Brian Clark¹

(1) Schlumberger, Sugar Land, TX

ABSTRACT: Seeing Beneath the Earth - Past, Present, and Future

Subsurface technology has, in many ways, kept the E&P industry afloat during its most difficult periods, and has radically changed the ways reservoirs are discovered, developed and produced. Today's major challenge-satisfying future crude oil and natural gas demand while simultaneously reducing finding and producing costs, enhancing reserve recovery and maximizing asset value-will depend heavily on a continuing commitment to develop and invest in efficient, cost-effective technologies.

The evolution of downhole measurements over the past several decades has been truly remarkable, with a rapid acceleration in introducing new-generation tools and techniques since the late-1980s. Many factors have contributed to this technology explosion, including greater computing power, electronics that can survive severe operating conditions, enhanced sensor physics, and communication and data-delivery systems that offer real-time capabilities. The result has been a broader spectrum of measurements and improved accuracy, reliability, and ease of acquisition and interpretation.

In this presentation, we track the evolution of both wireline- and drillpipe-conveyed downhole measurements and offer a glimpse of where these technologies may be headed for the future. We illustrate these trends with specific examples addressing resistivity, logging-while-drilling, and nuclear magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90906©2001 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado