Petrophysics Vol. 57 No. 6 December 2016 Online.C

Vol. 57, No.
6 December 2016
PETROPHYSICS
December 2016, Vol. 57, No. 6
Contents
568 From the President
569 Calendar of Events
The Society of 570 From the Editor
Petrophysicists and 572 Oil and Gas Reserves Commi ee (OGRC)
Well Log Analysts
8866 Gulf Freeway, Suite 320
ARTICLES
Houston, TX 77017, USA 573 Shale Fracturing Characterizaon and Opmizaon by Using Anisotropic
P: +1-713-947-8727
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Acousc Interpretaon, 3D Fracture Modeling, and Supervised Machine
Email: Sharon@spwla.org Learning
Membership@spwla.org Ming Gu, Deepak Gokaraju, Dingding Chen, and John Quirein
www.SPWLA.org
588 Geomechanics of Orthorhombic Media
SPWLA Foundation. This fund Mehdi E. Far, John A. Quirein, and Natasa Mekic
supports scholarships in higher educa on
and research in formation evaluation.
Please send dona ons to: SPWLA, 8866 597 Macroscale Youngs Moduli of Shale Based on Nanoindentaons
Gulf Freeway, Suite 320, Houston, TX Wenfeng Li and A. Sakhaee-Pour
77017, USA
604 Fluid Typing and Pore Size in Organic Shale Using 2D NMR in Saturated
ISSN: 1529-9074
Kerogen Isolates
PETROPHYSICS is published Philip M. Singer, Zeliang Chen, and George J. Hirasaki
bi-monthly by the Society of
Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts 620 Permeability Esmaon Using Ultrasonic Borehole Image Logs in
(SPWLA). Subscrip on is included in
annual dues for members and is $150
Dual-Porosity Carbonate Reservoirs
for non-members. Subscrip on and Candida Menezes de Jesus, Andr Luiz Mar ns Compan, and Rodrigo Surmas
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638 Normalizing Gamma-Ray Logs Acquired from a Mixture of Vercal and
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PETROPHYSICS are those of the authors 647 Chapter News
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ocial ac on or opinion of the Society
of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts, 660 New Members
Inc. Copyright 2016 by the Society of 662 Annual Index
Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts, Inc.
About the Cover

The Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts is dedicated to the advancement of the
On the cover: "Ultrasonic images logs and science of forma on evalua on through well logging and other forma on evalua on techniques.
the corresponding permeability segmented SPWLA is dedicated to the applica on of these techniques, to the explora on and exploita on of
logs for two wells. Segmenta on of ultra- gas, oil and other minerals. PETROPHYSICS publishes original contribu ons on theore cal and applied
sonic logs into classes aids in permeability aspects of forma on evalua on; par cularly well logging and petrophysics.
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December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 565

The Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts
PETROPHYSICS
Associate Editors Board of Directors 20162017
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566 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

FROM THE PRESIDENT
In this last article for participants to the International Student Paper Competition
2016, I would like to reect that will be held during our Annual Logging Symposium in
on the positive fundamental Oklahoma City in June 2017.
changes that our society is going Our 2016 Fall Topical Conference The Role of
through, that is strengthening Petrophysics in Plug and Abandonment, was well attended
SPWLA and beneting our and the discussions led to a proposal to start a SIG. Our
members. Starting with the 2017 Spring Topical Conference will be on the Value of
charter agreements, besides Information and Uncertainty in Petrophysics. The 4th India
80% of North America, we have Regional SPWLA Conference will be held in Mumbai,
now signed agreements in Asia, February 1112, 2017.
Middle East and Africa (Thailand, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi, We keep improving the IT aspects (connectivity,
Dubai, Kuwait and Nigeria). We are continuing talks with reliability) of our webinars, which together with the
the remaining chapters in those regions and with Europe. excellent technical content, have made it a worldwide
Now we are starting to focus in Latin America. We have also members favorite (thanks to our Vice-President Information
signed the Acoustic, Resistivity, Formation Testing, Nuclear Technology, Zhipeng Liu). Our average monthly attendance
Special Interest Groups (SIG) and the newly created NMR has been 150 to 250 this year.
SIG. Our past President, Thaimar Ramirez, is leading the Finally, after more than 10 years we have had to increase
effort to modify the SIG structure and guidelines so our our annual membership fees by $25 per year. As per the
technical expertise is truly represented globally and in our charter agreement, of this $25 increase, $15 is returned to
board of directors. our local chapters so that the net to our ofce headquarters is
Our Distinguished Speakers continue to visit our a mere $10/year/member. Looking at the increased benets
chartered chapters, including visits of Dr. Mayank Malik that SPWLA is providing and the ones in the pipeline, this
to the San Joaquin Chapter in California, and Holger Thern is indeed a very modest increase. We hope that all of our
during ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, among others. Kudos to the members continue their patronage so we can have a strong
Abu Dhabi Chapter, and to our Regional Director, Michael and robust society.
Spain for making this possible. Please plan to attend the Annual Logging Symposium
I have received valuable feedback from our members in Oklahoma City, June 1721, 2017. We have received a
during my visits to our chapters in Asia and the Middle total of 353 abstracts! A preliminary review of the abstracts
East, to potentially improve the Distinguished Speakers submitted indicates that the conference will be of excellent
program. Some of these suggestions are being discussed for technical quality.
implementation. However, we want to hear from all chapters, SPWLA is here to serve our members. I kindly ask you
not only the ones that I have been able to visit. Therefore, to send me suggestions on how we can increase the value of
please contact me with your ideas to improve the program. your membership, to my address: President@spwla.org.
As stated in my previous column, the unication under
our brand name is making us a stronger and healthier society. Luis Quintero
An example of SPWLAs worldwide brand recognition is 20162017 SPWLA President
our newly acquired membership status in the Oil and Gas
Reserves Committee (OGRC) and the Petroleum Resources
Management System (PRMS). Rick Aldred and I have
written a special column in this issue of Petrophysics
dedicated to this milestone achievement.
The Frank S. Milliard Training Center continues to
offer courses and serve as a venue for SIG meetings. With
our international chapters growing in number and size, we
envision adding centers in other locations throughout the
world. This would be a major undertaking by our society that
would greatly benet our members. Again, your individual
and chapters inputs are needed to take this major step.
New student chapters approved by the board are in
Egypt, US and Indonesia. Internal competitions are being
planned in several of the student chapters to select the

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
February 11-12, 2017 June 17-21, 2017

SPWLA 4th INDIA SYMPOSIUM 2017 SPWLA 58TH Annual Logging Symposium
Petrophysics: Solutions through Integration Oklahoma City, USA
Mumbai, India www.spwla2017.com
www.spwlaindia.org

FROM THE EDITOR
As is the norm, this issue of Petrophysics treats wide- problematic so determining constitutive properties becomes
ranging concerns associated with very different settings. attractive but upscaling is then required. Nanoindentation
Shale Fracturing Characterization and Optimization by is briey reviewed. The authors propose that the local
Using Anisotropic Acoustic Interpretation, 3D Fracture deformation of two entities with signicantly different
Modeling, and Supervised Machine Learning, by Ming levels of stiffness is controlled mainly by the mechanical
Gu, Deepak Gokaraju, Dingding Chen and John Quirein, properties of the softer entity at their contact point. The
shows that elastic anisotropy from shale laminations must be heterogeneous nature of the material is treated conceptually
incorporated in modeling important fracture properties. The within a loading frame, and the concepts are tested at
isotropic homogeneous acoustic model is characterized by the microscale. Literature on effective nanoindentation
two parameters, such as a single Youngs modulus and the measurements of the Woodford shale is used to build
Poisson ratio, while the transversely isotropic model requires a loading-frame model parallel and perpendicular to
ve parameters, with a concomitant increase in complexity. bedding planes. Model predictions favorably compare
The laminated and platy nature of shales generally requires a with other literature measurements of Youngs modulus
more complex model than isotropic. Approaches to account on the Woodford shale. Deviations between modeling and
for these parameters are discussed and different fracture measurement are discussed. In addition, other models for
models are considered. A neural-network approach using loading in nanoindentation of heterogeneous materials are
results from offset wells is shown to be more accurate shown not to apply.
than conventional methods in predicting effective propped Fluid Typing and Pore Size in Organic Shale Using 2D
length and fracture productivity variations with perforation NMR in Saturated Kerogen Isolates, by Philip M. Singer,
position, injected volume, and pumping rate in the two shale Zeliang Chen, and George J. Hirasaki, presents the 2D NMR
reservoirs. response of saturating uids in the organic-matter pores
Geomechanics of Orthorhombic Media, by Mehdi E. of pelletized kerogen isolates, without complications from
Far, John A. Quirein, and Natasa Mekic describes methods saturation history and wettability alteration of the organic
needed for characterization of naturally fractured shale pores. In a similar manner, water in clay pellets was also
reservoirs. Transversely isotropic (TVI) models are key analyzed. The T1/T2 ratio for heptane-saturated kerogen
for interpretation of mechanical properties (and acoustic is found to be consistently larger than for water-saturated
logs) of shales as compared to isotropic models. Likewise, kerogen, across the entire T2 spectrum and validates T1/T2 as
orthorhombic models include the reduced symmetry of TVI a contrast tool for uid typing and saturation in downhole
with the addition of vertical fractures, thus, orthorhombic NMR logs. These experiments enabled characterization of
models are key for unconventional resevoirs with natural NMR signal from heptane and water in intragranular and
fractures. Detailed, exact derivations of the theoretical intergranular porosity. The 2D T1/T2 correlation maps and
formalism are given within a linear elastic framework. the resulting pore-size distributions of the organic matter
Numerical tests involving effective medium theory are nanopores compared favorably with BET surface area data
devised to test the resulting equations of orthorhombic and SEM images. Fast relaxation of alkanes in intragranular
symmetry showing the importance of this approach. In pores implies long residence times, which may be due to a
particular, numerical tests were performed considering bitumen coating. Surface relaxation mechanisms of kerogen
two simplied situations (1) when the horizontal well is are discussed.
drilled perpendicular to the dominant fractures (parallel Permeability Estimation Using Ultrasonic Borehole
to the minimum horizontal stress direction as commonly Image Logs in Dual-Porosity Carbonate Reservoirs, by
performed), and (2) when the horizontal well is drilled Candida Menezes de Jesus, Andr Luiz Martins Compan,
parallel to the dominant fractures. Comparisons of the and Rodrigo Surmas, describes new ways to estimate
different symmetry models are performed delineating specic permeability in carbonates particularly when substantial
deciencies of simplied modeling. The impact of fracture large scale, i.e., megaporosity and gigaporosity, exists in
density on derived mechanical parameter determination is the reservoir, for example, in karstied systems. Standard
shown. petrophysical methods and even core analysis fail to account
Macroscale Youngs Moduli of Shale Based on for this porosity that can have inordinate impact on well
Nanoindentations, by Wenfeng Li and A. Sakhaee-Pour testing and production. Ultrasonic image analysis can
proposes a model using effective stiffness of small-scale identify fractures and caves that are associated with uid loss
constitutive entities by nanoindentations at a large scale to during drilling operations. The challenge is quantication;
determine macroscale Youngs moduli for heterogeneous methods are presented to quantify ultrasonic log images to
shales. Bulk-shale mechanical measurements can be characterize this porosity, in part by segmenting ultrasonic

FROM THE EDITOR
logs into porosity bins. An accounting is provided as to which are available for normalizing GR logs for vertical wells with
of the many parameters in naturally fractured reservoirs can the assumption that they penetrate the same set of layer-
be treated with these methods. Incorporation of core-plug cake formations. Horizontal wells only penetrate a subset
data helps with optimization of the analysis particularly of these formations thereby adding complexity. Methods
for matrix permeability. Application of these methods is are developed and described herein, particularly the true
demonstrated in three presalt wells in Brazil with good stratigraphic projection method, to normalize GR logs for
agreement with DST results as well as production logging. both vertical and horizontal wells. Successful application is
Normalizing Gamma-Ray Logs Acquired from a shown for eight vertical wells and 16 horizontal wells in the
Mixture of Vertical and Horizontal Wells in the Haynesville Haynseville Shale.
Shale, by Chicheng Xu, W. Sebastian Bayer, Marcus
Wunderle, and Abhishek Bansal, presents a concise recipe Oliver C. Mullins
for treating gamma-ray (GR) logs, which are often the only Editor, Petrophysics
logs acquired in unconventional wells. Statistical methods

OIL AND GAS RESERVES COMMITTEE (OGRC)
SPWLA is Now Part of the Oil and Gas Reserves of the overall classication system with the axes denoting
Committee commerciality and uncertainty. We often see petrophysicists
Rick Aldred and Luis Quintero delivering their results to the reservoir modelers as a best
technical estimate but, as we can see from the classication
As mentioned in the Presidents column, SPWLA system, this is only half the story. We also need to deliver
is now formally an observer in the OGRC (SPE Oil and uncertainty ranges so that we can be sure that the range
Gas Reserves Committee) and a sponsor of the PRMS of possible values is valid and in accordance with our
(Petroleum Resources Management System). The PRMS is interpretations. If we dont do that, we often nd that
being adopted around the world as the global standard for guideline uncertainties are applied which are generally
resource evaluation and classication and is continually very pessimistic and based on worst case scenarios.
being enhanced and updated as more industry professionals
get involved.
The system has evolved over the years, with recent
incarnations being the SPE Guidelines for Petroleum
Resources Classication in 2001 and the rst PRMS
published in 2007 with updates published in 2011. Various
international standards have been reviewed and incorporated
into the system, including those from The USA, UK, Canada,
Russia, China and Norway.
The guidelines were developed by the Society of
Petroleum Engineers (SPE) with sponsorship and input
from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
(AAPG), World Petroleum Council (WPC), Society of
Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE), and the Society
of Geophysicists (SEG). SPWLA can now add its name to
this distinguished list and play a greater role in dening the
standards and best practices for the use of petrophysical
interpretation results (Fig. 1).
Fig. 2PRMS reserves classication scheme.
There are many different methods for quantifying

petrophysical uncertainty, some are simple to apply but
generally overestimate the possible range, while others can
be more complex, but are demonstrably more accurate.
It is hoped that with the involvement of the SPWLA
in updating the PRMS the interested parties in our society
will get a chance to have their say and this will lead to new
standardized techniques in this very important eld of study.
The SPWLA plans to roll out a support organization
worldwide. Therefore the structure and operation of such
organization should be determined with the inputs of all of
our chapters so that it truly represents the different views on
reserves classication throughout the industry. A rst idea is
to have two members nominated by every SPWLA chapter
in the organization. Each chapter in turn, may have its own
Fig. 1Draft of PRMS sponsorship page. support organization. Frequency of the meetings, guidelines,
etc., will have to be established. We welcome and expect
This is a signicant milestone for our society. It should your active involvement, ideas and comments!
encourage our members to become more involved with the In the next issue of Petrophysics we will provide
nal outcome derived from the petrophysical parameters that addtional details about how the PRMS works and how it
we generate and it will help people from other disciplines relates to petrophysical interpretation results.
understand the importance of petrophysics and the value that
we bring to projects to which we contribute.
The PRMS is important to SPWLA members because
it determines the way in which our interpretation results
are used in reserves denition. Figure 2 shows a diagram

PETROPHYSICS, VOL. 57, NO. 6 (DECEMBER 2016); PAGE 573587; 16 FIGURES; 3 TABLES
Shale Fracturing Characterization and Optimization by Using Anisotropic Acoustic

Interpretation, 3D Fracture Modeling, and Supervised Machine Learning1
Ming Gu2, 3, Deepak Gokaraju2, Dingding Chen2, and John Quirein2
ABSTRACT
Elastic anisotropy resulting from shale lamination predict fracture geometries or to optimize fracturing design
makes fracture prediction in shale more complex, and for other wells from the same geological basin in a timely
traditional methods to predict fracture geometry assuming and cost-effective manner.
isotropy frequently prove to be inadequate. Common The workow is demonstrated by generating neural-
3D fracture-modeling software is based on isotropic network models for two shale reservoirs. The fracture
rock models, and models that account for anisotropy are geometry predicted from the anisotropic models is
computationally expensive, especially when numerous compared with the one predicted from the conventional
simulations must be performed by varying the input isotropic simulator. The results show that ignoring shale
parameters for parametric study. anisotropy leads to overestimated fracture widths and
A new workow was created that integrates anisotropic underestimated fracture containments, lengths, and net-
acoustic log interpretation, 3D fracture modeling, and pressures. The neural-network models are run in large
neural networks to improve fracture prediction accuracy parametric studies to demonstrate how the effective
and efciency for anisotropic shales. The workow propped length and fracture productivity varies with
generates a neural network with a limited number of 3D perforation position, injected volume, and pumping rate
fracture-modeling cases; the fracture modeling uses rock in the two shale formations. The results provide valuable
mechanical properties interpreted from sonic logs with insights of selecting perforation location and optimizing
properly selected anisotropic acoustic models. The neural pumping strategy.
network trained from a pilot/offset well can be applied to
INTRODUCTION the ANNIE model. It computes C11 by assuming the third

Thomsens parameter () to be zero. Another assumption
The combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal that the ANNIE model makes based on observation is in
drilling has made production from shale and tight formations many shales, C12 = C13 to compute different elastic moduli
commercially realistic. However, because of the laminated in different directions. Quirein et al. (2014) observed the
and platy nature intrinsic to shales, the isotropic acoustic ANNIE model always predicts vvert vhorz, and the stress
model, which computes a single Youngs modulus and a predicted using the ANNIE model is the same as the isotropic
single Poissons ratio from sonic and density logs, cannot model in absence of any eld data for calibration. Quirein et
fully describe their elastic behavior. Fully modeling the al. (2014) proposed the modied ANNIE model for scenarios
geomechanical properties of a transversely isotropic in which vvert vhorz; it also predicts the anisotropic closure
(TI) medium, like laminated shale, requires solving for stress to be greater than the closure stress estimated from the
ve independent components of the stiffness tensor: C11, isotropic model. Both ANNIE and modied ANNIE models
C33, C44, C66, and C13. For dipole sonic logs, C33, C44, and require the Stoneley wave as an input for computation.
C66 are usually derived from the measured slowness of Recently, two robust methods have been proposed to predict
vertical compressional (P-), shear (S-), and Stoneley waves, the ve stiffness coefcients without using the Stoneley
respectively. Empirical models or assumptions are needed to wave as an input (Murphy et al., 2015; Gu et al., 2016).
decide the other two coefcients. Schoenberg et al. (1996) The new models are based upon the observed near-linear
proposed a simplied anisotropic model, well known as relationships among measured 0, 45, and 90 P- and S-
Manuscript received by the Editor November 5, 2015; revised manuscript received April 22, 2016; manuscript accepted May 8, 2016.
1
Originally presented at the SPWLA 56th Annual Logging Symposium, Long Beach, CA, USA, July 1822, 2015, Paper F.
2
Halliburton Technology, 3000 North Sam Houston Pkwy East, Houston, TX 77032, USA; Dingding.Chen@halliburton.com; John.Quirein@
halliburton.com
3
Currently afliation MRB Room 333A, Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and
Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, 395 Evansdale Drive, PO Box 6070, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-607, USA; gumingcqcn@
gmail.com; ming.gu@mail.wvu.edu
Shale Fracturing Characterization and Optimization by Using Anisotropic Acoustic Interpretation, 3D Fracture Modeling, and Supervised Machine Learning
wave velocities and a linear relationship between the P-wave This paper proposes a near real-time solution for
anisotropy (Thomsens parameter ) and S-wave anisotropy hydraulic fracture characterization and fracturing design
(Thomsens parameter ) (Thomsen, 1986) from published optimization in shale reservoirs. The new workow
and laboratory-measured ultrasonic core data covering integrates anisotropic acoustic interpretation, 3D fracture
different shales. The non-Stoneley methods have large modeling, and supervised machine learning, such as neural
application potentials in casedhole conditions or conditions networks. The acoustic log interpretation results are used to
in which the measurement of the Stoneley wave is difcult build the rock mechanical models in a 3D fracture simulator.
and uncertain to conduct. A neural network is then generated using a limited number
The elasticity anisotropy of shale makes fracture of 3D fracture-modeling cases. After the neural-network
modeling more complex, and traditional analytical model is obtained from a pilot or offset well, it can be easily
solutions to predict fracture geometry assuming isotropy embedded into current completion/fracture design software
and homogeneity prove to be inadequate (Khristianovitch to identify geologic sweet spots, predict fracture geometry,
and Zheltov, 1955; Perkins and Kern, 1961; Geertsma and and optimize fracture design instantaneously for any other
Klerk, 1969; Nordgren, 1972). Early studies have shown horizontal or vertical wells in the same geological area.
that ignoring shale anisotropy results in erroneous estimates In the workow, a simple method is introduced to use the
of the fracture width and height and, consequently, the four anisotropic elastic moduli (Ehorz, Evert, vhorz and vvert) to
improper design of pumping uid and proppant (Khan et compute two equivalent isotropic elastic moduli (Eeq and veq),
al., 2012; Chertov, 2012). Although the anisotropic acoustic which can be entered into the isotropic fracture simulation
models previously introduced can provide continuous depth software to account for the shale anisotropy effect on
proles for both horizontal and vertical E and v, most current fracture propagation. Finally, the paper demonstrates the new
commercial fracture simulation software uses the isotropic workow by optimizing hydraulic fracturing parameters for
rock model, which only accepts a single depth prole for two different shale reservoirs.
Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio. Fully 3D nite-
element models that predict fracture geometry take elasticity ELASTIC MODULI FROM ANISOTROPIC MODELS
anisotropy into account, but are more computationally
expensive. Consequently, they are not a practical solution To compute elastic moduli (Youngs modulus and
for a massive parametric study. Poissons ratio), the stiffness tensor must rst be calculated.
Hydraulic fracture optimization for shale and tight For a transverse isotropic material, ve independent stiffness
reservoirs is difcult and reservoir dependent because coefcients are required to build the complete stiffness tensor.
many variables affect the hydraulic fracture geometry, For a VTI medium (transverse isotropic with a vertical axis
fracture conductivity, and nal productivity. They can be of symmetry), these coefcients are C11, C33, C44, C12, and
generally divided into two groups. The rst group includes C13. The dipole sonic tool in a vertical well in a VTI medium
(1) rock mechanical properties, such as stress barriers, stress can measure the following velocities: vertical P-wave (C33),
orientation, and elastic properties of the formation, and (2) two vertically propagating horizontally polarized S-waves
reservoir petrophysical properties, such as permeability and (C44 and C55), and the Stoneley wave, which is used to derive
porosity. They are reservoir-specic parameters that play the horizontally propagating, horizontally polarized S-wave
signicant roles in hydraulic fracture propagation, but cannot (C66) (Norris and Sinha, 1993).
be altered or controlled. The second group of parameters Because these four velocities are not sufcient to build
contains the parameters under human control, such as the complete stiffness tensor, additional constraints are
proppant and pumping uid type, proppant concentration, imposed using the ANNIE model (Shoenberg et al., 1996;
pumping rate, injection volume, staging space, and Higgins et al., 2008; Waters et al., 2011). C11, C13, and C12
perforation depth. The parameters are also called fracturing can be estimated by setting the Thomsen parameter to zero.
treatment design parameters. They are the optimization
target in a fracturing design job. Their optimization highly C13 + 2*C44 C33 = 0, (1)
depends upon the reservoir prevailing condition: the rst
group of parameters. Consequently, the optimization results which provides C13; and the second constraint is that, in
are varied for different reservoirs. To fully understand the many shales, C13 = C12; and therefore,
effect of each treatment parameter on fracturing design and
fractured well productivity, a massive parametric study must C13 = C12 = C11 2*C66 , (2)
be conducted by using fracture modeling, which is usually
time consuming and nonstraightforward. Further combining Eqs. 1 and 2

Gu et al.
Elastic moduli computed from Eqs. 6 to 9 are the small-

C11 = 2(C66 C44 ) + C33. (3) strain elastic properties or dynamic moduli, in contrast to
those measured in a rock-mechanics laboratory with triaxial
The stiffness tensor can also be computed by imposing a tests, which are referred to as the large-strain deformational
modied set of constraints using the modied ANNIE model properties or static moduli. The rock deformation
(M-ANNIE 1). To account for cases in which vvert vhorz, the during drilling/fracturing is related to the static moduli.
boundary conditions in Eqs. 2 and 3 have been modied as Dynamic moduli are larger than the static moduli because
follows a porous medium behaves more stify at small-strain and
high-frequency deformation. Consequently, all dynamic
C13 = kC12 = k(C11 2*C66 ) (4) moduli must be calibrated to static moduli based on the
core data. If core data are not available, empirical dynamic-
C11 = k(2(C66 C44 )) + C3,3 , (5) static conversion models should be applied (Morales and
Marcinew, 1993; Canady, 2010; Hamza et al., 2015).
where k and k are determined using laboratory-measured After the elastic moduli are calibrated to the static
ultrasonic core data. data, closure pressure can then be estimated using Eq. 10
If the Stoneley wave velocity is not available, the (Thiercelin and Plum, 1994)
stiffness tensor can be derived from the non-Stoneley
models, such as the velocity regression (V-reg) model or
further modied ANNIE model (M-ANNIE 2). The basis
of V-reg is the near-linear relationship between measured
sonic wave velocities at 0 and the wave velocities at other
angles, i.e., 90 or 45, widely observed from published and (10)
lab measured ultrasonic core data. In V-reg, the Vp and Vs
at 90 or 45 are constructed based on log measured 0 Vp where, Hmin is the minimum horizontal stress (psi), v is the
and Vs, respectively. After the 45 and 90 velocities are overburden stress (psi), pp is the pore pressure (psi), is
constructed, C11, C66, and C13 can be directly calculated from the Biots elastic constant, Hmin is the minimum horizontal
pseudo-logs of Vp(90), Vs(90), and Vp(45), respectively. strain, Hmax is the maximum horizontal strain, and is the
M-ANNIE 2, following the similar processing procedure poroelastic constant. Biots constant is the ratio of the pore
as Quireins model, uses a new constraint of the linear volume change to the rock volume change under the outward
relationship between the Thomsen P- and S-wave anisotropy stresses. It is close to zero for the low-porosity rock, close to
parameters to replace the Stoneley wave constraint to solve one for unconsolidated rock, and usually ranges from 0.15
for C66. to 0.75 for organic-rich shales. Hmin is usually recognized
After the stiffness tensor is solved using an appropriate as the fracture closure stress. In Eq. 10, the two principle
anisotropic model selected based on the well placement, strains are usually unknown and can be derived by tting
the formation type and the eld and log data availability, the h pp from Eq. 10 with diagnostic fracture injection
horizontal and vertical dynamic elastic properties are testing (DFIT) data.
computed using Eqs. 6 to 9 (Higgins et al. 2008). The
following equations reduce to the isotropic case when LINEAR ELASTIC FRACTURE MODELS
C33 = C11 and C44 = C66.
Sneddon and Berry (1958) estimated the width of an
(6) elliptical crack in an isotropic medium, as shown in Eq. 11
(11)
(7)
In Eq. 11, w is the maximum fracture width in the center
of the elliptical cross section, h is fracture height, net is net
(8) pressure (fracture pressure minus closure stress), E and v
are the isotropic Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio. net
is the distributed pressure inside a fracture and is a function
(9) of the distance from the wellbore to the fracture tip and
the pumping time. Equation 11 estimates the width of the

fracture at the corresponding location based on net. Chertov

(2012) proposed a similar equation to estimate fracture width (19)
in a transverse isotropic formation using both horizontal and
vertical elastic moduli, as shown in Eq. 12
(20)
(12)
In Eqs. 18 to 20, f(E,v) is the elastic property term and can
where either be fiso or faniso depending on the type of formation
of interest, q0 is the injection rate, is the fracturing uid
(13) viscosity, h is the fracture height, t is the injection time, and
cw, cl are unit conversion coefcients. The 2D analytical
models are simple and straightforward to understand
and (14) the effect of elastic properties and fracturing treatment
parameters on fracture geometries. A major drawback for
such analytical models is that they assume a xed fracture
(15) height and constant elastic properties along the height, which
is not generally established for laminated shale reservoirs.
where Eh and Ev are horizontal and vertical Youngs modulus, 3D fracture modeling solves the coupled solid and
vh and vv are horizontal and vertical Poissons ratio, and Gvh uid continuity equations numerically to simulate fracture
is the shear modulus in the x-z plane. The elastic response propagation with uid and proppant ow in a 3D space (Gu
of the rock in Eqs. 11 to 15 can be represented using a single and Leung, 1993; Sousa et al., 1993). However, some widely
condensed elasticity term f for simplicity. The condensed used commercial simulators do not take the anisotropy in
elasticity term fEV for isotropic and anisotropic rocks is given elastic properties into account, although they consider
as follows: complex stress layering. Elastic anisotropy can be accounted
for during hydraulic fracturing using fully 3D nite-element
(16) solvers (Gokaraju and Eckert, 2014). However, they are time
consuming and do not provide a practical solution, especially
when multiple cases must be run to optimize each fracturing
(17) treatment parameter from a large parameter pool.
Multiple fracture models have been developed using Eq. SHALE ANISOTROPY EFFECT ON HYDRAULIC
11, which can be extended for anisotropic rocks using FRACTURE CHARACTERIZATION
Eqs. 12 to 15. Two of the most widely accepted analytical
fracture models are the Perkins-Kern-Nordgren (PKN) In this section, the different anisotropic acoustic models
model (Perkins and Kern, 1961; Nordgren, 1972) and the (ANNIE, M-ANNIE 1 and 2, V-reg) and the isotropic
Geertsma-de Klerk (GDK) model (Khristianovitch and acoustic model are applied to published ultrasonic core data
Zheltov, 1955; Geertsma and de Klerk, 1969). The PKN covering different organic shales, including the Bakken,
and GDK models are similar except for the differences Bazhenov, Niobrara, Monterey, North Sea, Lockatong,
in their basic assumptions. The PKN model assumes an Barnett, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville (Vernik and Liu, 1997;
elliptical cross section with a xed fracture height, and is Sone, 2012; Murphy et al., 2015; Gu et al., 2016). The
primarily used when the fracture length is much greater than mechanical property predictions from different models are
the fracture height; the GDK model assumes a rectangular compared with the measurements to illustrate the prediction
cross section, and is primarily used when the fracture height bias introduced by different models.
is comparable to or greater than the fracture length. These Figure 1 plots the horizontal Youngs modulus predicted
models are developed by combining Eq. 11 with the mass by different anisotropic models vs. the isotropic model. The
balance and uid-ow physics. The estimated fracture black dashed line is the 1:1 line. Differently shaped dots
geometry equations given by PKN without considering represent different models. The horizontal Youngs modulus
leakoff are given in Eqs. 18 to 20: directly computed from the ultrasonic core data are shown as
black crosses, which are taken as the reference. Comparing
(18) the results predicted from different models and the reference,
the isotropic model highly underestimates the horizontal

Gu et al.
Youngs modulus. All anisotropic models predict greater Poissons ratio. First, the reference results (black crosses)
values than those predicted by the isotropic model (1:1 line). are mostly greater than the 1:1 line, which demonstrates that
M-ANNIE 1 and V-reg have the least bias, whereas ANNIE the isotropic model underestimates the stress for VTI shales.
slightly underestimates the Youngs modulus. M-ANNIE 2 Second, the ANNIE results always remain along the 1:1
has similar prediction results as M-ANNIE 1 and V-reg for line. This conrms previous comments that ANNIE always
most of the cases, but with more scatter. predicts the anisotropic stress to be equal to the isotropic
stress, assuming zero tectonic strains. The M-ANNIE 1,
M-ANNIE 2, and V-reg models all predict greater stress than
the ANNIE model with less prediction bias.
The difference of the predicted elastic moduli and stress
between the isotropic and anisotropic models will lead to
different fracture modeling outcomes. Figure 3 compares the
fracture modeling results by using the mechanical properties
and closure stress interpreted by the isotropic model and one
of the anisotropic model for an actual shale eld case.
Fig. 1Anisotropic Youngs modulus vs. isotropic Youngs modulus

(Murphy et al., 2015).
Similarly, Fig. 2 depicts the normalized closure stress

derived from different anisotropic acoustic models vs. the
isotropic model. The black cross dots are reference results
derived from the ultrasonic core data. The normalized stress
is the effective minimum horizontal stress normalized by
the effective overburden stress. According to Eq. 10, by
assuming zero tectonic stress terms, the normalized stress is Fig. 2Normalized anisotropic stress vs. normalized isotropic stress
a function which is only composed by Youngs modulus and (Murphy et al., 2015).
Fig. 3Fracture modeling based on the isotropic and anisotropic acoustic models.

