Quantitative geophysical investigations of granular aquifers

Groundwater flow and storage in granular aquifers are much more amenable to analysis than in fissured reservoirs. The hydrological parameters used to describe the behaviour of a granular aquifer have been seen to be related to geophysical parameters in diverse water-bearing formations. This means that certain geophysical survey techniques are potentially useful as quantitative hydrogeological tools. Yet the study of these basic relationships and their subsequent field application have been disjointed and lacking in overal co-ordination. Consequently these quantitative hydrogeophysical procedures have not been applied to maximum advantage. The role of geophysics in quantitative studies of granular aquifers is reviewed in terms of the prediction of effective porosity and intergranular permeability from geophysical measurement. The potential usefulness of these methods manifests itself through the degree of correlation between hydrological and geophysical parameters observed from laboratory studies, borehole logging investigations or field survey data. Their application is exemplified through an ordered series of hydrogeophysical case histories. It is contended that the potential of geophysical methods in quantitative studies of this kind has by no means been fully exploited.     

A time-domain induced-polarization method for estimating permeability in a shaly sand reservoir

It is known that the time‐domain induced‐polarization decay curve for a shaly sand reservoir depends on the pore structure of the reservoir, and this curve can be used to estimate permeability, which is a determining factor in making production decisions in the petroleum industry. Compared with NMR logging tools, induced polarization has several advantages, such as a deep depth of investigation and a high signal‐to‐noise ratio. The purpose of this paper is to establish an appropriate model using induced polarization to estimate the permeability. The curve can be modelled as a weighted superposition of exponential relaxations. The plot of weight versus the relaxation time constant is defined as the relaxation time spectrum. Induced‐polarization decay‐curve measurements were performed on 123 samples from the Daqing oilfield using a four‐electrode technique. A singular‐value decomposition method was used to transform the induced‐polarization decay data into a spectrum. Different models to estimate the permeability were discussed. The results of the research indicate that the induced‐polarization measurements greatly improve the statistical significance of permeability correlations. Compared with the traditional forms, Aφ^C and AF^C, the forms, AT^Bφ^C and AT^BF^C, have lower error factors, where T, Φ and F are the geometric mean time constant of the induced‐polarization relaxation time spectrum, the porosity and the resistivity formation factor, respectively, and A, B and C are constants. The mean time constant is the decisive parameter in the permeability estimation and it is not completely independent of the resistivity formation factor. The additional use of the porosity and the resistivity formation factor leads to an appreciable improvement. It is concluded that this new model will make it possible to estimate the permeability of a shaly sand reservoir downhole.     

储层渗透性与地层因素关系的实验研究与分析

本文对渤海湾盆地不同孔隙结构样品的孔、渗、核磁、岩电、压汞、X衍射及铸体薄片等配套岩石物理实验数据进行了综合分析,通过逐一考察同一套岩芯样品的地层因素与渗透率、压汞喉径均值、储层品质指数之间的实验关系,并分别与地层因素-孔隙度交绘图进行对比分析,发现储层渗透性与地层因素之间并非简单的单调函数关系,孔隙度相近但孔隙结构类型不同、渗透率差异明显的岩芯可以具有相近的地层因素,导电能力接近.在实验数据分析的基础上通过理论分析证明了这一实验关系的合理性,并指出孔隙度及导电能力相近的岩芯,其渗透率差异与喉径均值的平方比、孔隙曲折度及几何形态相关.     

Relationships between water flow rate and geophysical measurements in an alluvial aquifer

Our study focuses on the potential usefulness of surface geophysical data to constrain the water content within an alluvial aquifer. On a study area where two wells have been drilled, we have performed several geophysical measurements, including ground penetrating radar, DC resistivity prospecting, seismic refraction survey and magnetic resonance soundings. From these data, we estimated several parameters, namely, the water height in the deposits, the effective porosity, the water content, the permeability, and the transmissivity of alluvial deposits. These physical parameters allow us to characterize the alluvial deposits in order to constrain the estimation of the potential water flow. The lithology and water flow rate known from the wells enabled us to compare geophysical results obtained in a high water flow rate zone to those in a low water flow rate zone. Correlation has been found between the water flow rate observed in both wells and the geophysical data obtained in the vicinity of these wells.     

