formation signals, poor centralization and a
microannulus.
The USIT* Ultrasonic Imaging Tool

measures the acoustic impedance of the
material behind the casing, Zcemf, at all
azimuths. The main advantage is the high
azimuthal and vertical resolution, the
measurement of a physical quantity (Zcemf),
and less sensitivity to environmental effects. It
uses a rotating transducer that fires an
ultrasonic pulse at the casing, causing it to
resonate at a frequency between 200 and 700
kHz (Fig. 6.44a). The main echo is from the
inner casing wall (Fig. 6.44b and c). The time
of arrival, tc, is used to measure the internal
casing radius. It is also used to normalize the
signal for environmental effects such as
temperature, pressure and mud attenuation.
The shape of the resonance depends mainly
on the acoustic impedances and velocities of
the mud (Zmud and Vmud), the casing (Zsteel
and Vsteel), and Zcemf. The mud properties are
measured while running in the hole by turning the transducer to face a metal plate and
analyzing the reflection. Then, knowing the
steel properties, a model of the resonance is
built with casing thickness (d) and Zcemf, and
iterated on with d and Zcemf as variables until
a good fit to the data is established. Finally,
Zcemf is corrected for non-planar effects.
Figure 6.45 shows the impedance of
materials likely to be encountered behind the
casing. Thresholds are used to distinguish
different materials, which are then displayed
in different colors on the USIT imageusually
red for gas, blue for liquid, and yellow to
black for solids in 0.5 MRayl increments. The
interpretation can never be entirely unambiguous, since mud/cement mixtures (i.e.,
contaminated cements) can be solid but have
lower impedance than cement slurries. A
microannulus also reduces the impedance. If
it is liquid-filled, the effect is less than with a
CBL, and it is possible to distinguish solid from
liquid with a microannulus up to 100 mm.
6 38
Figure 6.46
Fluid compensated
CBL amplitude
0
(mv)
Acoustic
impedance
Max
50
Transit time
400
(ms)
Gamma ray
(gAPI)
100
Acoustic
impedance
Min
200
Liquid
Depth
(ft)
Avg
Gas
(MRAY)
Cement 0
10
Min
10
200
VDL variable
density Max
(ms)
1200
17,650
17,700
17,750
Example of a USIT showing a

clear cement channel.
6 39
However, with gas the effect is generally

stronger. In these cases, as with lowimpedance solids, it is important to compare
USIT and CBL results. Microannuli can usually
be removed by running the log under
pressure. A rough inner casing surface can
cause problems, but this is identified by the
amplitude of the first reflection (Fig. 6.44b)
and displayed on the amplitude image. Good
centralization is also important.
A typical USIT log is shown in Fig. 6.46.
The channel can be seen at the bottom, and
is clearly distinguished from the isolated
patches of bad cement further up. On the
CBL alone this distinction could not be made.
Further examples of USITs run before and
after a squeeze job in an old well are shown
in Chapter 79.
The spatial resolution of the USIT

images is determined by the size of the
ultrasonic beamabout 1.2 in. 0.08 in.
Good resonant signals depend on having the
acoustic standoff between transducer and
casing in the right range. As this depends on
casing size and mud weight, various sizes of
ultrasonic transducer are available. However,
if the attenuation in the mud is greater than
12 dB/cm/MHz, the signal is too weak
to analyze. This is discussed further in the
next section.
Corrosion can be detected by many techniques. These include multifinger calipers,
and electromagnetic methods such as the
METT* Multifrequency Electromagnetic
Thickness Tool and the PAL* Pipe Analysis
Log. The METT measures a phase shift of a
signal transmitted through the casing, which
is sensitive to the casing thickness. The PAL
measures the flux leakage and eddy current
loss from 12 pads pressed against the casing.
The USIT, through its measurement of
internal radius and casing thickness, is a good
detector of corrosion, either internal or
external. Holes can be identified down to 1.2
in. diameter.
For more detailed corrosion evaluation,
the UCI* Ultrasonic Corrosion Imager is
used. The UCI uses a high-frequency 2-MHz
transducer to give much higher spatial
resolution than the USIT. The beam is
focused to a width of 0.11 in. at 2 in. from
its front face to further improve the spatial
resolution, and to reduce eccentering effects
and sensitivity to rugosity compared to a flat
transducer. At this frequency the casing does
not resonate but it is possible to clearly
measure the time of arrival of the echoes
from the inside and outside of the casing. As
with the USIT, the fluid velocity is measured
running in the hole and used to calculate
inner and outer casing radii with a resolution
of 0.004 in. and an accuracy of 0.04 in.
HYDRAULIC INTEGRITY
Figure 6.47
-500.0000
Depth
(ft)
Gamma ray (GR)

