2 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005

GEOSTEERING WITH ADVANCED

LWD TECHNOLOGIES PLACEMENT
OF MAXIMUM RESERVOIR CONTACT
WELLS IN A THINLY LAYERED
CARBONATE RESERVOIR
Shouxiang Mark Ma
Mohammed A. Al-Mudhhi
Abdalrasool A. Al-Hajari
Ken L. Lewis
Garo M. Berberian
Parvez Butt
Mohammed A. Al-Mudhhi is a senior engineer with the
Southern Area Petrophysics Unit of the Reservoir
Description Division in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He holds a
BS (1987) in Petroleum Engineering from Tulsa University,
Oklahoma, USA. Mohammed joined Saudi Aramco in
1978. He has 27 years of experience in various petroleum
disciplines including production engineering, reservoir
management and reservoir description.
Shouxiang Mark Ma is a petrophysicist with the
Reservoir Description Division of Saudi Aramco. He has a
BS, an MS and a PhD in Petroleum Engineering. He has
worked as a research associate at the New Mexico
Petroleum Recovery Research Center, a post-doctoral
fellow at the Western Research Institute, was an adjunct
assistant professor at the University of Wyoming, and was
a senior research engineer with the Exxon Production
Research Company. Shouxiang has published more than 30
technical papers in laboratory and field petrophysics.
Abdalrasool A. Al-Hajari is a supervisor with the
Reservoir Description Division of Saudi Aramco. He has a
BS degree in petroleum engineering from King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals, in Saudi Arabia.
Abdalrasool has worked in different areas of petroleum
engineering, drilling, production and reservoir management.
He has co-authored several papers in petrophysics and well-
monitoring logging. He has 18 years of experience in
sand-shale and carbonate petrophysics.
Ken L. Lewis is a geologist with the Southern Fields
Characterization Division of the Reservoir
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005 3
Characterization Department and has been with Saudi
Aramco since 2001. Ken has been involved in reservoir
development activities in the North Ghawar region and
Abqaiq field areas. He worked 20 years with Kuwait Santa
Fe in the Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,
with Pinnacle Resources in Western Canada and with
Husky Oil International in Indonesia on a variety of oil and
gas development opportunities. He received his BS in
Geology and MBA in Finance from the University of
Calgary, Canada.
Garo M. Berberian is the supervisor of the Abqaiq
Reservoir Management Division in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
and has been with Saudi Aramco since 1998. He holds BS
(1979) and MS (1982) degrees, both in Petroleum
Engineering from Louisiana Tech University, USA, and an
MBA (1988) from Louisiana State University, USA. He is a
registered Professional Engineer in Texas and a member of
the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Garo has 27
years of industry experience; he previously worked as a
special technical adviser in Production and Reservoir
Engineering for the Ministry of Oil in Yemen, was a
reservoir engineering consultant for Sonatrach in Algeria,
and was a senior production/analytical engineer for Arco.
Parvez Butt is currently the manager of the Schlumberger
Logging While Drilling formation evaluation in Saudi
Arabia, responsible for LWD log interpretation. Butt has an
MS in geophysics (1981) from the University of Islamabad,
Pakistan. His primary focus is the interpretation and
development of new real-time answer products from LWD
services, with his areas of technical expertise including
advanced formation evaluation with LWD services,
geosteering, horizontal well placement and drain hole length
optimization using real-time images and real-time LWD
services.
ABSTRACT
Placing a maximum reservoir contact well in a thinly
layered reservoir has always been a challenge. Experiences
showed that the well trajectory could easily be steered out
of the target, necessitating expensive plug-back and
redrilling operations to ensure that the well is drilled as
planned. With the deployment of advanced LWD
technologies, such as density image (DI), resistivity image
(RI) and directional deep resistivity (DDR) logging tools,
and high-speed real-time satellite data transmission, well
paths can be geosteered from anywhere and kept in a thinly
layered reservoir.
The first Saudi Aramco field examples of utilizing RI and
DDR are shown to demonstrate the added values of new
technologies in geosteering difficult-to-drill wells. In some
of the examples, images of density and resistivity are
consistent, and all could be used for geosteering. In other
examples, wrong geosteering decisions would have been
made had the DI been the only available tool. With the help
of RI, reservoir contact of multi-lateral wells is increased.
Examples also show that using DDR can prevent the well
trajectory from being too close to the zero porosity rock
layer or the underlying water.
