Understanding formation integrity and reservoir conditions are critical for success with open hole completions. CoViz 4D visualizations such as this can help.
With the proper instrumentation, a wide range of logging data can be acquired during and after the drilling process. Open hole data acquired before casing the wellbore is generally used by production engineers and geoscientists to gain a better understanding of key subsurface and reservoir characteristics. A large volume of log data collected helps engineers and geoscientists to develop a well-informed completion strategy.
Open hole data is acquired from many different sources with each having their own individual analysis. Integrating these datasets together provides a more meaningful analysis of the subsurface geology. Interpretation can be further enhanced by visualizing open hole data through 3D modeling.
Open Hole Logging
The process of open hole logging is important in understanding the downhole formation surrounding the wellbore. The range of initial information acquired during the operation depends on the tools and instrumentation selected by drilling engineers. That data may include:
- location of hydrocarbon reserve
- hydrocarbon saturation
- water saturation
- fluid type and its density
- temperature and pressure
- lithology description
- shale volume
- electrical resistivity
- radioactivity
Open hole logging devices record the data continuously along the depths of the wellbore. Different types of logging tools are lowered into the wellbore to capture the data essential for characterizing the subsurface environment. The tools record gamma ray, photoelectric, resistivity, caliper, density, sonic or electromagnetic properties within the wellbore. These tools provide better quality data from open hole logging due to the absence of casing between the logging device and wellbore walls. Logging can be conducted during or after the drilling process.
Each of these tools captures a critical type of wellbore data. However, by combining these various datasets reservoir teams can obtain a far more detailed understanding of the reservoir being developed. Key to attaining this understanding is software that provides the ability to easily integrate and visualize these different types of data and present a meaningful analysis.
Need for Data Integration
Information acquired during open hole logging enhances the understanding of geological conditions and supports more confident petrophysical interpretations when combined to provide a more accurate assessment of wellbore characteristics.
Software that integrates the various data types acquired through open hole logging facilitates 3D visualization of wellbore conditions and collaborative analysis by the reservoir development team. With these capabilities, individual disciplines have access to other relevant data and can discover correlations with their own data. This is especially important in identifying potential abnormalities in data, errors in the logoutput, or give insight into future log normalization processes. On the other hand, it can also provide information on new opportunities for resource exploitation.
Visualizing Open Hole Data with Coviz 4D
CoViz 4D provides a single software solution to a wide range of subsurface data. It provides a powerful integration and visualization platform for information from varying disciplines in a single geospatial environment. The software easily integrates a wide range of log data to provide information access to every team member, fostering collaboration, and communication. CoViz 4D also provides the ability to display multiple well logs, allowing development teams to assess geological and petrophysical variations across a field and provides a user-defined scale feature for different data types.
A successful development project relies on its data. Accurate analysis of logging data is critical in understanding subsurface characteristics and determining the direction of the project. CoViz 4D excels in open hole data integration and visualization, assisting engineers with estimation and forecasting reservoir potential and helping them make cost-effective decisions.
