We are introducing a new 1-11/16-inch multi-function pulsed neutron instrument. The Reservoir Performance Monitor (RPM) has operating modes allowing pulsed neutron decay, pulsed neutron spectrometry, pulsed neutron holdup, neutron activation water flow, and radioisotope measurements. The tool is combinable with fluid density, spinner flowmeter, or more advanced production logging instruments. The new instrument includes three gamma-ray detectors arrayed above a new neutron generator that can be pulsed at different frequencies and modes for different types of measurements. The system employs short tool sections for ease in shipping and handling. In the pulsed neutron capture mode, the tool pulses at 1 kHz, and records a complete time spectrum for each detector. An energy spectrum is also recorded for maintaining energy discrimination levels. Time spectra from short-spaced and long-spaced detectors can be processed individually to provide traditional thermal neutron capture cross section information, or the two spectra can be used together to automatically correct for borehole and diffusion effects and produce results that are very close to intrinsic formation values. In the pulsed neutron spectrometry mode, the instrument pulses at 10 kHz, and records full inelastic and capture gamma ray energy spectra from each detector. These data are processed to determine critical elemental ratios including carbon/oxygen and calcium/silicon from the inelastic spectra and silicon/calcium from the capture spectra. The pulsed neutron holdup imager mode yields both energy spectra and time decay spectra from each detector simultaneously. Measurements can be used to determine holdups of gas, oil, and water, and when combined with other production logs can provide a comprehensive production profile picture, even in deviated or horizontal wells. The neutron activation mode provides water-flow measurements using one of several data acquisition methods. Stationary measurements are made in either of two modes, and measurements at different logging speeds can be used to segregate different flow rates in either an annulus or in an adjacent tubing string. With the neutron generator turned off, the RPM can also be used to detect the distribution of materials, tagged with radioactive tracers, that are injected into the well during well treatments. In this manner, the effectiveness of operations such as hydraulic fracturing or gravel pack placement can be evaluated.
For many years, wireline tracer surveys have been used to determine the height of fractures created during hydraulic stimulation procedures. A recent advancement in fracture evaluation technology has been to tag different stages of a fracture operation with multiple radioactive tracers, providing the capability to discern between created and propped fracture heights in one or more zones of interest. In this research, a wireline instrumentation and data analysis system is implemented to identify and separate the individual yields from multiple radioactive tracers, with an additional feature that determines whether the tracer material is inside of the borehole or distributed throughout the created fracture zone. A single postfracture pass of the logging instrument is used to accumulate gamma ray spectra at each 7.6 cm interval along a borehole. A weighted least‐squares spectrum unfolding algorithm calculates the radioactive intensities as a function of depth, while the peak‐to‐Compton down‐scatter ratio determines the proximity of the tracer material to the wellbore. Field examples illustrate the effectiveness of the system for the evaluation of multistage fracture operations.
The assessment of reservoir productivity and subsurface hydrocarbon can be significantly enhanced through an understanding of formation mineralogy and organic carbon. Such information allows petrophysicists to resolve ambiguities in their predictions of reservoir hydrocarbon potential. While core samples are a prime source for exact formation mineralogy, excellent results can also be derived in a timely and cost-efficient manner from in-situ log chemistry measurements of the rock. A direct measurement of the formation's elemental concentrations is achieved using a gamma ray scintillation sensor in combination with a 14-MeV pulsed-neutron generator. The most important element measured is carbon, as it may provide a direct indication of reservoir hydrocarbons. This paper presents a method for determining the amount of organic carbon in subsurface formations using a pulsed-neutron mineralogy tool and a natural gamma ray spectroscopy tool. The natural, inelastic, and capture gamma ray energy spectra from these instruments are used to extract the chemistry of the subsurface formation being investigated. The elemental concentrations measured include Al, C, Ca, Fe, Gd, K, Mg, S, Si, Th, Ti, and U. Carbon is very difficult to measure without the inelastic spectrum generated from a pulsed-neutron source. An interpretation process, based upon the geochemistry of petroleum-bearing formations, is employed to derive the lithology and mineralogy which leads to the interpretation of the carbon measurement. The oil saturation can be computed in conventional reservoirs, assuming that the amount of carbon in excess of that required for the inorganic matrix mineralogy is part of the pore fluid as hydrocarbon. The direct carbon measurement is also important in laminated shaly sands or in low-salinity reservoirs, where oil saturation determination from indirect measurements, such as resistivity, is not compatible with the environment. In other formations the carbon can be determined to be a component of the rock matrix as kerogen or coal, both of which are uniquely identified with this logging system. Kerogen becomes extremely important in the evaluation of shale gas formations. Field examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the carbon measurement. Introduction Subsurface organic carbon, i.e., carbon that does not belong to any of the carbonate minerals, indicates the presence of oil, natural gas, coal, or kerogen. Although the amount of carbon is one of the most important quantities in formation evaluation, openhole tools often provide only indirect measurements of hydrocarbons. Traditional electrical tools, for example, measure oil saturation indirectly based upon a comparison of the resistivity of saline and non-saline formation fluids. This approach works best when the salinity of the formation water is high to moderate; if connate water salinity is low, resistivity methods cannot differentiate water from hydrocarbon.
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