Integrated petrophysical log characterization for tight carbonate reservoir effectiveness: A case study from the Longgang area, Sichuan Basin, China

Ultra-low porosity and permeability, inhomogeneous fracture distribution, and complex storage space together make the effectiveness evaluation of tight carbonate reservoirs difficult. Aiming at the carbonate reservoirs of the Da＇anzhai Formation in the Longgang area of the Sichuan Basin, based on petrophysical experiments and logging response characteristics, we investigated the storage properties of matrix pores and the characteristics of fracture development to establish a method for the characterization of effectiveness of tight reservoirs. Mercury injection and nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） experiments show that the conventional relationship between porosity and permeability cannot fully reflect the fluid flow behavior in tight matrix pores. Under reservoir conditions, the tight reservoirs still possess certain storage space and permeability, which are controlled by the characteristic structures of the matrix porosity. The degree of fracture development is crucial to the productivity and quality of tight reservoirs. By combining the fracture development similarity of the same type of reservoirs and the fracture development heterogeneity in the same block, a three-level classification method of fracture development was established on the basis of fracture porosity distribution and its cumulative features. According to the actual production data, based on the effectiveness analysis of the matrix pores and fast inversion of fracture parameters from dual laterolog data, we divided the effective reservoirs into three classes： Class I with developed fractures and pores, and high-intermediate productivity; Class II with moderately developed fractures and pores or of fractured type, and intermediate-low productivity; Class III with poorly developed fractures and matrix pores, and extremely low productivity. Accordingly log classification standards were set up. Production data shows that the classification of effective reservoirs is highly consistent with the reservoir productivity level, providing a new approach for the effectiveness evaluation of tight reservoirs.

Numerical simulation of high-resolution azimuthal resistivity laterolog response in fractured reservoirs

The high-resolution azimuthal resistivity laterolog response in a fractured formation was numerically simulated using a three-dimensional finite element method. Simulation results show that the azimuthal resistivity is determined by fracture dipping as well as dipping direction, while the amplitude differences between deep and shallow laterolog resistivities are mainly controlled by the former. A linear relationship exists between the corrected apparent conductivities and fracture aperture. With the same fracture aperture, the deep and shallow laterolog resistivities present small values with negative separations for low-angle fractures, while azimuthal resistivities have large variations with positive separations for high-angle fractures that intersect the borehole. For dipping fractures, the variation of the azimuthal resistivity becomes larger when the fracture aperture increases. In addition, for high-angle fractures far from the borehole, a negative separation between the deep and shallow resistivities exists when fracture aperture is large as well as high resistivity contrast exists between bedrock and fracture fluid. The decreasing amplitude of dual laterolog resistivity can indicate the aperture of low-angle fractures, and the variation of the deep azimuthal resistivity can give information of the aperture of high-angle fractures and their position relative to the borehole.