7.

0 Sonic or Acoustic logs

Sonic logs made simple
By measuring the time taken for acoustic waves to travel from a transmitter to a
receiver the sonic log determines the transit time of compressional waves in the
formation (i.e. the time taken to travel through one foot of formation). Modern tools
also measure the shear and Stoneley wave transit times. Primarily used by
Geophysicists to determine compressional and shear wave velocities (V p and Vs) for
use in seismic interpretation, results are also used for studies of fracturing, wellbore
stability and sand production, and to help determine porosity, lithology and fluid type.
= (t - tm) / (tf - tm)
where
t
tm
tf

= Porosity
= Transit time of compressional wave measured from sonic log
= Transit time in matrix
= Transit time in fluid

Transit time is also called travel time or slowness. It is the reciprocal of the velocity.
t in s/ft = 106/Vp in ft/s
Not the best log to calculate porosity, especially in unconsolidated formations.
Transit times are high (slow) in shales and gas (even a small amount of gas can
greatly increase transit time) and small (fast) in carbonates. The sonic log is used to
predict overpressure. A similar log is used in cased hole to evaluate the quality of
cementing.
How it works
A transmitter (called a transducer) creates an acoustic pulse in the 1 to 40 kHz range
depending on the tool. This can be created:
By a magnetostrictive material, that changes volume when a magnetic field is
applied by a coil of wire through which an electric current is pulsed (and vice
versa)
By a ceramic piezoelectric material such as BaTiO2, which changes volume
when an electric voltage is applied across it (and vice versa)
The detectors are the same as the transmitters except they measure current or
voltage rather than apply it.
The pulses created are about 200 s long and are repeated about every 50 ms or
so.
The compressional pulse spreads out from the transmitter through the mud until it
hits the borehole wall. On passing into the formation the wave is refracted according
to Snells law; above a certain critical angle of incidence, the compressional waves
are refracted parallel to the borehole wall. These refracted waves radiate
compressional waves back into the mud, where the detectors pick them up. The time
at which the first compressional wave arrives is used to determine the transit time.
The transit time measured will be for the ray path that takes the fastest route. As

the formation has a faster compressional wave velocity than that in mud, the wave
that has travelled through the formation will arrive first provided the transmitter to
receiver is not too short, compared to the borehole diameter.
Borehole compensation
The time measured by a simple tool with one transmitter and one receiver will
include the time to travel across the mud between the tool and the borehole wall. To
compensate for transit through mud (at least) two receivers at different spacings are
used.
TT-R1 = Tmud + ST-R1 t + Tmud
TT-R2 = Tmud + ST-R2 t + Tmud
where TT-R1 = transit time between transmitter and first receiver s
ST-R1 = distance from transmitter to first receiver ft (typically 3ft)
TT-R2 = transit time between transmitter and second receiver s
ST-R2 = distance from transmitter to second receiver ft (typically 5 ft)
Tmud = transit time through mud from tool to borehole wall s
t
= transit time through formation in s/ft
Looking at the difference between the transit time between the first and second
receivers it can be seen that the transit time through mud is eliminated by
subtraction.
TR2-R1 = TT-R2 - TT-R1
= ST-R2 t - ST-R1 t
t
= TR2-R1 / (ST-R2 - ST-R1 )
To provide additional corrections for varying hole diameter and any tilt of the sonde a
tool with two transmitters and four receivers, called the borehole compensated sonic
(BHC), was the standard sonic tool from the 1960s to around 2000.
Cycle skipping, Noise and Quality checks
The transit time is calculated from the difference between the time at which a signal
was transmitted and the arrival time when it was first detected. The arrival time was
traditionally detected when the amplitude from the receiver exceeds a threshold
value. If the threshold was set too low, then noise could be interpreted as an arrival
giving a transit time that was too short. If it was set too high then the first arrival
could be missed and the second cycle detected instead, an effect called cycle
skipping resulting in the transit time jumping by 10 to 40 s depending on whether
cycle skipping occurred on one or all of the transmitter - receiver combinations.
Cycle skipping and noise tend to cause spikes on the sonic. In an extreme case, it
will start reading the mud at around 200 s/ft.
It is worth checking the reading in casing, which should be a steady value of around
57 s/ft.

Recent advances
In recent decades there have been a number of advances including the development
of LWD tools. One of the later tools developed as drilling noise made detection of
wave arrivals more difficult. To minimise this, the sonic log is located above other
LWD tools, as far from the bit as is practical. Stationary readings may also be used
to check the log.
Initially sonic logs only measured the compressional wave arrival, however there are
several types of waves produced these include:

Compressional waves, the only waves detected by the older tools as they are
the fastest and so arrive first. These waves propagate by moving particles in
solid and fluids back and for in the direction in which they are travelling.
They can travel through solids, liquids and gas; fastest in solids and slowest in
gas.