The comparison of the simulation results is summarized Then, the dynamic elastic moduli are calibrated to the static
in Table 1. core data. After predicting the elastic moduli, the anisotropic
stress is calculated from the calibrated elastic moduli by
Table 1Comparison of the Modeling Results Based Isotropic and Eq. 10. There are ve different acoustic models for rock
Anisotropic Acoustic Models elasticity interpretation, including one isotropic model and
four anisotropic models: ANNIE, M-ANNIE 1, M-ANNIE 2,
and V-reg. If the rock is isotropic (fast shear velocity = slow
shear velocity = horizontal shear velocity from Stoneley), the
isotropic model is selected. If the vertical shear is not equal to
the horizontal shear, one of the other four anisotropic models
should be selected. ANNIE is rst used for calculation. If
there are ultrasonic core data or vertical-horizontal Poissons
According to Table 1, mistakenly applying the isotropic
ratio available, M-ANNIE 1 can be further used to improve
model for anisotropic shale reservoirs will:
the prediction from ANNIE. If the Stoneley-wave velocity
Underestimate the effective propped length, leading
is missing in the log measurement, M-ANNIE 2 and V-reg
to greater pessimism in fractured well productivity
should be used, rather than ANNIE and M-ANNIE 1. The
evaluation.
empirical coefcients in the two non-Stoneley models can be
Underestimate the fracture containment, which can
either reservoir-specic or generic, based on the availability
affect the completion strategy, such as perforation
of core data. The generic coefcients can be obtained from
placement and proppant/uid selection.
our published work (Murphy et al., 2015; Gu et al., 2016).
Overestimate the fracture width, leading to overdesign
of proppant size and concentration, and consequently,
early screenout.
Underestimate the net pressure, leading to erroneous
selection of surface pump power.
Consequently, correct characterization of shale
anisotropy is critical for successful fracture geometry and
propagation modeling and for successful fracturing design.
NEW WORKFLOW
This paper proposes a methodology in which a reservoir-

specic neural network is built and trained to quickly and
accurately predict fracture geometry and productivity for
any type of formation at any given fracturing treatment
parameters. This method can be extended to run a parametric
study, which helps in the selection of optimal hydraulic
fracturing parameters to produce the largest effective
propped area (EPA) or return-on-fracturing-investment
(ROFI). EPA is dened as the propped area that exhibits
sufcient conductivity contrast within the productive
reservoir interval. It dominates the short-term production Fig. 4Complete workow for shale fracturing characterization and
and signicantly affects the long-term production. ROFI is optimization using sonic measurements.
a measure of the economic success of stimulated wells. It
is dened as the fractured well performance relative to the In the second step, the depth proles of the rock
cost of the hydraulic fracture stimulation used, which is the mechanical properties and the closure stress from Step 1 are
cumulative production minus the fracturing treatment cost. entered into a 3D fracture simulator for fracture modeling.
Figure 4 illustrates the workow, which has three Because most simulation software use isotropic elastic
major steps. In the rst step, the horizontal and vertical moduli, an equivalent isotropic Youngs modulus (Eeq) and
dynamic elastic moduli are estimated by sonic/density logs Poissons ratio (eq) are calculated from four anisotropic
in combination with one of the acoustic models selected elastic parameters (Eh, Ev, vh, vv) to best account for the shale
based on the formation type and sonic log data availability. anisotropy effect. Eeq is rst calculated using Eq. 21, which

Gu et al.
is a modied and weighted version of the equation used by an initial training database, a group of randomly selected
Chertov (2012). testing data is run to check the relative error of the outputs
for each input parameter. For any input parameter, if the
Eeq = ahEh + avEv + 2avhGvh (1 + vvh ), (21) tolerance error is not met between Node_i and Node _i + 1,
one additional data point Node_i + 1/2 is added in between.
where vvh is the arithmetic averaging for vv and vh and ai is the The extra cases regarding the added data point are run in
weight coefcient from 0 to 1 (ah + av + avh = 1). ai should fracture modeling to update the current training database
be carefully determined based on the actual eld condition. in the second step. The new database is used to update the
For example, for a transverse fracture scenario in which Eh neural network in the third step. The validation and updating
governs fracture growth, ah should be larger than av and avh. process is repeated until the tolerance error is met for all
The basis of converting the four anisotropic moduli to the input parameters. The nal output neural-network model
two equivalent isotropic moduli maintains the condensed will be left unaltered and used to predict fracture geometry
elasticity term fEV constant after the conversion, because it is and EPA based on the input of arbitrary completion values,
not each of the elastic moduli but their combination term fEV or determine the optimized fracturing design by conducting
that controls the fracture opening according to Eqs. 11 and a massive parametric study.
12. Consequently, the anisotropic fEV is rst calculated from For fracturing optimization, the EPA is one of the best
the Eh, Ev, vh, and vv. By substituting the calculated fEV_ani and candidates for the optimization target among all predicted
Eeq in Eq. 11, the equivalent isotropic veq can be calculated outputs. It is the propped area within the pay zone occupied
by Eq. 22. by innite relative conductivity. EPA is closely related to the
fracture productivity, especially the short-term production
(22) performance of the fracture. For a fully propped pay interval,
EPA can be approximated by effective propped length (EPL
After the rock mechanical model is built in the fracture or Leff). Because of the dramatic production decline within
simulator, the fracturing treatment parameters are varied to a short time, i.e., the rst 3 to 6 months, in most shale
run multiple cases with different output results. The input/ reservoirs, the short-term production performance of the
output pairs of all different cases form the training database. fractures is usually paid more attention than the long-term
To generate an initial training database, each completion for cash-ow management consideration. Consequently, the
parameter is varied by x values equally distributed within EPA or EPL is commonly used as an optimization target for
the range of interest. The x value depends on the level of a fracturing treatment.
accuracy sought. Generally, the initial value of x was chosen In this workow, the critical conductivity is used
to be 3 to 5, i.e., each parameter was varied up to 5 times. to determine the EPA or EPL. The critical conductivity
Therefore, if there are n parameters, the total number of is dened as the minimum conductivity needed to fully
training sample combinations is xn. In this case study, the stimulate a certain propped length during a certain production
treatment parameters chosen for optimization are slurry time. Below the critical conductivity, a slight decrease of the
pumping rate (qinj), total uid injection volume (Qtol), and conductivity will lead a large decrease of the production.
perforation depth (TVDperf). The perforation position along Above the critical conductivity, changing the conductivity
the horizontal well can be correlated with TVDperf based on will not affect the production. The critical conductivity
geosteering data. Consequently, the initial training database is a function of propped length, production time, matrix
contains 27 to 125 cases. The simulator typically outputs permeability, natural fracture properties, oil API, and other
fracture length (Lf), height (Hf), width (wf), and effective completion and production parameters (Gu et al., 2014).
propped area (EPA).
In the third step, a supervised machine-learning method CASE STUDY
is applied to recognize the relation between different input
parameters and output results. In this workow, neural The proposed methodology has been applied to two
network is selected as the tool. The basic structure of a organic-rich shales (Shale 1 and Shale 2) to optimize
neural network consists of an input layer, an output layer, hydraulic fracturing parameters. In Shale 1, the stress barriers
and multiple hidden layers. After the hidden layer number are highly dened with the stress difference between the
and the transfer-function form in each layer are determined, pay zone and the bounding layer being as high as 3,000 psi.
the computer will automatically adjust the coefcients in Figure 5 shows a well-log example of Shale 1, including the
each layer to match the input and output data for the entire spectral gamma ray (uranium), sonic slowness, anisotropic
training database. After the neural network is generated from Youngs modulus, anisotropic Poissons ratio, and closure

pressure. Shale 1 is a VTI rock with horizontal Poissons ratio

greater than its vertical counterpart. The Stoneley wave
is measured from the dipole sonic log. Consequently, the
modied ANNIE method was selected to compute the
stiffness tensor from sonic velocities. Based on the sonic-
derived elastic moduli, the anisotropic closure stress is
computed using Eq. 10.
For Shale 2, the stress barrier is not as well dened
as for Shale 1. Figure 7 shows the gamma ray (Track 1),
lithology (kerogen) (Track 2), sonic-derived elastic moduli
(Tracks 3 and 4), and closure stress (Track 5). Because of
its complex closure-stress prole with low stress contrast
between different zones, the interval has been divided by
more zones than Shale 1.
Fig. 5Well-log plot showing the uranium, sonic, lithology, elastic

moduli, and stress data for Shale 1.
The interval can be divided into ve zones based on

closure stress. Figure 6 shows a design of a toe-up horizontal
well inside the pay zone. The toe-up strategy has been used
for the Shale 1. Fracture simulations will be performed on
the lateral part of the shown hypothetical well.
Fig. 7Well-log plot showing uranium, lithology, elastic moduli, and

stress data for Shale 2.
Like Shale 1, Shale 2 has a hypothetical well drilled with

toe-up through the pay zone dened by the kerogen volume
(black dashed line). For Shale 2, the Stoneley-wave velocity
is not available, so one of the non-Stoneley methods (V-reg)
is used to derive the anisotropic elastic moduli. Compared
with Shale 1, Shale 2 has less anisotropy in its elastic
properties because of its higher carbonate concentration.
Comparing different vertical zones in Shale 2, the anisotropy
increases with increasing volumes of clay and kerogen.
For both Shale 1 and 2, the log-interpreted elastic moduli
and closure stress will be entered into a 3D fracture simulator
to build the rock-mechanical models. Because an isotropic
simulator was used in this study, the four anisotropic elastic
Fig. 6Toe-up horizontal well inside the lower pay zone in Shale 1.

Gu et al.
parameters cannot be directly entered into the simulator.

Following the simple procedure previously mentioned, the
condensed elastic term f(E,) was rst computed using Eq.
17. Equations 21 and 22 were then used to calculate the Eeq
and veq, which were entered to build the simulation models.
Tables 2 and 3 show the variation used for parameter
inputs while generating a training database for Shales 1 and
2, respectively. X and Y denote the middle of the pay zone.
In this study, three hydraulic fracturing parameters were
chosen for optimization: perforation depth, uid injection
rate, and uid injection volume. The perforation depth varies
with different values equally spaced within the pay zone.
The uid injection rate for a single fracture varies from 30
to 50 bbl/min for Shale 1 and 10 to 30 bb/min for Shale 2.
The variation number is 3 and 5 for Shale 1 and Shale 2
respectively. The total injected slurry volume for a single Fig. 8Typical fracture prole plot using fracture design and analysis
fracture is 70,000 to 210,000 gal for Shale 1 and 27,500 to software.
110,000 gal for Shale 2. The variation number is 5 for both
cases. Consequently, the total case number for a training The track on the left shows the fracture width-height
database is 75 for Shale 1 and 125 for Shale 2. The slurry cross section; the track on the right shows the length-height
is mixed 30:50 sand and brine water, with an average sand cross section. The color-shaded contours represent the
concentration of 4 to 5 lbm/gal. conductivity distribution. Only the conductivity distribution
within the pay zone (boundaries marked using yellow
Table 2Input Parameter Variation for Shale 1
dashed lines) governs the fracture productivity. In this case,
the pay zone is fully propped in the height direction, so the
EPL can be used as a good approximation to the EPA. The
fracture conductivity decreases with increasing propped
length, as shown by the solid purple line. In the same
Table 3Input Parameter Variation for Shale 2
plot, the minimum conductivity required to fully stimulate
different propped length is indicated by different red dashed
lines representing different production time scales (Gu et al.,
2014). As shown by the red lines, as fracture length increases,
It is known that selection of different proppants and the minimum conductivity required to fully stimulate the
the proppant-laden uids signicantly affect the hydraulic length increases. For the same propped length, the minimum
fracture propagation. By changing the proppant size, density, conductivity increases with decreasing production time.
and proppant-laden uid viscosity, the fracture geometry and Therefore, the intersection between the purple and red lines
the EPA can be largely changed (Phatak, et al. 2013; Gu et represents the effective length for the certain production
al., 2015). If the proppant-laden uid is energized uid, such time. For example, for 1-year short-term optimization, to
as N2 or CO2 foams, the gas quality can be another important meet the innite conductivity criteria, the purple line should
treatment design parameter (Sani, et al. 2001; Gu and always be above the red-dotted line. Their intersection is the
Mohanty, 2014). However, the current case studies are for maximum fracture length with the innite conductivity. In
the purpose of the illustration of the workow, so both the this way, the effective length at different production time
proppant and its laden uid are xed. For any future works, scales is determined.
their properties, such as uid viscosity, proppant size, and A neural network is generated using a training database
proppant concentration, can be added to the training database that consists of multiple cases. The cases are obtained by
for a more complicated and comprehensive fracturing design. varying the injection rate by three values, injection volume
by ve values, and perforation position by ve values in
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Shale 1, and by varying injection rate, injection volume, and
perforation position each by ve values in Shale 2. Figure
Figure 8 shows a typical fracture prole result output 9 shows the target values of Leff (EPL) and values predicted
from the fracture simulator. This example was run on Shale 1. by the neural network in Shale 1. The solid squares indicate

target values, and the open squares represent predictions.

The red squares represent 70 training data points; the green
triangles represent seven random testing cases.
Fig. 9Comparison of target values and values predicted by the neural

Fig. 10Fracture dimensions and effective length predicted by neural
network.
network for Shale 1.
After a neural network is generated from a pilot or
offset well for a specic reservoir, it can be used to predict
fracture geometry and fracture geometry-based production
performance of any wells in the same geological area for
any combination of input parameters, which in this case are
perforation depth, uid injection rate, and uid injection
volume. Because the anisotropic elastic parameters and
complex anisotropic closure stress prole were both
accounted for in the current workow, the results can be
generated instantaneously with a high degree of accuracy.
The rst important application of the workow is to provide
a high-resolution, near-real-time solution for hydraulic-
fracture characterization. The neural-network model can be
calibrated to the initial 3- to 6-month production results to
further improve the characterization quality.
This is demonstrated in Fig. 10, by randomly selecting
the slurry injection rate and the total injection volume in
Shale 1 to be 48 bbl/min and 161,000 gal. Fracture length,
height, width, and effective propped length are all calculated
instantaneously as a function of lateral perforation location Fig. 11Fracture dimensions and effective length predicted by neural
of the horizontal well. network for Shale 2.
Similarly, Fig. 11 shows fracture length, height, width,
and effective propped length calculated as a function of
lateral perforation location along horizontal well in Shale 2 Figure 12 illustrates how the effective propped length
using slurry injection rate and the total injection volume to varies with perforation position and injection rate in Shale
be 30 bbl/min and 110,000 gal, respectively. 1 at a given injection volume of 140,000 gal per fracturing
The generated neural network can also be used to optimize treatment. It shows that the effective length is primarily
the fracturing treatment parameters using a parametric study. controlled by the perforation position. Leff is 400 to 460 ft
In both cases, treatment parameters are optimized by trying for the rst half of the horizontal well, and 360 to 400 ft
to achieve the highest EPL, which is critical to production for the second half. Injection rate does not have much effect
performance in low-permeability formations. on the effective length. For normalized positions from 0.2

Gu et al.
to 1, a lower injection rate produces a little longer length. fracturing treatment. The perforation position is the most
Within the well-toe part (<0.2), a reversed effect is observed. signicant factor in determining the effective length.
Figure 12 shows that the common practice of perforating at Perforating at the normalized position of 0.3 to 0.75 yields
the bottom of the pay zone and expecting better results is the best EPL, at the well-toe part (0 to 0.3) yields the second
not always true. In this case, perforating in the top half of best, and at the well-heel part (0.75 to 1) yields the worst
the pay zone yields a much higher Leff and, in turn, better EPL. Similar to Shale 1, injection rate has negligible effect
production. Based on the gure, the optimal injection rate on the EPL as compared with perforating position. As shown
can be determined at different lateral positions to yield the in Fig. 14, the optimal perforation positions and the optimal
maximum Leff/vinj. injection rate at different lateral positions yielding the
maximum Leff/vinj can be determined.
Fig. 12Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the

whole lateral at 20,000 gal per fracturing treatment and varied injection Fig. 14Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the
rate for Shale 1. whole lateral at 28,000 gal per fracturing treatment and varied injection
rate for Shale 2.
Fig. 13 illustrates how the effective propped length
varies with perforation position and injection volume at a Figure 15 depicts Leff variations along the well with
given injection rate of 40 bbl/min per fracturing treatment. changing perforation position and injection volume at a
According to the results provided, to generate the same given injection rate of 27 bbl/min per fracturing treatment.
effective propped length, more slurry should be pumped Like Shale 1, the EPL increases with increasing injection
for the second half of the horizontal well. For example, to volume at the certain perforation location. The red dashed
produce 380 ft effective propped length (red dashed curve), line illustrates the optimal pumping volume to select at
70,000 to 105,000 gal should be pumped for the rst half different lateral positions to achieve the uniform fractures
of the horizontal well and 105,000 to 140,000 gal for the along the horizontal well.
second half. For a xed perforation position, propped length
increases with increasing pumping volume.
Fig. 15Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the

whole lateral at 27 bbl/min per fracturing treatment and varied injection
Fig. 13Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the volume for Shale 2.
whole lateral at 40 bbl/min per fracturing treatment and varied injection
volume for Shale 1.
In addition to optimizing the production performance
Figure 14 shows the relation between effective propped (EPL), the neural network model can be further extended
length and varying perforation position and injection rate to optimize the ROFI. The ROFI is estimated by simply
in Shale 2 for a xed injection volume of 77,000 gal per subtracting the fracturing treatment cost from the cumulative

production values, and pumping design to maximize productions and returns.

By considering the staging and perforation cost for each
ROFI = (Cumulative Production Volume Oil or Gas Price) stage, the workow can be further extended to optimize
(Proppant Cost + NonProppant Cost), (23) the stage number. The new workow can be combined
with the current horizontal well completion optimization
where nonproppant cost is the bundled cost related to workow (Far et al., 2015) to provide the operator a more
proppant-laden uid, pumping equipment, and services. comprehensive understanding of how to optimize the design
For a typical slickwater treatment, the bundled cost can be of completion stages, perforations, and pumping strategy.
roughly estimated as $3/gal of water injected. The reservoir
permeability and porosity of Shale 1 were found to be 200 nD CONCLUSIONS
and 8%, respectively, from well logs. The well is assumed to
be producing at a constant bottomhole pressure and an initial It is important to select the appropriate anisotropic
drawdown of 3,000 psi. Gas price is assumed to be $4/Mscf. acoustic model to compute elastic moduli and closure stress.
Fracture spacing is xed as 100 ft. By incorporating the Ignoring the anisotropic elastic behavior in shale results in
parametric study results of Fig. 13 in a reservoir simulator, erroneous estimates of the elastic moduli, the closure stress,
1-year ROFI is generated as a function of perforation position and consequently the suboptimal design of a fracturing job.
and total pump volume per fracture (Fig. 16). In Fig. 16, the The workow described in this paper proposes a simple
3D map on top of the ROFI map represents the reservoir solution for taking anisotropy into account in isotropic
simulation results of the pressure distribution after fracture fracture simulators by converting the four anisotropic elastic
production for some time. In the ROFI maps, red represents moduli to two equivalent isotropic ones Eeq and veq, which
high ROFI and blue represents low ROFI. provide a time-effective and practical solution alternative to
fully 3D nite-element hydraulic-fracturing models without
compromising on accuracy.
This paper proposes an integrated workow, combining
acoustic anisotropic interpretation, 3D fracture modeling,
and supervised machine learning to (1) provide near-
real time solutions to hydraulic-fracture characterization
and production performance evaluation for any practical
combination of fracturing treatment parameters, and (2)
determine the optimal perforation locations and pumping
strategy efciently. Depending on actual eld requirements,
Fig. 161-year ROFI predicted by neural network for the whole lateral
the workow can be customized by including more
at 40 bbl/min per fracturing treatment and varied injection volume. fracturing treatment parameters into the neural-network
training database. The other important treatment parameters
include, but are not limited to, proppant properties (size
Figure 16 shows that optimal perforation locations and and density), proppant concentration, proppant laden uid
pump volumes can be determined based on the location properties (viscosity and gas quality), and staging number
of the sweet spots (red shaded area). In this example, the and size.
rst half of the well always yields better ROFI than the
second half for the same pumping volume. In addition, at ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
the same perforation location, the 1-year ROFI decreases
with increased pump volume. In this case, the optimal pump The authors thank Halliburton for permission to publish
volume is 70,000 to 105,000 gal per fracturing treatment this work.
for the rst half of the well and <70,000 gal per fracturing
treatment for the second half. As the production time NOMENCLATURE
increases, the treatment cost (the second term in Eq. 23)
becomes relatively smaller, as compared with the production ai = weight coefcient from 0 to 1 (I = h, v, vs)
values (the rst term in Eq. 23). Consequently, the EPL maps EPA = effective propped area, ft2
(Figs. 12 to 15) can be directly used to guide the fracturing EPL = effective propped fracture length, ft
treatment design for long-term ROFI optimization. Cij = stiffness coefcient (i, j= 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6), psi 103
The examples provided show that the reservoir-specic cw(l) = unit conversion coefcients (dimensionless number)
neural network model can be easily used to guide perforating

Gu et al.
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Paper SPE-3009, Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, November. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/146776-MS
12(4), 306314. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/3009-PA
Norris, A., and Sinha, B., 1993, Weak Elastic Anisotropy and the ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tube Wave, Geophysics, 58(8), 1091-1098. DOI: http://
dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1443493 Ming Gu is an assistant professor in
Perkins, T.K., and Kern, L.R., 1961, Widths of Hydraulic Fractures,
department of petroleum and natural gas
Paper SPE-89, Journal of Petroleum Technology, 13(9),
engineering of West Virginia University.
Phatak, A., Kresse, O., Nevvonen, O.V., Abad, C., Cohen, C., Latte, Before that, he worked two and half years
V., Abivin, P., Weng, X., and England, K.W., 2013, Optimum as a senior scientist for Halliburton. His
Fluid and Proppant Selection for Hydraulic Fracturing in current research focuses on petrophysics,
Shale Gas Reservoirs: A Parametric Study Based on geomechanics, rock physics, formation
Fracturing-to-Production Simulations, Paper SPE-163876 testing, and hydraulic fracturing optimization in
presented at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology unconvetionals. Gu has authored and coauthored more
Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 46 February. than 10 technical papers. He holds a PhD degree (2013)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/163876-MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at
Quirein, J., Eid, M., and Cheng, A., 2014, Predicting the Stiffness
Austin, a MS degree (2009), and a BS degree (2007) in
Tensor of a Transversely Isotropic Medium When the Vertical
Poissons Ratio is Less Than the Horizontal Poissons Ratio,
engineering of mechanics from Tsinghua University.
Paper OOOO, Transactions, SPWLA 55th Annual Logging
Symposium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 1822 May. Deepak Gokaraju is a senior scientist
Sani, A.M., Shah, S.N., and Baldwin, L., 2001, Experimental with the Integrated Interpretation Group,
Investigation of Xanthan Foam Rheology, Paper SPE-67263- Formation and Reservoir Solutions at
MS presented at the SPE Production and Operations the Halliburton Technology Center in
Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, 2427 March. Houston. His role focuses on providing
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/67263-MS integrated solutions using advanced
Schoenberg, M., Muir, F., and Sayers, C., 1996, Introducing
interpretation methods. His research interests include
ANNIE: A Simple Three-Parameter Anisotropic

Gu et al.
geomechanics, rock physics, and advanced well logging

interpretation techniques. Gokaraju holds a Masters degree
in petroleum engineering from Missouri University of
Science and Technology. Gokaraju is a member of SPE and
SPWLA.
Dingding Chen joined Halliburton in 2000

and is a scientic advisor for Halliburton
Technology, Fluid ID Testing and Sampling
group. He has more than 18 years of
experience in machine learning, data
mining, and applications of computational
intelligence in the oil and gas industry,
especially in pulsed neutron and downhole optical-tool data
processing, and well testing and sampling data modeling
and analysis. Chen holds a PhD in electrical and computer
engineering from Oklahoma State University. He is a member
of SPWLA since 2005, SPE since 2000, and IEEE since 1998.
John Quirein is a Halliburton technology

fellow and petrophysicist supporting the
Integrated Interpretation Group, focusing
on integrated interpretation and software
development with a recent emphasis on
gas-shale petrophysics, geochemical
log interpretation, geomechanics, and
multimineral solvers. Quirein received a PhD from the
University of Houston, and then worked 10 years for
Schlumberger, 12 years for Mobil, and the past 16 years for
Halliburton. He is a past SPWLA president and past SPWLA
Foundation president.

PETROPHYSICS, VOL. 57, NO. 6 (DECEMBER 2016); PAGE 588596; 8 FIGURES; 1 TABLE
Geomechanics of Orthorhombic Media1

Mehdi E. Far2, John A. Quirein2, and Natasa Mekic2
ABSTRACT
We investigate the geomechanics of orthorhombic symmetry. Two possibilities were considered; Case 1 is a
media for modeling fractured shales, using theoretical data, horizontal well drilled perpendicular to natural fractures
and present simplied equations for computing anisotropic or along the minimum horizontal stress, and Case 2 is
stresses in orthorhombic media that yield accurate a horizontal well drilled parallel to natural fractures or
estimates (compared to the values computed using the exact perpendicular to minimum horizontal stress. The values
equations) of the anisotropic stresses in heavily fractured of Poissons ratios and Youngs moduli decrease with
media when shear-wave splitting (SWS) is more than 10%. increasing fracture density, although a few moduli values
In terms of mechanical properties, i.e., Poissons ratios and will remain almost unchanged. For all fracture densities, the
Youngs moduli, the simplied equations can be dened magnitude of stress anisotropy (H - h) can be accurately
using three mechanical properties. We used two theoretical computed using the simplied orthorhombic model; for
models to create data for fractured shales with two sets of higher fracture densities, models converge to the exact
vertical fractures (VTI background + fractures). Different values. For Case 1, h can be accurately computed using
fracture densities were considered, which resulted in the simpler vertically transverse isotropic (VTI) model,
variable SWS values. These data were used to investigate whereas the H calculation using VTI or isotropic models
the mechanical behavior of media with orthorhombic will result in signicant errors.
INTRODUCTION includes the assumption about the symmetry or anisotropy of

the rock, will affect the solutions obtained by optimization.
In unconventional reservoirs, it is important to know Because unconventional shale reservoirs have low
the stress variations in different intervals for various permeability values, natural fractures play an important
applications, such as hydraulic fracturing, wellbore stability role in these reservoirs. Natural fractures usually occur in
etc. In order to understand the variations of maximum and one or two sets, and they can be vertical if vertical stress
minimum horizontal stresses, engineers use poroelastic is the rst principal stress. If there are two sets of vertical
Hookes law that can give an estimate of the horizontal fractures, they are sometimes orthogonal to one another
stresses from moduli. Moduli are usually computed from (e.g., Thomsen, 2002; Engelder et el., 2009). Although the
sonic log measurements. However, sonic measurements VTI model has improved the prediction of anisotropic stress
provide the dynamic moduli, which must be corrected predictions (e.g., Thiercelin and Plumb, 1994; Higgins et al.,
to obtain the static moduli (e.g., Tutuncu, 2010). Stress 2008), it does not take the presence of natural fractures in the
computation is usually done in an iterative manner, which rock into account. In this work, the stress model is extended
starts with an initial guess for the minimum and maximum to consider the vertical natural fractures (one or two sets of
horizontal strains (h and H). h and H are perturbed to orthogonal fractures) in addition to the intrinsic lamination of
minimize the difference between the fracture closure shales. Such a model, with horizontal lamination and vertical
pressure obtained from diagnostic fracture injection testing orthogonal fractures, is referred to as the orthorhombic model
(DFIT) measurements, and the fracture closure pressure (e.g., Musgrave, 1970). Although an orthorhombic model has
computed from theoretical models (fracture closure pressure been used recently by geophysicists for seismic applications,
is assumed to be equal to the minimum horizontal stress). its use for geomechanical applications has been very limited
Therefore, the optimization is model dependent (the model (e.g., Franquet and Rodriguez, 2012; Bachrach et al., 2013).
discussed here is the poroelastic Hookes law, which will be We will present the derivation of stress equations as well as
discussed later). In other words, the choice of model, which direction-dependent Youngs moduli and Poissons ratios for
Manuscript received by the Editor February 11, 2016; revised manuscript received May 13, 2016; manuscript accepted May 23, 2016.
1
Originally presented at the SEG International Exposition and 85th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, October 1823, 2015,
Expanded Abstract ANI 3.3.
2
Halliburton, 3000 N. Sam Houston Pkwy E, Houston, TX 77032 USA; Mehdi.EFar@halliburton.com

Geomechanics of Orthorhombic Media
orthorhombic media. An orthorhombic medium is dened more accurate predictions of anisotropic stress values, as
using nine independent parameters (Cij components) (e.g., compared to isotropic models.
Musgrave, 1970):
For linear elastic materials, Hookes law states that
the stress ij is linearly proportional to the strain ij through
fourth-order stiffness and compliance tensors, as follows:
(5)
ij = Cijklkl (1)
ij = Sijklkl , (2)
where Cijkl is the stiffness tensor and Sijkl is the compliance Figure 1 shows different symmetry (anisotropy) models
tensor. previously discussed: Fig. 1a shows a VTI medium formed
The stiffness tensor is dened as the inverse of as a result of horizontal lamination; Fig. 1b shows an
compliance tensor: orthorhombic medium formed by a vertical fracture set
in a VTI background; and Fig. 1c shows an orthorhombic
Sijkl = Cijkl-1. (3) medium formed by two vertical and orthogonal fracture
sets in a VTI background. Anisotropic Poissons ratios and
The stiffness tensor of a solid determines the elastic Youngs moduli are dened in Fig. 1d.
properties of the solid. It is convenient to use Voigts rule of
index conversion (e.g., Nye, 1985) where the fourth-order
stiffness and compliance tensor can be represented as 66
matrices. Voigts rule of index conversion provides that
111, 222, 333, 23 and 324, 13 and 315, and 12
and 216.
Shales are laminated and horizontally layered. Lamination
induces directional dependency in the mechanical properties
of rocks (e.g., Thomsen, 1986). Therefore, isotropic models
do not have directional dependency, and they are not
adequate for the mechanical modeling of laminated shales.
The VTI model (e.g., Musgrave 1970) provides a more
realistic model for shales. The stiffness matrix of VTI media
(CVTI), referred to the principal coordinate system, is dened
by ve independent parameters (Cij components) and has the
following form: Fig. 1(a) VTI symmetry formed by laminated or layered medium;
(b) orthorhombic symmetry formed by one set of vertical fractures
embedded in a VTI background; (c) orthorhombic symmetry formed
by two sets of vertical and orthogonal fractures embedded in a VTI
background. (d) Anisotropic Poissons ratios (ij) and Youngs moduli
(Ei), dened for orthorhombic media. If the orthorhombic symmetry is
(4) formed by one set of orthogonal fractures, fracture strikes are assumed
to be in x2 direction (axis also labeled as H). Direction H is assumed
to coincide with the direction of maximum horizontal stress (H). If the
orthorhombic symmetry is formed by two sets of orthogonal fractures,
one set is assumed to be the dominant set and is aligned with H axis
or the maximum horizontal stress. The second fracture set is assumed
to be aligned with x1 axis (axis also labeled as h). The h direction
For geomechanical applications, especially hydraulic is assumed to coincide with the direction of minimum horizontal stress
fracturing, Hookes law can be useful to compute the (h). Vertical fractures imply that the vertical stress (V) is the rst
minimum and maximum horizontal stresses. The minimum principal stress. Anisotropic Poissons ratios (ij) are represented using
two arrows. The rst arrow shows the direction of applied stress. The
horizontal stress is sometimes referred to as the fracture second arrow shows the direction in which the strain (resulting from
closure pressure. VTI models were used to compute stress applied in the direction of the rst arrow) is measured. Therefore,
anisotropic stresses (e.g., Higgins et al., 2008). Higgins et for example, HV is the Poissons ratio as a result of a stress applied in
H direction, and it is dened as the ratio of strain in V direction to strain
al. (2008) showed that the use of the VTI model can provide in H direction (HV = V / H). Anisotropic Youngs moduli values are

Far et al.
represented by using a single arrow, which show the direction of applied indices. These equations can be written by using notations,
stress. For example, EV is dened as the ratio of stress applied in V
direction to strain measured in V direction (EV = V / V).
which makes them easier to understand for geomechanical
problems. The following are dened:
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
ORTHORHOMBIC MEDIA
Using the Voigt notation, Eq. 2 can be written in a matrix/

vector form:
The use of the stiffness matrix (Cij) is more convenient for
geomechanical applications. To write the explicit relations
for ij and Ei, invert the Cij matrix, and substitute for Sij
components in Eqs. 9 and 10. Therefore:
(11a)
(6)
(11b)
(11c)
(11d)
where ij, Ei, and ij represent Poissons ratios, Youngs
moduli, and shear moduli, respectively.
(11e)
As a result of the symmetry of compliance matrix (Lempriere,
1968): C12C13 C11C23
32 = VH = 2 (11f)
C11C22 C 12
Ei vij
= ; i, j = 1,2,3. (7)
Ej vji
(12a)
It can also be shown (Lempriere, 1968) that:
(12b)
(8)
(12c)
Although nine independent parameters (components of

Explicit equations for anisotropic Poissons ratios and
stiffness matrix, Cij) are needed to fully describe the elastic
Youngs moduli are dened using the compliance matrix
behavior of the medium for orthorhombic material, six
(Sij), which is the inverse of the stiffness matrix Cij (see Eq.
independent parameters (Cij components) are required to
3). In terms of Sij:
compute the exact minimum and maximum horizontal
stresses. These parameters will be described later in this
(9)
article. It should be noted that in this study we assume linear
elastic materials, which ignores the effects of nonelastic
processes, such as irreversible compaction and porosity
(10)
loss, plasticity and other factors. Therefore the terms exact
and/or accurate used in this paper, refer to the stress values
where i,j = 1, 2, 3, and there is no summation over repeated

computed using Eqs. 23 and 24, which may be different Equations 21 and 22 are referred to as the simplied
from actual stresses magnitudes in Earth. orthorhombic model for computing the anisotropic stresses.
The equations needed to compute the minimum and The previously described assumption (vHhvhH = 0) is obviously
maximum horizontal stresses in orthorhombic media can be more acceptable if the values of Hh and hH become smaller.
derived from Hookes law. Hookes law for orthorhombic The article will show in a later section that Hh and hH take
media (Eq. 6) is a system of linear equations. The rst two smaller values as the fracture density increases (Figs. 2 and
equations give: 3). Therefore, the simplied orthorhombic model becomes
more accurate at greater fracture densities. Equations 17
(13) to 22 were derived by ignoring the effect of pore pressure.
Taking into account the effects of pore pressure, Eqs. 17 and
19 become:
(14)
(23)
The use of notations convenient for geomechanics
applications yields the following:
(24)
(15)
and the simplied versions of Eqs. 23 and 24 are:
H = vHV (V P) + EH (H + hH h ) + P (25)
(16)
h = vhV (V P) + Eh (h + Hh H ) + P , (26)
By substituting, for example, H from Eq. 16 to Eq. 15, h
can be obtained. By substituting h from Eq. 16 to Eq. 15, H
where P is the pore pressure and is the Biot coefcient,
can be obtained:
which is assumed to be isotropic and a constant number in
this example. Equations 23 and 24 provide the more general
(17) form of the stress equations for VTI introduced by Higgins
et al. (2008). Reducing to VTI equations from Eqs. 23 and
24 yields vhH = vHh = vh and vVh = vVH = vV. Simple algebra can
Or, using Eq. 6: be used to obtain the VTI equations in Higgins et al. (2008).
(18)
and
(19)
Equation 6 can be used to write the following:

Fig. 2(a) Poissons ratios and (b) Youngs moduli computed for data
obtained using Far et al. (2013) theory. (c) The condition stated in Eq.
7 is satised.
(20)
An immediate simplication seems to be obtained by

assuming that vHhvhH = 0 (because Poissons ratios are
numbers less than one). By making this assumption, Eqs. 18
and 20 become:
H = vHV V + EH (H + vhHh) (21)

Fig. 3(a) Poissons ratios and (b) Youngs moduli computed for data
h = vhV V + Eh (h + vHhH). (22) obtained using Hudson (1980, 1981) theory. (c) The condition stated in
Eq. 7 is satised.