0
(gAPI)
150
0.0760
Internal radii
minus average
(IRBK)
External
radius
average
(ERAV)
0
(in.)
External
radius
average
(ERAV)
150 0
(in.)
150
7553
7560.5
Example of USIT clearly showing the perforation holes.
The high-resolution, focused beam can

detect either external or internal pits as small
as 0.3 in. in diameter, according to specifications, and 0.16 in. in some experiments
(Hayman et al., 1995). However, because of
the high frequency, the maximum mud
attenuation acceptable is 2 dB/cm/MHz,
which in practice means water, brine or a
light mud.
The resolution of the USIT can be

judged from Fig. 6.47. The well was
perforated at 12 shots per ft using perforating
charges with a nominal entrance hole of 0.91
in. The holes can be seen very clearly. The
USIT was run in this well to evaluate the
cement over a higher section. It was lowered
to check the perforations, which it did with
success. The advantage of USIT in the
evaluation of old wells is that both corrosion
and cement quality can be assessed on the
same trip in the well. The combined evaluation of cement and corrosion integrity
allows effective workover decisions to be
made.
Cement evaluation in attenuative
muds and small holes
Ultrasonic imaging tools do not work
when the mud attenuation passes a certain
limit. These muds contain a large amount of
solid particles and are usually associated
with high densities. However, although
limits are sometimes quoted in terms of mud
density, this is not generally sufficient. In
one study in the Barinas area, OBMs were
analyzed in the laboratory. Although the
mud weights were moderate12.5 lb/gal
the total solid content was very high at 40%.
Of this, 15% was due to high-gravity solids
such as barite, which had been added
intentionally, while the remaining 25% was
due to light solids picked up while drilling.
Wellsite solids control systems do not always
eliminate these light solids, and wellsite
measurements of solids content do not
always include them. Thus, as in this case, it
is possible to find a medium-weight mud
where the cement quality cannot be
evaluated with ultrasonic measurements.
The converse is also truesome very heavy
muds can give good images because of
moderate solids content. In cases in Eastern
Venezuela, good USIT results were obtained
in 16.3 lb/gal mud.
6 40
Figure 6.48
200
Depth
(ft)
Travel time
(Ms)
1000
GR
(gAPI)
CBL amplitude
100
(mv)
Average map
0
100
(mv)
Casing attenuation
150 40
0
(mv)
0
20
Cement map
VDL variable density

200
(Ms)
1200
17,700
17,750
It is still possible to obtain directional

cement evaluation data in the case of high
solids mud, using the Cement Mapping Tool
(CMT). This tool makes 10 CBL measurements from 10 evenly spaced radial segments. It also provides standard CBL and
Variable Density Log (VDL) data from omnidirectional 3-ft and 5-ft receivers and a 1-ft
receiver for fast formations. In addition, this
tool is only 278 in. in diameter and can thus
be run in small casings and liners, and
through large tubings. (A future 11116-in.
version with eight measurements will soon
be available.)
The ability of the CMT to identify a
channel can be seen in Fig. 6.48. On the
standard CBL, it is difficult to distinguish the
channel at 17,780 ft. zone from the well
cemented zones above and below.
17,800
Example of a CMT showing a clear cement channel.
PERMANENT MONITORING SYSTEMS: EXTENDING THE LIFE OF A RESERVOIR
If the opportunity occurs to work over