Shear waves propagate by moving particles in solids in a planes

perpendicular to the direction of travel. They cannot move through gas or
liquids unless they are extremely viscous.

Stoneley waves are tube waves travelling through the mud and confined by
the borehole walls, if the walls were completely rigid they would travel at the
compressional velocity of the mud. In a borehole the Stoneley wave velocity is
affected slightly by the shear velocity and density of the formation, and in
permeable intervals, the amplitude is reduced (attenuated) and the velocity
changes as some of the energy is lost to due to fluid movement in the
formation.

A knowledge of the compressional and shear waves is used in seismic and

geomechanics (wellbore stability, fracturing and sanding). To facilitate measurement
of shear and Stoneley waves a number of new tools were developed.

Long spaced sonic: in shorter spaced tools the shear signal was lost in the
mud or Stoneley wave arrivals so spacings such as 8 and 10ft were used for
the two detectors-receiver pairs.
Array type tools: by having multiple detectors (e.g. 10 or more) at different
distances from the transmitter it becomes possible to improve the signal by
stacking the waveforms detected. The waveform recorded by a detector is
moved in time to account for its latter arrival time and then added to the
waveforms from receivers closer to the transmitter. By using say the
compressional velocity to time shift the waves, all the compressional waves
will be superimposed on each other giving a much bigger signal. By this
means shear waves and Stoneley waves can be detected with confidence.
However, in slow formations the compressional velocity in the mud is greater
than the shear wave velocity and no significant shear wave is refracted along
the formation-borehole interface.
Dipole tools: to overcome the problem of slow formations Dipole sonic tools
were developed

Dipole tools
The transmitters described previously were monopole transmitters that radiate
acoustic waves of a given polarity in all directions at the same time. Dipole
transmitters create a positive pulse in one direction, while transmitting a negative
pulse in the opposite direction. This is achieved either by:

By a double ended piston actuated electromagnetically by coils through which

a current is applied, similar to a loud speaker
A combination of monopole sources next to each other which are out of phase
o With four monopole sources a Quadrupole transmitter can be created

Using a Dipole source flexural waves can be created which travel by moving the
borehole walls in and out slightly. From the development of flexural waves the shear
wave velocity can be obtained.
Porosity calculation
As compressional waves travel faster in solids then in water or gas, it is not
surprising that as porosity is increased (giving more liquid or gas) the compressional
velocity falls, and so the transit time increases. Sonic logs are normally plotted on a
40 to 140 s/ft scale, with the 40 on the right. Consequently an increase in Transit
time can indicate higher porosity (or gas or shale),
The most widely used equation for calculating porosity is by Wyllie and is called the
time-average equation, as it is based on the assumption that the transit time
measured by the log is the volume average of the transit times in the rock, i.e.
t = tm (1-) + tf
Which gives
= (t - tm) / (tf - tm)
where
t
tm
tf

= Porosity
= Transit time s/ft
= 106/Vp where Vp in ft/s
= Transit time in matrix s/ft
= Transit time in fluid s/ft

Wyllies equation breaks down for unconsolidated formations and other empirical
equations have been proposed including:
= (t - tm) / ( (tf - tm) Bcp )
where Bcp is greater than one. Bcp can be estimated from the transit time in adjacent
shales (a measure of compaction in the area)
Bcp = tsh /100
An alternative empirical relationship is the Hunt-Raymer Transform for liquids only

 = ( 1 - tm/t )/ (m - f )
where m = Density of matrix
f = Density of fluid
Depth of investigation and mechanical damage near the wellbore
As compressional sonic waves travel by the fastest route, which is along the
borehole walls, the depth of investigation of a sonic log is very shallow and should
therefore be in the invaded zone. There is an exception. The rock around the well
can tend to fail if it is not very strong, the overbalance is too low or if there is some
chemical interaction with the mud (e.g. swelling of clays). When failure starts to
occur the sonic wave velocities start to fall. In which case the fastest path maybe
deeper in the formation, around the zone of damage, up to 6 away for a traditional
borehole compensated sonic log. This mainly occurs in shales.
Given the risk of progressive hole deterioration and its ability to increase transit
times, if sonic data is required in shales in particular, it should be obtained as soon
as possible after drilling. This is one of the advantages of an LWD log.
Parameters for Compressional waves
Given the depth of investigation, fluid properties should be from the invaded zone,
i.e. mud filtrate and any residual oil, gas or water.
Velocity ft/sec
Transit time s/ft
Matrix
Sandstone
55.6 (53.8-100)
18,000 (17,390-19,030)
Limestone
47.5 (47.0 53.0)
21,000 (18,750-21,000)
Dolomite
43.5 (40.0 - 45.0)
23,000 (22,222-25,000)
Shale
100 (60.0 170.0)
10,000 (5,882 16,667)
Coal
115 (90.0 140.0)
8,700 (5,900 11,111)
Anhydrite
50.0
20,000
Gypsum
53.0
19,000
Halite (Salt NaCl)
65.7
15,000
Fluid
Fresh water
207
4,380
Salt water 100,000 ppm 192.3
5,200
NaCl, 15 psi
Salt water 200,000 ppm 180.5
5,540
NaCl, 15 psi
Oil
238
4,200
Methane 15 psi
626
1,600
Drilling mud
175 - 278
3,600 - 5,700
Secondary porosity
Secondary porosity consists of vugs and open fractures, typically where material,
such as shells, have been dissolved since the rock was first deposited. Being more
soluble carbonates such as limestone are more prone to secondary porosity. As
noted the sonic waves will take the fastest route, if there are vugs (i.e. holes) in the