Correlation of vertical electrical sounding and electrical borehole log data for groundwater exploration

We have correlated the longitudinal unit conductance CL obtained from interpreted vertical electrical sounding data with the formation resistivity R_t and the formation resistivity factor F, obtained by carrying out electrical borehole logging. Interpreted geophysical data of eleven soundings and two electrical borehole log records are used for the analysis. The geophysical data used were acquired in a sedimentary basin. The study area is called Lower Maner Basin located in the province of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vertical electrical soundings were carried out using a Schlumberger configuration with half current electrode separation varying from 600–1000 m. For logging the two boreholes, a Widco logger‐model 3200 PLS was used. True formation resistivity R_t was calculated from a resistivity log. Formation resistivity factor F was also calculated at various depths using R_t values. An appreciable inverse relation exists between the correlated parameters. The borehole resistivity R_t and the formation resistivity factor F decrease with the increase in the longitudinal unit conductance CL. We have shown the use of such a relation in computing borehole resistivity R_t and formation resistivity factor F at sites that posses only vertical electrical sounding data, with a fair degree of accuracy. Validation of the correlation is satisfactory. Scope for updating the correlation is discussed. Significance and applications of the relation for exploration of groundwater, namely to update the vertical electrical sounding data interpretation by translating the vertical electrical sounding data into electrical borehole log parameters, to facilitate correlations studies and to estimate the porosity (φ), permeability (K) and water saturation S_w of water bearing zones are discussed.     

Porosity and permeability prediction from wireline logs using artificial neural networks: a North Sea case study

Estimations of porosity and permeability from well logs are important yet difficult tasks encountered in geophysical formation evaluation and reservoir engineering. Motivated by recent results of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling offshore eastern Canada, we have developed neural nets for converting well logs in the North Sea to porosity and permeability. We use two separate back-propagation ANNs (BP-ANNs) to model porosity and permeability. The porosity ANN is a simple three-layer network using sonic, density and resistivity logs for input. The permeability ANN is slightly more complex with four inputs (density, gamma ray, neutron porosity and sonic) and more neurons in the hidden layer to account for the increased complexity in the relationships. The networks, initially developed for basin-scale problems, perform sufficiently accurately to meet normal requirements in reservoir engineering when applied to Jurassic reservoirs in the Viking Graben area. The mean difference between the predicted porosity and helium porosity from core plugs is less than 0.01 fractional units. For the permeability network a mean difference of approximately 400 mD is mainly due to minor core-log depth mismatch in the heterogeneous parts of the reservoir and lack of adequate overburden corrections to the core permeability. A major advantage is that no a priori knowledge of the rock material and pore fluids is required. Real-time conversion based on measurements while drilling (MWD) is thus an obvious application.     

Water content and porosity estimated from ground-penetrating radar and resistivity

Both ground-penetrating radar and the resistivity method have proven to be useful tools for exploring water content variations, since related parameters such as dielectric constant and the resistivity of rocks and sediments are highly dependent on moisture content. These methods were used independently to estimate volumetric water content in the unsaturated zone and porosity in the saturated zone in a 100-m sandy section. Two sample sites along the profile were also chosen for a shallow geophysical investigation and soil sampling, to enable the calibration and verification of the indirect geophysical methods. The grain distribution at these sites is dominated by medium-sized sand (0.25–0.5 mm). The water content was 6.9 vol.% and calculated porosities are 37% and 40% respectively. At each of these sites the mean water content values calculated from resistivity are within one percentage unit of measured water content while those calculated from ground-penetrating radar give higher values by as much as 2.9 percentage units. The water contents in the unsaturated zone in the section, estimated from resistivity and ground-penetrating radar, show very similar trends, although that deduced from ground-penetrating radar is generally somewhat larger, consistent with the results from the sample sites. The mean porosity values obtained from the two methods in the saturated zone are in good agreement.     

A LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF THE INDUCED POLARIZATION OF THE TRIASSIC SHERWOOD SANDSTONE OF LANCASHIRE AND ITS HYDROGEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS*

The time-domain induced polarization (IP) of saturated Sherwood Sandstone correlates significantly with the intergranular permeability and the matrix conductivity but only at low electrolyte concentrations (< 500 p.p.m. NaCl). An increase in the magnitude of sandstone IP with increase in the valence of the electrolyte cation is pronounced but occurs only at intermediate concentrations, i.e., between 100 and 2500 p.p.m. Surface IP and resistivity depth sounding measurements, supplemented by data from laboratory measurements, can be used to estimate the groundwater conductivity and hence the salinity in a moderate to strongly saline sandstone aquifer.     

Estimating flow parameter distributions using ground-penetrating radar and hydrological measurements during transient flow in the vadose zone

Methods for estimating the parameter distributions necessary for modeling fluid flow and contaminant transport in the shallow subsurface are in great demand. Soil properties such as permeability, porosity, and water retention are typically estimated through the inversion of hydrological data (e.g., measurements of capillary pressure and water saturation). However, ill-posedness and non-uniqueness commonly arise in such non-linear inverse problems making their solutions elusive. Incorporating additional types of data, such as from geophysical methods, may greatly improve the success of inverse modeling. In particular, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) methods have proven sensitive to subsurface fluid flow processes and appear promising for such applications. In the present work, an inverse technique is presented which allows for the estimation of flow parameter distributions and the prediction of flow phenomena using GPR and hydrological measurements collected during a transient flow experiment. Specifically, concepts from the pilot point method were implemented in a maximum a posteriori (MAP) framework to allow for the generation of permeability distributions that are conditional to permeability point measurements, that maintain specified patterns of spatial correlation, and that are consistent with geophysical and hydrological data. The current implementation of the approach allows for additional flow parameters to be estimated concurrently if they are assumed uniform and uncorrelated with the permeability distribution. (The method itself allows for heterogeneity in these parameters to be considered, and it allows for parameters of the petrophysical and semivariogram models to be estimated as well.) Through a synthetic example, performance of the method is evaluated under various conditions, and some conclusions are made regarding the joint use of transient GPR and hydrological measurements in estimating fluid flow parameters in the vadose zone.     

Estimating Geohydrologic Properties from Borehole-Geophysical Logs

Borehole-geophysical logs can be used to estimate geohydrologic properties based on in situ measurement of rock and water properties. Estimates of properties of both formation and water, such as coefficient of diffusion, formation factor, cementation exponent, hydraulic conductivity, irreducible water content and specific yield can be assessed from borehole-geophysical data and selected algorithms and graphs.
Water properties, such as resistivity, sodium chloride concentration, viscosity and density, can also be estimated using data from borehole-geophysical logs. Water resistivity using the spontaneous-potential method can be estimated if an empirical correction for fresh water is applied.
Estimates of formation properties, such as porosity and permeability, can also be made using borehole-geophysical data.     

Estimation of anisotropic hydraulic conductivity using geophysical data in a coastal aquifer of Karnataka,India

Estimation of hydraulic parameters is essential to understand the interaction between groundwater flow and seawater intrusion. Though several studies have addressed hydraulic parameter estimation, based on pumping tests as well as geophysical methods, not many studies have addressed the problem with clayey formations being present. In this study, a methodology is proposed to estimate anisotropic hydraulic conductivity and porosity values for the coastal aquifer with unconsolidated formations. For this purpose, the one-dimensional resistivity of the aquifer and the groundwater conductivity data are used to estimate porosity at discrete points. The hydraulic conductivity values are estimated by its mutual dependence with porosity and petrophysical parameters. From these estimated values, the bilinear relationship between hydraulic conductivity and aquifer resistivity is established based on the clay content of the sampled formation. The methodology is applied on a coastal aquifer along with the coastal Karnataka, India, which has significant clayey formations embedded in unconsolidated rock. The estimation of hydraulic conductivity values from the established correlations has a correlation coefficient of 0.83 with pumping test data, indicating good reliability of the methodology. The established correlations also enable the estimation of horizontal hydraulic conductivity on two-dimensional resistivity sections, which was not addressed by earlier studies. The inventive approach of using the established bilinear correlations at one-dimensional to two-dimensional resistivity sections is verified by the comparison method. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity agrees with previous findings from inverse modelling. Additionally, this study provides critical insights into the estimation of vertical hydraulic conductivity and an equation is formulated which relates vertical hydraulic conductivity with horizontal. Based on the approach presented, the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of any type aquifer with embedded clayey formations can be estimated. The anisotropic hydraulic conductivity has the potential to be used as an important input to the groundwater models.     