an existing well or new wells are drilled,
then the installation of permanent downhole
sensors can aid in extending the life of a
reservoir by providing information that helps
to improve reservoir management and
optimize production.
Many operators in recent years have
turned their focus from exploring for new
reserves to finding ways to increase the
recovery of existing reserves. The recovery of
6 41
hydrocarbons can be increased, in most

cases, if the reservoir structure and production dynamics can be well defined at an
early stage in the reservoir drainage. This
allows an appropriate development strategy
to be implemented, which optimizes the
recovery from the field. To be successful in
improving the management of a reservoir in
this way, adequate and timely data must be
acquired. To this end operators are performing more and more 3-D seismic surveys,
Extended Well Testing, borehole imaging,

horizontal well drilling and logging, etc., in
an effort to understand the reservoir characteristics early in the exploitation cycle. Once
the reservoir is put on production, it is necessary to monitor the reservoir performance so
that additional information can be obtained
about the reservoir dynamics, and changes to
the exploitation strategy can be made in a
timely fashion, if required.
In the past, monitoring of producing
wells has been limited mainly to periodic
pressure gauge surveys. Permanently installed monitoring systems have been available for more than 25 years, but the lack of
reliability and high system cost have limited
their widespread application. Recent developments in technology have improved the
reliability to the point where a system can be
expected to last as long as the completion,
while its cost has been reduced.
The industrys desire to achieve optimal

reservoir management can be aided by the
real-time monitoring of downhole data, as
opposed to periodic acquisition. This desire,
coupled with improvements in reliability and
cost, have led to a rapid increase in the installation of permanent monitoring systems in
recent years.
The new Well Watcher* concept (Fig. 6.49)
integrates surface and downhole measurements and gives the operator immediate access
to key production parameters of the well.
These systems can play a major role in
reaching the goal of real-time monitoring and
control of reservoir processes.
Current permanent sensors can deliver
measurements of pressure, temperature,
flow rate and fluid density, while other
sensors are under active development.
Figure 6.49
Surface sensors
and controls
Single-phase flow rate
Valve and chok e control
Pressure measurements
Sand detection
Field office
Production reports
Alarms
Problem identification
Integrated
applications
Data retrieval and

communications
software
Downhole sensors
FloWatcher* monitors (flow
rate and density)
PumpWatcher* gauges
(ESP control)
PressureWatch* gauges
(pressure and
temperature)
The Well Watcher concept.
Host server
and database
District office
Production engineering
Head office
Field performance
6 42
Table 6.2
Main Applications
Description
Difficult field or well conditions
Restricted access
Highly deviated wells
Pumping wells
Reservoir management
Production optimization
Well performance monitoring
Figure 6.50
Section A
Cable
protector
Cable
Gauge
mandrel
Section A
Pressure and
temperature
gauge
Exploded view of
metal-to-metal seal
Wellhead
Wellhead
outlet
outlet
Interference testing
Reservoir pressure control
Transient well testing
History matching
As the technology evolves further, monitoring will be combined with downhole control
(intelligent completions), allowing even
greater control of production, which will find
particular applications in the new generation
of multilateral wells.
Several reservoirs in Venezuela already
benefit from permanent monitoring installations, and there are many more that could do
so. As seen in Chapter 2, Venezuela is distinguished worldwide by the large variety of its
reservoirs in terms of rock and fluid properties, drive mechanisms, depth, well
completions and production practices. There
are two broad groups of applications for
permanent monitoring systems (Table 6.2):
improved reservoir management and production optimization due to the availability
of continuous, real-time downhole data; and
difficult field or well conditions, in which the
problems of well intervention prevent the
recording of downhole data at all. The
following sections describe briefly the
technique, and show examples of applications in Venezuela and elsewhere.
Permanent gauge history

