--> ABSTRACT: Problems and Potential of Industrial Temperature Data in Heat-Flow Analysis, by Andrea Forster; #91019 (1996)

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Problems and Potential of Industrial Temperature Data in Heat-Flow Analysis

Andrea Forster

Recently, there has been an increased interest of utilizing temperature data, which are measured during commercial well logging under borehole conditions that are not in thermal equilibrium. Different methods, numerical and empirical, are concerned with the correction of the single temperature data to equilibrium conditions and to obtain interval or formation geothermal gradients usable for heat-flow determinations. Numerical correction procedures attempt to account for the influence of the drilling and fluid-circulation regime on the recorded temperature value, but their use is limited for lack of input data. In contrast, empirical correction procedures which singly correct temperature as a function of depth are widely applied, especially in exploration areas where boreh le temperature data are abundant.

A large data set of bottom-hole temperatures (BHTs) and temperatures taken during drillstem tests (DSTs) from a structurally and lithologically uncomplicated area on the North American Midcontinent is investigated to demonstrate: (1) the effect of different correction schemes applied to the data, (2) the variation of geothermal gradients resulting from the size of the reference area and number of data selected from this area to integrate into composite temperature-depth profiles, and (3) the improvement of the signal/noise ratio by statistical treatment of the data, such as multivariate spatial analysis.

The results support using BHT/DST data for basin analysis and heat-flow studies on the condition that a sufficient amount of data is available and that local effects on the data are identified and separated from the overall background condition.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California