Near Surface Electrical Characterization of Hydraulic Conductivity: From Petrophysical Properties to Aquifer Geometries—A Review

This paper reviews the recent geophysical literature addressing the estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) from static low frequency electrical measurements (electrical resistivity, induced polarization (IP) and spectral induced polarization (SIP)). In the first part of this paper, research describing how petrophysical relations between electrical properties and effective (i.e. controlling fluid transport) properties of (a) the interconnected pore volumes and interconnected pore surfaces, have been exploited to estimate K at both the core and field scale is reviewed. We start with electrical resistivity measurements, which are shown to be inherently limited in K estimation as, although resistivity is sensitive to both pore volume and pore surface area properties, the two contributions cannot be separated. Efforts to utilize the unique sensitivity of IP and SIP measurements to physical parameters that describe the interconnected pore surface area are subsequently introduced and the incorporation of such data into electrical based Kozeny–Carman type models of K estimation is reviewed. In the second part of this review, efforts to invert geophysical datasets for spatial patterns of K variability (e.g. aquifer geometries) at the field-scale are considered. Inversions, based on the conversion of an image of a geophysical property to a hydrological property assuming a valid petrophysical relationship, as well as joint/constrained inversion methods, whereby multiple geophysical and hydrological data are inverted simultaneously, are briefly covered. This review demonstrates that there currently exists an opportunity to link, (1) the petrophysics relating low frequency electrical measurements to effective hydraulic properties, with (2) the joint inversion strategies developed in recent years, in order to obtain more meaningful estimates of spatial patterns of K variability than previously reported.     

Hydrogeophysical Methods for Analyzing Aquifer Storage and Recovery Systems

Hydrogeophysical methods are presented that support the siting and monitoring of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) systems. These methods are presented as numerical simulations in the context of a proposed ASR experiment in Kuwait, although the techniques are applicable to numerous ASR projects. Bulk geophysical properties are calculated directly from ASR flow and solute transport simulations using standard petrophysical relationships and are used to simulate the dynamic geophysical response to ASR. This strategy provides a quantitative framework for determining site‐specific geophysical methods and data acquisition geometries that can provide the most useful information about the ASR implementation. An axisymmetric, coupled fluid flow and solute transport model simulates injection, storage, and withdrawal of fresh water (salinity ～500 ppm) into the Dammam aquifer, a tertiary carbonate formation with native salinity approximately 6000 ppm. Sensitivity of the flow simulations to the correlation length of aquifer heterogeneity, aquifer dispersivity, and hydraulic permeability of the confining layer are investigated. The geophysical response using electrical resistivity, time‐domain electromagnetic (TEM), and seismic methods is computed at regular intervals during the ASR simulation to investigate the sensitivity of these different techniques to changes in subsurface properties. For the electrical and electromagnetic methods, fluid electric conductivity is derived from the modeled salinity and is combined with an assumed porosity model to compute a bulk electrical resistivity structure. The seismic response is computed from the porosity model and changes in effective stress due to fluid pressure variations during injection/recovery, while changes in fluid properties are introduced through Gassmann fluid substitution.     