and development
Although Permanent Monitoring Systems
have been around for a number of years, the
technology has evolved fairly slowly, with
reliability being a major issue in the early
days. The first permanent installation was run
Cable
Cable
penetrato
penetrator by Schlumberger for Elf Gabon (Africa) in
1972, followed one year later by the first
Components of current
North Sea installation on Shell's Auk platform.
permanent monitoring
systems: a) downhole and

b) surface.
6 43
These early systems were essentially

adaptations of electric wireline technology.
Since then, detailed research and
development have resulted in a new
generation of permanent gauges and
associated components that have much
greater reliability.
Current systems routinely capture pressure and temperature data (Fig. 6.50). Some
also capture flow rate and density. These systems are engineered specifically for the permanent monitoring market and are designed
for longevity. The gauges have digital electronics designed for extended exposure to
high temperature and undergo extensive
design qualification tests. They are designed
for maintenance-free operation and are subject to strict quality checks during manufacture before being hermetically sealed. The
sensor element is selected according to the
application. The most common is the PQG
quartz sensor, which exhibits excellent transient response and resolution (0.01 psi), longterm stability (2 psi drift per year), and long
lifetime. Sapphire sensors are also used. (See
Chapter 419 for a discussion of downhole
gauges.)
Cables for permanent installations are
encased in stainless steel or nickel alloy
pressure-tight tubing. Polymer-encapsulation
may be added for extra protection. All connections are verified by pressure testing
during installation. Connections through tubing hanger and wellhead vary, depending on
the type of completion subsea, platform or
land. Components are standard, using tried
and tested designs made in conjunction with
the tubing hanger and wellhead manufacturers (Fig. 6.50). Data transmission and
recording are tailored to oil company needs,
and wherever possible industry standards
such as Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA) are used so that signals
may be integrated with other existing
systems.
Figure 6.51
Wellhead
outlet
Cable
pentrator
Control
line
Electrical
cable
Upper
Filter
Flapper
valve
Digital
permanent
gauge
Packer
Lower
The permanent gauge and

the flapper valve allow the
IPRs of the two reservoirs to
be measured independently
and regularly.
Of equal importance is the

planning and project management
for each installation. Although
most permanent monitoring hardware is considered off the shelf,
several parts may have to be customized for special types of wellheads. Longer lead times may be
needed if the project requires
custom-built equipment.
Gauges are usually connected to
the cable at the workshop where
pressure or welded seals can
easily be made and pressuretested. At the wellsite, the gauge
is mounted onto a mandrel, which
is connected to the tubing. The
cable is supplied on a reel and is
run in the hole with the tubing.
Cable protectors placed on every
tubing joint help prevent damage
as the system is run in the well.
During the entire procedure, both
pressure integrity and gauge
operation are checked to ensure a
working system. Once connected
and running, permanent monitoring systems begin paying back
their cost in many different ways,
as the following examples show.
Difficult field or well conditions

There are many cases in Venezuela
where it is difficult or expensive to obtain
downhole data in producing wells. These
include highly deviated wells such as in the
Bolivar District Coast; locations with difficult
access such as in the south of Lake
Maracaibo, the south Apure area, or
Pedernales; and horizontal wells and
pumping wells.
In highly deviated and horizontal wells,
the alternative is to convey wireline or slickline
gauges using coiled tubing. The relative costs
of the two alternatives must be considered.
In wells equipped with electrical submersible
pumps it is impractical to log by wireline