Far et al.
NUMERICAL MODELING observation of an orthorhombic medium will depend on the

orientation of the drilled well because the measured sonic
Theoretical data were created to investigate the velocities will be different. To investigate the importance of
geomechanical behavior of orthorhombic media, and by using orthorhombic model for fractured shales in horizontal
computing the Cij components for orthorhombic media, drilling and completion, numerical tests were performed
with variable fracture densities. Effective medium theories considering two situations: (1) when the horizontal well is
developed by Far et al. (2013) and Hudson (1980, 1981) were drilled perpendicular to the dominant fractures (parallel to
used to model a VTI background with two vertical fracture the minimum horizontal stress direction h), as shown in Fig.
sets having different densities, as shown in Figs. 1c and 1d. 4a; and (2) when the horizontal well is drilled parallel to
Overall fracture densities were adjusted to change in a way the dominant fractures (parallel to the maximum horizontal
that provides a SWS value in a range of approximately 1 to stress direction H), as shown in Fig. 4b. The rst case is
15%. Shear-wave splitting (SWS) is dened as the difference usually the favorable scenario for horizontal drilling.
between the fast and slow shear-wave velocities (measured
in a vertical well) divided by the fast shear-wave velocity
(Eq. 27); it is the relative speed (in percent, computed with Table 1Computed Cij values for Orthorhombic Media with Different
respect to the fast shear velocity) at which the fast shear Fracture Densities Values (Different SWS) Using Theories Proposed by
Far et al. (2013) and Hudson (1980, 1981)
separates from the slow shear.
(27)
where vSfast and vSslow are the fast and slow shear velocities
measured, for example, by a dipole sonic tool, in a vertical
well. Alternatively, SWS can be dened as shown in Eq. 28;
(28)
Numerical modeling shows that for the two datasets analyzed

in this study, SWS values obtained by Eqs. 27 and 28 are very
close. In this instance, SWS is assumed to be caused only
by fractures. Table 1 shows the results of Cij modeling for
different SWS values; each row shows Cij values for a specic
SWS value. Although this research attempts to produce
similar Cij values using the two theories, these theories are
fundamentally different and have different denitions of
fracture density. Consequently, to make the analysis suitable
for well-log observations, SWS is considered, rather than a
fracture density, which can be measured by logging tools,
such as the dipole sonic tool (ignoring the effect of stresses
on dipole sonic measurements).
Direction-dependent Poissons ratios and Youngs
moduli were computed using Cij values from different
rows of Table 1 (Figs. 2 and 3) and Eqs. 11 and 12. In
general, the values of Poissons ratios and Youngs moduli
decrease with increasing fracture density. However, vVH, vVh
and EV remain almost unchanged with increasing fracture
density. The condition shown in Eq. 7 was checked using
theoretically generated data to ensure that the data are
physically plausible. Results (Figs. 2c and 3c) indicate that
the generated data are physically plausible. The computed
Youngs moduli and Poissons ratios were used in Eqs. 23 to
26 to compute stresses using exact and simplied equations.
For stress computations, it was assumed that V = 7,250 psi;
P = 3,600 psi; h = 0.0002; H = 0.0004 and = 0.7 (values
obtained from a case study).
For eld applications, assuming a horizontal well, the A density value of 2.55 g/cm3 was used for computations.

properties are needed, e.g., two values for Youngs moduli

and four values for Poissons ratios.
Fig. 4(a) Horizontal well drilled perpendicular to the dominant

fractures; (b) horizontal well drilled parallel to the dominant fractures.
Note the change in axes labels in the second case.
Anisotropic stresses were computed for all SWS values

using Cij components obtained using the two theories. Stresses
were computed for orthorhombic media. To investigate the
amount of error that will be introduced into anisotropic stress
calculations by making VTI and isotropic assumptions about
the medium anisotropy, stresses were computed with VTI and
isotropic assumptions (reduced complexity). Furthermore,
anisotropic stresses were computed using the simplied
orthorhombic model. The direction of horizontal wells will
affect how the orthorhombic model reduces to VTI and
isotropic models because different sonic velocities will be
measured, depending on the direction of the horizontal well.
When the horizontal well is perpendicular to the dominant Fig. 5Mechanical properties calculated from data obtained using
fractures, as shown in Fig. 4a, assuming VTI, C22 is assumed theory of Far et al. (2013). The horizontal well is assumed to be drilled
perpendicular to the dominant fractures. (a) Maximum and (b) minimum
to be equal to C11, and C23 is assumed to be equal to C13. horizontal stresses for the exact orthorhombic, simplied orthorhombic,
For this case, by further reduction to isotropic model, C12 is VTI, and isotropic models; (c) errors in computing H and (d) errors in
assumed to be equal to C13 and C33 is assumed to be equal to computing h; (e) stress anisotropy magnitude (H h, or ) using
C11. different models; and (f) errors in computing .
Figures 5 and 6 show the results of anisotropic stress
calculations for the two datasets previously discussed, when
the horizontal well is drilled perpendicular to the dominant
fractures, and the errors (difference from exact orthorhombic
model) in computing anisotropic stresses when models with
reduced complexity such as VTI, isotropic or simplied
orthorhombic are used. Figures 5 and 6 suggest that at higher
fracture densities, the results of the simplied orthorhombic
model converge to the exact values. h can be accurately
computed using the simpler VTI model; the H calculation
using VTI or isotropic models will result in signicant errors.
The H calculation using the simplied orthorhombic model,
however, converges to the correct values, computed by using
the exact orthorhombic model. For the calculation of H,
even the isotropic model provides a more accurate estimate
than the VTI model. The isotropic model in this case (well
perpendicular to the dominant fractures) will underestimate
H and overestimate h.
Stress anisotropy (H h, or ) for different anisotropy
models and the errors introduced by using simplied models
were computed (Figs. 5e to 5f and Figs. 6e to 6f). Stress Fig. 6Mechanical properties calculated from data obtained using
anisotropy is underestimated by using VTI and isotropic the theory of Hudson (1980, 1981). The horizontal well is assumed to
models. The simplied orthorhombic model, however, be drilled perpendicular to the dominant fractures. (a) Maximum and
provides an accurate measure of the stress anisotropy for (b) minimum horizontal stresses for the exact orthorhombic, simplied
orthorhombic, VTI, and isotropic models; (c) errors in computing H; (d)
all fracture densities. For computing the stress anisotropy errors in computing h; (e) stress anisotropy magnitude (H h, or )
using the simplied orthorhombic model, six mechanical using different models; and (f) errors in computing .

Far et al.
When the horizontal well is parallel to the dominant

fractures, as shown in Fig. 4b, with VTI assumption, C11 is
assumed to be equal to C22, and C13 is assumed to be equal to
C23. For this case, by further reduction to the isotropic model,
C12 is assumed to be equal to C13, and C33 is assumed to be
equal to C22. Figures 7 and 8 show the results of anisotropic
stress calculations (and the errors associated with these
computations) for the two datasets when the horizontal well
is drilled parallel to the dominant fractures. Figures 7 and 8
suggest that, at higher fracture densities, results of simplied
orthorhombic model converge to the exact values (this was
the case also for horizontal well drilled perpendicular to
the fractures). As expected, for calculation of h and H, the
observations are quite different from when the horizontal
well was drilled perpendicular to the fractures. For this
case (well parallel to the fractures), h can be accurately
computed using the simplied orthorhombic model, and H
can be accurately computed using the VTI model. Isotropic
and VTI models in this case (well parallel to the dominant
Fig. 7Mechanical properties calculated from data obtained using
fractures) will overestimate h at higher fracture densities. theory of Far et al. (2013). It is assumed that the horizontal well is
Stress anisotropies (H h) for the case in which the drilled parallel to the dominant fractures. (a) Maximum and (b) minimum
horizontal well is parallel to the fractures (Fig. 4b) were horizontal stresses for the exact orthorhombic, simplied orthorhombic,
VTI and isotropic models; (c) errors in computing H; (d) errors in
computed (Figs. 7e to 7f and Figs. 8e to 8f). Similar to the
computing h; (e) stress anisotropy magnitude (H h, or ) using
observations for the case where the well is perpendicular to different models; and (f) Errors in computing .
the fractures, stress anisotropy is underestimated by using
VTI and isotropic models. The simplied orthorhombic
model however, provides an accurate measure of the stress
anisotropy for all fracture densities.
CONCLUSIONS
The geomechanics of orthorhombic media were

investigated using theoretical data. The paper presents
equations for computing the mechanical properties of
orthorhombic media. Mechanical properties of orthorhombic
media are dened by using only six Cij components. The
paper also presents a simplied orthorhombic model for
computing anisotropic stresses, which yields accurate
estimates of the anisotropic stresses in heavily fractured
media. Two theoretical models were used to create data
for fractured shales, with variable fracture density. In
general, Poissons ratios and Youngs moduli decrease with
increasing fracture density. However, vVH, vVh and EV remain
almost unchanged with increasing fracture density.
Two possibilities were investigated to compute Fig. 8Mechanical properties calculated from data obtained using
theory of Hudson (1980, 1981). It is assumed that the horizontal well is
anisotropic stresses: (1) a horizontal well drilled perpendicular
drilled parallel to the dominant fractures. (a) Maximum and (b) minimum
to vertical natural fractures and (2) a horizontal well drilled horizontal stresses for the exact orthorhombic, simplied orthorhombic,
parallel to vertical natural fractures. For both Cases 1 VTI and isotropic models; (c) errors in computing H; (d) errors in
and 2, anisotropic stresses computed using the simplied computing h; (e) stress anisotropy magnitude (H h, or ) using
different models; and (f) errors in computing .
orthorhombic model at higher fracture densities converge
to the exact values. The magnitude of stress anisotropy

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Far et al.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Meh E. Far is a principal scientist at the Acoustic

Logging Research group at Halliburton Sensor Physics
Technology, Houston, Texas. He holds a PhD degree in
geophysics from The University of Houston, followed by
a post-doctoral appointment at The University of Texas at
Austin. His research interests include geophysics, rock
physics, geomechanics, fracture modeling and elastic
anisotropy. Mehdi E. Far is a member of SEG, SPWLA, SPE
and he is a member of the SEG research committee.
John Quirein is a Petrophysics Technology Fellow in

the Halliburton Formation Evaluation Technology group,
focusing in interpretation and software development with a
recent emphasis on gas shale petrophysics, geochemical log
interpretation, and multimineral solvers. He received a PhD
degree from the University of Houston, and has worked for
10 years at Schlumberger, 12 years at Mobil, and the last 12
years at Halliburton. John Quirein is a past SPWLA president
and is currently a member of the SPWLA Foundation.
Natasa Mekic is the manager of the Integrated

Interpretation Team (Petrophysics) at Halliburton
Sensor Physics Technology, Houston, Texas. Natasa
joined Halliburton in January of 2014 focusing on team
development for building multisensor interpretation models
and software for advanced formation evaluation. Prior to
joining Halliburton, Natasa worked for Baker Hughes in
Denver, Colorado, from 2004 as a Geoscientist Advisor
within a multidisciplinary team to provide petrophysical
studies, activities and integrated approaches for multiwell
projects that lead to construction of subsurface models for
exploration, development and prospect evaluation. Natasa
received her Masters degree in Geophysics/Geology from
University of Belgrade, Serbia.

Macroscale Youngs Moduli of Shale Based on Nanoindentations

Wenfeng Li1 and A. Sakhaee-Pour1
ABSTRACT
It remains difcult to relate shale nanoscale elastic deformation of a shale formation. The conceptual
measurements to core- and block-scale properties model accounts for the effective stiffness of small-scale
because of the heterogeneous structure of shale. One of constitutive entities at a large scale. We use the proposed
the main reasons for this difculty is the heterogeneity model to determine macroscale Youngs moduli by
of natural nanogranular media, which is scale dependent. analyzing nanoindentations. Independent macroscale
In this study, we propose a new conceptual model for the measurements corroborate our model.
INTRODUCTION there is a close relationship between the measurements made

so far and the relevant properties at the large scale.
The petrophysical characterization of a shale formation, In the present study, we propose a new model to account
which can be considered to be a natural nanogranular for the heterogeneity of shale at the nano- and microscales.
composite, remains a challenging problem because of Our model allows us to predict the elastic deformation by
its heterogeneous structure. The heterogeneity exists at accounting for the relative stiffness of the constitutive entities
different scales, which makes it even more difcult for us to at the small scale. We test our model with independent
understand the pore space and the solid phases forming the macroscale measurements.
matrix (Gupta et al., 2013; Sakhaee-Pour and Bryant, 2015).
The elastic properties of shale play critical roles in NANOSCALE MEASUREMENTS
formation stimulation, well-log interpretation, drilling
design, and production estimation. Determining these We briey review nanoindentation here because the
properties by conventional methods is time consuming relevant measurements are used in this study. We usually
and may even become impractical for shales. A large shale conduct nanoindentation to determine the Youngs modulus
sample usually breaks into pieces during recovery due to the and mechanical hardness of a solid medium. A hard tip with
lack of mechanical stability. Hence, the notion of nding known geometry and mechanical properties is placed on
large-scale (core-scale, block-scale, or log-scale) properties the surface of the solid medium. We then increase the force
from relevant properties of forming entities, such as organic continuously and record the penetration depth. The force-
and clay minerals, has gained attention among researchers displacement measurements (Fig. 1) allow us to calculate the
(Bobko and Ulm, 2008; Kumar et al., 2012; Bennett et indentation modulus and the hardness as follows (Fischer-
al., 2015). The key assumption is that knowing the elastic Cripps, 2011; Bennett et al., 2015):
properties of the forming entities can enable us to predict the
elastic properties of shale at a larger scale. (1)
Researchers have analyzed the fundamental properties
of shale that control its deformation. They have conducted (2)
measurements using nanoindenters (Bobko, 2008) and
scanning electron microscopes (Bennett et al., 2015) and where M is the indentation modulus, is a correction
have been able to relate the nanoindentation to smaller-scale factor related to the geometry of the indenter ( = 1.034 for
measurements (Abedi et al., 2016). Researchers have also a Berkovich tip), S is the slope of the force-displacement
worked on upscaling the results and have reported some curve at the beginning of the unloading (Fig. 1), Ac is the
correlations (Shukla et al., 2013), but it is not yet clear if projected contact area (Oliver and Pharr, 1992), H is the
Manuscript received by the Editor February 10, 2016; revised manuscript received June 30, 2016; manuscript accepted August 4, 2016.
1
Petroleum and Geological Engineering Department, The University of Oklahoma, 100 E. Boyd Street, Sarkeys Energy Center, SEC 1210,
Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA; wenfeng.li@ou.edu; sakhaee@ou.edu

hardness of the indented medium, and P is the applied force. that nanoindentation determines the mechanical properties
We determine Youngs modulus based on the indentation of one phase if the penetration depth is smaller than the
modulus (M) as follows (Fischer-Cripps, 2011): characteristic size of the phases considered. This proposition
allowed them to present measured nanoindentation moduli,
(3) which were relevant to the different phases, in terms of
Gaussian distribution.
where E is the Youngs modulus of the indented medium, is Now, we turn to our representative model. We
the Poissons ratio of the indented material, Ei is the Youngs hypothesize that the local deformation of two entities with
modulus of the indenter, and i is the Poissons ratio of the signicantly different levels of stiffness is controlled mainly
indenter. by the mechanical properties of the softer entity at their
contact point. Figure 2a claries this hypothesis, where the
entity with lower stiffness, shown by a lighter color, deforms
more signicantly, whereas the entity with higher stiffness
remains almost intact. Figure 2a denotes the change in
length by l. Thus, the lower stiffness dictates the effective
stiffness of the two entities, especially when the difference
between their stiffness is signicant. Our hypothesis implies
that loading characterizes the effective property of their
combined volume, instead of the volume of only one entity.
Fig. 1Schematic of the force-displacement curve of a nanoindentation.

The slope S of the curve at the beginning of the unloading determines
the indentation modulus M in Eq. 1.
We briey mention some sources of error for

completeness. In nanoindentation, mechanical vibration can
result in some error; thus, we usually set up the apparatus on
an antivibration table. Surface roughness is another issue that Fig. 2(a) The softer entity (grey color), whose length change is
can cause some error; we can reduce the effect of the surface denoted by l, deforms more signicantly under loading and controls
the effective stiffness. (b) The dotted lines show loading frames in
roughness by increasing the penetration depth. Thermal the representative model of a shale (a nanogranular medium). (c)
uctuation can also impact the accuracy of nanoindentation, Macroscale representation of the shale whose relevant measurements
however, this can be minimized by conducting the tests in a are used in testing the model.
thermally stable environment with minimum thermal shock.
Researchers usually interpret indentation results The shale formation consists of entities with different
for a homogeneous solid medium to determine Youngs stiffness. We cannot easily determine the spatial distribution
modulus, as the relevant properties do not vary spatially in a and topology of the entity in the packing. Figure 2b illustrates
homogeneous medium. The application of nanoindentation a packing as an example to shed light on the difculty; shades
to a heterogeneous medium, however, requires further of grey show the stiffness of each entity, with darker color
interpretation. representing increasing stiffness. We did not use any packing
in our study, and Fig. 2b is simply for clarication. Because
REPRESENTATIVE MODEL FOR MACROSCALE these entities are randomly distributed, it is impossible to
DEFORMATION OF A SHALE independently determine the effective stiffness of their bulk
volume a priori.
We propose a new representative model to interpret Our hypothesis allows us to determine the mechanical
nanoindentation for shale, which is a natural nanogranular properties of the bulk volume using nanoindentations. When
medium. Researchers originally considered a hypothetical we apply force to the surface of the bulk volume, a combination
solid medium that has two phases with different levels of of the entities sustains the load in the nanogranular medium.
stiffness (Ulm and Abousleiman, 2006) to interpret the The combination forms a loading frame, shown by the dotted
measurement for a heterogeneous medium. They proposed line in Fig. 2b. Each nanoindentation (numbered in Fig. 2b)

Li and Sakhaee-Pour
helps us characterize the elastic properties of a loading frame Table 1Means of Youngs Moduli (E1n, E2n, E3n) and the Corresponding
Fractions (f1n, f2n, f3n) for Woodford Shale that Can Capture
in the bulk volume. Nanoindentations Using Gaussian Distributions (Bobko, 2008)
We assume that the Youngs modulus of the nanogranular
medium at the macroscale (Fig. 2c) depends on the elastic
properties of the loading frames. Thus, the representative
model relates the nanoindentations to the macroscale
Youngs modulus by accounting for the pertinent properties
of the loading frames, which cannot be easily determined
from the grains. We will determine the Youngs modulus
using nanoindentation (Fig. 2b). We will test our model with
independent measurements conducted at the macroscale
(Fig. 2c).
RESULTS
Determination of the Macroscale Youngs Modulus

Based on a Representative Model The number of measurements ranged from 219 to 287 for different
We analyzed the nanoindentation moduli of Woodford samples and the number of the Gaussian distributions was calculated
by minimizing the error. The corresponding fraction is the ratio of the
shale, whose measurements are available in the literature. number of nanoindentations to the total number of measurements that
Bobko (2008) applied 4.8 mN using a Berkovich indenter to belong to each distribution.
different samples whose penetration depths ranged from 736
to 820 nm, which is smaller than the typical characteristic Next, we discuss the scale dependency of the Poissons
size of a clay mineral in Woodford shale (1 m). The ratio. Each nanoindentation provides a single indentation
samples were collected from a well located at Pontotoc modulus, represented by M, and we can determine only
County in Oklahoma. one unknown using Eq. 3, which is Youngs modulus in
Bobko and Ulm (2008) showed that it is possible to this study. Strictly speaking, the relationship between
present the measurements in terms of a summation of the indentation and Youngs moduli are valid only if a
Gaussian distributions. They determined the means of the representative Poissons ratio is implemented at the same
indentations moduli (M1n, M2n, M3n) and the corresponding scale. Here, we use the Poissons ratio obtained from a
fractions (f1n, f2n, f3n) to the actual measurements, which large-scale measurement. We do so for a practical reason: no
ranged from 219 to 287 for various samples. The number other independent Poissons ratio is available for the shale
of the Gaussian distributions, which is equal to three, was analyzed at the nanoscale.
calculated by minimizing the error, and the corresponding Now we turn to the determination of the Youngs modulus
fraction is the ratio of the number of nanoindentations at the macroscale. Our representative model indicates that
to the total number of measurements that belong to each when loads are applied on the surface of the bulk volume
distribution (f1n, f2n, and f3n in Table 1). We denote the parallel (Fig. 2c), the loading frames (Fig. 2b) sustain the loads in
and the perpendicular to the bedding planes by x1 and x3, the nanogranular medium. Thus, we can predict the Youngs
respectively. modulus at the macroscale if we account for the elastic
We have used 3 = 0.3 and 1 = 0.2 to determine the properties of the loading frames. Each nanoindentation,
Youngs moduli from the nanoindentation moduli based on when occurring sparsely, gives us the Youngs modulus of
Eq. 3. The Youngs modulus of the indenter (Ei) is much a single loading frame. We use the means of the Youngs
larger than that of the shale, and thus its corresponding term moduli and their corresponding fractions, obtained from
is ignored. Tran (2009) measured the former (3) using a nanoindentations, as follows:
triaxial test for Woodford shale, whereas we take a typical
number for the latter (1) considering data published for other En = im Ein fin (4)
shales (Shukla et al., 2013) and other types of rock (Gercek,
2007). To the best of our knowledge, there is no reliable where En is the predicted Youngs modulus at the macroscale,
value for 1 in the literature for the formation analyzed. m is the number of distributions used to t the mathematical
Slight changes in 1 do not alter the results signicantly model to the measurements, and Ein is the mean of the
because an uncertainty of 0.1 in the Poissons ratio only Youngs moduli in the distributions whose corresponding
leads to a 5% difference in the calculated Youngs modulus fraction is denoted by fin.
for a given indentation modulus, according to Eq. 3. We assume that the loading frames act in parallel (Fig. 2b),

thus, we calculate the total load sustained by the nanogranular on travelled signals is more representative of dynamic
medium by accounting for the corresponding forces in each conditions than static conditions, which is consistent with
frame. The force balance yields the relationship proposed for nanoindentations, considering the nature of the loading.
the Youngs moduli, considering that the nanoindentations In nanoindentation, Youngs modulus is determined from
were conducted sparsely and fairly uniformly spaced on the unloading section of force-displacement curve, which is
surface of each of the samples. There are other averaging more representative of a dynamic Youngs modulus than a
schemes that are not realistic for our assumption. One of static value (Zoback, 2010).
them is volume averaging, which will be discussed later. We The predicted Youngs moduli based on nanoindentations
did not test other averaging schemes because they are not (En1 and En3) are close to the independent macroscale moduli
realistic given our fundamental assumption. (EM1 and EM3) reported in the literature (Tran, 2009). Hence,
Next, we predict the Youngs moduli for different shale the representative model can help us predict the marcoscale
samples whose nanoindentation results are listed in Table Youngs modulus using nanoindentations. However,
1. We perform this analysis for two directions: parallel to the predicted Youngs moduli do not always follow the
the bedding plane (x1 direction) and perpendicular to the anisotropy trend observed at the large scale. The large-scale
bedding plane (x3 direction). Figure 3 shows the predicted Youngs modulus is larger in the x1 direction, in contrast to
Youngs moduli in x1 and x3 directions at the macroscale, the predicted moduli. This inconsistency is also present in
which are represented by En1 and En3, respectively. the original nanoindentation moduli reported (Bobko, 2008).
One possible explanation for this is that the anisotropy is
scale-dependent, and nanoindentations cannot capture the
anisotropy at a larger scale, even if the predicted results
remain close to the actual large-scale measurements. Thus,
the predicted Youngs moduli cannot necessarily capture the
large-scale anisotropy.
Determination of the Macroscale Youngs Modulus

Based on Minerals
Our main hypothesis in this study is that the interaction
between two entities with different stiffness is controlled
by the effective properties of the softer entity. We tested
our hypothesis by comparing the predicted results with
independent measurements (Fig. 3). Another competing
hypothesis is that the effective properties are controlled by
the effective elastic properties of both entities at the small
scale. The latter hypothesis allows us to predict the Youngs
Fig. 3Predicted Youngs Moduli (En1 and En3) of Woodford shale modulus at the macroscale by accounting for the volume
are close to the macroscale Youngs moduli (EM1 and EM3) measured fractions of the forming entities. Here, we compare the
by ultrasonic pulse velocity (Tran, 2009). The predicted and measured
moduli are representative of dynamic loading, where the subscripts
predicted Youngs modulus, based on the latter hypothesis,
1 and 3 denote directions parallel and perpendicular to the bedding with independent macroscale measurements.
plane, respectively. We analyzed the relation between the Youngs moduli of
minerals forming the matrix and the measured macroscale
To test the representative model, we compare the value. We predict the Youngs modulus by accounting for
predicted Youngs moduli with the measurements conducted the elastic property of each mineral and its volume fraction
on core-scale samples from Woodford shale from Pontotoc as follows:
County in Oklahoma (Tran, 2009). They were measured using
an inclined direct-shear testing device and an ultrasonic pulse Em = im Eim fim (5)
velocity (UPV) technique. The conning stress was equal
to 13.79 MPa, and the sample diameter and thickness were where Em is the predicted Youngs modulus at the
20 and 7.6 mm, respectively. In this measurement method, macroscale, Eim is the Youngs modulus of each mineral,
UPV signals are emitted and travel through the sample in x1 and fim is the corresponding volume fraction of the mineral.
and x3 directions. The velocities of the signals determine the For the Youngs modulus of each mineral, we use the values
macroscale Youngs moduli EM1 and EM3, shown in Fig. 3. available in the literature (Table 2); the volume fraction
The Youngs modulus interpreted by UPV based

Li and Sakhaee-Pour
Table 2Volume Fractions of Minerals in Woodford Shale with Depth (Abousleiman et al., 2007) and Youngs Modulus for Each Mineral
a
Kumar et al., 2012; bWang et al., 2001; cCarmichael, 1989; dPabst and Gregorov, 2013; eZhu, et al., 2009; fHustrulid, et al., 2000; gKatahara,
1996.
of each mineral was determined by X-ray diffraction smaller than 0.33 because the mean of the Youngs moduli
(Abousleiman et al., 2007). We can interpret the predicted (E1n in Table 1) is small. The mean values associated with
modulus as the volume average of the elastic properties the largest fractions (f1n) are close to the Youngs modulus
because it accounts for the volume fraction and the elastic of the kerogen listed in Table 2 (7.5 GPa), whereas the
properties of each mineral. largest fractions (f1n in Table 1) are larger than the volume
Stiffness values of clay minerals are rare in the literature fractions reported for minerals in Table 2. The occurrence
because they are too small to be tested in a pure solid form. of the largest fraction (f1n in Table 1) for the loading frames
It is even more difcult to obtain the anisotropic stiffness with the lowest mean of the Youngs moduli (softest frames)
of clay minerals. Most measurements are conducted on is consistent with our representative model. We postulated
composite samples in which the clay minerals are randomly that the entities with lower stiffness (the grey domain in
distributed and mixed (Wang, et al., 2001). Thus, the Youngs Fig. 2a) control the effective properties of the solid medium
modulus of each clay mineral listed in Table 2 is an average under loading, even if we do not perturb them directly.
value, which is representative for its volume deformation. Thus, the nanoindentations yield a larger fraction for the
Figure 4 shows the predicted Youngs moduli at the softest loading frames compared to the volume of the softest
macroscale (Em) for different samples. The predicted results mineral (kerogen) listed in Table 2.
are isotropic because we account for only the volume fraction
and the elastic modulus of each mineral. The measured
macroscale elastic properties (EM1 and EM3) are notably
smaller than the predicted values because the interactions
between the entities are ignored in volume averaging, and
this overestimates the effective properties of harder minerals
in the bulk volume. This phenomenon was discussed earlier,
where we presented our representative model (Fig. 2).
We used isotropic values for the Youngs moduli of
the minerals, and observed that the predicted results were
signicantly different from the measurements (Fig. 4). The
predicted results will not change signicantly even if we use
anisotropic values for the minerals including those related
to clay. Thus, although taking isotropic values for minerals
may simplify their behavior, the anisotropic properties do
not change the conclusion.
Next, we go back to the nanoindentation data (Table
1) to investigate the contribution of the loading frames
Fig. 4Predicted Youngs moduli of Woodford shale based on the
associated with the largest fraction to the bulk property volume fraction and the Youngs moduli of minerals are signicantly
by determining the ratio of their contribution (En1 fn1) to the greater than the macroscale values obtained from independent
predicted value (En). Figure 5 shows the results. This ratio is measurements (Tran, 2009).

natural nanogranular medium, at the macroscale based on

nanoindentations. Our model is based on the assumption
that the local deformation of two entities with signicantly
different stiffness at their contact point is controlled mainly by
the mechanical properties of the softer entity. We predicted the
Youngs modulus of a shale by analyzing the nanoindentation
results available in the literature. The predicted results agree
with independent macroscale measurements. The proposed
model can have major implications for understanding elastic
deformation of a heterogeneous nanogranular medium.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful for the comments of SPWLA Associate

Fig. 5Contribution of the loading frames with the largest fraction Editor and anonymous reviewers that helped us improve this
(f1n) to the Youngs modulus (En) of the nanogranular medium is <0.33 work.
in Woodford shale.
NOMENCLATURE
The low Youngs modulus associated with the largest
fraction may be inuenced by the presence of small- Ac = projected contact area of an indenter (nm2)
scale fractures in the nanogranular medium (Li et al., E = Youngs modulus of an indented medium (GPa)
2015a and 2015b). The microcracks, which exhibit a Ei = Youngs modulus of an indenter (GPa)
low resistance against closure, are more likely to remain Ein = Youngs modulus of a distribution (GPa)
open, at least partially, in the absence of conning stress. En = predicted macroscale Youngs modulus based on
The nanoindentations are conducted without traditional nanoindentations (GPa)
connements, but the sample is conned locally due to the En1 = predicted macroscale Youngs modulus parallel to
indenters compression. The typical nanoindentation load the bedding plane based on nanoindentations (GPa)
and projected cross-sectional area are on the order of 1 mN En3 = predicted macroscale Youngs modulus
and 10-12 m2, respectively. Thus, the mean contact pressure is perpendicular to the bedding plane based on
on the order of 1 GPa (Bennett et al., 2015) where penetration nanoindentations (GPa)
takes place. Our interpretation is that the microcracks that EM1 = measured macroscale Youngs modulus parallel to
are relevant to the compressed loading frame are closed the bedding plane (GPa)
under such high pressures, whereas microcracks far from EM3 = measured macroscale Youngs modulus
the compressed loading frame may remain partially open. perpendicular to the bedding plane (GPa)
Currently, it is impossible to obtain high-resolution images Em = predicted macroscale Youngs modulus based on the
of the sample with conning stresses to determine whether volume fractions of minerals (GPa)
the microcracks are closed locally. Because we analyze the Eim = Youngs modulus of a mineral (GPa)
macroscale behavior based on the response of the loading fin = distribution fraction
frames, the impact of the microcracks on our results is fim = volume fraction of a mineral
negligible. H = indentation hardness (GPa)
The Youngs modulus of the largest fraction (f1n in Table h = indentation depth (nm)
1) is close to the Youngs modulus of kerogen (Table 2), M = indentation modulus (GPa)
which makes it more likely to be inuenced by kerogen. Min = indentation modulus of a distribution (GPa)
Nevertheless, the contribution of the largest fraction to the P = indentation load (mN)
overall Youngs modulus is not dominant. This implies that S = slope of a force-displacement curve (mN/nm)
nanoindentations can be used to gain a better understanding = correction factor of an indenters geometry
of the rst-order effects in elastic deformations. = Poissons ratio of an indented medium
i = Poissons ratio of an indenter
CONCLUSIONS 1 = Poissons ratio parallel to the bedding plane
3 = Poissons ratio perpendicular to the bedding plane
We have proposed a new conceptual model to predict
the Youngs modulus of a shale formation, which is a

