N360: Quantitative Log Analysis and

Petrophysics
Tutor(s): Martin Kennedy

5 Days

Competence Level 2:

Basic

Classroom Course

Summary
The course introduces the principles and practice of petrophysics as applied to conventional reservoir
rocks (clastics and carbonates). It defines the petrophysical properties: porosity, permeability and water
saturation and goes onto explain what controls them and how they can be reliably estimated. The course
also considers some of the more artificial properties that are based on the above and shows how they are
used to characterize petroleum reservoirs.

Duration and Training Method

A five-day classroom course, comprising lectures supported by exercises of varying complexity. Most
exercises will use real data from a variety of different reservoir types. All exercises can be completed using
calculators and graphs (computers and special software are not required).

Learning Outcomes
Participants will learn to:
1. Be able to define porosity, water saturation and permeability and appreciate the difference
between total and effective porosity models.
2. Understand how porosity is measured in the laboratory and how it can be estimated from
density and other physical properties measured by logging tools.
3. Have a qualitative understanding of how porosity tools work: density, sonic, neutron porosity
and NMR.
4. Define electrical resistivity and what determines it in porous solids (Archie equation).
5. Understand how resistivity is measured in the borehole and how resistivity measurements can
be used to estimate water saturation.
6. Appreciate what controls permeability, how it is measured and how it determines deliverability
in wells.
7.

Calculate reservoir average properties and use them to characterize reservoirs.

8. Have a qualitative understanding of what controls the distribution of oil and gas in a reservoir.

Who Should Attend

The course is designed to give participants an appreciation of the practice of petrophysics. Anyone who
uses petrophysical properties in their day to day work would benefit from attending. Petrophysicists at the
start of their careers would also benefit from attending but it is not intended to cover the more advanced
tools and techniques.

Course
Outline

2016

Nautilus is part of the RPS Group

N360: Quantitative Log Analysis and Petrophysics

Tutor(s): Martin Kennedy

Prerequisites and Linking Courses

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Content
The course starts with an introduction which includes an overview of the course and some useful tools and
techniques. The rest of the course goes through the outputs of a petrophysical interpretation in the order
they are typically generated: shale volume, porosity, saturation and permeability. Each property is defined,
before explaining how it is measured on rock samples and why it is important. At the same time the logs that
are most commonly used to estimate it are introduced and the way(s) they are transformed is described.
Day 1:
Introduction
1.1 Petrophysical properties and data
1.2 Physical Properties of Rocks
1.3 Measuring porosity and permeability on core samples
1.4 Fundamentals of Logs and Log Analysis
1.5 Some Useful Tools and Techniques
Gamma-ray, SP and Shale Volume.
2.1 Clay minerals and why they are important in petrophysics
2.1 Shale and Clay Volume
2.2 Natural Gamma-ray Activity
2.3 SP
Day 2:
Density and Porosity
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Density and the density log
3.3 Porosity from Density
3.4 More on Porosity
More Porosity Logs.
4.1 Neutron Porosity
4.2 Sonic
4.3 NMR
4.4 Estimating porosity and shale volume from sonic and neutron logs
4.5 Combining Measurements
Day 3:
Resistivity and Saturation
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Resistivity Tools
5.3 Water Saturation
5.4 Resistivity and Saturation: Archie equation.
5.5 Modifications to the Archie equation (conductive minerals)
Day 4:
Hydrocarbon Effects on Logs
6.1 Specific effects of hydrocarbons on logs
6.2 Accounting for Hydrocarbon Effects
6.3 Accounting for Invasion
6.4 Fluid Substitution.
Nautilus is part of the RPS Group

Course
Outline

2016

N360: Quantitative Log Analysis and Petrophysics

Tutor(s): Martin Kennedy

Permeability
7.1 Introduction, different types of permeability
7.2 Controls on permeability
7.3 Estimating Permeability from Logs
Net, Pay and Averaging
8,1 Why Average?
8.2 Cut-offs and how they are chosen
8.3 Problems.
Brief introduction to uncertainty
Day 5:
Fluid Distribution: Controls and Models
9.1 Introduction and Fundamentals
9.2 Water in Porous Rocks
9.3 Measuring Capillary Pressure Curves.
9.4 Real Fluids in Real Rocks
9.5 Contacts and Free water Level
9.6 The Saturation Height Function
Conclusion and the Future

Course
Outline

2016

Nautilus is part of the RPS Group