methods. However, a permanent pressure
gauge can provide useful information about
well and reservoir performance by recording
formation pressure when the pumps are
switched off. In addition, pump efficiency can
be improved by monitoring pressure at the
pump inlet and outlet during pumping. Pump
efficiency has an impact not only on
production, but also on pump life and
workover schedules.
A special application of permanent
gauges in sucker rod pumping wells is used
in Argentina (Fig. 6.51). The completion has
been modified to include a permanent gauge
and a flapper valve that can be controlled
from the surface. In this case, the gauge
reads the pressure in the tubing-casing
annulus, rather than inside the tubing. When
the valve is closed, the gauge is only in
contact with the upper reservoir. By varying
the pump rate and measuring the surface
flow rate and downhole pressure, it is
possible to establish the Inflow Production
Rate (IPR) for the upper reservoir. When the
flapper valve is open, it is in contact with
both reservoirs and the composite IPR can be
measured. In both cases, a long time
(approximately 20 hr) is needed at each
pump rate to achieve stabilized flow.
These reservoirs are under independent
water injection, so it is important to measure
the IPR at regular intervals. It is also
important to measure pressure downhole so
as to separate the effect of the two reservoirs
and to avoid uncertainties in the tubing
pressure drop (e.g., due to foam). The
permanent monitoring system solves this
problem by providing a non-intrusive datagathering system that is continuously
available. In Venezuela, most of the extraheavy, heavy and medium oil producers
have mechanical pumps.
6 44
Figure 6.52
Well A
4900
Pressure pulses
4800
Pressure (psi)
4700
4600
4500
4400
4300
4200
4100
4000
Well B
Pressure (psi)
5060
5040
5020
Effect of
short pulses
5000
Effect of
long pulses
4980
4960
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
June
Interference test. Pressure

pulses recorded in well A
(top) are seen as small
changes in pressure
recorded by the permanent
gauge in well B (bottom).
6 45
Reservoir management
Complex fields require careful reservoir
management. Two North Sea fields, Gullfaks
and Veslefrikk, illustrate how permanent
monitoring can help.
In Veslefrikk, commingled production
and injection was planned from the Brent and
Intra Dunlin Sand reservoirs to reduce total
investment. Here gauges are used in dedicated wells to monitor the two reservoirs
independently. Control is obtained by selective perforation in producers and downhole
chokes in injectors. A carefully planned data
acquisition program during the initial
production phase provided information about
reservoir properties, production potential and
well behavior. In addition, two of the largest
uncertainties were partially resolved: the
degree of communication across the main
arcuate fault, and the vertical transmissibility
between the Lower and Middle Brent through
the low-quality Rannoch sandstone.
Gullfaks is heavily faulted with a number

of sealing or partially sealing faults. One
important reservoir monitoring objective is to
measure the degree of communication between the fault blocks. Data are used in both
fields to ensure single-phase oil flow in each
fault block, to monitor and optimize well performance with time, to conduct transient well
test analyses, and to match numerical models.
Interference testing is recognized as
a very useful reservoir management tool
for determining reservoir compartments.
However, it is not often carried out because
of the difficulty and total cost of devoting two
or more wells to the experiment for many
days. Permanent systems solve much of this
problem. The data in Fig. 6.52 is from a North
Sea field. Pressure changes of less than 5 psi
are detected in a well approximately 600 m
(2000 ft) away from one being pulsed. These
data show that although the reservoir is
mapped as being compartmentalized, there is
generally pressure communication between
compartments.
Permanent pressure data have been
used to model the interaction between the
three oil accumulations of the Scapa Field
directly through extensive interference
testing, and indirectly through use of the data
in material balance and simulation studies.
This has resulted in a more thorough
understanding of field behavior, leading to
optimized recovery of reserves and continued development drilling.
Venezuela has its fair share of complex
fields. In addition, apparently simple fields
can become complex once secondary
recovery projects are started. Well locations
and injection strategy can all be improved
with the understanding gained from
continuous downhole data.
Gullfaks field development is based on