I NTRODUCTI ON
The main oil-producing reservoir in the XA field is a
massive carbonate reservoir. At the top of this good quality
reservoir there is a thin heterogeneous reservoir interval
(named L1Z1) with rock porosity ranging from less than 10
porosity unit (pu) to more than 20 pu (Fig. 1). This L1Z1 is
sandwiched between an 8 ft. thick overlaying zero porosity
anhydrite unit and an underlying 2 ft. thick zero porosity
anhydrite or close to zero porosity anhydritic dolomite unit.
The thickness of L1Z1 ranges from less than a few feet to
more than 20 ft., with a typical thickness from 4-8 ft.
Because of the rock quality, this thin layer has been
difficult to target through traditional vertical producers. To
improve oil recovery, maximum reservoir contact (MRC)
multi-lateral (ML) horizontal wells have been drilled in the
last few years; some drilled in new locations and others
side-tracked from existing vertical wells.
1
Conventional Geosteering Tools
It is impossible to place a horizontal well in a thinly layered
reservoir such as L1Z1 without the help of logging-while-
drilling (LWD). Traditionally, LWD tools consist of gamma
ray (GR), density, neutron, and resistivity (triple combo)
measurements. Geosteering a horizontal well with only
conventional LWD triple combo and GR is difficult
because it does not provide direction of the measurement.
For example, if drilling rate of penetration (ROP) is low
Fig. 1. Well cross-section of the targeted top thin reservoir interval, sandwiched
by a top zero porosity anhydrite and a bottom zero porosity anhydrite or very
low porosity anhydritic dolomite.
4 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005
and porosity log shows that the hole is cutting zero porosity
rock (i.e., anhydrite), there is no way to tell if this zero
porosity rock is above or below the target reservoir.
Therefore, more advanced directional geosteering
technologies are needed.
Advanced LWD Geosteering Technologies
With continuous development of LWD technologies,
azimuthal measurement became a reality. The first azimuthal
measurement for 6-1/8 in. hole size was density,
2
then GR.
3
Azimuthal density has proved to be a useful tool for well
placement in thinly bedded carbonates,
4
as well as in shaly
sands.
5
But azimuthal GR has limited application in carbonate
reservoirs due to the inconclusive GR responses in carbonates.
Since density is a relatively shallow measurement, it is
more sensitive to hole rugosity. Our experience has shown
that wrong geosteering decisions may be made if only
azimuthal density is available.
LWD resistivity image
6-10
and the new extra deep
directional resistivity
11-13
are more robust measurements (less
sensitive to hole conditions) and have been used to improve
the placement of ML wells in thinly bedded reservoirs.
Objectives of This Paper
The main objectives of this paper are to demonstrate the
benefits of using advanced LWD technologies in geosteering
MRC ML wells in thinly layered carbonate reservoirs. A
historical trail of LWD geosteering technology is reviewed
from conventional LWD triple combo, images of density
and resistivity, to the newly developed directional deep
resistivity measurements.
ADVANCEMENT I N GEOSTEERI NG
A REVI EW
Rotary Steerable System (RSS) Technology
An advanced log can only provide the driller real-time
guidance regarding the direction of the borehole to be drilled.
To follow the guidance closely, the driller also needs an
advanced steerable drilling assembly, and the newly developed
rotary steerable system (RSS) is one such system.
14-15
The RSS assembly, (also referred to as point-the-bit
technology), used for ML well drilling in this study has a
steering assembly that continuously orients the tilted bit
shaft to control the drilling direction and the dogleg severity
of the borehole (Fig. 2). The tool does not push against the
borehole to build angle, and is therefore more effective for
steering. It is a fully rotating tool with no stationary external
parts, which reduces the risk of sticking pipe assembly. It
looks and acts like a conventional drilling motor although it
has the ability to adjust azimuth and inclination of the bit.
ROP is improved because there are no stationary
components to create friction (which reduces efficiency) to
anchor the bottom hole assembly (BHA) in the hole.
The tool is comprised of a slick collar with two spiral
stabilizers positioned 12 ft. behind the bit. The bit shaft is
deflected internally with hydraulics allowing only the bit
box to be offset.
Density Image (DI)
The tool used for density measurement described in this
paper has an OD of 4.75 in., which is suitable for drilling
6-1/8 in. hole (Fig. 3). It utilizes a 1.7 Curie Cesium-137
density source and two scintillating NaI crystal detectors.
High-energy gamma rays are emitted from the source into
the formation. They undergo interaction with the formation
and return at reduced energies to the long and short spacing
detectors. The quantity that returns to the detectors is
inversely proportional to the formation electron density.
