Pattern Recognition in a Digital Age; A Gameboard Approach to Determining Petrophysical Parameters

Archie (1942) provided a path from qualitative log interpretation to quantitative log analysis through an equation that required parameters which were not available from logs, and which, in the time before calculators and computers, required some effort to solve. Aware of the ability of people to recognize patterns, Hingle (1959), then Pickett (1973) developed graphical solutions to Archie’s equation which allowed the quick determination of water saturation by observation of the data, and without the need for calculations.

As calculators and computers became available, the primary function of those two methods has turned from the quick prediction of water saturation to the prediction of calculation parameters to be used in faster and more detailed interpretation methodologies.

At the same time, the extension of Pickett plots with bulk volume water lines by Greengold (1986), and the suggestion by Bassiouni (1994) of using Hingle and Pickett plots in concert, helped to increase the number of parameters predicted, and to do so in a more coherent and cohesive manner.

This paper adds bulk volume water lines to Hingle plots, adds Buckles plots (Morris and Biggs, 1967), in the common linear format and with logarithmic scales, to a unified pattern recognition display. An interactive “gameboard” presentation in Excel (©Microsoft) presents the data in a variety of graphical displays. This allows the interpreter to not only quickly recognize possible hydrocarbon-bearing intervals, but more importantly, to simultaneously derive a number of parameters which are required for the computation of water saturation and porosity.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California