single-phase oil flow without free gas in the
reservoir. In wells with permanent monitoring
systems, bottomhole flowing pressure (BHFP)
is maintained slightly above saturation
pressure by adjusting the flow rate (Fig. 6.53).
This results in a potential increase in the
individual well production rate of 630 to 3150
BOPD. In wells without permanent monitoring, calibrated curves based on empirical
multiphase equations and permanent pressure data from nearby wells are used.
Pressure (kPa)
Figure 6.53
28,000
27,000
Flow rate (m3 d)
3000
2500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
Time (hr)
Adjusting bottomhole flowing

pressure (BHFP) to maximize
oil production. As BHFP is
decreased to slightly above
saturation pressure (top),
daily oil production rate
increases (bottom).
Production optimization
Careful optimization of the producing
conditions is essential in reservoirs with oil
near the bubble point, and with near-critical
fluids. More generally in high producing
wells, small improvements in the operating
point can significantly increase the production rate. These conditions exist in the
deep Oligocene fields of North Monagas, and
in the Center Lake area. Permanent pressure
data makes it easier to regularly monitor and
adjust the producing conditions. For example,
in the reservoir shown in Fig. 6.52, the bubble
point of the oil in one of the zones is 3700 psi
and the initial formation pressure is 4600 psi.
So drawdown had to be less than 900 psi to
sustain gas-free production. High skin factor
in the first well meant that as large a drawdown as possible would be needed for adequate production, introducing a further complication. However, the pressure could be
carefully monitored and production optimized to maintain reservoir pressure at
around 40 psi above bubble point.
The state-of-the-art
Permanent monitoring systems are an
important factor in a long-term effort to
improve recovery factors by continuous
monitoring and control of the key processes
in the reservoir. At the present time, most
systems allow continuous real-time measurements of pressure and temperature at the
bottom of the tubing. These measurements
alone offer significant advantages in three
areas: reservoir management, production
optimization, and where well conditions or
logistics make normal wireline interventions
too difficult or expensive.
Future directions
Current research is directed at extending
permanent in-situ installations to include
arrays with a large number of diverse
sensors (Fig. 6.54). Arrays of sensors
distributed at many points in the reservoir
will allow time-varying distributions of
reservoir properties, such as saturation and
pressure, to be continuously monitored.
These measurements can eventually be used
to continuously update the reservoir model
for optimum reservoir management. Figure
6.54 is a conceptual idea of how this might
eventually be done.
One direction is the development of
sensors in direct contact with the formation.
6 46
For the traditional permanent measurement of

pressure, this would allow the placement of
arrays of pressure gauges in direct contact
with the formation pore pressure. This could
lead to a number of benefits, as such gauges
would experience no wellbore storage effects
or perforation skin losses. As important, placement outside the casing would allow arrays of
gauges to be installed without complications
related to, for example, multiple completion
packers and cabling inside the casing. Finally,
an array of gauges would allow continuous
monitoring of pressure transients and pressure
depletion in multiple reservoir zones.

Implanted pressure gauges will need to
meet competing requirements. On the one
hand, these gauges will measure long-term
pressure depletion trends in the reservoir.
This requires the use of pressure gauges with
excellent long-term stability and accuracy.
On the other hand, in-situ pressure gauges
directly indicate reservoir pressure communication as surrounding producer or injector
wells are shut in or the rates adjusted. This
involves measuring short-time pressure transients, which requires gauges with good
transient response and pressure resolution.
One other direction of development is
the measurement of water saturation variations with time using electrical resistivity data
acquired with implanted electrode arrays.
Such arrays can sense saturation variations
both locally around the array (e.g.,
monitoring a water contact intersecting the
array), as well as deeper in the reservoir (e.g.,
the pattern of water moving away from an
injector or toward a producer). Eventually,
acoustic sensors could be used to detect the
advance of a gas cap, and chemical sensors
to detect tracers emitted into injection water.
Figure 6.54 also shows the abandoned
branch of a multi-lateral shut-off by an
intelligent completion.
Improvements in the understanding and