孔隙结构对储层电性及测井解释评价的影响（英文）

在多个区块的测井评价工作发现,孔隙结构直接影响储集层的品质和油气层的电阻率,是测井准确评价流体性质的关键。岩石物理资料表明不同区块内影响储层孔隙结构的因素不同,但效果是一致的,即孔隙结构的复杂程度控制着储层的储集能力和渗透能力。孔隙结构的复杂程度影响了储层中导电流体的分布和含量,从而控制了储层的电阻率。储层出现低阻油气层的内因均为复杂的孔隙结构（骨架导电及工程原因除外）。测井储层评价在分析控制储层孔隙结构复杂程度的地质因素及储层分类的基础上,针对不同类型储层采用不同的模型、参数和标准,可以有效的认识储层品质和识别不同类型储层的流体性质。     

阿尔奇公式的适用性分析及其拓展

阿尔奇年代的储层孔隙结构简单,岩石孔隙可以被实验电解质完全充填,随着油气田勘探开发的逐步深入,对储层孔隙结构复杂程度的认识更加深入.发现岩石孔隙不仅有有效孔隙,也有无效孔隙.不仅有效孔隙导电,无效孔隙也导电,某些岩石骨架同样也导电.如何去除无效孔隙和其他各类岩石附加导电现象的影响,正确评价有效孔隙的贡献往往令人困惑.笔者发现：通过岩石电阻率计算地层因数只是在没有岩石附加导电环境下的特殊应用,在更为普适的条件下,地层因数实质是借助岩石电阻变化率反映孔隙连通性的重要参数.与物理学位移、速度的关系类似,电阻率和电阻变化率之间同样有着密切关系.这一观点的提出为在复杂孔隙结构条件下评价储层孔隙有效性提供了手段.     

利用注聚合物泥浆伤害岩电实验参数变化评价特低渗透储层

针对鄂尔多斯盆地陕北斜坡长6特低渗透储层受聚合物泥浆伤害,微电极电阻率曲线在渗透层上的正幅度差异不明显,直观指示油气层和水层的深、中,浅探测电阻率在常规储层的有序排列基本消失.通过注聚合物泥浆驱替前后岩石电阻率与孔隙度及含水饱和度实验关系分析,驱替后岩样电阻率显著增大,岩样电阻率随含水饱和度增大而减小的基本规律不复存在.归纳其岩性系数a、电阻率系数b比驱替前大得多,饱和度指数n由正变负,反映出注聚合物泥浆驱替破坏了储层孔隙结构及其基本特征,测井中造成了范围较小的高侵和特高侵地层电阻率带.从而提出在较为致密的低渗砂、致密砂聚合物泥浆伤害储层中,利用微电极负差异及其电阻率曲线不规则增高变化划分特低渗透油层有效厚度,并以实例阐明了利用岩电实验参数变化评价特低渗透储层的方法.     

Joint elastic‐electrical properties of reservoir sandstones and their relationships with petrophysical parameters

We measured in the laboratory ultrasonic compressional and shear‐wave velocity and attenuation (0.7–1.0 MHz) and low‐frequency (2 Hz) electrical resistivity on 63 sandstone samples with a wide range of petrophysical properties to study the influence of reservoir porosity, permeability and clay content on the joint elastic‐electrical properties of reservoir sandstones. P‐ and S‐wave velocities were found to be linearly correlated with apparent electrical formation factor on a semi‐logarithmic scale for both clean and clay‐rich sandstones; P‐ and S‐wave attenuations showed a bell‐shaped correlation (partial for S‐waves) with apparent electrical formation factor. The joint elastic‐electrical properties provide a way to discriminate between sandstones with similar porosities but with different clay contents. The laboratory results can be used to estimate sandstone reservoir permeability from seismic velocity and apparent formation factor obtained from co‐located seismic and controlled source electromagnetic surveys.     