Using an empirically determined and laboratory-calibrated
relationship between electron density and bulk density, the
formation bulk density can be estimated.
Azimuthal density image (DI) is made from color-coding
density measurements around the borehole. Density
measurements are circumferentially binned into 16 sectors
(Fig. 3), and these measurements are color coded on a
graduated scale to bring out the heterogeneity of the
borehole as a stabilized tool traverses the formation.
Azimuthal measurements are established by placing
Fig. 2. Rotary steerable system (RSS) tool schematics.
Fig. 3. Schematics of density/neutron LWD tool and 16 sector density image.
Tool OD is 4.75 in., suitable for 6-1/8 in. hole size.
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005 5
fluxgate magnetometers in the tool. When the tool is
rotating, these magnetometers measure the Earths magnetic
field strength along their axis. The result of these
measurements can be used to analyze the relative position
of the tools measurement in relation to the earths magnetic
field. This relationship converts the north, south, east and
west measurements to up, down, left and right, thereby
establishing the quadrant measurements. Each quadrant is
further subdivided into four sectors, giving a total of 16
sector measurements (Fig. 3).
Resistivity Image (RI)
The azimuthal resistivity image (RI) tool is a bigger tool
with an OD of 6.75 in., only suitable for 8-1/2 in. hole size
drilling. It provides a laterolog type resistivity-at-the-bit, a
high-resolution ring resistivity and three azimuthally
focused buttons resistivities (Fig. 4). The three button
electrodes are approximately 1 in. in diameter and are
longitudinally spaced along the axis of the tool. The spacing
provides shallow (1 in.), medium (3 in.), and deep (5 in.)
depths of investigation for quantifying invasion profiles.
These azimuthally acquired button measurements are also
displayed as 56-sector resistivity images, which is essential
for better structural interpretation while drilling.
An integral, cylindrical electrode is used to provide a
high-resolution lateral resistivity referred to as ring
resistivity. The ring resistivity has a 7 in. depth of
investigation. In addition to these four resistivity
measurements, the tool also acquires a bit resistivity,
azimuthal gamma ray, radial and lateral shock records, and
temperature measurements.
Images and Formation Dip Calculation
As discussed above, the circumferential measurements of
azimuthal densities are binned into 16 sectors to obtain DI,
while the RI is obtained by binning the measurements into 56
sectors. As shown in Fig. 5, the resolution of DI is about 6 in.
while the RI resolution is about 1.2 in., five times better than
that of DI. Although this is a considerable improvement, it
still does not meet the standard of wireline resistivity images,
which are about 10-fold better in resolution.
The interpretation of real-time image logs requires both
an understanding of the geology and how the tool responds
to different lithologies and borehole environment. The DI
and RI tools are proven to be useful for advanced
interpretation of geologic structures, such as calculating
dips from up and down measurements.
The method of calculating dips relies on measuring the
offset between the top and bottom measurements.
16-20
When
the borehole intersects a bed at a high incident angle from
above, the bottom log is the first to see the formation,
followed by the right and left, and finally by the top
measurement. The logs will appear as if the top and bottom
measurements are depth offset. The offset between the top
and bottom measurements is used to calculate the apparent
dip of the formation ().
(1)
(2)
(3)
Fig. 4. Azimuthal near-bit latero resistivity tool configuration. The tool
outputs a bit resistivity, a ring resistivity with a DOI of 7 in., and three button
resistivities of depth of investigations of 1 in., 3 in. and 5 in. Tool OD is 6.75
in., suitable for 8-1/2 in. hole size.
Fig. 5. Resolution comparison between LWD images and that of wireline. The
resolution of LWD RI is about 5 times better than that of LWD DI, but is still
much worse (about 10 times) than the wireline RI.
Where is the intersection angle between the borehole
and the formation, I the borehole inclination, D the depth
offset between the top and bottom measurements, D
E
the
effective wellbore diameter, D
BH
the borehole diameter, and
DOI depth of investigation of the measurement.
For LWD DI, DOI is about 1 in. while for LWD RI, DOI
is about 1.5 in. Use of DOI in Eq. 3 is to account for the
apparent increase in wellbore diameter created by the depth
of investigation of the measurement.
2
Fig. 6 provides a
diagrammatic explanation of Eqs. 1-3.
Directional Deep Resistivity (DDR)
A new LWD technology, which introduces directional deep
electromagnetic (EM) measurements that uses tilted and
transverse current-loop antennas, was developed recently.
The directional deep resistivity (DDR) determines the
6 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005
Fig. 6. (a) Dip calculation from azimuthal measurements and (b) examples of
image and the calculated dip angles.
Fig. 7. Directional deep resistivity (DDR) tool layout with axial (T5, T3, T1,
T2, and T4) and transverse (T6) transmitter antennas and axial (R1 and R2)
and tilted (R3 and R4) receiver antennas. Tool spacings are 22 in., 34 in., 84
in., and 96 in., frequencies are 100 kHz, 400 kHz, and 2 MHz. Tool OD is
4.75 in., suitable for 6-1/8 in. hole size.
Fig. 8. Pre-job modeling of DDR tool response to conductive boundaries.
Fig. 9. BHAs used to drill the three wells.
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005 7
distance to approaching formation boundaries and their
orientation to help in proactive geosteering. It can be
combined with conventional LWD resistivity to improve
formation resistivity modeling and interpretation around
the wellbore. By monitoring in real time, distance to
formation boundary up to 15 ft. around the wellbore can
be detected allowing for sufficient time to make trajectory
adjustments to stay within the reservoir.
A schematic representation of the antenna configuration
is shown in Fig. 7. The array offers directional phase shift
and attenuation measurements at four different spacings (22
in., 34 in., 84 in. and 96 in.) with three different frequencies
(100 kHz, 400 kHz and 2 MHz). The tool has an OD of
4.75 in.; thus it is suitable for a hole size of 6-1/8 in.
The azimuthal orientation of the tool is provided by a
magnetometer system. The downhole resistivity and EM
direction are sent to the surface through mud pulse telemetry,
with a speed of six bits per second, and then streamed into
automatic inversion software. The inversion produces the best
solution distance to resistivity boundaries and the resistivity of
layers close to wellbore. No prior knowledge of the bedding
structure is assumed, making the process fully automated. The
inversion software is also used for pre-job planning of the tool
responses. An example of pre-job modeling of tool response in
a thin reservoir is shown in Fig. 8.
Bottomhole Assemblies Used in This Study
Three different BHAs were used in this study, as shown in
Fig. 9. BHA-A consists of normal LWD triple combo with
azimuthal density and DI. This BHA was used in drilling
well XA-A in 2003. In BHA-B, conventional resistivity was
replaced with RI to provide real-time RI for geosteering as
well as shallow formation resistivity for formation
evaluation. This BHA was used for drilling/geosteering the
8-1/2 in. hole sections of wells XA-B and XY-A. With DDR,
BHA-C was used to drill/geosteer laterals 1 and 2 of well
XY-A. Drilling/geosteering wells XA-A, XA-B and XY-A are
discussed in more detail below.
DRI LLI NG ML WELLS I N THI NLY LAYERED
RESERVOI RS
Geosteering with DI An Example
XA-A, a L1Z1 ML well, was drilled in 2003 with
conventional LWD triple combo and density image (DI). In
general, the well was drilled and geosteered successfully,
except at depth x400 where the well trajectory intersected
the zero porosity anhydrite (Fig. 10a); both azimuthal
density and DI indicated that the anhydrite was at the top
of the reservoir. Therefore, the well was geosteered
downward to get back to the reservoir.
DI, being a shallower measurement, was not able to
detect the approaching boundary in advance. Consequently,
when it detects an anhydrite above or below, the drill bit
has already entered into it and coming back to the reservoir
could be difficult.
Fig. 10. Raw LWD logs and calculated volumetrics for well XA-A (a) and well
XA-B (b).
Fig. 11. Real time LWD RI, deep, medium, shallow, and bit resistivity. The real
time logs were transmitted to surface by mud pulse telemetry at a speed of six
bits per second, and then to office via satellite.
8 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005
Formation Resistivity
In conventional formation evaluation, deeper measurement
is always preferred since it is less affected by borehole
rugosity and borehole fluids.
21
Deep measurements in
horizontal wells, especially in thinly layered reservoir
intervals such as L1Z1, may be severely affected by adjacent
bed, rock anisotropy, and other factors.
From Fig. 10a, it is seen that the conventional triple
combo deep (30
+
in.), medium (20 in.), and shallow (10 in.)
resistivity measurements are very lazy from the top to the
bottom of the hole, even though reservoir porosity changed
from 15 pu to zero pu. In this case, shallower measurement
may be more representative of the reservoir, provided that
the mud filtrate invasion is minimized.
Geosteering with RI An Example
XA-B, another L1Z1 ML well in the same field as well XA-
A, was drilled in 2004. This well was geosteered with LWD
RI tool, the first RI job in Saudi Arabia (Fig. 10b). Examples
of static and dynamic real-time RI are shown in Fig. 11.
There were two main objectives for using RI in well XA-
B. One was that, due to the higher resolution of RI
compared to DI (Fig. 5), it can be used for better reservoir
characterization, thus better geosteering of the well. The
other was that RI may be able to provide more
representative reservoir resistivity, as discussed above, than
the normal LWD deeper resistivity measurement if mud
filtrate invasion can be minimized by optimizing the design
of drilling fluid. After completing this well, we believe we
achieved both objectives.
Fig. 12 shows a comparison between RI and DI. It is
evident from this figure that the quality of the RI is much
better than that of the DI, and it is much easier for
geoscientists to characterize reservoir features along the well
path with RI. Azimuthal densities are also plotted in the
figure for the purpose of comparison.
Fig. 13 shows a similar plot as Fig. 12, but in this figure
the well trajectory with respect to the boundary formation
is also shown based on the real-time RI interpretation. Real-
time LWD RI provides clear guidance to the geoscientists as
to whether the wellbore is close to the bottom or the top
zero porosity anhydrite. Based on this information, real-
time geosteering decisions can be made and appropriate
actions can be taken in order to have a more successful
MRC well.
Effect of Borehole Rugosity on Shallow Measurements
Fig. 14 demonstrates the benefits of the higher resolution
and deeper measurement of RI. In this example, due to the
effect of borehole rugosity on shallow density
measurements, the azimuthal density indicated that the well
path was approaching the bottom anhydrite (bottom
density is heavier than the top density). Had this been the
Fig. 12. In this example, both DI and RI can be used successfully for
geosteering, even though the RI has better resolution.
Fig. 13. This example shows that the well was avoided to hit the overlaying
and underneath anhydrite with the help of RI.
Fig. 14. In this example, azimuthal density (DI) indicates that the well is
approaching the bottom anhydrite (see top and bottom density) while the RI
shows otherwise. Further investigation reveals that hole rugosity affects the
shallow DI measurement and the well was geosteered down to get back to the
reservoir.
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005 9
only information available, it would have been necessary to
geosteer the well upward.
Since RI was also run in real time, it clearly showed that
the approaching anhydrite was at the top of the reservoir,
thus indicating the need to geosteer the well downward.
With more confidence in RI, a real-time decision was made
and the well was geosteered downward to stay away from
the top anhydrite. As a result, a better well was achieved
(Fig. 10b).
The difference between DI and RI in this interval is
attributed to the effect of borehole rugosity. These borehole
rugosity effects on the shallower DI measurement, but not
much on the deeper RI measurement, are clearly shown in
Fig. 15.
Geosteering with DDR An Example
Directional Deep Resistivity (DDR) data was acquired in
well XY-A, the first well geosteered with DDR in Saudi
Arabia (Fig. 16). The objective was to drill a ML well to
improve well productivity and enhance reservoir sweep by
providing maximum reservoir contact. To ensure the well
objectives are delivered, DDR was run to provide real-time
measurements of distance to conductive boundary (DTCB).
The capability to detect boundaries away from the borehole
provides the means to maximize the net horizontal length
drilled in the reservoir, and reduces the risk of exiting to
non-pay zones.
Around-the-clock coverage of well placement operations
was conducted from Saudi Aramcos office by both the
Saudi Aramco and service company geoscientists. InterACT
and satellite data transmission services were used to provide
communication and data connectivity from the rig site to
Saudi Aramcos Geosteering Operation Center (GOC),
enabling real-time interpretation, which was the key in
delivering DTCB for effective decision-making.
Pre-Job Modeling
Pre-job planning is essential for a successful delivery of the
well objectives. Data from nearby wells was used to model
the expected LWD resistivity and DDR responses for the
laterals, as shown in Fig. 8. This pre-job modeling helped
the well placement team to understand the expected tool
measurements along the planned well path and distance to
boundary response from the inversion software. This
approach enhances the teams capability to act before the
wellpath exits any reservoir.
Added Value of DDR
It was decided by the asset team that the 1st and 2nd
laterals of well XY-A would be logged by the DDR. The
Fig. 15. Effect of borehole rugosity on shallow, but not deep measurement.
Fig. 16. BHA used for drilling well XY-A and real geosteering using DDR.
10 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY WINTER 2005
objective for the 1st lateral was to drill half of the planned
well length in lobe 1 (L1) and then cut through the
anhydrite stringer and drill the remaining half in lobe 2 (L2,
a thicker reservoir interval below L1). While in L1, DDR
and log correlation indicated that the interval thickness in
this well is about half of that expected from nearby wells.
Consequently, a decision was made to drop the hole
inclination to enter and drill in L2.
While in L2, a low porosity dolomitic zone was
encountered. It was decided to drop the well trajectory
further in TVD until the well was in good reservoir rock,
and then the well was kept 3 ft. TVD below the dolomitic
layer. As planned, the well was placed in the good reservoir,
and drilling continued in this zone until DDR detected that
the oil-water contact (OWC, Fig. 17) was approaching. The
well was called TD based on the DTCB information
provided by DDR in real time.
The 2nd lateral was planned to be drilled in L1 only, but
based on L1 thickness in the 1st lateral, it was decided to
drill the 2nd lateral in both L1 and L2, with 1/3 of the
length in L1 and 2/3 in L2. With the aid of DDR, the well
was drilled longer than planned in L1 in a tight 3 ft.
window (Fig. 18).
Drilling through the anhydrite stringer into L2 proved to
be more challenging than anticipated as the formation
started dipping downward at a relatively steep angle
(relative dip of about 1.5 degrees), and as a result about
200 ft. was drilled in the anhydrite before the well
eventually got into L2. After drilling into L2, DDR
indicated that the well was approaching the OWC, and it
was decided to stop drilling and TD the well.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSI ONS
To recover oil from thinly layered reservoirs, MRC ML
wells must be drilled with advanced LWD geosteering
technologies to maximize net reservoir contact.
LWD provides different levels of service: conventional
triple combo for simple formation evaluation as well as
geosteering simple-to-drill wells. For more difficult-to-drill
wells, azimuthal measurement and image are required.
DI is commonly used because of its slim tool OD. RI, with
more than five times of resolution, has a deeper depth of
investigation, thus is less affected by near wellbore effects. High
resolution measurements are needed for accurate formation dip
analysis and geosteering. However, the RI tool OD is bigger,
which limits its application to 8-1/2 in. holes only.
Both DI and RI are shallower measurements. When a
boundary shows on the image, it means the wellpath is
already close to it. DDR provides a much deeper
measurement and thus can be used in geosteering a well
away from a boundary before getting too close to it.
The three case studies presented in this paper have
showed that it is possible to develop thin targets through
enhanced geosteering and reservoir planning. Well XA-A,
geosteered with LWD triple combo and DI, was a successful
well except the well penetrated the zero porosity anhydrite
at one interval.
For well XA-B, LWD RI provided extra added value by
keeping the well path in the reservoir. LWD azimuthal
density and DI were affected by borehole rugosity and
could not have been effective in keeping the borehole in the
thin reservoir.
For well XY-A, though the formation was initially
assumed to be almost flat based on pre-spud maps, RI
confirmed that the formation was actually dipping. L1
thickness was initially assumed to be between 5 ft. and 7 ft.
TVD but both RI in the 8-1/2 in. section and DDR in the 6-
1/8 in. section confirmed that the thickness of L1 is about 3
ft. With the aid of DDR, it was possible to drill a rather
long horizontal lateral in L1 despite the tight window. In
addition, drilling plans for both laterals of well XY-A were
optimized in real time based on DDRs response to WOC.
Fig. 17. DDR inversion processing using memory data confirmed the real time
results of the presence of OWC about 13 ft. TVD below the XY-A lateral 1
path. Well TD is shorter than planned because of this real-time monitoring.
Fig. 18. DDR was used to geosteer well XY-A lateral 2. The thickness of L1Z1
in this area was found very thin, about 3 ft. TVD. In addition, an advancing
WOC was detected by DDR during drilling. Consequently, the well was called
TD to avoid being too close to the WOC.
RECOMMENDATI ONS
Apart from the drilling performance benefits that the RSS
delivers, it is important to utilize it in difficult-to-drill wells
where active geosteering is required.
Running high-resolution LWD RI will not only improve
geosteering but also enhance reservoir characterization. It has
the potential to replace some of the pipe-conveyed image logs
for geological feature characterization, thus saving rig time.
It is recommended that DDR be run in wells where distance
to formation boundary is crucial, provided that the
conductivity contrast is large enough to be detected by the tool.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco
management for granting permission to publish this paper.
Special thanks are also extended to colleagues from both
Saudi Aramco and Schlumberger for their support.
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