Logging - The Presence of Conductive Solids in Reservoir Rocks as a Factor in Electric Log Interpretation

In the quantitative interpretation of electric log data it is essential to know the formation factor, defined as the ratio of the resistivity of the formation 100 per cent saturated with brine to the resistivity of the brine.' This concept implies that the formation factor for any given rock is constant irrespective of the resistivity of the brine or solution with which it is saturated. It is apparent that this can be true only when the rock matrix is wholly non-conductive. As reservoir rocks may contain clay or shale having an appreciable conductance one may expect these constituents to influence the determination of true formation factor. The formation factor may be theoretically derived from log data by dividing the resistivity of the mud filtrate invaded formation by the resistivity of the mud filtrate. Such a method of calculntion has implicit in it the assumption that the fluids in the invaded formation are wholly replaced by mud filtrate. that the solid matrix is non-conducting, and that the formation factor of the invaded zone is identical with the formation factor of the uninvaded zone. Since the validity of the first two basic assumptions regarding the insulating character of porous matrices and the displacement of the interstitial fluids in porous media do not appear to be fully established, the formation factors of a number of cores and clay slurries have been measured under conditions suitable for verifying the assumptions and the extent of any errors inherent in them. CORE STUDIES Apparatus and Procedure Resistivity measurements were made on short cylindrical permeable cores which had been previously mounted in lucite.2 The cores were clamped by means of insulated bolts between brass plates about 5 cm square and 1 cm in thickness. The plates were provided with a ring seal to prevent leakage between them and the core mount, and had a centrally located orifice so that fluids could be flowed through the mounted core. The brass mounting plates were used as electrodes and any current flow between them necessarily passed only through the constituents of the intervening core. Fluid saturation of the core, and fluid flow through the core, were effected by a centrifugal pump connected to the outflow end of the core, thus providing a differential pressure across the core of approximately one atmosphere. The procedure used was first to evacuate each core by means of the pump and then to saturate the core with an aqueous sodium chloride solution of known resistivity. The resistance of the core was measured and flow of the solution through the core continued for sufficient time to establish a constant resistance reading. After equilibrium had been reached with one solution, another sodium chloride solution of a different resistivity was flowed through the core and the flow continued until a constant resistance reading was again obtained. This procedure was continued until resistance measurements of the core had been made with a series of solutions within a salinity range from 1.0N NaCl to distilled water. The data obtained enabled the apparent formation factor of given porous rocks when saturated with fluids of different resistivity to be computed and also provided information regarding the ability of an invading fluid to displace interstitial water from a core. Results Berea Sandstone — The first core examined was a specimen of Berea sandstone." This core had been cut essentially parallel to the bedding for permeability studies. The core was clamped in the core holder and saturated with 1.0N NaCl solution and the resistance determined. It was subsequently flushed and the resistance measured when saturated in turn with 0.1N, 0.025N, 0.01N, .005N sodium chloride solutions and finally with distilled water. In flushing the core with each