Predicting Rock Mechanical Properties of Carbonates from Wireline Logs: A Case Study - Arab-D Reservoir, Ghawar Field, Saudi Arabia

Mohammed S. Ameen¹, Brian G.D. Smart², and J. Mc. Somerville^2
1Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
²Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK

Four hundred plug samples from the Arab-D reservoir in the Ghawar oil field were tested for a range of acoustic and mechanical properties at increasing triaxial stress. The results enabled the generation of general and layer specific correlations of porosity with P-wave velocity, static and dynamic constants and the angle of internal friction. The correlations were then applied to a Ghawar well using the compressional wave slowness from a Multipole Array Acoustic Log (MAC) and comparisons made between the general and the layer specific pseudo logs.

There is good agreement with each of the elastic constants with matching peaks and troughs throughout the logs. The laboratory derived constants show a good agreement with the logs. In some cases where there is a difference between the general and layer specific pseudo logs, the layer specific log shows better correlation with the laboratory derived constants. It can be concluded that the porosity correlations are an accurate, representative and cost effective method of obtaining a rock mechanical profile of the field.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90066©2007 AAPG Hedberg Conference, The Hague, The Netherlands

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90066©2007 AAPG Hedberg Conference, The Hague, The Netherlands