Li and Sakhaee-Pour
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for Determining Hardness and Elastic Modulus Using Load
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Gupta, N., Rai, C.S., and Sondergeld, C.H., 2013, Petrophysical ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Characterization of the Woodford Shale, Petrophysics, 54(4),
368382. Wenfeng Li is a PhD student of petroleum and
Hustrulid, W.A., McCarter, M.K., and Van Zyl, D.J., editors, 2000, geological engineering at The University of Oklahoma. He
Slope Stability in Surface Mining, Society for Mining, holds a BS degree from China University of Mining and
Metallurgy, and Exploration. ISBN: 978-0873351942
Technology. He is currently working on petrophysical and
Katahara, K.W., 1996, Clay Mineral Elastic Properties, SEG
Technical Program Expanded Abstracts, 16911694. DOI: geomechanical characterizations of shale formations.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1826454
Kumar, V., Sondergeld, C.H., and Rai, C.S., 2012, Nano to Ahmad Sakhaee-Pour is an assistant professor of
Macro Mechanical Characterization of Shale, Paper SPE- petroleum and geological engineering at The University
159804 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference of Oklahoma. He received an MSc degree in mechanical
and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 810 October. engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, and
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/159804-MS a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from The University
Li, W., Bai, J., Cheng, J., Peng, S. and Liu, H., 2015a, Determination of Texas at Austin. He worked for two years as a postdoctoral
of CoalRock Interface Strength by Laboratory Direct Shear
fellow at the Institute for Computational Engineering and
Tests Under Constant Normal Load, International Journal
Sciences. His research interests embrace relating fundamental
of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 77, 6067. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2015.03.033 pore-scale processes to multiphase transport properties of
Li, W., Bai, J., Peng, S., Wang, X., and Xu, Y., 2015b, Numerical rocks, the geomechanics of unconventional reservoirs, and
Modeling for Yield Pillar Design: A Case Study, Rock characterizing ultratight reservoirs with complex fractures.
Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 48(1), 305318. DOI:
10.1007/s00603-013-0539-8

Fluid Typing and Pore Size in Organic Shale Using 2D NMR in Saturated Kerogen
Isolates1
Philip M. Singer2, Zeliang Chen2, and George J. Hirasaki2
ABSTRACT
There is increasing evidence that 2D T1-T2 NMR The T1/T2 ratio for heptane-saturated kerogen is found
can be used for uid typing and saturation in organic to be consistently larger than for water-saturated kerogen,
shale. More specically, it has been generally observed across the entire T2 spectrum. The isolated kerogen results
that in organic-shale cores the T1/T2 ratio is higher for are compared with the saturated organic-shale rock (the
saturating hydrocarbons than for saturating water, which same source rock used for the kerogen isolates) and with
could be exploited as a technique for an NMR saturation pelletized clay isolates, all of which corroborate with larger
log in unconventional reservoirs. This paper presents a T1/T2 ratios for saturating hydrocarbons versus saturating
fundamental study into the 2D NMR response of saturating water, thereby validating T1/T2 ratio as a technique for uid
uids in the organic-matter pores of pelletized kerogen typing and saturation in organic shale.
isolates, without complications from saturation history and The NMR pore-size distribution and heterogeneous
wettability alteration of the organic pores. surface relaxivity of heptane-saturated kerogen are
In the case of heptane-saturated kerogen pellets, the determined by integration with BET surface-area data,
T1-T2 map indicates two distinct peaks. One peak has a and are validated with SEM images. Data for kerogen
similar porosity to a random bead-pack, and is interpreted saturated with partially deuterated water indicates that the
as heptane in the intergranular kerogen pores created hydrogen-hydrogen dipole-dipole interaction contributes
during pelletization. The other peak has a large T1/T2 ratio, to the underlying surface-relaxation mechanism in
and is interpreted as intragranular or absorbed heptane in organic nanopores, which has broad implications on the
kerogen, possibly from bitumen-coated kerogen pores. interpretation of NMR measurements in organic nanopores.
INTRODUCTION also because of the associated difculties with sampling live

uids downhole.
Over the past ve years, low-eld NMR has proven Of particular interest recently in unconventional
to be an evermore powerful technique for characterizing reservoir characterization is an NMR log of the movable-
unconventional reservoirs such as gas shale and tight oil. In hydrocarbon porosity. Such measurements and interpretation
particular, case studies have shown that log interpretation are challenging due to potentially overlapping signal
in unconventional reservoirs is signicantly enhanced by in the 1D T2 domain between bound water and bound
integrating NMR log data with NMR core-analysis data hydrocarbon, i.e., bitumen, and movable water and movable
from the same well (Ramirez et al., 2011; Cao Minh et al., hydrocarbons. A log of the movable-hydrocarbon porosity
2012; Rylander et al., 2013; Jiang et al., 2013; Singer et al., has a direct impact on calculating hydrocarbon reserves, and
2013; and Lessenger et al., 2015). Important petrophysical furthermore, can help identify sweet spots in the reservoir
quantities derived from such NMR core-log integration to optimize horizontal well placement for hydraulic
studies in organic shales include: total porosity, movable-uid fracturing and production. In response to this challenge,
porosity, bound-uid porosity, pore-size distribution, uid laboratory low-eld NMR core-analysis in organic shale
typing, and saturation. Other NMR-derived petrophysical have proven that 2D T1-T2 correlation maps and the T1/T2
quantities such as viscosity, wettability, and permeability are ratio can be a powerful tool for uid typing and saturation
more complex in organic shale, in part because of the low (Jiang et al., 2013; Ozen and Sigal, 2013; Rylander et al.,
nanodarcy permeability of the organic-shale matrix, and 2013; Singer et al., 2013; Kausik et al., 2015; Lessenger
Manuscript received by the Editor May 23, 2016; revised manuscript received August 1, 2016; manuscript accepted August 8, 2016.
1
Originally presented at the SPWLA 2016 Spring Topical Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, April 2729, 2016.
2
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, Texas 77005, USA; ps41@rice.edu; zc24@
rice.edu; gjh@rice.edu

Fluid Typing and Pore Size in Organic Shale Using 2D NMR in Saturated Kerogen Isolates
et al., 2015; Nicot et al., 2016; and Fleury et al., 2016), second part of the study is to validate the use of 2D
as well as for characterizing the kerogen itself (Birdwell T1-T2 correlation maps for determining the pore-size
and Washburn, 2015). In response to these advances in distribution of the organic-matter nanopores in kerogen,
laboratory interpretation, NMR logging tools have focused in conjunction with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller gas adsorption
on improving the T1-T2 measurement (Anand et al., 2015; theory (BET) surface-area data and scanning electron
Xiao et al., 2015). Of equal importance to laboratory studies microscopy (SEM) images. The third part of this study
is the use of simulations (Washburn, 2014; Chi et al., 2015) is to elucidate the NMR surface-relaxation mechanism in
to better understand the NMR response in organic shale and kerogen and organic nano-pores in general.
the nature of the NMR surface-relaxation mechanism.
Laboratory studies of organic-shale core typically EXPERIMENTAL
involve resaturating the as-received core with laboratory
uids, such as water, i.e., brine, light hydrocarbon-liquids The NMR data were acquired on an Oxford
(Odusina et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2012) or even methane Instruments GeoSpec2 rock-core analyzer at a resonance
(Sigal and Odusina, 2011; Kausik et al., 2011; Tinni et al., frequency of /2 = 2.3 MHz, which is similar to wireline
2014; Sigal, 2015), without solvent extraction or cleaning NMR logging tools, with GIT Systems software. All
the organic shale beforehand. Solvent extraction is generally measurements were made at ambient conditions. The 2D
only effective on crushed shale samples, and furthermore T1-T2 data were acquired with 32 log-spaced inversion-
it has been shown to signicantly alter the organic matter recovery steps ranging from 0.1 to 1,000 ms (typically),
(Reeder et al., 2016). Laboratory resaturation studies followed by a CPMG train with an echo spacing of
can provide key insight into the NMR response of the TE = 0.1 ms. The 2D maps were processed using the fast
various uid types in the various pore types, provided inverse-Laplace transform (analogous to Venkataramanan
some a-priori knowledge exists about the location of the et al., 2002) with 120 log-spaced bins for T1, and T2. The
resaturating uid in the pore network. More specically, units of the relaxation distributions are in p.u./div, i.e.,
the resaturating uid can potentially access the kerogen- porosity units per division, where for instance, for T2,
hosted organic-matter (OM) pores and the inorganic inter-/ div = log(T2,i+1) log(T2,i) is independent of the bin index
intraparticle (IP) pores (Loucks et al., 2012), since both i.
are in general intimately mixed. As such, restoring the The organic shale used in this study was an outcrop
organic-shale core with the same saturation conditions as Kimmeridge oil shale from the coast of Dorset, UK. This
the undisturbed reservoir can be a challenge. In addition quarry rock is known for its high total organic carbon
to the potentially complex saturation history of the (TOC), and has been used in low-eld NMR and SEM
organic-shale core, it is also known that there is potential experimental studies (Curtis et al., 2010), as well as for
for wettability alteration during hydraulic fracturing due molecular dynamics simulations (Ungerer et al., 2015).
to the presence of functionalized groups on the kerogen The Kimmeridge oil shale is from the Late Jurassic Period,
surface (Hu et al., 2013). These complexities can, in certain and it is the primary source rock for the North Sea oil.
situations, present challenges to the interpretation of low- RockEval (pyrolysis) data on the as-received shale yield:
eld NMR measurements in organic shale; however, a hydrogen Index = 684 mg-HC/g-TOC, oxygen Index = 12
deeper, more fundamental understanding could signicantly mg-CO2/g-TOC, Tmax = 424 oC, Leco TOC = 10.1 wt%,
improve the interpretation of NMR log and core data. thereby indicating an immature Type II kerogen. XRD data
In light of these challenges, this paper presents a on the as-received shale yield: 57 wt% clays, 19 wt% quartz,
fundamental study into the 2D low-eld NMR response 16 wt% carbonates, and 5 wt% pyrite. The grain density is g
of uids in the organic-matter pores of saturated kerogen = 2.16 g/cm3 and gas porosity is gas = 7.1 p.u.
isolates. Experimenting with isolates ensures complete The kerogen was then isolated by HCl/HF acid
control and knowledge of the uid type and pore type, digestion, followed by the sink-oat separation technique.
without complications from saturation history or wettability Inductively coupled plasma indicated 11.7 wt%
alteration. The rst part of the study is to validate the use pyrite in the isolated kerogen (3.1 vol% in the matrix,
of 2D T1-T2 correlation maps and the T1/T2 ratio for equivalently), similar to what was previously observed in
uid typing in organic shale by comparing the response isolated kerogen from the Kimmeridge oil shale (Acholla
of hydrocarbons in kerogen isolates with water in clay et al., 1993). SEM images of the pyrite indicated large,
isolates. This laboratory scenario is a similar uid ~3 m, crystals of pyrite localized in clusters, i.e., not
arrangement to what a downhole NMR log would on the kerogen surface. Further kerogen isolation from
measure in the undisturbed organic-shale reservoir. The pyrite with chromous solution was not attempted due

Singer et al.
to the uncertainty in coating the kerogen surfaces with Clay isolates of kaolinite, Ca-montmorillonite,
paramagnetic chromium ions. and Na-montmorillonite were obtained from the Clay
The isolated kerogen powder was then dried at 110oC, Minerals Society. The clays were saturated by pelletizing
then pelletized in a pellet press at 60,000 psi with a pellet the clay powder with 3 wt% NaCl brine in the pellet press
diameter of 25 mm, a height of ~4 mm, and a mass of (Matteson et al., 2000), at a pressure of 40,000 psi.
~2.5 g. The kerogen pellet was then placed in a pressure The organic-shale rock was resaturated by crushing the
saturator, exposed to vacuum, and pressure saturated with rock in a mortar and pestle, pulling a vacuum, then pressure
high-purity n-heptane at 5,000 psi hydrostatic pressure for saturating with n-heptane at 5,000 psi or with 6 wt% brine
16 hours. Similar saturations were obtained by vacuum (equal parts NaCl:KCl:CaCl2) at 5,000 psi.
followed by n-heptane saturation at ambient pressure.
A signicant amount of swelling in the pellets FLUID TYPING
bulk volume occurred ~55% after n-heptane saturation,
possibly as a result of disjoining pressure effects similar Heptane in Kerogen vs. Water in Kerogen
to n-heptane on carbon (Hirasaki, 1993). An alternative The results for heptane in kerogen are shown in Fig.
explanation for the swelling is that kerogen, as organic 1. It should be noted that there was negligible signal from
matter, behaves like a polymer when being mixed with dry kerogen or probe background on the scale of any plots
small molecules like water or heptane. Similar swelling in this manuscript. The data in Fig. 1 indicate a two-peak
effects can often be observed in polymer and proteins. structure in T2. As shown in the T2 projection, the two-peak
Such mixing process can often be described by the Flory- structure has a minimum in amplitude at 1.5 ms, which is
Huggins theory (Flory, 1942). used to dene the cutoff between the two peaks at T2cutoff =
Using the total NMR porosity of the heptane- 1.5 ms (dashed vertical line). The slow-relaxing pores with
saturated pellet, the bulk volume of the swollen pellet, T2 > T2cutoff are interpreted as uid in intergranular kerogen
and the dry pellet mass before saturation, a grain density pores created during pelletization, and given the symbol (>).
for pure kerogen of ker = 1.21 g/cm3 was determined (with The fast-relaxing pores with T2 < T2cutoff are interpreted as
the pyrite contribution removed). This kerogen density intragranular pores or absorbed uid in kerogen, possibly
is consistent with previous experiments and simulation due to bitumen-coated kerogen pores, and given the symbol
(Ungerer et al., 2015). (<). As indicated in Table 1, the porosity for the heptane-
A twin kerogen pellet was saturated with DI-water, saturated intergranular pores is ~ >36 p.u., which is
using vacuum followed by 5,000 psi hydrostatic pressure consistent with a random bead-pack, while the porosity for
for 16 hours. The same pellet was then used for pressure absorbed heptane (~ <8 p.u.) is ~4 times less. Also indicated
saturating with partially deuterated water (named D2O in Table 1 are the T2peak values at the peak, i.e., mode, of
uid for short), consisting of a 90% D2O:10% H2O mix the two distributions, where T2peak,< is ~84 times shorter than
with an NMR hydrogen index of 0.10. All other uids T2peak,>.
were processed with an NMR hydrogen index of 1.00. The data for heptane in kerogen in Fig. 1 indicates a
The NMR porosity of the kerogen pellets was computed large variation in T1/T2 ratio across the T2 spectrum. This
using the swollen bulk volume. The NMR measurements variation can be quantied by the (T1/T2)LM line, dened as
were made soon after saturation (within hours), then the the log-mean average along the T1/T2 direction at a specic
pellets were crushed and taken for BET surface-area and T2 location, repeated across the entire T2 spectrum. Figure
SEM imaging. The BET adsorption isotherm data were 2 shows the (T1/T2)LM line (upper) across the T2 spectrum
acquired using N2 after vacuum drying at 110oC for 16 (lower) for heptane in kerogen.
hours. What is readily clear from the data in Figs. 1 and 2 is the
NMR relaxation and diffusion of the bulk uids were pronounced heterogeneity in the spin dynamics of heptane
also measured. In all cases, the relaxation times T1B and T2B in the kerogen pore-network. This nding is different
were reduced from their pure-component values due to the to previously reported data in resaturated organic-shale
effects of dissolved oxygen (Lo et al., 2002). In the case of core, where the light/movable hydrocarbon is generally
n-heptane, T1B = T2B = 1,910 ms and D0 = 3.43 m2/ms. In the observed as a single peak in the T1-T2 map, usually in the
case of DI-water, T1B = T2B = 2,750 ms and D0 = 2.31 m2/ vicinity of T1/T2 ~4 (Ozen and Sigal, 2013). As shown in
ms. In the case of D2O, T1B = T2B = 5,460 ms and D0 = 2.31 Fig. 2 and indicated in Table 1, the data indicate that (T1/
m2/ms. The NMR bulk-properties of water and heptane T2)LM at the peak for absorbed heptane signal, dened as
are very similar, which stems from the fact that their bulk (T1/T2)peak,< ~78, is ~39 times greater than (T1/T2)peak,> ~2 at
viscosities are also similar ~1 cP at ambient conditions. the peak for intergranular pore signal. As discussed in the

pore-size section, the larger T1/T2 ratio can be explained by a that <for water ( = <4 p.u.) is ~2 times lower than heptane
larger surface-residence time S for the absorbed heptane in ( = <8 p.u.), and the T2peak,< value at the peak of the water
kerogen. distribution is ~2 times longer than for heptane. The lower
porosity <for water compared with heptane is expected
since water has lower surface afnity to the kerogen
organic-surface than heptane. The kerogen pellet is dried,
vacuumed and pressure saturated with water, however upon
depressurizing the pellet, water vapor becomes the wetting
phase over liquid water, which causes the liquid water to be
expelled from the smaller pores. As shown in the pore-size
section, both water and heptane saturate the large ~1,000
nm intergranular pores, however below ~300 nm the water
saturation is reduced. The higher heptane uptake in the
absorbed-uid pores compared to water is also consistent
with the mixing process described by the Flory-Huggins
theory (Flory, 1942).
Fig. 12D correlation map with T1/T2 ratio on the y-axis, T2 on

the x-axis and porosity coming out of the page. The top subplot is
the projected T2 data; the right subplot is the projected T1/T2 ratio
data. The legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and total uid-
porosity. The dashed black horizontal line is the T1/T2 = 1 line. The
dashed grey vertical line is T2cutoff = 1.5 ms separating absorbed uid
(<) from intergranular pores (>). Dry kerogen showed negligible
signal on the scale of this plot.
Also shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are data for water in

kerogen. The motivation for studying water in kerogen is
twofold (1) water has less afnity to organic-matter surfaces
than heptane, which makes it a good tool for probing the
NMR response as a function of surface afnity, and (2) it is
generally believed that hydraulic fracturing may cause water
uptake in the organic-matter pores as a result of wettability
alterations in the presence of surface functionalized-groups
(Hu et al., 2013). If an NMR log were to be measured before Fig. 2The upper gure is the log-mean (T1/T2)LM curve vs. T2 obtained
and after fracturing, NMR uid typing could potentially from the 2D correlation maps, and dashed horizontal line is the T1/
determine the uptake of fracture water in the organic shale. T2 = 1 line. The lower gure is the projected T2 data from the 2D
What is readily clear from the water data in Fig. 1 is that correlation maps. The legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and
total uid porosity. For kerogen data (red and blue), the dots in the
the T2 distribution of the intergranular pores (>) is similar to upper and lower gures correspond to T2peak and (T1/T2)peak listed in
that of heptane. As shown in Fig. 2 and indicated in Table Table 1, and the dashed grey vertical line is T2cutoff = 1.5 ms separating
1, the T2peak,> value at the peak of the water distribution is absorbed uid (<) from intergranular pores (>). For the clay data, the
dots in the upper gure are the T2LM and <T1/T2> listed in Table 2. Ca-
comparable to that of heptane, and with comparable porosity mont and Na-mont T2 distribution amplitudes have been reduced by
>. The absorbed-uid peak (<) on the other hand, indicates a factor of 1/2 for better comparison.

Singer et al.
Table 1Summary of Porosity , T2peak, and (T1/T2)peak Ratio for in organic-matter pores and water in the inorganic-matter
Absorbed Fluid (T2 <1.5 ms) (Upper) and Intergranular Pores (T2 >1.5
ms) (Lower), for Heptane, Water, or D2O in Kerogen
pores, provided no invasion has occurred. What is required
to interpret the NMR log are NMR core-data on saturated
isolates, such as in Fig. 2, from which an optimal cutoff line in
T1/T2 vs. T2 can be determined which separates hydrocarbons
from water. The optimal cutoff for the particular reservoir
in question could then be implemented on the 2D NMR
logs to yield an NMR saturation log. For the present case,
according to Fig. 2, the same cutoff could be used to separate
wetting water in kerogen originating from water-based-mud
invasion or hydraulic-fracture water.
T2peak, and (T1/T2)peak data are plotted as dots in Figs. 2 and 10.
Figure 2 shows that there is signicant contrast in (T1/

T2)LM between heptane and water, especially towards shorter
T2 where they are increasingly separated. As indicated in
Table 1, the absorbed-uid peak (<) indicates that (T1/T2)peak,<
for heptane is ~14 times greater than water, which makes for
a clear contrast mechanism for uid typing at short T2. The
intergranular peak (>) indicates that (T1/T2)peak,> for heptane
is only ~2 times greater than water, however the (T1/T2)LM
is clearly separated between heptane and water across the
entire T2 spectrum.
Heptane in Kerogen vs. Water in Clays

The results for water in a selection of clays are shown
in Fig. 3, including kaolinite, Ca-montmorillonite, and
Na- montmorillonite. The data agree well with previous
NMR ndings at higher magnetic-eld (Fleury et al., Fig. 32D correlation map with T1/T2 ratio on the y-axis, T2 on the
x-axis, and porosity coming out of the page. The top subplot is the
2013), except for the signal from hydroxyls, which are projected T2 data; the right subplot is the projected T1/T2 ratio data.
not detectable in the present case due to the longer echo The legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and total uid porosity.
spacing at lower magnetic eld. Note that in both datasets, Ca-mont and Na-mont projected amplitudes have been reduced by
a factor of 1/2 for better comparison. The dashed horizontal line is
the water in kaolinite has longer T2 relaxation than the the T1/T2 = 1 line.
commonly accepted ~3 ms cutoff for clay-bound water in
(shaly) sandstones, while the montmorillonites lie <3 ms. It should be noted that the minimum detectable T2 in
In contrast to the data for heptane in kerogen, the NMR logging tools is typically 0.3 ms, which implies that
data for water in clay in Fig. 3 clearly indicate a narrow the absorbed heptane in kerogen (T2peak,< = 0.14 ms) is not
single-peak T2 distribution, in conjunction with a narrow fully detectable downhole. However, downhole logging
single-peak T1/T2 distribution. The average values <T1/ is acquired at reservoir temperatures, which will typically
T2>, computed from the log-mean average of the projected increase the relaxation times from their ambient values by a
T1/T2 data in Fig. 3, show a narrow range <T1/T2> = 1.9 to factor 2 to 3 (Singer et al., 2013). This implies that absorbed
2.3 for the clays, as listed in Table 2. Fig. 2 shows the (T1/ heptane in kerogen is potentially measurable downhole,
T2)LM vs. T2 for better comparison of the 2D correlations. and that the aforementioned log calibration study with
What is remarkable in Fig. 2 is that (T1/T2)LM for heptane in core should be conducted at reservoir temperatures in the
kerogen is consistently greater than for water in clays, across laboratory.
the entire T2 spectrum. This indicates that uid typing by
T1/T2 contrast is possible with NMR logs, which measures Resaturated Organic Shale
reservoir uids in their undisturbed state, i.e., hydrocarbons Further insight into the isolates results can be gained

by resaturating the original organic shale with heptane and the heptane signal has been isolated, the resulting map yields
water. Figure 4 shows the 2D correlation map of as-received the log-mean values for heptane in shale listed in Table 2.
shale, water resaturated shale and heptane resaturated shale. Since the uid separation is approximate, Table 2 lists
The as-received data show an extended peak along the T1/T2, approximation signs by the heptane in shale data, and the
with a short T2 ~0.1 ms. The as-received signal is reminiscent <T1/T2> is a lower bound given that there could be heptane
of partially water-saturated clays, which have their external, signal below T2 <0.4 ms, which would tend to increase the
i.e., interparticle, clay-water gone, but their internal, i.e., heptane <T1/T2>.
interlayer, clay-water in place. This is corroborated by the
water-resaturated data which shift the entire spectrum to
longer T2LM = 1.1 ms, and increases the uid porosity by
an amount comparable to gas = 7.1 p.u. The resaturated
water lls in the external pores, and fast exchange between
internal and external waters results in a single peak at longer
relaxation times.
Fig. 51D distributions of the projected T1/T2 ratio data from the 2D
correlation maps. The legend indicates uid name, matrix name,
and total uid porosity. Water in shale (water in Na-mont) amplitude
has been reduced by a factor of 1/2 (2/3) for better comparison,
Fig. 42D correlation map with T1/T2 ratio on the y-axis, T2 on respectively. Dashed vertical lines indicate log-mean averages <T1/
the x-axis and porosity coming out of the page. The top subplot is T2> of the 1D distributions. Heptane in Shale Cut in the upper gure
the projected T2 data; the right subplot is the projected T1/T2 ratio indicates that only T2 >0.4 ms data are used from Fig.4.
data. The legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and total uid
porosity. The dashed horizontal line is the T1/T2 = 1 line. The dashed
grey vertical line is the cutoff separating water (T2 < 0.4 ms) from
resaturated heptane (T2 >0.4 ms) in the case of heptane in shale
The projected T1/T2 for heptane in shale (cut using T2
data. >0.4 ms) is shown in the upper plot in Fig. 5, alongside the
projected T1/T2 data for water in shale. As listed in Table 2,
the heptane in shale clearly shows a larger average <T1/T2>
Resaturating the shale with heptane has a completely
compared to water in shale. In the lower plot of Fig. 5 are the
different effect, namely the internal clay-water signal
heptane in kerogen and the water in clay (Na-montmorillonite)
remains, while the resaturated heptane lls in the empty
for comparison. The same trend is found between upper and
external clay pores. This is corroborated by the fact that the
lower plots, namely <T1/T2> ~4 for heptane is a factor of
resaturated heptane porosity is comparable to gas = 7.1 p.u.
~2 times larger than <T1/T2> ~2 for water. These ndings
Since the two uids are immiscible, the internal-water
corroborate with those found previously in resaturated
peak remains largely undisturbed. Using this hypothesis
organic shale (Ozen and Sigal, 2013), which validates T1/T2
of uid distribution, a T2 cutoff of 0.4 ms is used to separate
as a contrast tool for uid typing in organic shale.
internal clay-water (T2 <0.4 ms) from resaturated heptane (T2
The results for heptane in shale suggest that the
>0.4 ms), shown as the dashed vertical line in Fig. 4. Once

Singer et al.
resaturated heptane lls the empty external clay-water time from diffusion in internal gradients. The internal-
pores in the shale, i.e., the inorganic pores. The data in Fig. gradient contribution T2D is ruled out in Appendix A by
5 would therefore suggest that the T1/T2 contrast depends comparing with higher-eld NMR data on the same sample.
more on the uid type than on the pore type, at least where Rearranging Eqs. 1 and 2 then results in:
nanopore connement is concerned. This hypothesis is
plausible if the primary surface-relaxation mechanism is (3)
hydrogen-hydrogen dipole-dipole interactions enhanced by
nanopore connement, rather than surface paramagnetism
(see kerogen surface-relaxation section). In other words, (4)
the connement of the nanopores has more inuence on
the surface relaxation than the nature of the pore surface where the bulk rates 1/T1B and 1/T2B are subtracted from the
itself, and the T1/T2 contrast depends more on uid type measured rates 1/T1 and 1/T2. According to the projected T1
than pore type. An important consequence is that while and T2 data in Fig. 6, the longest T1 component for heptane is
NMR logging can measure uid typing and saturation in ~23 times shorter than T1B, while the longest T1 component
organic-shale reservoirs, it may be less sensitive to what for water is ~55 times shorter than T1B. This implies that the
nanopore type the uid is in. As such, integrating NMR logs 1/T1B and 1/T2B rates are small compared to 1/T1 and 1/T2, but
with other petrophysical logs would invariably improve are subtracted just the same.
the identication of sweet spots for optimizing lateral well Equations 3 and 4 introduce the fast-diffusion regime,
placement and increasing production. which is applicable in the present case (see below), and
from which the surface-relaxivity parameters 1 and 2
are dened, along with the surface-to-pore-volume ratio
Table 2Summary of Total Porosity, Log-Mean T1LM, Log-Mean T2LM, (S/V) of the individual pores. The conventional method for
and Log-Mean Average <T1/T2> Ratio for Various Fluids and Samples determining 1 and 2 is to take the average on both sides of
Eqs. 3 and 4, and then use the surface-area per gram SBET
derived from BET adsorption data (Foley et al., 1996). One
big caveat to this method is that 1 and 2 are assumed to
be single valued, i.e., constant for all pores. However, as
shown in the projected T1 and T2 data in Fig. 6, the projected
T1 distribution has qualitatively different features to the
projected T2 distribution, namely, the T1 distribution shows
one peak while the T2 distribution shows two peaks. Constant
values for 1 and 2 cannot account for these differences,
and the only explanation within the fast-diffusion regime is
heterogeneity in 1 and 2.
Heptane in shale values are approximate since heptane signal is The simplest and most natural choice for characterizing
assumed to only lie T2 >0.4 ms (see Fig 4).
the heterogeneity is a two-pore-type system separated at
T2cutoff = 1.5 ms, as shown in Fig. 6 (dashed vertical line).
KEROGEN PORE SIZE The slow-relaxing pores with T2 > T2cutoff are dened as the
intergranular pores (>), and the fast-relaxing pores with T2
Pore Size From NMR and BET < T2cutoff are dened as the intragranular or absorbed uid
Deriving the kerogen pore-size distribution starts with a (<). Taking the average of both sides of Eqs. 3 and 4, and
breakdown of the various relaxation components for T1 and making a distinction between the two pore types, results in
T2 as such: the following expressions:
(1) (5)
(2) (6)
where T1B and T2B are the bulk-uid relaxation times, T1S and
T2S are the surface relaxation times, and T2D is the relaxation (7)

the same between BET and NMR.

(8) The only unknown quantities in Eqs. 5 to 8 are the SBET
values for both pore types {SBET,<; SBET.>}. Assuming spherical
The log-mean relaxation times and porosities for the pores, the separation of SBET can be derived as follows:
absorbed uid {T1SLM,<; T2SLM,<; }<are illustrated in Fig. 6,
along with the log-mean relaxation times and porosities for SBET = SBET,< + SBET,> (9)
the intergranular pores {T1SLM,>; T2SLM,>; }>. B is the bulk
density of the dry pellet after heptane saturation B = 0.75 g/ 3 2/3
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2/3 2/3
cm3, dened as the dry-pellet mass divided by the swollen BET,<
= <
2 = <
3 = <
= <
, (10)
BET,> > > > >
bulk volume after heptane saturation. The bulk density of
the dry pellet after water or D2O saturation is B = 0.84 g/ where the surface area goes as the pore diameter to the power
cm3, dened as the dry-pellet mass divided by the swollen d2, which is proportional to the pore volume to the power V2/3,
bulk volume after water or D2O saturation. SBET is the which is in turn proportional to the porosity to the power 2/3.
specic surface area of the dried crushed pellet after heptane Combining Eqs. 9 and 10 results in the expressions:
saturation SBET = 9.06 m2/g. The specic surface-area of the 2/3
<
dried crushed pellet after water and D2O saturation is SBET = BET ,< = 2/3 2/3 BET (11)
< + >
6.13 m2/g.
2/3
>
BET ,> = 2/3 2/3 BET . (12)
< + >
The result of the surface relaxivities for absorbed uid {1,<;

2,<} and intergranular pores {1,>; 2,>} are derived from Eqs.
5 to 8 and are listed in Table 3. The nal step is to convert the
relaxation times into pore diameters d, as follows:
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
which assumes spherical pore geometry with the standard

relation S/V = 6/d. The results plotted in Fig. 7 show
consistency between T1 (upper) and T2 (lower) derived pore-
size distributions, for both heptane and water saturation.
Fig. 62D correlation map with T1 on the y-axis, T2 on the x-axis and
porosity coming out of the page. The top subplot is the projected T2
data, the right subplot is the projected T1 data. The legend indicates Table 3Summary of Pore-Size Analysis for Absorbed Fluid (<)
uid name, matrix name, and total uid porosity. The dashed diagonal (Upper) and Intergranular Pores (<) (Lower), for Heptane, Water or
line is the T1 = T2 line. The dashed vertical line is the T2cutoff = 1.5 D2O in Kerogen, Assuming Spherical Pores
ms separating the analysis for absorbed uid (<) from which {T1SLM,<; Kerogen Fluid
SBET,< < 1,< 2,< d1LM,< d2LM,<
T2SLM,<; }<are computed, and the intergranular pores (>) from which (m2/g) (p.u.) (m/s) (m/s) (nm) (nm)
{T1SLM,> ; T2SLM,> ; }>are computed. Heptane 2.48 8.3 4.5 233.5 268 268
Water 1.23 4.0 23.9 128.2 232 232
D2O 1.10 3.2 3.6 93.8 211 211
It should be noted that while the BET and NMR
measurements are acquired on exactly the same sample, the SBET,> > 1,> 2,> d1LM,> d2LM,>
Kerogen Fluid
measurements are acquired at different temperatures (77 K (m2/g) (p.u.) (m/s) (m/s) (nm) (nm)
and ambient, respectively). In light of this, it is assumed Heptane 6.58 35.9 3.2 7.0 436 436
in the analysis that thermal expansion effects of isolated Water 4.90 31.8 5.3 6.8 464 464
kerogen are negligible, and that the measured pore sizes are D2O 5.03 31.7 4.6 5.2 450 450

Singer et al.
According to the data in Table 3, it is apparent that the Another corroborating piece of evidence for interpreting
fast-diffusion regime is valid for both pore types, namely the fast-relaxing signal (<) as uid absorption in kerogen is
d1LM1/D0 << 1 and d2LM2/D0 << 1, and therefore Eqs. 3 and 4 shown in Appendix B, where data for heptane in kerogen
are valid. It is also found that 1,> and 2,> for the intergranular are acquired as a function of partial desaturation of heptane
pores are consistent with previous ndings in organic shale by controlled evaporation. It is clear that desaturation
(Jiang et al., 2013; Rylander et al., 2013; Singer et al., 2013). occurs primarily for the intergranular pores (>), similar to
However, the heterogeneity between absorbed uid (<) and desaturating a conventional water-saturated core-plug by
intergranular pore (>) values is quite apparent, especially for centrifugation to air. The absorbed uid (<) on the other
2. In the case of heptane, Table 3 indicates that 2,< is ~33 hand does not desaturate due to the prolonged surface-
times greater than 2,>. In the case of water, 2,< is ~19 times residence time S, and the porosity of the absorbed-uid
greater than 2,>. In the case of 1, the differences are much less peak <remains constant during desaturation. Furthermore,
pronounced for both uid types. The most likely explanation the persistent two-peak structure in the T2 distribution during
for the heterogeneity in 2 is a long surface-residence time S desaturation corroborates with the lack of diffusive coupling
(Korb et al., 2014) for the fast-relaxing pores (<) as a result between the absorbed uid and intergranular pores.
of absorption. The absorption is possibly due to bitumen- The data in Fig. 7 and Table 3 indicate that the log-mean
coated kerogen pores. This hypothesis corroborates with the average pore diameters for the absorbed uid (<) are a factor
fact that the amount of absorbed heptane <is ~2 times larger ~2 less than the intergranular pores (>). More specically,
than water, since heptane is more soluble in bitumen than the data indicate that d1,2,LM,< for heptane is ~1.6 times less
water. Further corroboration is shown in Appendix B, where than d1,2,LM,>, and ~2.0 times less for the case of water. These
the amount of absorbed pentane <is ~1.5 times larger than average pore-size differences are not large, and most likely
heptane, because in this case pentane is more soluble in cannot account for the large heterogeneity in 2. In other
bitumen than heptane. An investigation into the presence of words, S is unlikely to be a function of d, but rather the
bitumen-coated kerogen pores is currently underway. heterogeneity in S is a result of heterogeneity in the surface
chemistry, i.e., surface composition, of the kerogen, possibly
a result of bitumen-coated kerogen pores.
Fig. 7 shows the same pore-size distribution for heptane
and water for the largest intergranular pores d ~1,000 nm,
i.e., the right edge of the distributions agree, indicating that
the largest pores are fully saturated by water. This gives
condence in the pore-size analysis formulation. On the
other hand, below about d <300 nm, the intergranular water
does not fully saturate the pores compared to heptane. This
is expected given that in an organic-matter pore-network,
liquid water is the nonwetting phase compared to water
vapor. As such, liquid water cannot enter the smallest pore
throats due to capillary pressure effects.
Pore Size from SEM

The most robust way to validate the NMR pore-size
distribution in Fig. 7 is to compare the NMR data with
SEM images of the isolated kerogen. Figure 8 shows two
examples of SEM images on the same kerogen pellet used
for the heptane-saturated NMR experiments. The upper
gure shows a low-resolution image, and pore diameters in
the range of 500 to 1,000 nm. These large pores correspond
to the right-most edge of the pore-size distributions in Fig. 7.
Fig. 7Pore-diameter d distributions of heptane in kerogen (red) The lower SEM image shows a higher-resolution image,
and water in kerogen (blue) according to d1 (upper) and d2 (lower) with small pores close to the center of the image (slightly
distributions from Eqs. 13 to 16, assuming spherical pores. Dashed- up and to the left), with characteristic values in the range
dot lines for absorbed uid (<), and solid lines are for intergranular
pores (>). The legend indicates pore type, uid name, and uid
30 to 100 nm. These pores correspond to the left-most
porosity. edge of the pore-size distributions in Fig. 7.

sites on the surface (Korb et al., 2014; Nicot et al., 2016).

The other proposition is enhanced 1H-1H dipole-dipole
interactions in the presence of pore surfaces (Straley,
2002; Rylander et al., 2013; Washburn, 2014), which does
not require surface paramagnetism on the organic-pore
surface. Both theories for 1 and 2 have some common
features, namely (1) both theories have an amplitude or
strength term proportional to the second moment <2>
of the interaction, (2) both theories depend on the surface
residence time S, which itself depends on temperature,
and (3) both theories depend on resonance frequency
under certain conditions. Assuming both mechanisms
contribute yields the following relation:
(17)
(18)
where 1,2,Dmol + 1,2,Dker is the total contribution from dipole-

dipole interactions, and 1,2,P is the paramagnetic contribution.
An explanation of the two dipole-dipole terms in
Eqs. 17 and 18 is shown in Fig. 9a for water residing on
the kerogen surface during time S. The molecular dipole-
dipole contribution 1,2,Dmol is dened as being between a
water 1H nucleus and its partner 1H nucleus on the same
water molecule, plus the contribution from a neighboring
water molecules 1H nucleus also residing on the surface.
The kerogen dipole-dipole contribution 1,2,Dker is dened as
being between a water 1H nucleus and a nearby 1H nucleus
bound to the solid kerogen surface. The same arguments
and denitions hold for a heptane molecule residing on
Fig. 8Representative SEM images of isolated kerogen, showing large the kerogen surface. Put more formally, the total dipole-
~1,000 nm pores (upper) and small ~30 nm pores (lower, near center).
The SEM sample was prepared from a dried and crushed kerogen pellet dipole contribution for a water molecule residing of the
after heptane saturation. kerogen surface can be expressed as the sum:
The SEM images in Fig. 8 corroborate with the (19)

NMR pore-size distributions in Fig. 7. Note however that
the NMR pore size in Fig. 7 has additional information
regarding the heterogeneity in surface chemistry of (20)
kerogen. Namely, NMR is sensitive to heterogeneity in
surface-residence time and absorption, possibly a result The second moment <2> is proportional to the
of bitumen-coated kerogen pores. inverse 6th power of the 1H-1H separation, rik. It is also
proportional to the 4th power in the 1H gyromagnetic ratio,
KEROGEN SURFACE RELAXATION I. For the current purposes, Eqs. 19 and 20 only capture
the amplitude or strength term < 2>, however, these
There are many ongoing discussions about the nature equations also contain an (unknown) dynamic term which
of the surface-relaxation mechanism in organic shale depends on S and . The dynamic terms remain elusive
(Washburn 2014). Two mechanisms have been proposed in organic shale, just like they do for heavy crude oils
for understanding the NMR surface-relaxivities, 1 and 2, where T1B and T2B depart from theoretical expectations for
in the fast-diffusion regime for organic shale (Eqs. 3 and the viscosity, i.e., the molecular correlation time, and
4). The rst proposition is translational 2D diffusion of dependences, assuming 1H-1H dipole-dipole interactions
uids on the pore surface in the presence of paramagnetic dominate (Yang et al., 2012).

Singer et al.
(a) (b)
Fig. 9Illustration of water molecules residing on the kerogen surface

(a), versus the same scenario with partial deuteration of the water
molecules (b). Partial deuteration (b) removes the molecular dipole-
dipole contribution to the surface relaxivity (1,2,Dmol), but not the kerogen
dipole-dipole contribution (1,2,Dker). The image is a simplied snapshot of
the water molecules residing on the kerogen surface for time S.
The motivation for expressing Eqs. 17 and 18 in

such a manner is that the effect of partial deuteration of
the water molecules is to signicantly reduce the 1,2,Dmol
term, while keeping 1,2,Dker the same. This is illustrated in
Fig. 9b, where partial deuteration of the water molecules
eliminates the 1,2,Dmol (technically it is reduced by a
factor of ~42, making it essentially negligible). Such a Fig. 10Upper gure is the log-mean (T1/T2)LM curve vs. T2 obtained
scenario was successfully tested in carbonates (Straley, from the 2D correlation maps, and the dashed horizontal line is the
T1/T2 = 1 line. The lower gure is the projected T2 data from the 2D
2002), where relaxation data for 100% H2O (equivalent to correlation maps. The legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and
Fig. 9a) were compared with a mixture (named D2O for total uid porosity. The dots in upper and lower gures correspond
simplicity) of 90% D2O:10% H2O (equivalent to Fig. 9b). to T2peak and (T1/T2)peak listed in Table 1, and the dashed grey vertical
line is T2cutoff =1.5 ms separating absorbed uid (<) from intergranular
Fig. 10 compares data for the water in kerogen vs the D2O pores (>). The D2O uid consists of a 90% D2O - 10% H2O mix.
mixture in kerogen. As indicated in Table 2, T1LM and T2LM
for D2O in kerogen are a factor ~1.4 times longer than for
water. The full pore-size analysis for D2O data is listed in On the other hand, the value for the absorbed uid
Table 3. 1,Dmol,< = 20 m/s is ~29 times larger than for intergranular
1,Dmol and 2,Dmol for absorbed uid (<) and intergranular pores 1,Dmol,> = 0.7 m/s. According to the pore-size analysis
section, the absorbed uid may be from bitumen-coated
pores (>) are then determined as follows
kerogen pores, where the surface-residence time S is
enhanced. Assuming 1 is roughly independent of S at a xed
(21)
/2 ~2 MHz (Yang et al., 2012; Korb et al., 2014), then the
larger value of 1,Dmol,< can be explained by a larger second
(22) moment of D/2 = 128 kHz. A larger second moment
suggests that the water molecules absorbed in the bitumen-
(23) coated kerogen have a larger hydrogen-coordination number
and/or shorter 1H-1H distances rik (see Eqs. 19 and 20)
(24) between water molecules.
A similar analysis comparing 2,Dmol,< with 2,Dmol,> is
where 1,Water and 2,Water are taken from Table 3 for water, not as straightforward since 2 depends strongly on S due
and 1,D2O and 2,D2O are taken from Table 3 for D2O. The to the zero-frequency ( = 0) spectral component in 1/T2.
intergranular pore value 1,Dmol,> = 0.7 m/s is consistent with In principle however, one could extract S for both absorbed
the maximum value for ice ~0.6 m/s at /2 = 2 MHz uid and intergranular pores from the differences between
(Foley et al., 1996), which also corresponds to a square root 1,Dmol and 2,Dmol, provided one has the underlying relaxation
of the second moment D = <2> of D/2 = 24 kHz. theory and data at several resonance frequencies .
The consistency with ice validates the above interpretation Density functional theory and molecular dynamics
and analysis for intergranular pores. simulation studies are currently underway to determine the
molecular conguration and packing density of alkanes

and water on realistic kerogen surfaces, which among organic shale, Weatherford Laboratories for the kerogen
other things can be used to compute the second moments isolation, Core Laboratories for the higher-eld NMR data,
<2>. These computational studies are also being and, Professor Walter G. Chapman and Dr. Dilipkumar N.
used to estimate the surface-residence times S, as well Asthagiri for helpful discussions.
as the molecular rotational and translational correlation-
times on the kerogen surface. Integrating computational NOMENCLATURE
chemistry and NMR measurements will further elucidate
the surface-relaxation mechanism in organic nano-pores. Abbreviations
D2O = mix of 90% D2O: 10% H2O
CONCLUSIONS 1
H = hydrogen nucleus (proton)
NMR = nuclear magnetic resonance
2D NMR data of heptane-saturated kerogen isolates BET = Brunauer-Emmett-Teller gas adsorption theory
show two distinct peaks in the T2 spectrum. The slow- p.u. = porosity units
relaxing peak has a porosity ~36 p.u. (similar to a random p.u./div = porosity units per division
bead-pack), and is interpreted as intergranular pores created, SEM = scanning electron microscopy
i.e., manufactured, during the pelletization process. The fast- TOC = total organic carbon
relaxing peak has a porosity ~8 p.u. and a large T1/T2 ~78,
and is interpreted as intragranular or absorbed uid in Symbols
kerogen, possibly a result of bitumen-coated kerogen pores. B0 = applied magnetic eld
The data for heptane-saturated kerogen isolates show d = pore diameter
larger values of T1/T2 compared to water-saturated kerogen d1 = pore diameter according to T1
isolates and water-saturated clay isolates, across the entire d2 = pore diameter according to T2
T2 spectrum. This validates T1/T2 as a contrast tool for uid d1LM = log-mean of d1 distribution
typing and saturation in downhole NMR logs. The resaturated d2LM = log-mean of d2 distribution
organic shale (the same source rock used for the kerogen D0 = bulk diffusion coefcient
isolates) shows higher average <T1/T2> ~4 for resaturated
rik = separation between ith and kth nucleus
heptane versus resaturated water <T1/T2> ~2, consistent
SBET = specic surface-area from BET
with both the saturated isolates data and previously reported
S/V = surface to pore-volume ratio
ndings in re-saturated organic-shale cores.
Standard NMR and BET pore-size analysis of heptane TE = interecho spacing of T2 measurement
or water in kerogen isolates does not account for the T1 = longitudinal relaxation time
qualitative differences between the T1 and T2 derived pore- T2 = transverse relaxation time
size distributions. After ruling out internal gradients, the only T2cutoff = cutoff separating absorbed from intergranular
viable explanation is heterogeneity in the surface relaxivities (T1/T2)LM = log-mean T1/T2 ratio as a function of T2
1 and 2. Improved pore-size analysis incorporating 1 and <T1/T2> = log-mean average of 1D T1/T2 distribution
2 heterogeneity between absorbed uid and intergranular T1S = surface component of T1
pores successfully reconciles the differences, and the T2S = surface component of T2
improved NMR pore-size results are found to be consistent T1B = bulk component of T1
with SEM images. The sizeable heterogeneity in 2 indicates T2B = bulk component of T2
that the absorbed uid originates from uid with long T2D = diffusion component of T2
surface-residence times, possibly from absorption into T1LM = log-mean of T1 distribution
bitumen-coated kerogen pores. T2LM = log-mean of T2 distribution
Comparing data for water in kerogen with partially T1SLM = log-mean of T1S distribution
deuterated water in kerogen indicates that the hydrogen- T2SLM = log-mean of T2S distribution
hydrogen dipole-dipole interaction contributes to 1 and 2, T2,peak = T2 value at mode (peak) of T2 distribution
which has broad implications on the underlying theory of (T1/T2)peak = (T1/T2)LM value at T2,peak
the surface-relaxation mechanism in kerogen and organic
I = nuclear gyromagnetic ratio
nanopores in general.
1 = surface relaxivity for T1
2 = surface relaxivity for T2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1,Dmol = molecular dipole component of 1
The authors would like to thank the Rice University 2,Dmol = molecular dipole component of 2
Consortium on Processes in Porous Media for funding 1,Dker = kerogen dipole component of 1
this work, Imperial College for providing the outcrop 2,Dker = kerogen dipole component of 2

Singer et al.
1,P = paramagnetic component of 1 /137693-MS

2,P = paramagnetic component of 2 Fleury, M., Kohler, E., Norrant, F., Gautier, S., MHamdi, J., and
1,Water = 1 for water Barr, L., 2013, Characterization and Quantication of Water
2,Water = 2 for water in Smectites with Low-Field NMR, Journal of Physical
Chemistry C, 117(9), 45514560. DOI: 10.1021/jp311006q
1,D2O = 1 for 90% D2O: 10% H2O mix
Fleury, M., and Romero-Sarmiento, M., 2016, Characterization
2,D2O = 2 for 90% D2O: 10% H2O mix of Shales Using T1-T2 Maps, Journal of Petroleum Science
B = bulk density of dry pellet and Engineering, 137, 5562. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016
S = surface-residence time of uid molecule /j.petrol.2015.11.006
= porosity from NMR Flory, P.J., 1942, Thermodynamics of High Polymer Solutions,
gas = gas porosity of organic-shale rock Journal of Chemical Physics, 10, 5161. DOI: http://dx.doi.
= NMR resonance (i.e. Larmor) frequency org/10.1063/1.1723621
D = square-root of < 2> Foley, I., Farooqui, S.A., and Kleinberg, R.L., 1996, Effect of
<2> = second moment of 1H-1H dipole-dipole Paramagnetic Ions on NMR Relaxation of Fluids at Solid
Surfaces, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, Series A, 123(1),
< = subscript for intra-granular or absorbed uid
95104. DOI: 10.1006/jmra.1996.0218
> = subscript for intergranular pores
Hirasaki, G.J., 1993, Structural Interactions in the Wetting
and Spreading of Van der Waals Fluids, Journal of Adhesion
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Curtis, M.E., Ambrose, R.J., Sondergeld, C.H., and Rai, C.S., 333.
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Kenyon, W.E., 2000, NMR Relaxation of Clay/Brine Mixtures, Modeling of the Volumetric and Thermodynamic Properties
Paper SPE-66185, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, of Kerogen: Inuence of Organic Type and Maturity, Energy
3(5), 408413. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/66185-PA & Fuels, 29(1), 91105. DOI: 10.1021/ef502154k
Nicot, B., Vorapalawut, N., Rousseau, B., Madariaga, L.F., Hamon, Venkataramanan, L., Song, Y.-Q., and Hrlimann, M.D., 2002,
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Odusina, E., Sondergeld, C., and Rai, C.S., 2011, An NMR Study on Signal Processing, 50(5), 10171026. DOI: 10.1109
on Shale Wettability, Paper SPE-147371 presented at the SPE /78.995059
Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference, Calgary, Washburn, K.E., 2014, Relaxation Mechanisms and Shales,
Alberta, Canada, 1517 November. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ Concepts in Magnetic Resonance Part A, 43A(3), 5778.
10.2118/147371-MS DOI: 10.1002/cmr.a.21302
Ozen, A.E., and Sigal, R.F., 2013, T1/T2 NMR Surface Relaxation Xiao, L., Liao, G., Deng, F., Liu, H., Song, G., and Li, M., 2015,
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Organic-Shale Reservoir Rocks, Petrophysics, 54(1), 1119. Rocks, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 205, 1620.
Ramirez, T.R., Klein, J.D., Bonnie, R., and Howard, J.J., DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2014.09.024
2011, Comparative Study of Formation Evaluation Methods Yang, Z., Hirasaki, G.J., Appel, M., and Reed, D.A., 2012,
for Unconventional Shale Gas Reservoirs: Application to the Viscosity Evaluation for NMR Well Logging of Live Heavy
Haynesville shale (Texas), Paper SPE-144062 presented at the Oils, Petrophysics, 53(1), 2237.
North American Unconventional Gas Conference and
Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 1416 June. DOI:
APPENDIX A
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/144062-MS
Reeder, S.L., Craddock, P.R., Rylander, E., Pirie, I., Lewis, R.E.,
Kausik, R., Kleinberg, R.L., Yang, J., and Pomerantz, A.E., According to inductively coupled plasma data there is
2016, The Reservoir Producibility Index: a Metric to Assess 11.7 wt% pyrite in the isolated kerogen, corresponding to
Reservoir Quality in Tight-Oil Plays from Logs, Petrophysics, 3.1 vol% pyrite in the matrix. A representative SEM image
57(2), 8294. of the pyrite is shown in Fig. A1, where large, ~3 m,
Rylander, E., Singer, P.M., Jiang, T., Lewis, R.E., McLin, R., and crystals of pyrite are found to be localized and clustered in
Sinclair, S.M., 2013, NMR T2 Distributions in the Eagle the kerogen. The effect of paramagnetic pyrite on the NMR
Ford Shale: Reections on Pore Size, Paper SPE-13URC-P- signal of heptane or water in kerogen could be in the form
92-SPE 164554 presented at the SPE Unconventional of internal gradients T2D (Eq. 2) and/or paramagnetic surface
Resources Conference-USA, The Woodlands, Texas, USA,
relaxivity 1,2,P (Eqs. 17 and 18). For such effects to occur, the
1012 April. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/164554-MS
Sigal, R.F., and Odusina, E., 2011, Laboratory NMR Measurements pyrite would have to be distributed on the kerogen surface,
on Methane Saturated Barnett Shale Samples, Petrophysics, however, the SEM image in Fig. A1 indicates that the pyrite
52(1), 3249. is localized and not dispersed on the surfaces.
Sigal, R.F., 2015, Pore-Size Distribution for Organic-Shale- The signal from heptane in the immediate vicinity
Reservoir Rocks from Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance of localized pyrite most likely suffers from very large
Spectra Combined with Adsorption Measurements, Paper internal-gradient effects, and is therefore not observable
SPE-174546, SPE Journal, 20(4), 824830. DOI: http:// due to short T2D << TE. Given the small volume-fraction,
dx.doi.org/10.2118/174546-PA ~3.1 vol%, of pyrite in the matrix, this loss of heptane
Singer, P.M., Rylander, E., Jiang, T., Lewis, R.E., McLin, R., and
signal is negligible. As for the signal coming from uid
Sinclair S.M., 2013, 1D and 2D NMR Core-Log Integration in
not in the vicinity of pyrite, the T2 data in Fig. A2 indicate
Organic Shale, Paper SCA2013-01813URC-P-92-SPE
presented at the SCA Annual International Symposium, Napa no signicant magnetic-eld dependence, and therefore
Valley, California, USA, 1619 September. no signicant internal-gradient effects, i.e., T2D >> T2S.
Straley, C., 2002, A Mechanism for the Temperature Dependence Further validation of the lack of internal-gradient effects
of the Surface Relaxation Rate in Carbonates, Paper SCA2002- comes from the lack of change in T2 with increasing echo
27 presented at the SCA Annual International Symposium, spacing, TE > 0.1 ms.
Monterey, California, USA.

Singer et al.
the surface-relaxation mechanism in kerogen. However,

surface paramagnetism as an additional surface-relaxation
mechanism cannot be ruled out.
APPENDIX B
The heptane-saturated kerogen pellet was taken

through a series of controlled evaporation steps, shown in
Fig. B1. The salient feature is that the evaporation takes
place primarily from the intergranular pores (>). For the
intergranular pores, the continuous decrease in porosity and
shift to shorter relaxation times is analogous to centrifugation
of conventional water-saturated core plugs to air, over a
Fig. A1SEM image of localized pyrite crystals in isolated kerogen
pellet.
series of increasing capillary pressure steps. Analogously,
the heptane in the middle of the large kerogen pores is
Investigation into possible internal-gradient effects T2D from depleted, leaving a lm of heptane on the pore wall with
pyrite is shown in Fig. A2, where data for heptane in kerogen the same surface area contact but a reduced pore volume. A
are compared at two different magnetic elds. The internal- reduced pore volume with constant surface area results in a
gradient contribution is expected to scale as: shortening of the relaxation times, according to Eqs. 3 and 4.
(A1)
where B0 is the applied magnetic-eld, and is the

corresponding resonance frequency.
Fig. A21D distributions of the T2 data for heptane in kerogen at 22

MHz (red) and 2 MHz (blue). The legend indicates uid name, matrix
name, resonance frequency, and total uid porosity.
Fig. B11D distributions of the projected T1 data (upper) and
projected T2 data (lower) from the 2D correlation maps of heptane
In summary, of the three known internal-gradient in kerogen, as a function of desaturation of heptane by controlled
regimes in porous media (Anand et al., 2008), the evaporation. Arrows indicate direction of increasing desaturation of
heptane.
localization regime is ruled out from Fig. A2 due to the
constant porosity at higher eld, the free diffusion regime Another interesting observation from Fig. B1 is the
is ruled out due to the lack of TE dependence in T2, and the lack of diffusive coupling in T2 over the various stages of
motional-averaging regime is ruled out from Fig. A2 due desaturation. The diffusive-coupling parameter for T2
to constant T2 at higher magnetic eld. Internal-gradient can be estimated for heptane in kerogen at ~2, placing the
effects are therefore ruled out in kerogen (Fig. A2), and pore network in the intermediate diffusive-coupling regime
the data on partially deuterated water in kerogen (Fig. (Anand et al., 2007), which is consistent with the data
10) indicate that dipole-dipole relaxation contributes to shown in Fig. B1.

The evaporation data shown in Fig. B1 can also be

used to estimate the surface relaxivities as a function
of desaturation. Repeating the heterogeneous pore-size
analysis at each desaturation stage results in the data
shown in Fig. B2. Remarkably, the surface relaxivities are
found to be roughly constant over much of the desaturation
range. This implies again that internal-gradient effects
are negligible, and furthermore that the surface-relaxivity
formulation presented here is roughly independent of
desaturation over a large range of porosity.
In a separate experiment, the isolated kerogen pellet
was saturated with n-pentane. Due to the large vapor
Fig. B31D distributions of the partially desaturated T2 data for
pressure of pentane, the intergranular pores (>) of the
pentane in kerogen (blue) versus heptane in kerogen (red). The
pentane-saturated kerogen were partially desaturated by legend indicates uid name, matrix name, and total uid porosity.
the time the NMR measurement was made. Nevertheless, The dashed vertical line is T2cutoff = 1 ms cutoff separating absorbed
as shown in Fig. B3, it is interesting to compare the partially uid (<) and intergranular pores (>).
desaturated T2 distributions of pentane versus heptane.

While the intergranular pores (>) show comparable ABOUT THE AUTHORS
desaturated porosity ( = >21.0 p.u. for pentane versus >
= 20.9 p.u. for heptane), the absorbed uid (<) porosity Philip M. Singer is a research scientist in the
for pentane ( = <11.7 p.u.) is ~1.5 times larger than Hirasaki research group at Rice University
in Houston, Texas, focused on NMR core
heptane ( = <7.7 p.u.). The larger <porosity for pentane
analysis in unconventional reservoirs.
is consistent with absorption in bitumen-coated kerogen
Previously, he worked at Schlumberger
pores, since pentane is a smaller molecule than heptane for 10 years, as laboratory supervisor of
and therefore more prone to absorption. the NMR core-analysis department at the
Schlumberger Reservoir Laboratories in Houston, Texas,
and as senior research scientist at Schlumberger-Doll
Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Schlumberger
Dhahran Carbonate Research Centre in Saudi Arabia. He
holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in experimental NMR Physics.
Zeliang Chen is a PhD candidate in the

Hirasaki research group at Rice University
in Houston, Texas, focused on NMR core
analysis in unconventional reservoirs. He
received his BSc in Condensed Matter
Physics at the University of Science and Technology of
China (USTC) in Hefei, China.
George J. Hirasaki is the A.J. Hartsook

Professor Emeritus in Chemical Engineering
at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Before his 22-year faculty position at Rice
University, he was a research engineer for
26 years with Shell Development and Shell
Oil Company in Houston, Texas. His research work broadly
Fig. B2Surface-relaxivity parameter for heptane in kerogen, as a encompasses the area of enhanced oil recovery processes,
function of desaturation of heptane by controlled evaporation, for T1 wettability in petroleum systems, NMR core and uid
(red) and T2 (blue), according to using Eqs. 5 to 8. Upper plot is for analysis, and gas hydrates. Among his numerous scientic
absorbed uid (<), lower plot is for intergranular pores (>). Averages
(dashed lines) and deviations are: 1,< = 5.7 1.9 m/s, 2,< = 230
awards and accomplishments, he has been a member of
47 m/s, 1,> = 3.4 0.7 m/s, 2,> = 8.1 0.9 m/s. the National Academy of Engineers for 25 years, and most
recently was awarded the 2016 OTC Heritage Award.

PETROPHYSICS, VOL. 57, NO. 6 (DECEMBER 2016); PAGE 620637; 18 FIGURES
Permeability Estimation Using Ultrasonic Borehole Image Logs in Dual-Porosity

Carbonate Reservoirs
Candida Menezes de Jesus1, Andr Luiz Martins Compan2, and Rodrigo Surmas3
ABSTRACT
Permeability estimations based on core-to-log the drilling operations but so far have not been used to
relationships in dual-porosity carbonate reservoirs usually estimate the permeability of such structures. Thus, the
fail to reach the permeability measured on drillstem tests challenge of this study was to develop a quantitative
(DST). The reasons behind this inaccuracy are mainly method for permeability estimation using ultrasonic image
related to the inherent low representability of rock samples logs as an input and to reach an acceptable calibration with
in such systems and to the limitations of the logs in the matrix permeability measured in the laboratory as well as
presence of structures, such as caves and vuggy fractures. the whole system permeability measured in the DSTs.
Conversely, high-resolution ultrasonic borehole image Ultrasonic-image-derived estimated permeability curves
logs provide not only an image of the mega- and gigapore were calculated for three different wells drilled in karstied
system present in dual-porosity reservoirs but also have carbonate reservoirs and reached a very satisfactory
been used empirically to identify the permeable facies calibration with matrix permeability measurements and
within them. These logs have been widely used to identify permeability estimated on DSTs.
fractures and caves normally related to uid losses during
INTRODUCTION their properties regardless of whethery the drilling uid is

water-based (WBM) or oil-based mud (OBM).
Carbonate reservoirs have a wide range of textural The fact that the normally high permeabilities in
and structural variations in their framework elements and fractured and karstied reservoirs are not satisfactorily
pore systems that may have been created by syngenetic, estimated by the existing methods motivated this research
diagenetic and superimposed deformational processes. This group to develop a new way to achieve this objective, using
is the case for naturally fractured reservoirs and karstied ultrasonic image logs.
reservoirs, in which different scales of porosity are present:
the matrix scale and the fractures/vugs scale (Warren and PERMEABILITY SCALES IN DUAL-POROSITY
Root, 1963). Such variations on the scale of porous media RESERVOIRS
address heterogeneities to the reservoir ow properties that
cannot be efciently quantied in the laboratory, making The effective permeability of a fractured reservoir is
it difcult to tie those properties to the ones registered by fundamentally dependent on matrix permeability and the
DSTs. Permeability estimation based on the NMR log also fracture-network geometry. The fracture-network geometry
fails to reach the order of magnitude measured in DSTs due can be characterized by fracture interconnectivity, fracture
to the log/tool limitation in the presence of caves and vuggy orientation, aperture, length, the fracture plane intersections,
fractures. spacing, the distribution of the fracture network, its
However, using ultrasonic borehole image logs it is relationship with mechanical stratigraphy and the dimensions
possible to register well-scale heterogeneities and to obtain of the damage zone (Mkel, 2007). The dependency on so
qualitative and quantitative data that are representatives of many variables that involve a wide range of scales makes it
Manuscript received by the Editor November 23, 2015; revised manuscript received July 27, 2016; accepted August 2, 2016.
1
Petrobras, Av. Repblica do Chile, 330, 15th oor, Centro, Rio de janeiro, RJ, Brazil, 20031-170; candida.jesus@petrobras.com.br
2
Petrobras, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento CENPES, Av. Horcio Macedo, 950, Gab. B14, Cidade Universitria, Rio de janeiro, RJ,
Brazil, 21941-915; andrecompan@petrobras.com.br
3
Petrobras, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento CENPES, Av. Horcio Macedo, 950, Gab. H3, Cidade Universitria, Rio de janeiro, RJ,
Brazil, 21941-915; surmas@petrobras.com.br

Permeability Estimation Using Ultrasonic Borehole Image Logs in Dual-Porosity Carbonate Reservoirs
evident that estimating fracture permeability is a tremendous NMR total porosity adjusted by a constant scale factor. It
challenge when we work with subsurface data. was observed that the permeability obtained by this method
With borehole image logs it is possible to determine presents a good correlation with the matrix permeability
some of those variables, e.g., the fracture aperture, when measured in the laboratory. However, in reservoirs containing
the fracture planes are not too irregular; its orientation, caves and vuggy fractures, like karsts, the permeability is
spacing and the mechanical stratigraphy. These are four of normally underestimated.
the nine variables listed previously, and yet we must face This limitation occurs when the NMR tool loses contact
some additional limitations: the image log resolution, the with the reservoir wall, for instance in front of caves and
possibility that the fractures may be articially enlarged due wide-open fractures, and then it registers the relaxation
to erosion of the fracture wall during drilling, and the limits decay time of hydrogen within the drilling uid, which
of the wells dimensions. Considering these four variables, has a very short T2. This short relaxation time is due to
its reasonable to assume that its not possible to precisely surface relaxation caused by the solid particles in the uid.
determine fracture permeability in fractured systems taking Consequently, every fraction of the relaxation time inside
into account the data on the well scale, however, it is possible the drilling uid is computed as bound uid, decreasing
to nd a close estimate. the resulting permeability, even though the tool normally
Fracture porosity and permeability estimations based on provides a good measurement of the total porosity (Fig. 3).
borehole image logs are normally performed using fracture
aperture measured in microresistivity image logs acquired RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS
with WBM (Cheung and Heliot, 1990; Luthi and Souhaite,
1990). In WBM, the low resistivity measured is correlated The reservoirs modeled in this study belong to the
with the pore space invaded by the conductive uid. Brazilian Presalt carbonate sequence. Those particular
However, in wells drilled with OBM these methods cannot reservoirs are located in a transference zone (tectonic context),
be applied to the microresitivity borehole images because which means that they are strongly affected by faults and
the electrical properties of the matrix will be confused with fractures. In some parts of the reservoir the syndepositional
the pore space invaded by the high-resistivity uid. tectonics inuenced the depositional process conditioning
Fractured and karstied systems have some the facies distribution, which in the structural highs are
additional complexities: the secondary porosity created dominated by stromatolites and intraclastic deposits, and in
by the dissolution process also has an impact on matrix the deeper basin and protected environments laminite facies
permeability, enlarging the original pore spaces and adding predominate.
microfractures and vuggy porosity. During this process The structures created by the brittle deformation of
another scale of porosity is created: caves and dissolution the carbonate sequence became conducts to diagenetic
conduits (Worthington, 1999). The dissolution process also corrosive uids that formed karstic structures and deposits.
addresses irregularity to the fractures planes, known as The associated dissolution process enlarged the fractures
vugular fractures. Silica may precipitate on the fractures, and created caves, conduits and breccia deposits and may be
caves and breccia deposits. The dimensions and correlation followed by formation of authigenic silica (Fig. 4).
of those structures with fault zones may be detected on As can be observed in Fig. 4, the pore structures created
seismic data, although in many cases the seismic resolution by the kartication process in the studied reservoirs can
is not enough for the characterization of those structures be characterized in ultrasonic image log due to tools high
(Fig. 1). resolution and coverage.
Previously published studies on the permeability scales The presence of caves and enlarged fracture planes
of karst systems, e.g., Halihan, et al. (1999), indicate that within the reservoirs impacted the hydrocarbon exploitation
the fracture permeability may reach three or four orders of process. During the drilling phase, a massive loss of drilling
magnitude above the matrix permeability (Fig. 2). The most uid occurred and it became difcult or even impossible to
accurate permeability measurement in a fractured reservoir acquire any rock samples. It is common in such situations
is obtained by DST, since it can investigate many kilometers to inject cement into the formation, which damages the ow
beyond the well dimensions and thus, cover the whole capacity of the reservoir. Despite the formation damage, in
extension of the fractured and/or karstied zone. the DST measurements these reservoirs presented extremely
The permeability of a reservoir interval through logs high productivity indexes (>200 m/d/kgf/cm) and mean oil
is usually calculated using free-uid/bound-uid ratio of effective permeabilities, ko , >1,000 mD.

