Induction logging[1] was originally developed to measure formation resistivities in boreholes containing oil-based muds and in air-drilled boreholes because electrode devices could not work in these nonconductive boreholes. However, because the tools were easy to run and required much less in the way of chart corrections than laterals or normals, induction tools were used in a wide range of borehole salinity soon after their introduction. Commercial induction tools consist of multiple coil arrays designed to optimize vertical resolution and depth of investigation. However, to illustrate induction-tool fundamentals, it is instructive to first examine the basic building block of multiple-coil arrays, the two-coil sonde. Figure 1 shows that a two-coil sonde consists of a transmitter and receiver mounted coaxially on a mandrel. Typical coil separations range from 1 to 10 ft apart. In practice, each coil can consist of from several to 100 or more turns, with the exact number of turns determined by engineering considerations. The operating frequency of commercial induction tools is in the tens to hundreds of kilohertz range, with 20 kHz being the most commonly used frequency before 1990. Figure 1 – Schematic representation of a two-coil induction array showing the distribution of the currents induced in the formation by the transmitter coil. The induction transmitter coil is driven by an alternating current that creates a primary magnetic field around the transmitter coil.

Resistivity logging is an important branch of well logging. Essentially, it is the recording, in uncased (or, recently, even cased) sections of a borehole, of the resistivities (or their reciprocals, the conductivities) of the subsurface formations, generally along with the spontaneous potentials (SPs) generated in the borehole. This recording is of immediate value for geological correlation of the strata and detection and quantitative evaluation of possibly productive horizons. The information derived from the logs may be supplemented by cores (whole core or sidewall samples of the formations taken from the wall of the hole). Several types of resistivity measuring systems are used that have been designed to obtain the greatest possible information under diverse conditions (see links below).

This page provides an overview of Pulsed-Neutron-Lifetime (PNL) devices and their applications. They probe the formation with neutrons but detect gamma rays. Chlorine has a particularly large capture cross section for thermal neutrons. If the chlorine in the formation brine dominates the total neutron capture losses, a neutron-lifetime log will track chlorine concentration and, thus, the bulk volume of water in the formation. For constant porosity, the log will track water saturation, Sw.

Remedial cementing requires as much technical, engineering, and operational experience, as primary cementing but is often done when wellbore conditions are unknown or out of control, and when wasted rig time and escalating costs force poor decisions and high risk. Squeeze cementing is a "correction" process that is usually only necessary to correct a problem in the wellbore. Before using a squeeze application, a series of decisions must be made to determine (1) if a problem exists, (2) the magnitude of the problem, (3) if squeeze cementing will correct it, (4) the risk factors present, and (5) if economics will support it. Most squeeze applications are unnecessary because they result from poor primary-cement-job evaluations or job diagnostics. Squeeze cementing is a dehydration process.

An understanding of rock strength is important for designing recovery plans for a reservoir and for developing an appropriate reservoir simulation. A detailed discussion of rock failure can be found in Rock failure relationships and Compressive strength of rocks. But the data needed for these methods may not be readily available, so there is a desire to use data available from well logs that are available. Several techniques have been proposed for deriving rock strength from well log parameters. Coates and Denoo[1] calculated stresses induced around a borehole and estimated failure from assumed linear envelopes with strength parameters derived from shear and compressional velocities.

Understanding the density and porosity of reservoir rocks is a key factor in estimating their hydrocarbon potential. Density and porosity are related. Density is defined as the mass per volume of a substance. Other units that might be encountered are lbm/gallon or lbm/ft3 (see Table 1). For simple, completely homogeneous (single-phase) material, this definition of density is straightforward.

The radioactivity of rocks has been used for many years to help derive lithologies. Natural occurring radioactive materials (NORM) include the elements uranium, thorium, potassium, radium, and radon, along with the minerals that contain them. There is usually no fundamental connection between different rock types and measured gamma ray intensity, but there exists a strong general correlation between the radioactive isotope content and mineralogy. Logging tools have been developed to read the gamma rays emitted by these elements and interpret lithology from the information collected. Conceptually, the simplest tools are the passive gamma ray devices. There is no source to deal with and generally only one detector. They range from simple gross gamma ray counters used for shale and bed-boundary delineation to spectral devices used in clay typing and geochemical logging. In Figure 1, the distributions of radiation levels observed by Russell[1] are plotted for numerous rock types. Evaporites (NaCl salt, anhydrites) and coals typically have low levels. In other rocks, the general trend toward higher radioactivity with increased shale content is apparent. At the high radioactivity extreme are organic-rich shales and potash (KCl).

Nanotechnology has become the buzz word of the decade! The precise manipulation and control of matter at dimensions of (1-100) nanometers have revolutionized many industries including the Oil and Gas industry. Its broad impact on more than one discipline is making it of increasing interest to concerned parties. Nanotechnology is the use of very small pieces of material, at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, by themselves or their manipulation to create new large scale materials, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. In simple terms, Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the Nano-scale. Nanotechnology draws its name from the prefix "nano".

Acoustic logging is a subset of borehole-geophysical acoustic techniques. Continuing developments in tool hardware and in interpretation techniques have expanded the utility of these logs in formation evaluation and completion (fracture) design and evaluation. A virtual explosion in the volume of acoustic research conducted over the past 20 years has resulted in significant advances in the fundamental understanding of downhole acoustic measurements. These advances, in turn, have greatly influenced practical logging technology by allowing logging-tool designs to be optimized for specific applications.[1] Acoustic-wave data-acquisition methods cover a broad range of scales from millimeters to hundreds of meters (Figure 1[2]).

As seismic acoustic waves pass through rock, some of their energy will be lost to heat. For tight, hard rocks, this loss can be negligible. However, for most sedimentary rocks, this loss will be significant, particularly on seismic scales. In reality, all rocks are inelastic to some degree. This article discusses the calculations to account for this energy loss.