formation millimetres to inches across, the sonic waves detected by the log will be
those travelling in some other part of the wellbore. In consequence, unlike Density or
Neutron porosity, Sonic porosity should include only primary porosity. On the basis
the difference between the Density and/or Neutron porosity and the Sonic porosity
should be the secondary porosity. This criterion must be used with care, as the most
likely cause of differences is error in the calculated porosity.
In the case of an open fracture crossing the entire wellbore the above will not apply
as there is no fast path for the compressional wave. Such fractures are discussed
later.
Gas effects
Gas has a low compressional wave velocity, and can cause a significant drop in
sonic velocity even at low gas saturations. For this reason even formations with
residual gas can appear as gas bearing on sonic logs, but not any other logs. For
quick look evaluation a fluid velocity of 2000ft/sec can be used although in reality it
will be very dependent on pressure and temperature. There are means of calculating
the effect of gas saturations but they are not straightforward and the density log or
the density & neutron log combination are normally used in gas reservoirs. The other
difficulty is that because the sonic log reads so close to the borehole, all the gas may
be swept away and no gas effect may be present
Shale, Compaction trends and overpressure
Shales give high transit times on sonic logs due to the amount of water they contain.
As shales are buried deeper into the ground the water is gradually expelled under
the influence of overburden pressure, called compaction, and the transit time
becomes shorter (i.e. the sonic velocity becomes faster). In addition there is an
increase in sonic velocity in rocks as the effective overburden (i.e. overburden
pressure minus pore pressure) increases. These effects mean that the normal trend
with depth, if there is no change in lithology, is a gradual reduction in transit time.
The pore pressure within the shale for a normal trend is taken as equal to
hydrostatic, i.e. the pressure exerted by a column of water extending from surface to
the depth in question.
Overpressure is encountered when the pore pressure in rocks is higher than the
hydrostatic pressure. When overpressure is encountered in shales then the normal
compaction trend is reversed, instead of the transit time decreasing, it increases.
Pore pressures can be calculated from various equations such as Eatons
Pp = S - (S - Phyd)(tn / tlog)3
where Pp
S
Phyd
tn
tlog

= pore pressure
= stress (overburden stress which can be calculated from density log)
= hydrostatic pore pressure
= transit time expected from normal trend at this depth
= transit time from log

The exponent is often changed so that the predictions better match pore pressures
inferred from other data.

Environmental effects
Sonic logs are fairly tolerant of borehole size as the time travelling across the mud is
compensated for, and the wave will still take the fastest route, which is through the
formation. If however the borehole gets too large (over 24) and special measures
are not taken, such as eccentering the tool, the mud arrival reaches the detector
before the formation
Sonic logs cannot be run in gas, or gas cut mud, as the attenuation of the signal is
too great
Vertical resolution
Typically about 2ft
Using the Compressional to Shear Velocity Ratio (Vp/Vs) ratio for lithology and gas
Although the Shear velocity is normally acquired for seismic or geomechanical
reasons, it can also be used for log analysis. It has been suggested that the V p/Vs
ratio (or the ratio of the shear transit time to the compressional transit time) is related
to lithology and gas presence. The gas effect occurs as the compressional wave
velocity is reduced by gas, but the shear wave velocity is largely unaffected. A low
Vp/Vs ratio will be obtained.
Vp/Vs ratio is also affected by lithology as shown below (from Mason 1984), however
other sources give different figures:

Sandstone
Gas bearing Sandstone
Siltstone
Limestone
Shaly Limestone
Dolomite
Shale
Anhydrite
Gypsum
Halite (Salt NaCl)

Vp/Vs (or ts/tc)

1.6 1.8
1.6
1.8
1.9
2.3
1.8
1.7 to 1.85
2.45
2.45
2.15

Vp and Vs for Geomechanical studies

Geomechanical studies include:

Wellbore stability (will the borehole collapse while drilling or production?)