Menezes de Jesus et al.
Fig. 1Examples of the different orders of magnitude involved in fractured reservoirs. From micro fractures to vugs, caves and faults.

through the uid until reaching the borehole wall where,

due to the impedance contrast between uid and rock,
the acoustic waves are reected and return to the tool for
registering travel time (msec) and amplitude (dB) properties.
The emission of the wave front occurs through a transducer,
a piezoelectric crystal that transforms an electric pulse into
a mechanical pulse and vice versa. These transducers can
generate frequencies between 150 and 500 kHz.
Good quality image data are essential for quantitative
applications of the acoustic image logs. It is recommended
to use the highest resolution available, combined with the
highest azimuthal sampling rate possible. An accurate
correction of tool eccentricity is also necessary. If the tool
displays eccentricity for any reason, an undesired effect
on the data is generated: different distances between the
transducer and the borehole wall around its circumference.
Longer or shorter distances between the transducer and the
borehole wall will impart an apparent variable attenuation
of the acoustic wave, and the creation of an amplitude
background that has no relationship with the reservoir
Fig. 2Permeability orders of magnitude related to the karstied properties. In this study, we used an in-house processing
reservoir structures (Halihan, et al., 1999). technique, the unpublished MCS (Menezes, Compan and
Surmas) method to correct for the eccentricity effect.
The ultrasonic beam interactions that have important
One important consequence of the presence of these
geological meaning are attenuation, reectance and
well-scale structures within the karstied regions is that divergence (Menger, 1994).
the porosity and permeability measured in the sidewall
cores (SWC) or core plugs, generally <100 mD, have low Attenuation
representability of the pore systems complexity, since the The attenuation of acoustic waves in a borehole is
heterogeneities created by this process (caves, fractures produced by the interaction of the wave front with the drilling
and vugs) have a much larger scale than the SWC and plug uid. The acoustic attenuation by the uid is described by
scale. In the studied reservoir sections, not all regions are Menger (1994) as an exponential decay process related to
affected by the karstication process and have an important the uid properties and the distance between the tool and the
contribution from the matrix permeability. Even in the borehole wall, as shown in Eq. 1:
karstied regions the matrix permeability can contribute a
little to the overall permeability. So it is important to consider (1)
core-sample permeability values in all the regions for matrix
calibration of the permeability model. where A(d) is the amplitude attenuated by the borehole uid,
The datasets used for this study belong to wells identied A0 is the initial amplitude of the ultrasonic beam, is the
here as A, B and C. Those datasets include borehole image attenuation factor, and d is the distance from the transducer.
logs, core-plug and SWC absolute permeability (kabs), NMR
data and DST results. The borehole image logs where Reectance
acquired by the Ultrasonic Borehole Imager (UBI), which Reectance is a function of the impedance contrast
uses an operating frequency of 500 kHz and acquires 180 between the reservoir and the uid environment (Eq. 2). The
azimuthal samples per revolution. higher the impedance contrast between the rock and uid
environment, the higher is the reectance of the interface.
INTERFERENCES ON THE IMAGE LOGS Therefore it is observed that on carbonates, when the rock
AMPLITUDE MEASUREMENTS fabric is compact, the measured amplitude is higher than
for a reservoir with a low compaction fabric. So, there is a
Ultrasonic borehole image logs are acquired through the strong relationship between the measured amplitude and the
emission of acoustic waves pulses (Fig. 5) that propagate pore arrangement of the reservoirs (Fig. 6).

measurements by azimuth and depth, which is then

(2) displayed with a color scale attributed to their reectance,
which allows the recognition of geological geometries and
where is the density of environments 1 (reservoir) and structures that correlate to those described in cores. So the
2 (uid), and is the compressional wave velocity in amplitude images are useful to characterize sedimentary
environments 1 (reservoir) and 2 (uid). processes, diagenesis and facies (Fig. 7).
An image is created by arranging all of the amplitude
Fig. 3Caliper log (Track 2), NMR (Track 3) permeability log response to a cave structure shown in the acoustic image log (Track 4) and NMR
porosity response (Track 5).

Fig. 5Schematic representation of the acoustic wave emission in a

borehole (plan view).
Fig. 4Examples of structures and textures present in the Presalt

karstied carbonates. Vuggy fracture (Well A), breccia and caves (Well
B) and authigenic silica (Well C).
Fig. 6Schematic representation of the reservoir impedance and borehole wall rugosity controls in the reectance of acoustic waves.

Fig. 7Example of reservoir structures observed in core tomography (left) amplitude image (center) and core photography (right).
Divergence
The divergence phenomenon is a function of the borehole against the borehole, partially removing the mudcake. Thus,
wall rugosity. The natural and articial irregularities on the mudcake removal performs an important role as an indicator
wall surface cause divergence of the incident and reected of reservoir permeability (Hayman, et al., 1998).
acoustic waves (Luthi, 2000), scattering the trajectory of the Empirical observations in the acoustic images of
acoustic beam, which is not reected at the ideal 90o angle at carbonate sections also encountered a relationship between
an uneven surface. Those irregularities are related to textural amplitude and permeability. In this study, we tested this
and structural variations of the reservoir that may be caused correlation by using different amplitude fractions to estimate
by actual geological structures or by artifacts, i.e., structures permeability.
of a nongeological nature, related to drilling, logging,
well instability (e.g., borehole breakouts) and the invasion PERMEABILITY ESTIMATION THROUGH
process. The intensity of the divergence created is a function ULTRASONIC IMAGE ATTRIBUTES
of the structure dimensions such as depth (into the wall) and
length (Fig. 6). In this method, it is assumed that the smaller the
It was observed that the larger the size and amount of measured amplitude the higher the permeability, and
rugosity present at the borehole wall, the higher the dispersion, vice versa. This interpretation allows us to understand
and consequently, the lower the measured amplitude. Hence, the amplitude image as a map of the reservoir zones with
open fractures, vugs and caves can be easily identied if distinct matrix permeabilities. The denitions of the zone
their dimensions are not below (or smaller) the resolution limits were made using an amplitude histogram (Fig. 8). The
limit of the tool. histogram limits are determined by the log analyst based on
The availability of the 500-kHz frequency emission geological knowledge of the reservoir rock textures. This is
pattern in the acoustic image logs has made it possible to done iteratively by the log analyst, changing the histogram
improve upon facies and structural identication in the limits and evaluates the resulting segmented image of the
image logs (Faraguna et al., 1989). A higher frequency reservoir rock in order to represent the known geological
source creates a shorter wavelength, which interacts with the features. For instance, it was observed that the large pores
reservoir structures that are proportional to its size, resulting show amplitude values that correspond to the left tail of
in a higher resolution image log. This allows us to distinguish the amplitude distribution (black) in Fig. 8, so a range of
impedance variations and rugosity variations from the meter amplitude values that comprised all those structures was
scale to the centimeter/millimeter scale. dened. The same procedure was adopted to dene the
Another process that has an important impact in this study low (blue), medium (red) and the high (yellow) amplitude
is mudcake formation and removal. Mudcake formation is reservoir features, each of them corresponding to different
related to the process of the drilling-uid invasion into the classes of permeability. In Fig. 8 the amplitude ranges used
reservoir. During the invasion, the solid particles are retained to separate the permeability classes in each well image
by the reservoir wall and those ltrated particles form the dataset can be observed.
mudcake. Later on, during the logging activities, tools rub

Fig. 8Segmented amplitude histograms for the image datasets in the three study wells.

After the segmentation, a new image is formed composed layers of low permeability. Another image from Well B,
of the four amplitude classes. The classes are named Mat 0, shown in Fig. 10, has intraclastic carbonate, breccia and
Mat 1, Mat 2 and Pore. Mat 0 has the highest amplitude vugular fractures. The image from Well C (Fig. 10) shows
values, and is interpreted as an almost impermeable matrix; another example of vuggy carbonate breccia with portions
Mat 1 has lower amplitude and is interpreted as a low- of medium and low permeability.
permeability matrix; class Mat 2 has lower amplitude than
Mat 1 and is interpreted as a high-permeability matrix.
The class Pore is comprised of the lowest amplitude
signal, mainly the left tail of the amplitude histogram
distributions (Fig. 8). It represents the pore space larger
than the image log resolution (0.508 0.543 cm), such as
open fractures, vugs, conduits and caves. Also in this class
are borehole-wall artifacts related to sidewall cores and
breakouts, which must be segmented apart and removed
from the Pore class.
The image from Well A in Fig. 9 shows a vuggy
carbonate breccia with a high-permeability matrix (blue), a
low-permeability matrix (red) and some fragments of very
low permeability (yellow).
Fig. 10Examples of the permeability classes segmented in the

amplitude images from Well B (left) and Well C (right).
Choquete and Pray (1970) designated pore sizes between

0.4 and 25.6 cm as megapores. The pore space detected in
the high-resolution acoustic image log partially belongs to
the megapore class; and pores >25.6 cm are designated in
this paper as gigapores. Megapores are mostly vugs and
open fractures; the caves and conduits belong to the gigapore
class.
In order to estimate permeability using the segmented
image logs, the rst step was to extract the fractions of each
segment. So, the image log is separated in four images (Fig.
11) and the portion of each segmented class is extracted.
Fig. 9Examples of the permeability classes segmented in the
An equation using the Timur-Coates structure, which
amplitude images from Well A (left) and Well B (right). relates permeability to porosity, and where total porosity
is weighted by fractions of each of the segmented classes
The image from Well B (Fig. 9) shows intraclastic extracted from the image logs was developed (Eq. 3). The
carbonates with medium permeability interbedded with product/result of this equation is called image permeability

(ki). strings referred to a depth measurement, Kabs_rock is core-plug

FM1 and FM2 are fractions of the total porosity. Different absolute permeability measured in the laboratory, and Ki is
multiplication constants were used in order to distinguish the permeability calculated using the image data.
impact of each matrix on permeability. The Pore segment The input values for Eq. 3 before optimization were
was multiplied by another constant that may add to the A = 1 103; B = 4; C = 1 104; D = 2 and E = 1 106. After
megapore and gigapores a difference of about three times the optimization the estimated values for those parameters
the order of magnitude the matrix permeability. were: A = 1022.56; B = 3.19; C = 10018.35; D = 3.19 and
E = 9964.49. The error between the ki (image permeability)
and kabs (core-plug absolute permeability) calculated by
Eq. 3 using the optimized parameters was ETotal = 1.341.
The resultant curve compared to the core-plug absolute
permeability is shown in Fig. 12.
Fig. 11Extraction of the image log in four different images, each one
representing one of the permeability classes.
(3)
where PhiTnmr is total porosity measured by the NMR log;

FM 1i is Class 1 fraction ( ), is Class 2
fraction ( ), FPi is the megapore and giga-
pore fraction ( ), and A,B,C,D and E are
tting parameters.
The core-plug permeability data chosen to perform the
optimization of Eq. 3 are from Well B, which has a long
cored interval and also a DST result. The NMR estimated
permeability curve was also used for comparison.
Values of the tting parameters A, B, C, D and E were
obtained through minimizing the objective function (Eq.
4) using a simulated annealing method (Kirkpatrick et al, Fig. 12Image permeability (ki) and core-plug absolute permeability
1983). In this method, a script tests different values for (kabs ) for Well B.
the modeled parameters through many iterations, looking
for a minimum error between ki, the image-estimated For comparison, the error (ETotal) was also calculated
permeability, and kabs, the core-plug absolute permeability. between the NMR permeability curve (knmr) and the kabs.
The error was calculated using Eq. 4. The interval chosen The NMR permeability curve was calculated using Timur
to check the matrix calibration is a nonkarstied carbonate Coates equation, with parameters A, B and C optimized with
reservoir interval from Well B. laboratory measurements and the standard T2 cutoff values
for carbonates: 100 msec for free uid and 3 msec for clay-
(4) bound uid.
The calculated error for the NMR permeability curve
where N is the number of core plugs, prof is each of the data was ETotal = 2.078. In Fig. 13 it can be observed that knmr

overestimates the permeability in intervals where samples function, as shown in Eq. 5. Since DST tests are related to
have very low absolute permeability measurements. That oil effective permeability, there is a conversion to absolute
happens because the knmr addresses permeability to every permeability, using the kro_DST term. In this study, due to the
porosity fraction above the free-uid content, which does absence of these data, kro_DST = 1.
not necessarily correspond to reality. The new optimization resulted in a better t, as it can
be observed using Well C. In Fig. 14, the blue dotted line
represents the estimated permeability optimized only with
the kabs data, the green dashed line represents the average
permeability obtained after the second optimization (using
DST data) and the continuous green line represents the
effective permeability measured in the DST.
Figure 15 shows the recalculated ki from Well B. The
good agreement with the laboratory data can be seen. After
the second optimization, the estimated values for the Eq. 3
parameters were A = 410, B = 4, C = 11,350, D = 3.1, and E
= 32,000. The error between the ki and kabs was = 1.691.
Fig. 13Comparison between knmr and kabs in Well B.
After optimizing the parameters for Eq. 3, it was applied

to Wells A and C. The ki result achieved has very satisfactory
t with the matrix absolute permeability. However, when
compared with the ow capacity (kh) measured on DSTs,
the result is still underestimated.
(5)
where M is the relative weight between error equations, N is

the number of core plugs, htotal is the DST interval thickness,
q is the number of DSTs, kih is the ow capacity from the ki
equation, kDST h is the ow capacity measured in the DST,
and kro_DST is the oil relative permeability from the DST. Fig. 14Well C comparison between ki logs calibrated with kabs alone
(blue dashed line), with kabs and DST (kDST h) (red line), and average
For this reason, the ow capacity measured on the permeabilities from the DST (kmean_DST) (green solid line), from ki/kabs
DST was introduced as another variable into the objective (blue dashed line) and ki/kabs and the DST (green dashed line).

in for comparison. Gray shading is added to both curves

when permeabilities exceed 100 mD, and black shading
is added when permeabilities exceed 1,000 mD. Due to
the input of the gigapore fraction, the naturally very-high-
permeability regions have estimated ki >1,000 mD, while
the regions on the NMR permeability curve are less than
<100 mD. The fractions extracted from the acoustic image
are shown in a cumulative plot in Track 5. The complexity
of the reservoir is evident by simultaneous occurrence of
two or three different matrix fractions at the same depth.
The very-low-permeability fraction is represented in yellow,
the low-permeability fraction in red, the high-permeability
fraction in blue, and the megapore-gigapore fraction in
black. The expected productivity of the reservoir based on
the accumulated ki permeability of the tested interval is
shown in Track 8.
The ki-estimated permeability has a high resolution
due to the high sampling rate of the ultrasonic image
measurements. This characteristic allows the distinction
of thin layers with different permeability, which is very
common in these particular carbonate systems.
The optimization method estimated the parameters A, B,
C, D and E that minimized the error compared both in the
scale of matrix permeability and the scale of DST (Eq. 5).
The parameter E, which is related to high-permeability
structures, is dependent on the arrangement of the fractures
and caves, and on the volume of reservoir containing
Fig. 15ki optimized with kabs and kDSTh in Well B. those megapore-gigapore systems. Therefore, if those
characteristics change, then parameter E must be adjusted.
The values of matrix parameters A, B, C and D have
Figures 16 to 18 show the fractured, vuggy and cave been tested in stromatolitic and intraclastic karstied and
intervals that were submitted to DST (the depth values shown nonkarstied presalt carbonate reservoirs. If the rock types
in Track 1 were changed to preserve data condentiality ). change, then those parameters must also be adjusted.
The matrix samples kabs and porosity measurements (SWC/ Regarding DST results, it is important to comment that
plugs) are shown in red dots along with the permeability and the Well A (Fig. 16) production test (TP) had leak incidents
porosity curves. It can be observed that some of the matrix reported. The ideal productivity index (PI) reached 1,653
samples have very different kabs and porosity results, which m/d/kgf/cm, but neither damage nor permeability could be
indicates that the matrix is highly heterogeneous. In acoustic precisely determined due to the low quality of the data. The
images (Track 4), the low amplitude (darker) regions tested reservoir interval contains many caves, fractures and
correspond to those megapore and gigapore systems. breccia (1,025 to 1,175 m). Even with a managed pressure
In the dual-porosity reservoir intervals, the difference drilling (MPD) system, several uid losses were reported.
between absolute permeability measured in rock samples Due to operational problems it was not possible to measure
and the image-estimated permeability (ki) is very high, as can a PLT log. However, the permeability and production model
be observed by the mist of those values (Figs. 17 and 18). generated by the acoustic image data represents the cave
This difference is expected, since the megapore-gigapore interval as a very-high-permeability interval (>1,000 mD)
permeability cant be measured at the scale of SWC and with a high production potential and it can be used as an
plugs. estimated representation of the reservoirs ow potential
In Figs. 16 to 18 the NMR permeability curve (Track 2, zones.
purple) and the ki permeability (Track 3, blue) are presented

Fig. 16Well A DST interval. knmr permeability curve and kabs measured in rock samples in red (Track 2), ki permeability curve and kabs from rock
samples in red (Track 3), acoustic image log (Track 4), matrix and pore fractions extracted from the acoustic image log (Track 5), megapore-gigapore
fraction (Track 6), NMR porosity fractions and porosity measured in rock samples in red (Track7) and ki-estimated ow capacity (Track 8).

Fig. 17Well B DST interval. knmr permeability curve and kabs measured in rock samples in red (Track 2), ki permeability curve and kabs from rock
fraction (Track 6), NMR porosity fractions and porosity measured in rock samples in red (Track 7), ki-estimated ow capacity (Track 8) and interpreted
PLT (Track 9).

Fig. 18Well C DST interval. knmr permeability curve and kabs measured in rock samples in red (Track 2), ki permeability curve and kabs from rock
fraction (Track 6), NMR porosity fractions and porosity measured in rock samples in red (Track7), ki-estimated ow capacity (Track 8) and PLT
measured spin (Track 9).

Well B (Fig. 17) tested a fractured interval of the carbonate megapore-gigapore fraction. The permeable matrix fractions
reservoir. Mechanical issues were also reported but it was were inserted into a permeability equation in which the
possible to measure a PI in this interval that reached 275 constants and exponents were optimized using laboratory-
m/d/kgf/cm, and the ow capacity (kh), up to 106 mD.m, measured absolute permeability as a reference, along with
with a mean ko that reached 11 Darcies. This tested interval the permeability measured during DSTs, which is important
had massive uid losses reported during the drilling phase for calibrating permeability at the megapore-gigapore scale.
and it was necessary to do a cementing intervention. After The optimized parameters were used to estimate
the acquisition of the image logs it was possible to correlate permeability in three wells. The resultant ultrasonic-image-
the intervals where uid losses were reported to the presence based permeability curves achieved a very satisfactory match
of fractures and large vugs (1,010 to 1,038 m and 1,063 to with matrix and DST measurements. By the integration of
1,080 m). No acid intervention was performed before the the estimated ki-permeability curve it is possible to build a
DST and a PLT were acquired in that intervalthe interpreted potential production log that represents the contribution of
production log is shown in Track 9. Since there was no acid both matrix and the high-permeability structures present in
intervention, the PLT has some damage inuence, but has dual-porosity reservoirs.
a relatively good correlation with the potential production This study concludes that the permeability curve (ki)
model generated by the image log. obtained using this method provides a reliable estimation
Well C (Fig. 18) had one DST that investigated up to of permeability for both the matrix and the extremely high-
3 km away from the borehole in a U-shaped reservoir with permeability zones, such as caves and fractures, present in
fractures and caves. The PI in the tested interval reached dual-porosity carbonate reservoirs.
535 m/d/kgf/cm, with a damage ratio equal to 1 and the
ow capacity (kh) reached up to 464,000 mD.m, with ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
a mean ko that reached 2.3 Darcies. This tested interval
contains a cave (2,010 to 2,020 m) that was correlated to The authors would like to thank to Ana Patricia Laier,
a total uid loss during the drilling of this interval and two Paulo Sergio Denicol and Sandra Carneiro for their incentive
cementing interventions were necessary to control the uid and technical advice. We greatly appreciate Petrobras
losses. Fractures were associated with other reported uid (Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.) for sponsoring this project and
losses during the drilling phase (1,060 to 1,090 m). No acid also for the permission to publish this paper.
intervention was performed before the DST and the PLT
were acquired in that intervalthe measured production NOMENCLATURE
log is shown in Track 9. The result of the PLT shows that
the cementing damage was very high in this well since there Abbreviations
is no contribution from the regions were occurred uid DST = drillstem tests
losses, not even in front of the cave that caused total loss. NMR = nuclear magnetic resonance
In such a severe damage case, the PLT results represent the OBM = oil-based mud
well behavior but dont represent the reservoir actual ow PI = productivity index
characteristics. On the other hand, the permeability and PLT = production logging tool
production model generated by the acoustic image data SWC = sidewall cores
represents the high permeability and productivity of those TP = production test
regions and is a better input for the reservoir models. UBI = Ultrasonic Borehole Imager
Knowledge of the precise location and potential WBM = water-based mud
contribution of the megapore-gigapore structures is strategic
for building a more accurate reservoir model and for the Symbols
reservoir exploitation. A0 = initial amplitude of the ultrasonic beam
A(d) = amplitude attenuated by the borehole uid
CONCLUSIONS d = distance from the transducer
ETotal = calculated average error optimized with kabs
The main objective of this project was to develop a FM1i = class 1 fraction
permeability estimation method based on the ultrasonic FM2i = class 2 fraction
image log. To achieve this objective, the tool-eccentricity- FPi = megapore and gigapore fraction
corrected image data were segmented into three matrix htotal = DST interval thickness
fractions with different ranges of permeability and a Kabs = absolute permeability

kabs_rock = core-plug absolute permeability measured in the Well Logs: Use in Reservoir Modeling, Springer, 124136.
laboratory ISBN: 3-540-67840-9
kDSTh = ow capacity measured in DST Luthi, S.M., and Souhait, P., 1990, Fracture Apertures From
kh = ow capacity Electrical Borehole Scans, Geophysics, 55(7), 821833. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1442896
ki = permeability calculated by the image data
Mkel, G.H., 2007, The Modelling of Fractured Reseroirs:
kih = ow capacity from ki equation Constrains and Potential for Fracture Network Geometry and
knmr = permeability calculated by NMR data Hydraulics Analysis, in Jolley, S.J., Barr, D., Walsh, J.J., and
kmean_DST = average permeability calculated on DST interval Knipe, R.J., editors, Structurally Complex Reservoirs,
ko = oil effective permeability Geological Society London, Special Publication 292, 375
kro_DST = oil relative permeability of DST 403. ISBN: 9781862392410
M = relative weight between error equations Menger, S., 1994, New Aspects of the Borehole Televiewer
Mat 0 = high amplitude matrix Decentralization Correction, The Log Analyst, 35(4), 14-20.
Mat 1 = low amplitude matrix Warren J.E., and Root, P.J., 1963, The Behavior of Naturally
Fractured Reservoirs, Paper SPE-426, SPE Journal, 3(3),
Mat 2 = very low amplitude matrix
N = number of core plugs
Worthington, S.R.H., 1999, A Comprehensive Strategy for
PhiTnmr = total porosity measured by the NMR log Understanding Flow in Carbonate Aquifers, in Palmer, A.N.,
prof = each of the data strings referred to a depth Palmer, M.V., and Sasowsky, I.D., editors, Karst Modeling,
measurement Karst Waters Institute, Special Publication 5, 3037. ISBN:
q = number of DSTs 0-9640258-4-1
T2 = NMR transverse relaxation time
v = compressional wave velocity ABOUT THE AUTHORS
= attenuation factor
= density Candida Menezes de Jesus is currently a geologist
Total = total square error optimized with kabs and kDSTh specialist in borehole image logs and carbonate reservoirs
at Petrobras, based in Rio de Janeiro. Candida joined
Petrobras in 2007 as part of the exploration team of
REFERENCES
Petrobras International Business Unit; her activities included
Cheung, P.S.-Y., and Heliot, D., 1990, Workstation-Based Fracture exploration projects in the Turkish Western and Eastern
Evaluation Using Borehole Images and Wireline Logs, Paper Black Sea Basins and in the Alentejo and Peniche Basins,
SPE-20573 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference offshore Portugal. Prior to joining Petrobras she worked on
and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2326 siliciclastic reservoir characterization at Petrobras Research
September. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/20573-MS Center (CENPES), Rio de Janeiro. She has M. Sc. (2004)
Choquete, P.W., and Pray, L.C., 1970, Geologic Nomenclature in Basin Analysis from Rio de Janeiro State University.
and Classication of Porosity in Sedimentary Carbonates, Candidas interests include: borehole image logs, carbonate
AAPG Bulletin, 54(2), 207-250. petrophysics, diagenesis, acoustic properties, facies and
Faraguna, J.K., Chace, D.M., and Schmidt, M.G., 1989, An
permeability models.
Improved Borehole Televiewer System: Image Acquisition,
Analysis and Integration, Paper UU, Transactions, SPWLA
30th Annual Logging Symposium, Denver, Colorado, USA, Andr Compan is currently a petroleum engineer lead
1114 June. of the Special Core Analysis laboratory at the Petrobras
Halihan, T., Sharp, J.M., and Mace, R.E., 1999, Interpreting Flow Research Center (CENPES) in Rio de Janeiro. Andr joined
Using Permeability at Multiple Scales, in Palmer, A.N., Petrobras in 2004. He has M. Sc. (2003) in solid mechanics
Palmer, M.V., and Sasowsky, I.D., editors, Karst Modeling, and a D. Sc. (2015) in uid mechanics, related with clustering
Karst Waters Institute, Special Publication 5, 8196. ISBN: of relative permeability curves, both from Rio de Janeiro
0-9640258-4-1 Federal University. Andrs interests include petrophysics
Hayman, A.J., Parent, P., Cheung, P., and Verges, P., 1998, and special core analysis.
Improved Borehole Imaging by Ultrasonics, Paper SPE-
28440, SPE Production & Facilities, 13(1), 513. DOI: http://
dx.doi.org/10.2118/28440-PA Rodrigo Surmas is currently a petroleum engineer in
Kirkpatrick, S., Gelatt C.D., Jr., and Vecchi, M.P., 1983, charge of the Tomography laboratory at at the Petrobras
Optimization by Simulated Annealing, Science 220(4598), Research Center (CENPES) in Rio de Janeiro. Rodrigo
671680. DOI: 10.1126/science.220.4598.671 Joined Petrobras in 2008. He did his doctoral studies in lattice
Luthi, S.M., 2000, Acoustic Borehole Imaging, in Geological Boltzmann and its applications to ow in porous media

in 2010 at Santa Catarina Federal University. Rodrigos

interests include carbonate reservoir characterization and
the modeling of physical phenomena in porous media at the
porous scale.

PETROPHYSICS, VOL. 57, NO. 6 (DECEMBER 2016); PAGE 638643; 8 FIGURES; 1 TABLE
TECHNICAL NOTE
Normalizing Gamma-Ray Logs Acquired from a Mixture of Vertical and Horizontal

Wells in the Haynesville Shale
Chicheng Xu1, W. Sebastian Bayer1, Marcus Wunderle1, and Abhishek Bansal1
ABSTRACT in horizontal wells is not supposed to be comparable with

nearby vertical wells because it measures rock populations
This article introduces a practical workow of in different subzones.
normalizing gamma-ray (GR) logs acquired from both
vertical and horizontal wells penetrating different geological
subzones in the Haynesville shale. Gamma-ray logs are rst
normalized in all vertical wells over the same stratigraphic
zone. The normalized GR log in the nearest vertical well is
then used to reconstruct synthetic GR logs along horizontal
well paths using true stratigraphic projection method.
The measured GR logs from the horizontal wells are then
compared and normalized with the synthetic GR logs to
enforce statistical consistency with the normalized GR logs
in the associated vertical well. The workow delivers a set
of normalized GR logs in a group of vertical and horizontal
wells that provide a reliable basis for reservoir description
and modeling. Fig. 1A typical drilling scenario in the Haynesville eld. A vertical well is
used to guide the horizontal well drilling using geosteering. The vertical
well penetrates all subzones while the horizontal well only penetrates
INTRODUCTION the top four subzones.
A gamma-ray (GR) log is available in almost every well

drilled in the Haynesville shale. In many horizontal wells, Figure 2 shows a eld example in which the vertical
LWD GR is the only acquired log that provides critical well penetrates all subzones while the horizontal well
information for business decisions on drilling, fracturing, only penetrates the top four subzones. Even in the same
and completions. Due to the underlying tool physics, GR logs subzone, the horizontal well likely records more data from
acquired under different drilling conditions and borehole an individual subzone than it does the vertical well. Since
environments need to be normalized to be quantitatively the data density vs. subzone in horizontal wells is different
comparable across different zones and wells (Neinast and as compared to the vertical wells, the GR log histograms
Knox, 1974; Aly et al., 1997). The GR log normalization are not comparable to each other either. Therefore, GR-log
procedure has been well established for multiple vertical normalization work, for a mixture of vertical and horizontal
wells penetrating the same stratigraphic zones; however, the wells, is an outstanding problem in many elds. We propose a
workow for normalizing GR logs from multiple horizontal workow for normalizing GR logs, from multiple horizontal
wells drilling through different geological subzones has not wells, to enable interpreters to use the GR log in horizontal
yet been reported. The standard log-normalization procedure wells for reservoir characterization. The workow was tested
cannot be directly applied to horizontal wells because with a group of 16 horizontal wells and 8 vertical wells in
different horizontal wells drill through different target the Haynesville shale.
subzones (Fig. 1). Consequently, the GR-log histogram
Manuscript received by the Editor April 27, 2016; revised manuscript accepted September 6, 2016; manuscript accepted September
9, 2016.
1
BHP Billiton Petroleum, 1360 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, TX 77056, USA; Chicheng.xu@bhpbilliton.com

Normalizing Gamma-Ray Logs Acquired from a Mixture of Vertical and Horizontal Wells in the Haynesville Shale
vertical offset from the top of HSVL, their GR readings are assumed to
be same (GR_A = GR_B). So the GR reading from the vertical wells can
be projected on to the horizontal well path using the geosteering and
well survey information.
GR-LOG NORMALIZATION WORKFLOW FOR

A MIXTURE OF VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
WELLS
Within the study area, all GR logs from vertical wells

penetrating the Haynesville formation should be normalized
following existing standard procedures (Neinast and Knox,
1974; Aly et al., 1997). A geologically and petrophysically
consistent normalization procedure should follow the steps
below:
Step 1: Normalize GR logs in all vertical wells in the
study area over the same stratigraphic interval.
Fig. 2Comparison of GR histograms from a pair of vertical and
horizontal wells. The vertical well penetrates all subzones while the
Step 2: Construct a synthetic GR log along each
horizontal well only penetrates the top four subzones. The histogram of horizontal well path by interpolating the
GR logs from the horizontal well shows much less variability because the normalized GR log in the nearest vertical well
horizontal well stays mostly in the same subzone instead of penetrating using the TSP method (Fig. 3).
all subzones.
Step 3: Normalize the raw GR log measurement to the
TRUE STRATIGRAPHIC PROJECTION METHOD synthetic GR log by enforcing a consistent
statistical distribution (equalized mean and
Figure 3 illustrates how the GR log acquired in a standard deviation).
vertical well is projected to its corresponding horizontal Step 4: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for all horizontal wells.
wells by using a true stratigraphic projection (TSP) method. Step 5: Use normalized GR logs in all horizontal wells
Implementation of a TSP algorithm is straightforward so and vertical wells for further analysis and
it will not be detailed in this paper. The basic assumption modeling.
is a layer-cake reservoir model where reservoir properties
are the same at a certain vertical true stratigraphic thickness The normalization workow is summarized in the owchart
(TST) offset depth to the horizon top. In a heterogeneous shown in Fig. 4.
shale reservoir, this assumption is often not true; however,
comparison between the acquired LWD GR log and the
projected GR log is an indicator of how good the layer-
cake model is. Before quantifying the GR log mismatch,
normalization between the acquired LWD GR log and the
projected GR log needs to be performed. That is to say, the
GR log in a horizontal well has to be normalized with the
vertical well rst.
Fig. 3Schematic illustrating the principle of the TSP method from a

pilot well to the horizontal well to reconstruct GR log based on a layer- Fig. 4Flowchart for the GR-log normalization workow in a mixture of
cake reservoir model. If two points (Point A and Point B) have the same vertical and horizontal wells.

Xu et al.
Figure 5 shows an example of normalizing a GR log FIELD CASEHAYNESVILLE SHALE

from a horizontal well to the offset vertical well. Figure 6
shows the comparison of histograms of different GR logs. The above workow was applied to a group of 16
In this example, a signicant difference exists between the horizontal wells and 8 vertical wells in the Haynesville shale
normalized GR log and the raw GR log. (Table 1). We rst applied a standard normalization procedure
to all the vertical wells penetrating the Haynesville within
the study area. Before normalization, GR-log histograms
from all vertical wells show large variability in their mean
and standard deviation (Fig. 7a). After normalization, GR-
log histograms from all vertical wells exhibited a consistent
mean and standard deviation (Fig. 7b).
Table 1List of 16 horizontal Wells and 8 Vertical Wells in the

Haynesville Study Area
Fig. 5An example of normalizing GR logs from a horizontal to a

vertical well. Track 1, raw GR log measurement from the horizontal
well; Track 2, reconstructed synthetic GR log using true stratigraphic
projection from the nearby vertical well; Track 3, comparison of raw and
synthetic GR logs along the horizontal well; Track 4, comparison of the
normalized GR log and the reconstructed synthetic GR logs along the
horizontal well.
The rightmost two columns show the shift of mean raw GR to achieve
statistical consistency with the associated vertical well in both GAPI unit
and percentage unit.
We then applied the TSP method to construct synthetic

GR logs in all horizontal wells and normalized them against
the nearest vertical well. After normalization, we observed
statistical consistency in the normalized GR-log histograms
of all horizontal wells from each geological subzone (Figs.
8a to 8d). The rightmost two columns of Table 1 show the
Fig. 6Comparison of histograms of raw horizontal GR log (green), difference between the normalized GR log and the raw GR
reconstructed GR log (red), and normalized horizontal GR log (blue). log. The maximum percentage difference can reach 22.7%.
If this difference is not eliminated by normalization, GR logs
After applying this procedure to all horizontal wells, GR in the horizontal wells will not be quantitatively comparable
logs in both vertical and horizontal wells in the same work to each other.
area should be comparable on a quantitative basis; therefore,
can be integrated into reservoir characterization.

