Advances and Applications of High-Resolution LWD Resistivity Image Logs for Field Development

W. Wang¹, K. MacPherson¹, and M. Thagafy¹

Abstract

Logging while drilling (LWD) resistivity imaging has been applied in water-based mud systems since the early 1990s. These resistivity images are recorded by a rotating electrode (or electrodes) mounted just behind the downhole drilling assembly. The evolution of the current generation of high-resolution LWD resistivity imaging tools, deployed during the last decade, has seen a progressive increase in the along-hole resolution, with today’s highest resolution tools achieving nominal along-hole resolutions of approximately 0.5 in. with full 360° azimuthal borehole wall coverage.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90188 ©GEO-2014, 11th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, 10-12 March 2014, Manama, Bahrain