Structural Borehole Image Interpretation
How is structural geology connected to Oil & Gas wells?
Reservoirs can be structurally complex, and complexity tends to become higher as exploration moves into new frontiers. The structural analysis and interpretation of borehole images provide solutions to solve these complex puzzles.
The near-wellbore structure, such as folds or faults, as well as the distribution and properties of fractures and faults, give an insight into the complex deformation geometries that ultimately govern fluid flow.
All our structural interpretations are based on careful manual dip picking. No automatic or semi-automatic dip picking is applied.
We tailor each project individually to the customers’ needs.
Are there standard workflows?
The simplest workflow is the Basic Structural Analysis. A Detailed Structural Interpretation is an in-depth module that unlocks the full potential of a borehole image run. However, many of our projects are specifically customized to match exactly the client’s needs.
What is included in a structural borehole image analysis?
- Manual picking of bedding, fractures and faults
- Classification of the Fracture and Fault response (for example after conductivity, travel time, etc.)
- Classification of Fracture/Fault sets by orientation and image response
- Identification of drilling induced borehole failures, related to the in-situ stress field
- Dip Vector Analysis: Intervals of consistent bedding orientation are subsumed as structural domains. Structural breaks between these domains are marked by orientation changes
- The structural breaks are classified for example into: Unconformity, Fault, Fold
- Fracture Frequency/Density calculation (P10, P21, P32)
- Fracture Porosity Analysis
- Analysis of Fracture relations (Fracture-Fracture, Fracture-Fault and Fracture-Bedding)
- Fracture connectivity
- Fracture-Matrix Interaction (e.g., vuggy fractures, cleats, fractured shale)
- Image Fracture Facies: Identification of fracture zones and fault rocks based on image texture
- Fracture Distribution and Corridor Analysis
- Detailed Analysis of bedding dip patterns and SCAT Analysis
- Integration with regional structural models
What is an Image Fracture Facies?
The Fracture Facies does not look on single features on the image but characterizes the effect of fracturing and faulting on the rocks over a longer interval. By doing so, also those parts of the well, which are structurally too deformed to pick any single fracture are addressed by the interpretation.
Do you integrate other data than borehole images in your interpretations?
Open hole logs and other petrophysical results are an important source of information that are always integrated into our analysis.
Core analyses, core photos or 3D core scans are also helpful to answer structural questions.
While core data provide information on the micro-scale, and borehole images on the meso-scale, seismic data provide data on the macro-scale. Seismic data help us to integrate our findings to the big picture.
Also, dynamic data, i.e. production logs or well test data can be integrated with our analyses to complement the interpretations.
Can structural and sedimentological analyses be combined?
Our experts work together to do integrated analyses which cover the relevant aspects from both, structural and sedimentological domains?