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).

One example of analysis using a trend line is the equivalent depth method illustrated in Figure 1. This method first assumes that there is a depth section over which the pore pressure is hydrostatic, and the sediments are normally compacted because of the systematic increase in effective stress with depth. When the log of a measured value is plotted as a function of depth, NCTs can be displayed as straight lines fitted to the data over the normally compacted interval. The normal compaction trend (NCT) is a straight line in log-linear space that has been fitted to the decrease in slowness as a function of depth where sediments are normally compacting. The effective stress at depth Z is equal to the effective stress at depth A, and thus, the pore pressure at depth Z is simply Pz Pa (Sz–Sa).

Water saturation (Sw) determination is the most challenging of petrophysical calculations and is used to quantify its more important complement, the hydrocarbon saturation (1 – Sw). Complexities arise because there are a number of independent approaches that can be used to calculate Sw. The complication is that often, if not typically, these different approaches lead to somewhat different Sw values that may equate to considerable differences in the original oil in place (OOIP) or original gas in place (OGIP) volumes. The challenge to the technical team is to resolve and to understand the differences among the Sw values obtained using the different procedures, and to arrive at the best calculation of Sw and its distribution throughout the reservoir vertically and areally. In OOIP and OGIP calculations, it is important to remember the relative importance of porosity and Sw. A 10% pore volume (PV) change in Sw has the same impact as a 2% bulk volume (BV) change in porosity (in a 20% BV porosity reservoir). This listing is the chronological order in which data are likely to become available, not in a ranked order based on the accuracy of the various methods. The choice of which Sw-calculation approach to use is often controlled by the availability of the various types of data. If no OBM cores have been cut, then this technique cannot be used unless funds are spent to acquire such data from one or more newly drilled wells. This is not a high incremental cost when OBM use is planned for other purposes. Resistivity logs are run in all wells, so these data are available for making standard-log-analysis Sw calculations. A key consideration when making calibrated Sw calculations is the availability of special-core-analysis (SCAL) data on core samples from the particular reservoir; that is, the number of laboratory electrical-property and Pc/Sw core-plug measurements that have been made. The technique chosen to calculate Sw is often a hybrid that combines the use of two of these basic data sources. For example, the OBM-core Sw data can be used in combination with the resistivity logs to expand the data set used to include all wells and the whole of the hydrocarbon column. Alternatively, the OBM-core Sw data can be used in combination with the Pc/Sw data. In this way, the OBM-core Sw data define the S w values for the majority of the reservoir, whereas the Pc/Sw data define the Sw values in the interval just above the fluid contact and perhaps in areas of the field where Pc data are available but OBM-core data are not. This section discussed the input-data availability and data quality issues for each Sw technique.

The SP curve is a continuous recording vs. depth of the electrical potential difference between a movable electrode in the borehole and a surface electrode.[1] Adjacent to shales, SP readings usually define a straight line known as the shale baseline. Next to permeable formations, the curve departs from the shale baseline; in thick permeable beds, these excursions reach a constant departure from the shale baseline, defining the "sand line." The deflection may be either to the left (negative) or to the right (positive), depending on the relative salinities of the formation water and the mud filtrate. If the formation-water salinity is greater than the mud-filtrate salinity (the more common case), the deflection is to the left.

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). As will be explained later, several types of resistivity measuring systems are used that have been designed to obtain the greatest possible information under diverse conditions (e.g., induction devices, laterolog, microresistivity devices, and borehole-imaging devices).

The term "petrophysics" was coined by G.E. Archie and J.H.M.A. Thomeer in a quiet bistro in The Hague.[1] By their definition, petrophysics is the study of the physical and chemical properties of rocks and their contained fluids. It emphasizes those properties relating to the pore system and its fluid distribution and flow characteristics. These properties and their relationships are used to identify and evaluate hydrocarbon reservoirs, hydrocarbon sources, seals, and aquifers. The petrophysicist provides answer products needed and used by team members, as well as physical and chemical insights needed by other teammates. The reservoir and fluid characteristics to be determined are thickness (bed boundaries), lithology (rock type), porosity, fluid saturations and pressures, fluid identification and characterization, permeability (absolute), and fractional flow (oil, gas, water). It is easy to define these characteristics and to appreciate their part in the assessment of reserves. The difficult part comes in determining their actual value at a level of certainty needed to make economic decisions leading to development and production. The seven characteristics listed are interdependent (i.e., to properly determine porosity from a wireline log, one must know the lithology, fluid saturations, and fluid types). The science of petrophysics is then used to unscramble the hidden world of rock and fluid properties in reservoirs from just below the Earth's surface to ones more than four miles deep. The petrophysicist then takes on many characteristics of the fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes to extrapolate, from the most meager of clues, the true picture of the subsurface reservoir using dogged determination to wrest all possible information from the available data, all the while enjoying the thrill of the hunt. How does the petrophysicist solve this difficult problem? Archie's general method is to subdivide the problem into smaller segments and iterate using all data until all data agree. One starting point is to determine rock types (petrofacies) wherein we identify pore type, pore size distribution, pore throat type, and pore throat distribution.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) log data can be analyzed independently or in combination with conventional-log and core data. As an independent logging service, NMR can provide porosity, permeability index, and complete information on fluid type and saturation of the flushed zone. Some data-interpretation methods operate in the echo-decay time domain, while others operate in the T2-relaxation domain. Estimation of residual-oil saturation is one of the oldest applications of NMR logging. Unlike resistivity-log analysis, NMR analysis does not rely on formation-water salinity to obtain water saturation.

When invasion is moderate to deep, knowledge of resistivity of the invaded zone (Rxo) is required to derive the resistivity of the uninvaded zone (Rt) from the deep-resistivity measurement. To evaluate a formation with logs, the Rxo/Rt ratio is required for some saturation-estimation methods. In clean formations, a value of the formation resistivity factor F can be computed from Rxo and Rmf if Sxo is known or can be estimated. Tools designed to measure Rxo have a very shallow depth of investigation, because the flushed zone may extend only a few inches beyond the borehole wall. To avoid the effect of the borehole, a sidewall-pad tool is used.

Shales are one of the more important common constituents of rocks in log analysis. Aside from their effects on porosity and permeability, this importance stems from their electrical properties, which have a great influence on the determination of fluid saturations. Shales are loose, plastic, fine-grained mixtures of clay-sized particles or colloidal-sized particles and often contain a high proportion of clay minerals. Most clay minerals are structured in sheets of alumina-octahedron and silica-tetrahedron lattices. There is usually an excess of negative electrical charges within the clay sheets.