Fig. 7(a) GR-log histograms of all vertical wells in the study area before normalization. (b) GR-log histograms of all vertical wells in the study area
after normalization.

Xu et al.
Fig. 8(a) Normalized GR-log histograms in the subzone HSVL 1 from all horizontal wells. (b) Normalized GR-log histograms in the subzone HSVL
2 from all horizontal wells. (c) Normalized GR-log histograms in the subzone HSVL 3 from all horizontal wells. (d) Normalized GR-log histograms in
the subzone HSVL 4 from all horizontal wells.
SUMMARY Petroleum Petrophysics team and the Haynesville asset team

for their technical and data support. Great thanks also goes
We used the TSP method to generate a synthetic GR log to the Geoscience function management team for reviewing
along a horizontal well path using the nearest vertical well. and approving this article to be published. In particular,
Based on the TSP method, we successfully implemented and thanks to Dr. Juan-Mauricio Florez-Nino, Andy Brickell,
tested a new workow of normalizing multiwell GR logs Jim Seccombe, and Jorge Sanchez-Ramirez for providing
acquired in both vertical and horizontal wells penetrating constructive technical opinions to improve this paper.
different geological subzones. The results of testing on a
group of 16 horizontal and 8 vertical wells show that GR REFERENCES
logs from each geologic subzone are reasonably normalized.
The maximum percent difference between GR logs acquired Neinast, G.S., and Knox, C.C., 1974, Normalization of Well Log
in a horizontal well and its vertical pilot well can reach Digitizing, The Log Analyst , 15(2), 1825.
22.7%. Aly, A.M., Hunt, E.R., Pursell, D.A., and McCain, W.D., Jr., 1997,
Application of Mutli-Well Normalization of Open Hole Logs
in Integrated Reservoir Studies, Paper SPE-38263 presented
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
at the SPE Western Regional Meeting, Long Beach, California,
USA, 2527 June. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/38263-MS
The authors would like to thank the BHP Billiton

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Marcus Wunderle is a Geologist

at BHP Billiton. He has 10 years of
Chicheng Xu received his PhD de- experience in the oil and gas industry
gree in petroleum engineering at The spanning conventional development,
University of Texas at Austin (2013). unconventional exploration and
He received his BS in physics from development. Most recently he has
the University of Science and Tech- been working on the Haynesville
nology of China (2002) and his shale as a Geologist and Geomodeler.
MPHIL in physics from the Chinese He is a graduate of Ohio University
University of Hong Kong (2004). with an MS in geology, focusing
Before joining the Formation Eval- on Geoscience Education, and a BS in Earth Science Education
uation Research Consortium group focusing on geology. His current work is primarily focused on
in the Department of Petroleum interpreting and integrating all subsurface data into regional to
and Geosystems Engineering at the well-scale geomodels for reservoir characterization.
University of Texas at Austin, he worked at Schlumberger Beijing
Geoscience Center as software engineer from 2004 to 2009. He Abhishek Bansal graduated with
worked as petrophysicist in BP America from 2013 to 2014 and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering
currently works as petrophysicist in the Geoscience function team from National Institute of
of BHP Billiton Petroleum. He had 20 technical papers published Technology, Surathkal (2006) and
in conferences and journals and served in technical committees of an MSc in Petroleum Engineering
SPE and SEG. from The University of Texas at
Austin (2012). He worked for
Sebastian Bayer is a Senior Halliburton as a Wireline eld
Reservoir Geologist working engineer (20062010) before joining
as a reservoir integrator for UT AUSTIN as a research associate.
Unconventional and Conventional He is currently working with BHP Billiton primarily focusing on
projects. He has more than 10 years multiwell integrated petrophysical analysis for conventional and
of industry experience focused on unconventional reservoirs.
integrated-t-for-purpose reservoir
modeling, static models designed
with the Engineers to provide
integrated solutions for dynamic
simulation. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a
MS degree focused in Structural Geology and Stratigraphy. He also
holds a BS in Petroleum Geology from the Universidad Nacional
de Colombia. His current interests focus on integrated reservoir
characterization and implementation of discrete fracture networks
(DFN) based on geologic scenarios to understand the matrix
and fracture components of the system. Integration of well logs,
petrofacies, seismic attribute volumes, and microseismic event
clouds in relation to different geomechanical units and stress. His
work is focused on single-well analyses and multiwell interference
studies based on robust static parameters for projects to evaluate
reservoir quality and production performance.

SPWLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Houston, TX
April 8, 2016
President Thaimar Ramirez called the meeting to order at Action Item: Set up a payment plan for the Resistivity SIG
7:05 a.m. The meeting was held at the SPWLA Business for the conditional contract loan of $925.
Ofce in Houston. In attendance Shujie Liu, Visiting
Guest, Past President David Kennedy. Remote attendance Action Item: Regional Director, Katerina Yared monitor
Dan Krygowski, Katerina Yared, Oliver Mullins, Zhipeng the Tulsa and Lafayette Chapters activity. Remind the
Liu, Emmanuel Bize and Luis Quintero. Assigned proxy Chapters to close their EIN number if they decide to go
votes; Tim Duggan assigned Thaimar Ramirez, Jose Silva inactive.
assigned Thaimar Ramirez, Brett Wendt assigned Katerina
Action Item: Sharon Johnson order speaker gifts for
Yared, Michel Claverie assigned Oliver Mullins and Wanida
student chapters.
Sritongthae assigned Luis Quintero
Action Item: Regional Director, Katerina Yared reach out
The training Center at the SPWLA Headquarter ofce has
to Eric Murphy for an update of the 2017 Annual Symposium
ofcially been named after our Founding Father and First
in Oklahoma City.
President Frank S. Millard.
Action Item: VP IT, Zhipeng Liu setup an email address
A motion made by Regional Director, Katerina Yared to
for the Frank S. Millard Training Center
accept the awardees as presented by the 2015-2016 Awards
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approved, and the motion passed.
Respectively Submitted by
A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins to Sharon Johnson
accept the 2018 Annual International Symposium Host Bid Executive Director
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approved, and the motion passed.
A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins to

accept the recommendation by Past President to give the
Meritorious Award to Chengli Dong was 2nd by VP IT,
Zhipend Liu. All approved, and the motion passed.
Action Item: VP Publications, Oliver Mullins- Notify

Chengli Dong of his award.
Action Item: VP Finance, Membership and Admin, Jose

Silva hold an email BOD meeting for the annual SPWLA
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Action Item: Sharon Johnson contact the attorney for

SPWLA staff contracts.
A motion made by Regional Director, Dan Krygowski to

give the Resistivity SIG a conditional contract loan in the
amount of $925.00 for the use of reimbursing Mark Frey
for out of pocket attorney fees for the SIG was 2nd by VP
Publications, Oliver Mullins. All approved, and the motion
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Houston, TX
September 9, 2016
President Luis Quintero called the meeting to order at A motion made by VP Education, Zoya Heidari to approve
8:00 a.m. The meeting was held at the SPWLA Business a total annual budget of $45,000 for the Distinguished
Ofce in Houston. In attendance Oliver Mullins, Zhipeng Speakers travel expenses shared by 15 speakers with
Liu, Jennifer Market and Zoya Heidari. Remote attendance a maximum amount of $3,000 per speaker. 2nd by VP
Michel Claverie, Freddy Garcia, Wanida Sritongthae, David Technology, Jennifer Market. All approved, and the motion
Spain and John Rasmus. passed.
A motion made by VP IT, Zhipeng Liu to wave the reading A motion made by VP Technology, Jennifer Market to table
of the Board minutes from the June Board meeting was 2nd the Symposium Short Course Instructor travel reimbursement
by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins. All approved, and the budget 2nd by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins. All approved,
motion passed. and the motion passed.
A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins to A motion made by VP Technology Jennifer Market to table
accept the recommendation of Past-President, Thaimar the approval of the annual budget 2nd by VP IT Zhipeng Liu.
Ramirez for the BOD Nominating Committee to include All approved, and the motion passed.
Adrian Zett, Rick Aldred, Matt Blyth and Zoya Heidari. Action Item: VP Finance, Membership and Admin, Jose
2nd by VP Technology Jennifer Market. All approved and Silva send the budget to the entire board. Request an e-board
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A motion made by VP IT, Zhipeng Liu to enter into a A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins that
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of recommending to the President a modication in due
A motion made by VP Technology, Jennifer Market to course of the current charter to harmonize the model was 2nd
accept VP IT, Zhipeng Lius 2016-2016 nancial budget by VP Technology Jennifer Market. All approved, and the
included in his report and was 2nd by VP Education, Zoya motion passed.
Heidari. All approved, and the motion passed.
Action Item: Past-President, Thaimar Ramirez as Chair to
A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins to ap- form a SIG Committee. She is authorized but not obliged
prove the budget of an Annual Salary $47,700 and Annual to invite representatives of SIGs that have not signed the
Benet Package $16,200, for a total of $63,900 submitted charter agreement.
by Executive Director, Sharon Johnson to hire an Executive
Assistant for the business ofce 2nd by Director Middle East/ A motion made by VP Publications, Oliver Mullins that a
Africa/India, David Spain. All approved, and the motion Student Chapter cannot be approved by the Board of Directors
passed. unless the by-laws include the Charter Agreement, and that
the Student Chapter may exist without a local chapter, 2nd
Action Item: VP IT, Zhipeng Liu to make recommendations by VP Technology, Jennifer Market. All approved, and the
on the qualied candidate for the position. motion passed.
A motion made by Director Far East/Asia, Wanida A motion made by VP Technology, Jennifer Market to
Sritongthae to approve the Presidential Travel budget for the approve a nancial budget presented by VP Education, Zoya
current President to take 4 overseas trips to visit SPWLA Heidari to gift each Student Chapter $500 for their internal
International Chapters for $5000.00 each for a total annual paper competition. The total annual budget is not to exceed
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India, David Spain. All approved, and the motion passed. motion passed.

Houston, TX
September 9, 2016
A motion made by Director Far East/Asia, Wanida A motion made by Director Far East/Asia, Wanida
Sritongthae to accept the SPWLA China Student Chapter Sritongthae to adjourn the meeting was 2nd by VP Technology,
pending the signing of the Charter 2nd by VP Publications, Jennifer Market.
Oliver Mullins. All approved, and the motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:06pm
Action Item: Director Far East/Asia, Wanida Sritongthae to
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Sharon Johnson
A motion made by Director Middle East/Africa/India, Executive Director
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pending the signing of the Charter 2nd by VP Technology,
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Action Item: Director Middle East/Africa/India, David

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A motion made by Director Latin America, Freddy Garcia

to accept the SPWLA Brazil Student Chapter, SPWLA IPN
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A motion made by Director North America 1, John Rasmus

to accept the SPWLA University of Houston Student Chapter
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Action Item: Director North America 1, John Rasmus to

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A motion made by VP Technology, Jennifer Market to

accept the new members as presented by President, Dr.
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A motion made by VP Technology, Jennifer Market to

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CHAPTER NEWS
ABERDEEN CHAPTER Recent Events
(Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society, AFES) 5 October 2016 AFES held its annual general meeting
(AGM) in the Town House in Aberdeen. AFES regulars
General News were joined by a good showing of students from
A new committee was elected at the AGM: Aberdeen and Robert Gordon Universities who have
President Ed Downer (LR Senergy) newly started MSc courses which include petrophysics
Past President and DEVEX Chair in their curriculums.
Richard Arnold (Independent Consultant)
VP Technology Monthly Meetings
John Banks (Maersk Oil)
VP Technology Seminars
Csilla Fabian (Bon Accord Care) &
Robert Maddock (Altus)
Secretary Bee Watcharophat (Schlumberger)
Treasurer Peter Yule (Task Geoscience)
University Liaison
Nicholas Backert (Task Geoscience)
Aberdeen University Student Rep
Calum Robertson
RGU Student Rep
Gbenga Oluyemi
Charity and Sponsorship
Derek Littlejohn (TAQA)
AFES October 2016 meeting. The AGM was held at the Town and
Website Angela Newsum (Independent)
County Room, Aberdeen Town House.
Technical Committee
Ryan McLauglin (Corex) The meeting included reports on the societys activities
James Patton (Schlumberger) from the President and the state of the nances from the
Simon McMahon (Shell) Treasurer. Despite the effects of the oil industry downturn,
Jamie Miller (Miller Oileld Solutions) outgoing President Richard Arnold was able to report
Kostas Christoum (Aberdeen University) that the society was thriving, and continues to promote
Jan van der Wal (LR Senergy) petrophysics and formation evaluation through a variety
Stephen Morris (Baker Hughes) of activities. The Treasurers report showed that,
Neil Cardy (Independent Consultant) although funds had reduced over the past 12 months,
the nances remain healthy. With the stabilization of
the industry, renewed efforts to raise sponsorship will be
undertaken going forward.
To complete the evening, there was a three-cornered

debate regarding the best/correct porosity to use in
reservoir evaluation: Total or Effective. A panel of made
up of well-known industry guresColin McPhee,
Mike Webster and Paul Spoonerheld an entertaining
and often lively debate on the pros and cons of using
both approaches. Fortunately, Alan Johnson was on
hand to act as moderator and keep the speakers in order!
AFES October 2016 meeting. Some of the 201617 AFES Committee

(left to right): Kostas Christoum, Bee Watcharophat, Calum Robertson,
John Banks (kneeling), Richard Arnold, Ed Downer, Csilla Fabian, Neil
Cardy, Luc van der Wal, Stephen Morris, and Nicholas Backert.

CHAPTER NEWS
AFES October 2016 meeting. Porosity debate speakers defending their

positionsliterally! (Left to right): Colin McPhee; Paul Spooner; Mike
Webster; Alan Johnson and AFES President Richard Arnold.
9 November 2016 The meeting was held at our usual AFES President Ed Downer (right) with European Director, Michel
venue in the Station Hotel, and featured a presentation Claverie
from SPWLA Distinguished Speaker, Geoff Page
01 December 2016 Our traditional Xmas Quiz Night was
(Baker Hughes) entitled Joint Interpretation of
held in the Ballroom of the Station Hotel. AFES
Magnetic Resonance Fluid Volumes and Resistivity-
members and friends pitted their wits against each
Based Water Saturation: A Missed Opportunity?
other with questions on a range of nonpetrophysical
A detailed and interesting talk was followed by a Q&A
topics. Previous years had seen questions on chocolate
session, which continued into the networking session,
bars, ags of the words, types of leaves and the ever
which followed.
popular music round! This fun event has a serious side,
with all prots going to the Aberdeen Royal Childrens
In addition, to the main technical speaker, new AFES
Hospital ARCHIE fund.
President Ed Downer, outlined some of the challenges
he anticipates in the coming year and his plans for
Upcoming Events
dealing with them. SPWLA Regional Director Michel
Details of the January meeting have not been nalized
Claverie, addressed the meeting to outline the proposed
to date. Details of these and future events can be found on
new SPWLA Chapter Agreement. A General meeting
the AFES website www.afes.org.uk or on the Aberdeen
will be called in the near future, once the AFES committee
Formation Evaluation Society Facebook page.
have gathered all the information on the ramications of
this new agreement.
AUSTRALIA CHAPTER
Formation Evaluation Society of Australia (FESAus)
General News
FESAus, the Australian chapter of SPWLA combines
the formation evaluation societies from around Australia.
Technical Meetings are held in Perth on the second Tuesday
of each month, with webcasts of the presentations available
soon after for members from other states to view. Please visit
www.fesaus.org for meeting information.
Recent Events
11 October 2016 The annual FESAus Masterclass
was held in Perth on the topic Integrating Formation
Evaluation and Geology from Logs. The half-day
AFES November 2016 meeting. AFES President Ed Downer (right) event included presentations from 10 excellent speakers
presents a thank you gift to SPWLA Distinguished Speaker Geoff Page whose combined industry experience exceeded 300
(left).
years, that ranged from seismic scale to core-plug scale.
Thanks to all the contributors on the day, especially our

CHAPTER NEWS
speakers: Gerry McGann (Incremental Oil and Gas), Ed

Hooper (Woodside), Mike Walker (Walker
Petrophysics), Martin Kennedy (Independent
Consultant), Steve Abernethy (Shell Australia), Sagar
Ronghe (Down Under Geosolutions), Tony Kennaird
(Corelab), Wesley Emery (iRPM Pty Ltd), Jeremy
Prosser (TaskFronterra), Ben Clennell (CSIRO). Thanks
also to Peter Bright and Irina Emelyanova who intended
to present but were unable to attend on the day.
Upcoming Events FESQ October 2016 Annual Technology Day. Brendan Balmain, FESQ
FESAus Technical meetings will resume in February Treasurer, welcomes the participants.
2017. Please visit the Technical Meetings section of the
website www.fesaus.org for details on other upcoming
BANGKOK CHAPTER
technical talks and events.
General News
On 03 October 2016, the SPWLA-Bangkok Chapter
FESQ Formation Evaluation Society of Queensland
ofcially afliated with the Society of Petrophysicists and
Well Log Analysts. The Bangkok Chapter Committee looks
General News
forward to working more closely with International SPWLA
FESQ, a local chapter of the Formation Evaluation
in Houston and looks forward to inviting distinguished
Society of Australia (FESAus) is based in Brisbane,
speakers to present to our members
Queensland. To become a FESQ member, please sign up to
Generally our meetings are held on the third Wednesday
the FESQ mailing list at https://fesaus.org/ or email fesqld@
of every month; details can be found on the Bangkok Capter
gmail.com. Membership is free.
website, accessible via the main SPWLA.org website.
FESQ Social Media prole is very active on LinkedIn
and we welcome you to get in touchlets connect! Watch
Recent Events
this space to get news about our next seminars, workshops
20 October 2016 Our November technical meeting was a
and short courses! Just search for FESQ and you will nd
joint meeting with the SPE-Thailand. The chapter
us.
provided the speaker, our own Andrew Logan (of
PTTEP), who discussed Integrated Permeability,
Recent Events
Capillary Pressure and Rock Typing. The talk was well
05 October 2016 FESQ held its Annual Technology Day,
attended by SPE members as well as SPWLA members
which was a joint event with SPE QLD Section and the
and students.
Department of Natural Resources and Mines. A full day
of talks covered: (1) advancement of innovative
technologies in the mining, petroleum and gas industries;
(2) simulation models, workows and case histories
applied in Queensland; (3) recent developments in
the science of petrophysics, and (4) graduate/
postgraduate posters were presented. A good turnaround
was seen and very positive feedback received. A special
thanks for the Geological Survey of Queensland who, in
conjunction with the Queensland Government, provided
the conference facilities, and to our wonderful sponsors
for their support.
Bangkok Chapter October 2016 meeting. Ronald The, President SPE

Thailand Section (left) showing his appreciation to Andrew Logan
(PTTEP) for his technical talk.

CHAPTER NEWS
28 November 2016 Steve Antonson (Weatherford) CHINA UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM (BEIJING)

presented his work on Reliable LWD Thermal Neutron STUDENT CHAPTER
Porosity and Gamma Ray Acquired Over 400F (SPWLA-CUPB)
(204C).
General News
The China University of Petroleum (Beijing) Student
BOSTON CHAPTER Chapter, which is an afliate of the Department of
Well Logging, College of Geophysics and Information
General News Engineering, was established in 2016. The department
The Boston Chapter of the SPWLA chapter is pleased currently has 34 undergraduate and graduate students.
to be wrapping up our rst full calendar year of engaging The chapter is dedicated to sharing the latest news and
programming, having ofcially formed the chapter in knowledge from Chinas petroleum, mineral industry and
August of 2015. We have seen our membership soar during research institutes with students and young scholars, as well
our rst 17 months as a chapter. We are proud to have held 11 as strengthening international exchange and cooperation.
successful events in 2016, with speakers representing a wide To promote the chapter, we built web pages in QQ and
range of industry interests, from universities to operators to Wechat (a popular social media app in China), where we
service companies to independent consultants. A full listing regularly publicize ofcial SPWLA activities, free lectures
of previous events can be found on our chapter website and electronic journals, as well as the frontiers and current/
(http://alturl.com/u7yh5). new trends in oil exploration and authoritative information.
The chapter will help the college hold an annual logging
Recent Events symposium and logging technical competition.
02 November 2, 2016 Mayank Malik (Chevron Energy
Technology Company) a 20162017 SPWLA Recent News
Distinguished Speaker presented his talk, How Can 08 October The rst technical conference of the SPWLA-
Microfracturing Improve Reservoir Management? CUPB was well attended by faculty and students from
16 December 2016 Dzevat Omeragic (Schlumberger) the Department of Well Logging. In the rst part of the
presented the 2016-2017 SPWLA Distinguished conference, Xiaohong Chen, President of the College of
Lecture, Looking Ahead of the Bit While Drilling: Geophysics and Information Engineering, Shizhen
From Vision to Reality. Ke, Dean of the Department of Well Logging) and faculty
advisors Yan Zhang and Li Tang delivered speeches in
Both meetings and subsequent networking luncheons which they expressed their congratulations and
were well attended and the local community is looking expectations for the new student chapter. President
forward to the chapters 2017 programming. Chen expressed hopes that our students will display great
initiative whether in academic exchanges or at
international conferences. Professor Ke gave a brief
introduction about the development of SPWLA in
China. In the second part of the conference, Qingfeng
Zhu (Schlumberger) and Xin Zhao (Wenlushi education)
gave technical presentations entitled Strategic Drilling
and Pore Pressure Prediction, respectively. The talks
were followed by a broad and in-depth exchange of
views on the presentations in a very warm atmosphere,
from which the students benetted. The meeting was
hosted by the chairman of the SPWLA-CUPB Can
Liang.
Boston Chapter November 2016 meeting. Boston Chapter President

Drew Pomerantz (left) and SPWLA Distinguished Speaker Mayank
Malik (right) after Mayanks presentation.
Upcoming Events
The speaker at January 2017 meeting will be Vegar
Ravlo (Project ManagerDigital Rock Solutions, Thermo
Fisher Scientic). Additional 2017 events are in the planning SPWLA-CUPB October 2016 meeting. Group photo at the rst meeting
stages. Check the chapter website for details. of the new student chapter.

CHAPTER NEWS
DALLAS CHAPTER
General News
Join us for the monthly meetings, which are held the
second Thursday of the month beginning on September and
running through May. Meetings taking place on DeGolyer
and MacNaughton (East Tower) 5001 Spring Valley Rd, Ste
800E Dallas TX 75244. The cost of the luncheon is $20 and
guest are welcome to attend, we please encourage to rsvp on
dallasspwla@yahoo.com.
20162017 Dallas Chapter ofcers are:

President John Byars
Vice President Sarkar Migranko
Treasurer Ray Wydrinski
Secretary Violeta Lujan
Recent Events
Dallas Chapter October 2016 meeting. Erik Rylander (right) receives
September 2016 Max Qinhong Hu (UT Austin) gave the the speakers award from John Byars, President of the Dallas Chapter.
rst talk of the season on Nano-Petrophysics Studies of
Fine grained Reservoirs. It was followed by a very good
Q&A and discussion.
DENVER CHAPTER
(Denver Well Logging Society, DWLS)
General News
Join us for the monthly DWLS meetings, which are held
the third Tuesday of the month, beginning in September and
running through May. Meetings take place in the Mercantile
Room at the Wynkoop Brewing Company in downtown
Denver. Networking social begins around 11:20 AM, lunch is
served at 11:45 AM, and the presentation starts at 12:00 PM.
The cost for the DWLS luncheon meeting is $20 and guests
are welcome to attend. Visit the DWLS website at www.
dwls.spwla.org to make your luncheon reservations, renew
your membership, or join the society. Annual membership
dues are $10 and Lifetime Membership is only $75.
The DWLS is sponsoring scholarship and grant
opportunities for graduate students attending a college in the
United States Rocky Mountain region, which includes the
states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming,
Utah, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
Graduate students who are pursuing a degree in a eld related
Dallas Chapter September 2016 meeting. Speaker Max Hu (right) to upstream oileld well log interpretation, specically
receives a speakers award from John Byars, President of the Dallas
Chapter.
petrophysics, geomechanics, geophysics, petroleum, or
geology, are encouraged to apply. Application materials and
October 2016 Erik Rylander (Schlumberger) spoke on further details are available on the SPWLA website.
Novel Determination of Total Gas in Place (TGIP)
for Shale From Magnetic Resonance Logs. This talk Recent Events
was completely full and followed by excellent 18 October 2016 Dick Merkel (Denver Petrophysics LLC)
discussions. The Chapter thanks Erik Rylander for great gave a presentation on advanced interpretation
presentation. techniques using dielectric logging suites to distinguish

CHAPTER NEWS
ushed zones in mature reservoirs with a history of June 2016. The chapter is afliated with the Laboratory
waterooding. The talk was very well attended. of Geophysics and Petrophysics (LAGEP). Dr. Marila
Gomes dos Santos Ribeiro is the faculty advisor. The idea
and challenge to form the chapter came out of a reservoir
petrophysics workshop in April 2016, to which Carlos
Francisco Beneduzi (Petrobras) brought the president of
SPWLA Brazil, Fernando Maia (Petrobras). The challenge
was accepted and today university and industry work together
to develop the area of petrophysics in Brazil. Currently,
membership is at 30 students from the following universities:
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ ), Fluminense
Federal University (UFF), the University of the State of Rio
de Janeiro (UERJ), and the Pontical Catholic University of
Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ). Our challenge is to increase our
membership and form a strong chapter with strong actions
within the area of well proling and petrophysics.
DWLS October 2016 meeting. Speaker Dick Merkel (left) is thanked for The new Chapter ofcers are:
his presentation. President Laura Lima Angelo dos Santos
Vice President Lucas Adriano
15 November 2016 Matthew Blyth (Schlumberger Marketing Lucas Batista.
Acoustics and Geomechanics Domain Head) discussed Secretary Maira Lima
the anisotropy of dipole shear waves acquired with Accounting Renata Leonhardt
LWD tools. The talk was well attended. Advisor Marila Gomes dos Santos Ribeiro
Events Anna Carolina Arantes Peres
Irama Mendes
Karina Favacho
Marcos Nunes
DWLS November 2016 meeting. Matthew Blyth was the presenter.
13 December 2016 The DWLS Holiday Party and Winter UFRJ student chapter rst meeting.
Networking Social was held in downtown Denver at the
Rialto Caf. Recent Events
A series of events was held in each month between June
and November 2016. Chapter members working with Dr.
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO Rebeiro took care of the organizing details and management
(UFRJ) STUDENT CHAPTER all these events as well as setting up a Facebook page to
publicize them. These include: (1) Monthly visits to the
General News basic and advanced petrophysics laboratories of CENPES/
A new student chapter in South America was formed PETROBRAS, e.g., the basic petrophysics, nuclear
at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFEJ) on 3 magnetic resonance and digital rock labs; (2) a partnership
with Paradigm that nanced chapter SPWLA shirts; several

CHAPTER NEWS
presentations/short courses covering a variety of topics: Permeability and Porosity in Carbonate Rocks Using
Cementation on Carbonaceous Stones and its Application Digital Rock Physics.
in the Oil Industry and Heterogeneities of Carboniferous 06 December 2016 The 98th Chapter Meeting will be held
Rocks, both presented by Carol Cazarin (CENPES/PDGP/ in JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Tokyo Head Ofce
CMR); The Role of Failures in Fluid Flow in Reservoirs, on December 6, 2016. The board meeting will also be
presented by Dr. Aline Theophilo Silva (CENPES/ held prior to the chapter meeting in the same venue.
PETROBRAS); and The Chilean Tsunamis: Modeling
and Rapid Estimation, presented by Dr. Mauricio Fuentes
Serrano (Department of Geophysics University of Chile).
JFES September 2016. Group photo at 22nd Formation Evaluation

Symposium of Japan.
LONDON CHAPTER
(London Petrophysical Society, LPS)
Recent Events
06 September 2016 Harald Bolt (ICT Europe) gave a well-
attended evening seminar entitled Along-Hole
UFRJ Student Chapter visit to PETROBRAS labs. Depthis there a Way Up. The discussion that followed
identied the importance of this key, yet often overlooked
measurement.
04 October 2016 LPS Iain Hillier Academic Grant recipient
Alexandra Sarney, a PhD student at Imperial College
London, gave a summary of her research Petrophysical
Interpretation Techniques of Unconventional
ReservoirsEagle Ford Formation, Texas.
20 October 2016 At the one-day seminar Petrophysics
202, a range of operator, service company and academic
UFRJ Student Chapter with new chapter shirts nanced through a speakers introduced more advanced concepts of
partnership with Paradigm. shaly sands, thin beds, low-resistivity pay and casedhole
evaluation.
15 November 2016 AGM was held in conjunction with
JAPAN CHAPTER
an off-topic seminar where Roma Agrawal discussed
(Japan Formation Evaluation Society, JFES)
Construction of Skyscrapers.
15 December 2016 A one-day seminar on Rock Typing
Recent Events
What to Use When was held at Burlington House and
2229 September 2016 The recent 22nd Formation
followed by the 2016 Presidents Evening and Christmas
Evaluation Symposium of Japan (see October issue)
party.
was a success with 96 attendees, despite the tight
situation in the oil industry. Two best student papers
Upcoming Events
were selected and awarded at the symposium closing
24 January 2017 A free one-day seminar entitled New
ceremony: Best Student JFES President Award to
Technology 2017, at Burlington House.
Hiroko Hiramoto (Waseda University) for Experiments
31 January 2017 Evening meeting, TBC, Burlington
of Micro-Bubble CO2 EOR Using Berea Sandstone
House.
Core Samples, and the Best Student SPWLA President
Award to Khurshed Rahimov (The Petroleum Institute,
We have a full Technical Program of evening talks
Abu Dhabi, UAE) for Quantitative Analysis of Absolute

CHAPTER NEWS
and one day seminars for 20162017 including several 16 November 2016 Thomas Richard gave a presentation
SPWLA Distinguished Lecturers and students who have on Reducing the Uncertainty in Core Analyses with the
received LPS Bursaries and grants to support their studies. Use of Continuous Core Based Data.
For more information on the London chapter please visit 08 December 2016 A half-day topical seminar on
www.lps.org.uk Geomechanics Applications for Drilling, Completions
and Reservoir Management was held.
MALAYSIA CHAPTER
(Formation Evaluation Society of Malaysia, FESM) THE NETHERLANDS CHAPTER
(Dutch Petrophysical Society, DPS)
Recent Events
22 September 2016 Siti Najmi (Petronas Carigali) delivered General News
the September talk Capturing the Best Practices in The DPS strives to bring together professionals in The
Coring Unconsolidated Formation for Determination Netherlands that work with or have an interest in Formation
of In-Situ Petrophysical Propertiesa Case Study. Siti Evaluation. After a period of inactivity, the DPS has been
discussed how the meticulously planned coring formally revived under a new board. The rst event was
and plugging procedures were successfully carried out. held in May 2016. We continue to seek the appointment
The procedures involve the use of 80:20 oil-water ratio of a student representative to the board to represent the
synthetic-based mud along with the doping agent students and young professionals in the Dutch petrophysics
deuterium oxide (D2O) for contamination quantication. community. Visit www.dps-nl.org for more information
In addition, onsite plugging was a critical step because about the society.
it minimized mud invasion and uid redistribution
within the core plugs. As a result, they achieved less Recent Events
than 5% contamination, thus ensuring representative 01 September 2016 The Dutch Petrophysical Society held
measurement of in-situ Rw, salinity and Sw in the its second event in May, titled Permeability and
laboratory. Capillary Pressure, at the KIVI building in Den Haag.
20 October 2016 Richard Holland (Lundin Malaysia) The successful event, which included two presentations,
delivered his talk on Successful Geosteering in a was sponsored by Shell and was very well attended
Marginal Oil Field in the Penyu Basin. Richard and his by representatives of the operating companies, service
team learned that the optimum solution to the companies, and independent consultants working in the
development of the eld was the use of horizontal Dutch oil and gas industry. Julian Hulea (Shell
geosteered wells. These horizontal wells are planned to Petrophysics Discipline Lead), 20162017
steer through thin oil column, which are trapped in low SPWLA Distinguished Lecturer, gave a presentation
relief four-way dip structure. At the same time, the wells on Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoirs: Ensuring
have to stay above the oil-water contact, which is Consistency of Subsurface Models by Maximizing
literally several feet away. The drilling campaign was the Use of Saturation Height Models and Dynamic
a successful one where they managed to drill 12 Data, and Albert Hebing (Laboratory Manager,
horizontal wells. The total drilled length was 6.5 km. PanTerra Geoconsultants) gave a presentation on
The wells also achieved outstanding 2% NPT and 97% Laboratory Test Methods for Determining Capillary
net-to-gross. Pressure Data.
08 December 2016 The theme of the third event was
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Presentations on
various aspects of NMR were given by Holger Thern
(Baker Hughes), 20162017 SPWLA Distinguished
Speaker, and by Wim Looyestijn (consultant). The
event was sponsored by Baker Hughes.
Upcoming Events
02 March 2017 The rst DPS event of 2017 will be held at
the KIVI building in Den Haag beginning at 3:30 PM.
FEMS October 2016 meeting. Richard Holland (right) received a gift for
his talk from FESM VP Technology Thanapala Murugesu (left).