A comparison of cross-hole electrical and seismic data in fractured rock

Cross‐hole anisotropic electrical and seismic tomograms of fractured metamorphic rock have been obtained at a test site where extensive hydrological data were available. A strong correlation between electrical resistivity anisotropy and seismic compressional‐wave velocity anisotropy has been observed. Analysis of core samples from the site reveal that the shale‐rich rocks have fabric‐related average velocity anisotropy of between 10% and 30%. The cross‐hole seismic data are consistent with these values, indicating that observed anisotropy might be principally due to the inherent rock fabric rather than to the aligned sets of open fractures. One region with velocity anisotropy greater than 30% has been modelled as aligned open fractures within an anisotropic rock matrix and this model is consistent with available fracture density and hydraulic transmissivity data from the boreholes and the cross‐hole resistivity tomography data. However, in general the study highlights the uncertainties that can arise, due to the relative influence of rock fabric and fluid‐filled fractures, when using geophysical techniques for hydrological investigations.     

Estimation of spatial variability of aquifer parameters from geophysical methods: a case study of Sindhudurg district,Maharashtra, India

Accurate estimation of aquifer parameters, especially from crystalline hard rock area, assumes a special significance for management of groundwater resources. The aquifer parameters are usually estimated through pumping tests carried out on water wells. While it may be costly and time consuming for carrying out pumping tests at a number of sites, the application of geophysical methods in combination with hydro-geochemical information proves to be potential and cost effective to estimate aquifer parameters. Here a method to estimate aquifer parameters such as hydraulic conductivity, formation factor, porosity and transmissivity is presented by utilizing electrical conductivity values analysed via hydro-geochemical analysis of existing wells and the respective vertical electrical sounding (VES) points of Sindhudurg district, western Maharashtra, India. Further, prior to interpolating the distribution of aquifer parameters of the study area, variogram modelling was carried out using data driven techniques of kriging, automatic relevance determination based Bayesian neural networks (ARD-BNN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy neural networks (ANFIS). In total, four variogram model fitting techniques such as spherical, exponential, ARD-BNN and ANFIS were compared. According to the obtained results, the spherical variogram model in interpolating transmissivity, ARD-BNN variogram model in interpolating porosity, exponential variogram model in interpolating aquifer thickness and ANFIS variogram model in interpolating hydraulic conductivity outperformed rest of the variogram models. Accordingly, the accurate aquifer parameters maps of the study area were produced by using the best variogram model. The present results suggest that there are relatively high value of hydraulic conductivity, porosity and transmissivity at Parule, Mogarne, Kudal, and Zarap, which would be useful to characterize the aquifer system over western Maharashtra.     

FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT COMPLEX RESISTIVITY OF ROCK-SALT SAMPLES AND RELATED PETROPHYSICAL PARAMETERS1

The presence of water is one of the main concerns of nuclear waste disposal in rock-salt. It can be investigated using electrical properties of the rock. Laboratory measurements of frequency-dependent resistivity and other petrophysical parameters, such as porosity, water content, and specific internal surface area, have been carried out on rock-salt from the Asse mine in Germany, in order to obtain characteristic resistivity responses for the evaluation of geoelectric field methods and to develop new methods for the estimation of the water content and saturation. The laboratory method, on a.c. half-bridge for very high impedances, allows measurements of the resistivity spectrum of rock-salt in the frequency range from 15 Hz to 10 kHz. The saturation of the samples was varied artificially and was approximately 5%, 10%, 20% and 100%. The porosity varies between 0.1% and 0.5%, the water content is approximately 0.05% or less, and the initial saturation is less than 50%. The resistivity ranges from 10 MΩm at the initial saturation down to 1 kΩm for fully saturated samples. In the low-frequency range up to 100 Hz, an Archie-type relationship may be used to estimate the water content of the rock-salt from resistivity measurements. The Archie exponent m is found to be approximately 2. The resistivity is observed to be strongly dependent on frequency. The resistivity decreases with increasing frequency, with a greater decrease for small saturations and vanishing frequency dependence at complete saturation. The relative dielectric constant was found to be 6 ± 1. Saturation dependence was not observed within this error range. The measurements imply that, by measuring resistivity in rock-salt, estimations of water content and saturation, and thus the porosity, can be made in situ. This is particularly important for the safety of nuclear waste disposal in rock-salt.