New Wireline Sonic Technology Drives Completion Design

Tom Bratton, Schlumberger

Effective completion design requires knowledge of rock properties, the presence of open natural fractures and the state of earth stress encompassing the volume of completion. A new high fidelity 3D sonic tool has been introduced to the oil industry. The Sonic Scanner tool extends present technology by measuring acoustical velocities radially from the wellbore. This new technology compliments wellbore images by providing unambiguous discrimination of drilling induced fractures from open natural fractures while quantifying the different sources of anisotropy such as stress. This information is used to optimize the completion of every well. Examples of how to apply this new technology will be presented.