characterization of nuclear measurements
have led to greatly improved formation
evaluation in old wells, particularly where
openhole data are limited. It is now possible
to determine porosity, lithology and water
saturation through casing with confidence in
a large percentage of wells in Venezuela.
These improvements lead to realistic estimates of permeability. Layer pressure can be
obtained directly from special tests and
cased-hole wireline formation testers, or
indirectly by correlation with new wells.
Improvements in sensor design and

laboratory measurements have led to significantly better characterization of flow within,
and even without, the pipe. In particular, twoand three-phase flow in horizontal wells can
now be quantified.
Thus, current technology allows a full
evaluation of the formation, hydraulic integrity
and downhole flow in old wells, in most cases
without pulling the tubing. In the future,
permanent downhole sensors will allow the
continuous monitoring of many different well
and reservoir properties.
Figure 6.54
I
A1
A2
Q1
P5
A3
P6
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
Q3
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
A4
P7
Q4
P1
Q2
P2
C1
C2
C3
P3
P4
T1
T2
T3
T4
Looking ahead. In-situ

installations including arrays
with a large number of
diverse sensors in direct
contact with the formation.
CONCLUSION
6 47
AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
This chapter was written by P.Laurent, J.Singer, A.Dueso and A.Douglas

with contributions from F.Gonzlez (Lagoven), E.Solorzano (Lagoven), M.Herron,
S.Herron, O.Ortiz, T.Baumbach, D.Murray, J.J.Gutierrez, and J.C.Burgoa.
and with the permission of Maraven, Lagoven, Amoco Trinidad,
and Corpoven to publish data from their wells.
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6 48

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How can old wells be evaluated?

How can old wells be evaluated?

What techniques are used to determine saturation, lithology and porosity in old wells?

What techniques are used to determine saturation, lithology and porosity in old wells?

Chapter 6

Evaluation and Monitoring of Existing Wells

A key factor in improving production

Since its invention, production logging

Production in old wells is affected by

Capture and Inelastic

Scl is obtained from crossplot techniques. Determining Sma requires knowledge

IS logging is the alternative technique in

Matrix Formation Borehole

The K coefficients represent the sensitivities to C and O, respectively. The matrix

The detectors of the 1 1116-in. RST are

RST Job Planner, input window.

RST Job Planner,

VUOI-COR and both quantities correlate.

Precision and job planning

Near detector C O ratio

Figure 6.3a & 6.3b

Bit size = 8.5 in.

Far detector C O ratio

Near detector C O ratio

Red = Without gravel pack

Response of the near (a) and

will be within 10 s.u., while 10 s.u. at two

Several extra variables are introduced in the

Some reservoirs in the Ta Juana District

Openhole and RST logs in

Being old, any invasion fluids should have

Figure 6.5 shows the RST measurements

After fishing the slotted liner and

water front and looking for bypassed oil in

The El Furrial Field started producing in

RST log interpretation in well LL-1841.

Liquid rate (BOPD)

The NODAL analysis predicts a production of 230 BOPD in well LL-1841.

RST log interpretation in well FUL-29.

The interpretation of the RST survey

C, O, Si, Ca, Fe, ...

Principles of measurement: The

Primarily H (mass close to neutron mass)

H, Cl, Si, Ca, S, Fe, Gd, Ti ...

Inelastic Capture Mode:

21/2 -in. RST tool

After slowing down to thermal

111/16 -in. RST tool

counts in the near and far detectors. The

Slow flowing signal

Sigma Mode: Fast neutrons from the

POROSITY THROUGH CASING

Compressional and shear slownesses (Dtc

detector for different borehole salinities.

detector for different borehole salinities. Note the time scale.

Compute apparent quantities

Transform from apparent to

Block diagram showing

0 25 50 100 200 Air

0 25 50 100 200 Air