CHAPTER NEWS
Please visit the Dutch Petrophyscal Society website Business Meeting

at http://www.dps-nl.org or our Facebook page for more Cornelis Huiszoon, the SIG Treasurer presented the
information on future events and how to register to attend. nancial report. Shell was thanked for their support that
allowed keeping the registration fee reasonable. This
was followed by presentations and general discussions
NUCLEAR LOGGING SIG on three technical topics: (1) Present and Future
Nuclear Calibration Standards (since University
General News of Houston API Calibration Pits are most likely to go
The Nuclear Logging SIG recently reafrmed its away) featured successive short technical presentations
association with the SPWLA by signing the newly by Richard Pemper (Weatherford), Cornelis Huiszoon
implemented SPWLA Chapter/SIG Afliation Charter and (Schlumberger), Feyzi Inanc (Baker Hughes), and
is participating with other SIGs in updating the document. Gordon Moake (Halliburton); (2) an update on the
DOE scoping study on source replacement by Ahmed
Recent Events Badruzzaman, and (3) Neutron Porosity and Pulsed
October 2016 The annual technical meeting of the SIG Neutron Standards documents by Dale Fitz.
was held in the Frank Millard Lecture Hall at the SPWLA
Headquarters in Houston. Ahmed Badruzzaman, the Two SIG Committees were formed, one on replacement
SIG Chair, and R.J., Radtke, SIG Vice-chair of of API Gamma-ray Standards and the other on
Technology and the primary organizer of the meeting, development of Neutron Porosity Standards.
welcomed everyone in attendance and online. Ahmed
also noted the attendance of several of his partners when The details of the meeting can be found on the SIG
the SIG was rst formed in 2000. Forty-one people Webpage: www.spwla.org/SPWLA/Chapters_SIGs/
signed up to attend the meeting in person while SIGs/Nuclear/SPWLA/Chapters_SIGs/SIGs/
eighteen people signed up for the Webinar. The attendees Nuclear_/Nuclear.aspx?hkey=973bb9a5-28f5-4056-
included representatives from oil companies (13), be60-61fefedbe145
service companies (27), consultants or other small
companies (13), and academics (5). The meeting was
divided into three sessions: technical presentations
case studies, technical presentationstechniques, and
the business meeting.
Nuclear Logging SIG 2016 meeting.
Case Studies
Jean-Marc Donadille (Schlumberger) Formation
Evaluation in Norwegian Conglomerate Reservoirs PARIS CHAPTER
Using Neutron-Induced Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy and (Socit pour lAvancement de lInterprtation des
Dielectric Dispersion (via Webinar) Diagraphies, SAID)
Anton Nikitin (Shell) Comparative Tests of Litho-
Scanner, PNX, and RST in Casedhole Wells Recent Events
Brain LeCompte (Murphy) Simultaneous Carbon and 29 November 2016 The chapter held a half-day technical
Sigma for Reservoir Monitoring in the Deep Water session in Paris at the SGF (Societe Geologique
Thunder Bird Field. de France) room. Following the introduction by SAID
Chapter President Jacques Delalex, seven presentations
Techniques on Core, Log and Rock Typing were presented using
Freddy Mendez (Baker Hughes) Casedhole web Lync:
Spectroscopy from Pulsed-Neutron Tools Raphael Lalou (RGEPI) Rock-Typing as a Key Tool
Tong Zhou (Schlumberger) Fast Neutron Cross for the Characterization and Modeling of
Section Measurement Physics and Applications Conventional and Non-Conventional Reservoirs
Xiaogang Han (BP) Nuclear Modeling Capabilities Roland Lenormand (CYDAREX, Past-President of
from an Operators Perspective SCA) Comparison Between Porosities Measured in
Don McKeon (Consultant) Dynamic Environmental Laboratory and Porosities Derived from Logs
Corrections. Marc Fleury (IFP-EN) Use of RMN for Rock-Typing:

CHAPTER NEWS
Link With Pore-Size Distribution chapter activities were made possible due to the nancial
Philippe Rabiller (Geo Consulting) An Implementation contributions of Houston SPWLA.
of Purcell Method for MICP Integration, Pore Typing
and Saturation Height Modeling Recent Events
Emmanuel Caroli (TOTAL) Log Petrophysical 20 October 2016 Dr. Dale Fitz (ExxonMobil) enlightened
Inversion at Well Scale our chapter about pulsed-neutron capture logging.
Olivier Marche (Schlumberger SISMpTC) From 2 November 2016 Dr. W. Allen Gilchrist (Lone Star
Cores to 3D Model: Preparation of a Static Model Petrophysics) gave a presentation on pulsed-neutron
Using SCAL Data spectrometry, which was partially built upon Dr. Fitzs
JP Leduc and P. Martinet (TOTAL) Supporting earlier presentation, helped to reinforce the physics of
Sedimentological Descriptions in Unconventional pulsed-neutron tools.
Core-Log Analysis Late November/Early December John Rasmus
(Schlumberger) discussed the international body of
SPWLA and LWD topics.
PERMIAN BASIN CHAPTER
General News
The Permian Basin Chapter of the SPWLA generally
holds meetings every fourth Tuesday of the month in
Midland, Texas. Because we are a small and close group, we
alternate between luncheon meetings and evening meetings
throughout the year.
Chapter Ofcers for 20162017

President James Hawkins, Diversied Well Logging
Vice President of Technology
Daniel Martinez, SM Energy
Secretary Jeff Anderson, Weatherford Wireline
Treasurer Amy Hall, Core Laboratories Texas A&M University Student Chapter October meeting. (Left to right)
Adam Mattson (President), Christopher Quinn (Event Coordinator and
Recent Events Treasurer), speaker Dale Fitz, Simin Sadeghi (Vice President and
Secretary), and Travis Erckert (IT and Webmaster).
25 October 2016 At the October meeting Robert Lieber
(Corsair Petrophysics) gave a presentation entitled
A New Rock Type Based Evaluation Method for
Unconventional Reservoirs.
08 December 2016 The Chapter hosted a special Holiday
Social at the Brew St. Bakery.
Upcoming Events
24 January 2017 The Chapter will hold the evening meeting
at the Wine Rack.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENT CHAPTER Texas A&M University Student Chapter November meeting. Chapter
ofcers acknowledging Dr. Allen Gilchrists presentation. (Left to right)
General News Simin Sadeghi, Travis Erckert, Dr. Allen Gilchrist, Christopher Quinn and
Adam Mattson.
The Texas A&M SPWLA Student Chapter kicked off the
academic year with two meetings. The chapter has attracted
new student members, and the chapter ofcers expect strong
membership growth throughout the year. The ofcer team
is currently working on planning spring events. This years

CHAPTER NEWS
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN STUDENT panel of industry and faculty judges. In addition to receiving
CHAPTER prizes, winners of the competition will have the opportunity
to compete in the student paper contest at the 2017 SPWLA
General News Symposium in Oklahoma City.
The Student Chapter of SPWLA at UT Austin is
growing rapidly now that the transition from professional
to student chapter is nearly complete. The chapters ofcers
are working diligently with SPWLA and The University of
Texas at Austin to become an ofcially registered student
organization. Once complete, the chapter will benet greatly
from the combination of services and support provided by
SPWLA and the University.
Recent Events
07 October 2016 Dr. Vahid Shabro (BP) gave a seminar
on A Career in Petrophysics: Think Things Through,
Go Bold, and Make a Difference. In addition to providing
insight into common traits of successful petrophysicists UTA Student Chapter October meeting. Chapter ofcers are pictured
with Dr. Vahid Shabro after his presentation Front row (left to right):
in todays industry, Dr. Shabros talk also discussed Hyung Joo Lee, Mathilde Luycx, and Mauro Palavecino. Back row (left
how young professionals can start making an impact to right): Colin Schroeder, Mohamed Bennis, Dr. Vahid Shabro, Juan D.
at their company from the very rst day. The presentation Escobar, Elsa Maalouf, and Tianqi Deng.
was concluded with a description of some of the major
challenges and changes that new professionals are likely
to encounter when transitioning from academia to
industry. We would like to thank Vahid for his
presentationhe was a great inspiration for everyone in
attendance!
12 October 2016 The chapters ofcers planned the rst
annual Student Organizations Fair for the Department
of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at UT
Austin. The primary goal of the fair was to teach students
in the department about different ways they can get
involved with student organizations. In total there were
seven student organizations represented at the fair. The
Student Chapter of SPWLA at UT Austin received a lot
of interest from students and was able to increase chapter
membership by 15 students.
18 November 2016 Dr. Mayank Malik (Chevron) gave his
SPWLA Distinguished Speaker presentation
entitled How Can Microfracturing Improve Reservoir
Management? We would like to sincerely thank Mayank
for visiting UT Austin and providing our students with
interesting insight into his work at Chevron. Additionally,
we would like to thank SPWLA for their support of the
SPWLA Distinguished Speaker program.
Upcoming Events
The Student Chapter of SPWLA at UT Austin is currently
planning a student paper contest that will be held early next
year. The paper contest will give students an opportunity
to present their research in front of their peers as well as a

IN MEMORIAM
Bob began his career as a geologist with the Coal and
Robert M. Cluff Oil and Gas sections of the Illinois State Geological Survey
19532016 (19761981) where he studied and published on the New
Albany Shale. He then moved to Denver as an independent
consulting geologist (19821986), during which time he
also taught carbonate courses for AMOCO. In 1982, Bob
married Suzanne (Sue) whom he had met during his time
at the University of WisconsinMadison. And in 1987, the
two of them founded The Discovery Group, Inc. in Denver.
Up until the time of his death he served as co-owner and
president of this international geological and petrophysical
consulting rm.
Bob contributed in many ways to several professional
societies in addition to the SPWLA and the DWLS. These
include the American Association of Petroleum Geologist
(AAPG), Society for Sedimentary Geology (Technical
Program Chair, 2015 AAPG-SEPM Annual Convention
and Exhibition), and SPE. Bob was also active in the Rocky
Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) (President,
2006) and the local chapter of the Society of Independent
Professional Earth Scientists (past President).
As well as donating time, Bob also lent his expertise
to the petrophysical and geological communities through
numerous scientic presentations and articles. In recognition
of his involvement, he and his co-authors received several
Robert M. (Bob) Cluff, co-owner and president of The awards from AAPG and its sections. These include the
Discovery Group, Inc. located in Denver, Colorado passed A.I. Levorsen Award for best presentation (AAPG-Eastern
away on October 26. Section, 1980), the Roger Planalp Award for best poster
Bob was highly regarded worldwide for his petrophysical (AAPG-Midcontinent Section, 1991), the Vincent Nelson
expertise, especially in tight hydrocarbon reservoirs. He Award for best poster (AAPG-Eastern Section, 1997),
served the SPWLA in several capacities including Vice- and the Wallace Pratt Award for best article in the AAPG
President Technology, Vice-President Membership, and Bulletin (2006). In addition to these, Bob was also presented
Regional Director for North America. In recognition of the Presidents Award from the Canadian Well Logging
his service, Bob received the Distinguished Service Award Society (2005), and the Medal of Merit from the Canadian
from the SPWLA in 1999. In addition, Bob served in several Society of Petroleum Geologists (2005). For his service as
leadership positions including President of the Denver Well RMAG President and for his willingness to serve in several
Logging Society (DWLS) in 19941995. capacities for the betterment of the local geological society,
Bob was born on January 17, 1953 in Buenos Aires, Bob was awarded RMAG Honorary Membership (2008).
Argentina, to two U.S. Foreign Service employees. Soon Bobs scientic and professional contributions to the
after his arrival, the family moved to Van Nuys, California, industry and to the SPWLA are many, but what will be
where Bob was raised and went to high school. Bob received missed even more is his wry humor and outgoing nature. For
his Bachelors degree in geology from the University of many in the geological and petrophysical profession, he was
California at Riverside in 1974, and his Masters in Geology a friend, a mentor, and a consummate professional.
from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1976. Always Bob is survived by his wife Sue, co-owner and vice
yearning to learn more, he completed additional courses president of The Discovery Group, and their two children,
in geology, physics and mathematics at the University of Tim and Stephanie. In lieu of owers, the family asks that
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Colorado donations be made to a favorite charity. Additionally, a
at Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the memorial scholarship in Bobs name is being established
Colorado School of Mines. He received a Bachelors degree and information will be provided at a later date.
in mathematics from Metropolitan State College of Denver
in 2006. The Discovery Group

IN MEMORIAM
Arnaud Etchecopar to extract fracture segments, lter and classify them, and
19472016 characterize the fracture network of reservoir rocks based on
observed information present in borehole images. With these
methods in place, he spent the next 14 years in Schlumberger
Petrotechnical Services working with clients, interpreting
borehole images, conducting multiwell studies, coaching
and mentoring geoscientists around the globe working in
borehole image processing and interpretation.
Isabelle Le Nir, Interpretation Metier Manager at
Schlumberger Clamart writes: Arnaud Etchecopar
was the brain behind Schlumbergers borehole geology
interpretation and methodologieseach time we make use
of these functionalities, Arnaud is guiding our work. Arnaud
touched the lives of many geologists who are now much
better geoscientists for that encounter.
Arnaud Etchecopar a Geology Advisor at Schlumberger

Interpretation Engineering center, Clamart, France, died on
25 February 2016.
Arnaud earned doctorates in Structural Geology,
University Thesis from Nantes University (1974) and State
Thesis from Montpellier University (1984) and started
Arnaud teaching a structural geology class.
his career in 1975 as Assistant Professor at Montpellier
University, France, were he taught structural geology and
developed methods for stress and strain measurements. In
1986, he joined Schlumberger Clamart Technology Center as
a Scientic Advisor, where he developed and taught methods
for structural and geomechanical interpretation of borehole
images. Over a 10-year period in R&D, Arnaud developed
techniques and workows, which were implemented
as software interpretation modules to delineate tectonic
structures near the wellbore, model and create cross sections
for near-well structural interpretation, and to determine
structural dip and analyze depositional sedimentary dip. He
also developed a new technique for absolute dating from
a paleomagnetic logging tool. In the following four years,
he developed new borehole-image analysis techniques
characterizing borehole shape and stress- and drilling-
induced features to detect and quantify deformations of
the borehole, such as breakouts, slips and key-seats, and
methods to deliver valuable calibration data, such as in-situ
stress direction and relative magnitude for mechanical earth
models. He also developed new borehole analysis techniques

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 NOVEMBER 1, 2016
Abdelbasset, Yussuf, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, 13863, Das, Barun, The University Of Texas At Austin, Austin, TX, 78712,
Egypt USA
Abraha, Fitsum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79416, USA Datta, Sudipto, Maersk Oil, Frederiksberg, Frederiksberg, 2000, Den-
Adebola, Olanrewaju, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79415, mark
USA De Souza, Gabriel, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA, 15940, USA
Arens, Pierre, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78705, USA Deady, Mary, Texas Tech, Spring, TX, 77388, USA
Afolayan, Blessing, Pan African University, Ilorin, Kwara State, Debono, Marie-Helene, TOTAL, PAU, Aquitaine, 64018, France
240001, Nigeria Desriac, Yoann, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB24 5PJ, United King-
Agrawal, Abhishek, OU MPGE, Norman, OK, 73072, USA dom
Aguirre, Xavier Jednnin, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Len, 67700, Mex- Didier, Kerron, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB253YG, United
ico Kingdom
Al-Ahmadi, Waleed, Baker Hughes, Khobar, East Province, 31952, Dinh, Jenny, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77083, USA
Saudi Arabia Dominguez, Kimberly, Texas Tech, Denver City, TX, 79323, USA
Alcala Lopez, Ricardo, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico Doria, Edgar, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67755, Mexico
Ali, Syed Jahangeer, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79401, Duan, Chong, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO,
USA 63112, USA
Almaguer, Julia, UANL, Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, 88950, Mexico Elabsy, Eslam, WEATHERFORD, Kuwait, 13123, Kuwait
Al-Mujalhem, Manayer, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, Englar, Mike, Halliburton, New Orleans, LA, 70124, USA
77840, USA Engle, Zachary, Marietta College, Guysville, OH, 45735, USA
Al-Mutawa, Faisal, Ras Gas, Doha, 974, Qatar Farr, Amanda, University of Pittsburgh, Anthem, AZ, 85086, USA
Al-obaidi, Mohammed, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Flores Salinas, Andrea, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
TX, 78705, USA Fortier, Brice, Statoil, Sola, 4050, Norway
Alrubaie, Naif, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78723, Friedman, Eric, Texas Tech University, Lake Worth, FL, 33449, USA
USA Fuston, Spencer, Texas Tech University, Humble, TX, 77346, USA
Al-Shabebi, Hussein, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, Eastern Province, Galindo, Karla, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
31952, Saudi Arabia Garcia Cruz, Alejandro, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Ciudad De
Alward, Wassem, Currie, Edinburgh City, EH14 4AS, United King- Mxico, 6300, Mexico
dom Garcia Lujan, Myriam, UANL, Linares, 67700, Mexico
Amin, Asif, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, Eastern Dhahran, 31952, Saudi Garnett, Matthew, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79410, USA
Arabia Garrett, Kathryn, Devon Energy, Norman, OK, 73072, USA
Aslanyan, Irina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Ghosh, Krishnendu, Al Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
Aslanyan, Artur, TGT Oileld Services DMCC, Dubai, United Arab Gonzlez Snchez, Carla, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mex-
Emirates ico
Bennis, Mohamed, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, Grifth, Nick, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78751,
78701, USA USA
Berte, Tchemongo, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77004, USA Haddad, Issa, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79414, USA
Bhardwaj, Prateek, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, Hameed, Mahmoud, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
78756, USA Hassan, Gasser, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
Bickley, Tyler, Devon Energy, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA Helaly, Ahmad, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt
Bijaripour, Aita, Weatherford Laboratories, Dubai, 2169, United Arab Herren, Henry, Norman, OK, 73072, USA
Emirates Hicks, Michael, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA,
Bradford, Jon, Midland, TX, 79706, USA 70501, USA
Bravo, Erick, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico Hotez, Daniel, Norman, OK, 73071, USA
Butler, Mark, Halliburton, Kingwood, TX, 77345, USA Huynh, Laura, Houston, TX, 77072, USA
Cardenas Garza, Guillermo, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Ibarra, Alexis, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
Mexico Im, Jamie, Houston, TX, 77054, USA
Cario, Ruben Kristoffer, Baker Hughes Saudi Arabia, Khobar, Iqbal, Pervaiz, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, Dammam, 31952, Saudi
31952, Saudi Arabia Arabia
Castellon, Jessica, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79406, USA Iton, Iton, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB24
Chakravarty, Aditya, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73071, 3UE, United Kingdom
USA Jalloh, Chernor, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79401, USA
Champagne, Allie, university of Louisiana at lafayette, Saint Martin- Jaramillo, Rico, Texas Tech Chapter, Lubbock, TX, 79401, USA
ville, LA, 70582, USA Kamagate, Ladji, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA,
Ching, Siu Ru, Seri Kembangan, Selangor, 43300, Malaysia 70501, USA
Chowdhury, Nur Uddin Md Khaled, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Kamath, Sagar, , New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
TX, 79401, USA Keathley, Danielle, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79416, USA
Coe, Jordan, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79413, USA Klaus, Joshua, OU, Spring, TX, 77388, USA
Coker, Angela, Texas Tech University Chapter, Lubbock, TX, 79415, Lee, Vincent, Winchester, MA, 1890, USA
USA Lee, Zachary, Baker Hughes, Al Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
Cong, Yuan, Baker Hughes, Katy, TX, 77450, USA Lerma, Jesus, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
Cook, Christopher, California State University, Bakerseld, CA, Leung, Ryan, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78705,
93311, USA USA
Cotter, Zachary, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Li, Hao, Norman, OK, 73072, USA
OH, 43204, USA Li, Ke, Halliburton, Houston, TX, 77032, USA
Cronk, Bradley, University of Oklahoma, Moore, OK, 73160, USA Liles, Sheila, Spring, TX, 77389, USA

NEW MEMBERS
Limon, Jorge, Houston, TX, 77009, USA Saad, Bilal, Baker Hughes, Al Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
Liu, Rui, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79407, USA Saini, Gurtej, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78746,
Liu, Zhenyu, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
USA Salguero Sanchez, Jesus, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mex-
Luna, Tania, Dubai Petroleum, Dubai, 2222, United Arab Emirates ico
Mahon, Ruissein, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, AB10 7HL, Shafaay, Amira, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11528, Egypt
United Kingdom Shaffer, Alex, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK, 73118,
Mancha Matamoros, Yamely, UANL, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 88710, USA
Mexico Shah, Maulik, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78705,
Marroquin, Oscar, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico USA
Martinez Rodriguez, Edgar, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Shih, Kim, Halliburton, Houston, TX, 77042, USA
Mexico Siddiqui, Suhail, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi, 75530, Paki-
Martins, Tas, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil stan
Mason, Randall, Cased Hole Well Services, Covington, LA, 70435, Sieben, Vincent, Schlumberger, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
USA Song, Vickie, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77008, USA
Mathew, Leya, University of Houston, Humble, TX, 77396, USA Steinbeck, Eli, Devon Energy, Norman, OK, 73072, USA
McCleskey, Matthew, Baker Hughes, Houston, TX, 77073, USA Suresh Kumar, Adi, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX,
McGraw, Diana, Marietta College, Marietta, OH, 45750, USA 78705, USA
Mogali, Veera Phaneendra, ONGC, Karaikal, India Susanto, Adrian, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79401, USA
Moghazy, Omar, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11528, Egypt Tang, Brandon, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78705,
Moussa, Abdelrahman, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 1331, Egypt USA
Mukhametdinova, Aliia, Skoltech, Moscow, Russia Tanis, Elizabeth, Shell, New Orleans, LA, 70130, USA
Mulkay, Connor, UT, Austin, TX, 78751, USA Tariq, Haris Bin, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73072, USA
Mumtaz, Asim, Baker Hughes, Al-Khobar, Eastern Province, 31952, Torres, Javier, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
Saudi Arabia Tran, Nhu, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77083, USA
Murphy, Zach, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78704, Troup, Duncan, Archer, Hafrsfjord, Norway, 4047, Norway
USA Ullah, Haz Muhammad Arsal, Lubbock, TX, 79401, USA
Negara, Ardiansyah, Baker Hughes, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 31952, Valladares, Ricardo, Lubbock, TX, 79401, USA
Saudi Arabia Vereide, Abe, BP, Houston, TX, 77079, USA
Nguyen, Hung, University of Houston, Pearland, TX, 77584, USA Vidal, Adela, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
Nguyen, Nhut, Pearland, TX, 77584, USA Vigil Barrientos, Ana, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Len, 67770, Mexico
Niamkey, Emmanuela, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79415, Walker, Joanna, Odessa, TX, 79762, USA
USA Walle, Otoniel, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67755, Mexico
Nio Sanchez, Grecia, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 68690, Mexico Wang, Wenxiu, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843,
Nnamadim, Fred, Houston, TX, 77099, USA USA
Noraseng, Mani, Lafayette, LA, 70506, USA Warluzel, Gilles, GEOSTOCK SAS, Rueil Malmaison, Cedex, 92569,
Oraby, Mahmoud, Halliburton, Kelvin Grove, QLD, 4059, Australia France
Oyetunji, Damilola, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79416, Whiteley, Geoffrey, Repsol E&P, The Woodlands, TX, 77381, USA
USA Wong, Christopher Sing Yee, Curtin University, Miri, Sarawak,
Page, Daeton, University of Oklahoma, Edmond, OK, 73025, USA 98000, Malaysia
Pandya, Rushilkumar, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79415, Wu, Jeff, Petrophysical Solutions Inc., Sugar Land, TX, 77498, USA
USA Xu, Siqi, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
Parihar, Paresh, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA Xu, Yangyang, Beijing, Chang ping, 1E+05, China
Parsa, Auria, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, Yermekova, Moldir, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX, 79415, USA
USA Zeng, Shubin, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77021, USA
Pedraza, Anthony, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79416, USA Zhang, Zhishuai, University of California, Berkeley, Albany, CA,
Pereira Silva, Gabriela, UFRJ, Nova Iguau, Centro, 3E+07, Brazil 94706, USA
Pinto, AARON, AADE, Austin, TX, 78705, USA Zhang, Yinxi, UH, Richmond, TX, 77407, USA
Pollett, Buford, AAPG, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA Zhang, Yuxiang, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX,
Ponghunsa, Maruchet, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 76019, USA
TX, 78705, USA Zhao, Jiahui, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79415, USA
Pooryousefy, Ehsan, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6151, Australia Zhou, Yue, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China
Qu, Meng, Cambridge, MA, 02452, USA Zhou, Alex, UT Austin, Austin, TX, 78705, USA
Ramezanian, Mahdi, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79413, Ziane, Lynda, DEVON Energy, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102, USA
USA
Ramrez, Jess, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mexico
Ramirez Rosales, Janeth, UANL, Linares, Nuevo Leon, 67700, Mex-
ico
Ravichandran, Ganeshraja, The University of Texas at Austin, Aus-
tin, TX, 78705, USA
Reeves, Mary, Houston, TX, 77021, USA
Ringo, Tommy, Chesapeake Energy, Edmond, OK, 73012, USA
Rodriguez, Luis, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79406, USA
Rodriguez, Mercedes, UANL, Hualahuises, Nuevo Leon, 67880,
Mexico

INDEX TO VOLUME 57, 2016
Bhattacharya, S., and Carr, T.R., 2016, Integrated Petrofacies Li, B., Mezzatesta, A., Li, Y., Ma, Y., and Jamili, A., 2016,
Characterization and Interpretation of Depositional A Multilevel Iterative Method to Quantify Effects of Pore-
Environment of the Bakken Shale in the Williston Size Distribution on Phase Equilibrium of
Basin, North America, April, 95110. Multicomponent Fluids in Unconventional Plays, April,
Bolt, H., 2016, Wireline Logging Depth Quality 120138.
Improvement: Methodology Review and Elastic-Stretch Li, M., Tao, G., Wang, H., Zhang, K., and Vega, S., 2016, An
Correction, June, 294310. Improved Multiscale and Leaky P-Wave Removal
Bootle, R., 2016, Graphical Solutions for Laminated and Analysis for Shear-Wave Anisotropy Inversion with
Dispersed Shaly Sands, February, 5159. Crossed-Dipole Logs, June, 270293.
Constable, M.V., Antonsen, F., Stalheim, S.O., Olsen, P.A., Li, W., and Sakhaee-Pour, A., 2016, Macroscale Youngs
Fjell, .Z., Dray, N., Eikenes, S., Aaot, H., Haldorsen, Moduli of Shale Based on Nanoindentations, December,
K., Digranes, G., Seydoux, J., Omeragic, D., Thiel, 597603.
M., Davydychev, A., Denichou, J.-M., Salim, D., Frey, Malik, M., Jones, C., and Boratko, E., 2016, How Can
M., Homan, D., and Tan, S., 2016, Looking Ahead of the Microfracturing Improve Reservoir Management?,
Bit While Drilling: From Vision to Reality, October, October, 492507.
426446. Merkel, R., and Lessenger, M., 2016, Advanced Log
Dang, S.T., Sondergeld, C.H., and Rai, C.S., 2016, A New Interpretation in Field Development, October, 479491.
Approach to Measuring Organic Density, April, 111 Merletti, G., Gramin, P., Salunke, S., Hamman, J., Spain,
119. D., Shabro, V., Armitage, P., Torres-Verdin, C., Salter,
Dernaika, M., Wilson, O.B., Skjveland, S.M., and Ebeltoft, G., and Dacy, J., 2016, How Pore-Scale Attributes
E., 2016, Drainage Capillary Pressure and Resistivity May Be Used to Derive Robust Drainage and Imbibition
Index from Short-Wait Porous-Plate Experiments, Water-Saturation Models in Complex Tight-Gas
August, 369376. Reservoirs, October, 447464.
Far, M.E., Quirein, J., and Mekic, N., 2016, Geomechanics Mller-Huber, E., Schn, J., and Brner, F., 2016, Combining
of Orthorhombic Media, December, 588596. Hydraulic and Electrical Conductivity for Pore-Space
Gu, M., Gokaraju, D., Chen, D., and Quirein, J., 2016, Shale Characterization in Carbonate Rocks, June, 233250.
Fracturing Characterization and Optimization by Using Nicot, B., Vorapalawut, N., Rousseau, B, Madariaga, L.F.,
Anisotropic Acoustic Interpretation, 3D Fracture Hamon, G., and Korb, J.-P., 2016, Estimating Saturations
Modeling, and Supervised Machine Learning, in Organic Shales Using 2D NMR, February, 1929.
December, 573587. Proce, S., Hamon, G., and Nicot, B., 2016, Low-
Gu, M., Quirein, J., Murphy, E., Barraza, S.R., and Ou, L., Permeability Measurements: Insights, February, 3040.
2016, Method for Acoustic Anisotropy Interpretation in Reeder, S.L., Craddock, P.R., Rylander, E., Pirie, I., Lewis,
Shales When the Stoneley- Wave Velocity is Missing, R.E, Kausik, R., Kleinberg, R.L., Yang, J., and
April, 139154. Pomerantz, A.E., 2016, The Reservoir Producibility
Hamon, G., 2016, Low-Salinity Waterooding: Facts, Index: a Metric to Assess Reservoir Quality in Tight-Oil
Inconsistencies and the Way Forward, February, 4150. Plays from Logs, April, 8294.
Hulea, I.N., Frese, D., and Ramaswami, S., 2016, Singer, P.M., Chen, Z., and Hirasaki, G.J., 2016, Fluid
Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoirs: Ensuring Typing and Pore Size in Organic Shale Using 2D NMR
Consistency of Subsurface Models by Maximizing the in Saturated Kerogen Isolates, December, 604619.
use of Saturation-Height Models and Dynamic Data, Stalheim, S.O., 2016, On Error Calculation and Use of First-
June, 223232. Order Error Propagation as Integral Part of Petrophysical
Jesus, C.M., Compan, A.L.M., and Surmas, R., 2016, Calculation, October, 465478.
Permeability Estimation Using Ultrasonic Borehole Wang, H., and Zhao, R., 2016, Pure Matrix GR, an Indicator
Image Logs in Dual-Porosity Carbonate Reservoirs, of Rock Matrix Gamma Radioactivity and its
December, 620637. Applications, August, 390396.
Kausik, R., Fellah, K., Rylander, E., Singer, P.M., Lewis, Xu, C., Bayer, S., Wunderle, M., and Bansal, A., 2016,
R.E., and Sinclair, S.M., 2016, NMR Relaxometry in Normalizing Gamma Ray Logs Acquired from a
Shale and Implications for Logging, August, 339350. Mixture of Vertical and Horizontal Wells in the
Krevor, S., Reynolds, C., Al-Menhali, A., and Niu, B., 2016, Haynesville Shale, December, 638643.
The Impact of Reservoir Conditions and Rock Xu, L., Huiszoon, C., Wang, J., Adolph, B., Yi, J., Cavin,
Heterogeneity on CO2-Brine Multiphase Flow In D., Laughlin, G., Tollefsen, E., Jacobsen, S., and
Permeable Sandstone, February, 1218. Boyce, M., 2016, Spectral Gamma-Ray Measurement
Kwak, H., Hursan, G., Shao, W., Chen, S., Balliet, R., Eid, While Drilling, August, 377389.
M., and Guergueb, N., 2016, Predicting Carbonate Rock Yang, M., and Yang, D., 2016, Permeability Interpretation
Properties Using NMR Data and Generalized from Wireline Formation Testing Measurements with
Interpolation-Based Techniques, August, 351368. Consideration of Effective Thickness, June, 251269.


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Vol. 57, No.

About the Cover

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 565

Acous cs President VP Finance

N. America 2 Far East/Asia

Lan America Execuve Director

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568 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

February 11-12, 2017 June 17-21, 2017

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 569

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December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 571

Fig. 2PRMS reserves classication scheme.

There are many different methods for quantifying

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Shale Fracturing Characterization and Optimization by Using Anisotropic Acoustic

INTRODUCTION the ANNIE model. It computes C11 by assuming the third

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Elastic moduli computed from Eqs. 6 to 9 are the small-

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 575

fracture at the corresponding location based on net. Chertov

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Fig. 1Anisotropic Youngs modulus vs. isotropic Youngs modulus

Similarly, Fig. 2 depicts the normalized closure stress

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 577

This paper proposes a methodology in which a reservoir-

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December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 579

pressure. Shale 1 is a VTI rock with horizontal Poissons ratio

Fig. 5Well-log plot showing the uranium, sonic, lithology, elastic

The interval can be divided into ve zones based on

Fig. 7Well-log plot showing uranium, lithology, elastic moduli, and

Like Shale 1, Shale 2 has a hypothetical well drilled with

580 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

parameters cannot be directly entered into the simulator.

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 581

target values, and the open squares represent predictions.

Fig. 9Comparison of target values and values predicted by the neural

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Fig. 12Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the

Fig. 15Effective fracture length predicted by neural network for the

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 583

production values, and pumping design to maximize productions and returns.

584 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

Eeq = equivalent isotropic Youngs modulus, psi 103 REFERENCES

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 585

586 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

geomechanics, rock physics, and advanced well logging

Dingding Chen joined Halliburton in 2000

John Quirein is a Halliburton technology

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 587

Geomechanics of Orthorhombic Media1

INTRODUCTION includes the assumption about the symmetry or anisotropy of

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December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 589

Using the Voigt notation, Eq. 2 can be written in a matrix/

Although nine independent parameters (components of

590 PETROPHYSICS December 2016

Equation 6 can be used to write the following:

An immediate simplication seems to be obtained by

H = vHV V + EH (H + vhHh) (21)

December 2016 PETROPHYSICS 591

NUMERICAL MODELING observation of an orthorhombic medium will depend on the

Numerical modeling shows that for the two datasets analyzed