Hydraulic Fracturing (what is the fracture pressure, how wide will the fracture
be and how high will it grow?)
Sand production (will the well produce sand?)

These studies all need the Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio. They can be
calculated from the Compressional and Shear velocities, which can be expressed as:
Vp2 =

E (1-)
(1+)(1-2)

Vs 2 =

E
2(1+)

Where E = Youngs modulus

= Poissons ratio
= Density
Various other parameters such as the bulk and shear modulus can also be
calculated. Note however, that parameters such as Youngs modulus obtained from
sonic wave data can differ from those needed for Geomechanics work as the time
scale over which they act are different (microseconds in sonic waves, compared with
hours in Geomechanics applications).
Fast and slow shear wave orientations
Shear waves propagate as a result of particle motions perpendicular to the direction
of travel. If the direction of travel is z these motions can be in both the x and y
directions. Crossed Dipole sonic tools have been developed with dipole sources
orientated in perpendicular directions and arrays of dipole receivers. These can
measure the velocity of the shear waves vibrating in both the x and the y directions.
There can be anisotropy, the shear wave vibrating in one plane can have a higher
velocity than the one vibrating in the perpendicular plane. The following can cause
anisotropy:

Intrinsic anisotropy caused by Geologic features parallel to the well, such as

shale laminations above and below a horizontal well, or parallel vertical micro
fractures around a vertical well;
Stress anisotropy caused, in the case of a vertical well, by the maximum and
minimum horizontal stress, often related to mountain building forces in the
Earths crust such as those driving the creation of the Rockies.

Stress anisotropy data on horizontal stresses (which must be collected in vertical

wells) is extremely valuable for fracturing, as it can indicate fracture orientation, and
for well stability, where it can determine the direction in which a horizontal well will be
most stable, i.e. least likely to collapse. The effect of frequency on Shear wave
anisotropy is used to distinguish it from intrinsic anisotropy.
Fractures and Stoneley waves
Open fractures crossing the wellbore can greatly increase production, whether
hydrocarbon or water. Sonic logs are one way of identifying them. Open fractures
crossing the well should cause a loss of shear wave amplitude, as the shear waves
cannot cross the fluid gap, however the best detection is from the Stoneley waves.
These loose energy due to mud movement in and out of the fracture and
characteristic chevrons are produced.
Seismic applications
Seismic measures the time a compressional (or shear) wave takes to go from the
surface down to a subsurface layer and back again to a geophone. The waves are
similar to those measured by a sonic log, consequently the geophysicist and
petrophysicist have a close relationship.

The geophysicist needs sonic velocities to convert the two way travel times
measured by seismic surveys into depths, typically a check shot or velocity survey
is made. A pulse is created at surface and detected by a geophone run into the hole
on wireline. From the depth and the time taken the average velocity down to that
depth can be calculated. It is also possible to calculate this from sonic logs, although
sonic logs are rarely run over the complete well.
Check shots were extended by running a series of geophones in the well and
recording the complete sonic wavetrain and not just the first arrival, to create a
vertical seismic profile (VSP). Reflections off deeper formations mean it is possible to
see beyond the total depth of the well.
By moving the source progressively away from the well a walk away VSP is
conducted which gives lateral information on the formations encountered in the well
Where the well is deviated, the source is moved on surface away from the well, so it
is vertically above the geophone, to give a walk above VSP.
Seismic reflections need to be related to geologic formation. To do this a synthetic
seismogram is created from the sonic and density logs. Seismic reflections are
created at boundaries where there is a contrast between the acoustic impedance
(density x compressional wave velocity) of the formation above and below the
boundary. If it is gradational for example, the top of an oil reservoir may not give a
sharp change in acoustic impedance and the nearest seismic reflection may come
from some other boundary, it is necessary to know which. Using the sonic and
density logs the shape of the synthetic seismic trace created by a section of rock can
be calculated, by matching this with the actual seismic trace, the geologic features
being mapped by seismic reflectors can be ascertained.
AVO, or Amplitude Variation with Offset, looks at how the seismic amplitudes change
as a function of the angle at which the seismic waves intersect the subsurface
boundaries. If conditions are right it can be used to map oil, gas and changes in
porosity and lithology from seismic surveys alone. To understand what effect the
expect AVO effect is s a knowledge of shear wave and well as compressional wave
velocities are needed. To calibrate the techniques and confirm it gives meaningful
results, petrophysical properties from logs are essential.
4-D seismic looks at changes in seismic amplitude over time from reflections coming
from the reservoir. It can be used to detect the build up of gas in oilfields, and more
subtly, changes in pressures. To understand whether any changes in amplitude
would be expected, data acquired from logs, and in particular the sonic log is
essential.