BASIC WELL LOGGING ANALYSIS

NEUTRON LOG

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Hsieh, Bieng-Zih

Fall 2009
NEUTRON LOG
Neutron logs are porosity logs that measure the hy
drogen ion concentration ( ) in a format
ion.

In clean formations (i.e. shale-free) where the poro

sity is filled with water or oil, the neutron log meas
ures liquid-filled porosity.

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NEUTRON LOG (CONT.)
Neutrons are created from a chemical source in th
e neutron logging tool.

The chemical source may be a mixture of americiu

m ( ) and beryllium ( ) which will continuously
emit neutrons.

These neutrons collide with the nuclei ( ) of

the formation material, and result in a neutron losi
ng some of its energy.
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NEUTRON LOG (CONT.)
Because the hydrogen atom is almost equal in mas
s to the neutron, maximum energy loss occurs whe
n the neutron collides with a hydrogen atom.

Therefore, the maximum amount of energy loss is

a function of a formations hydrogen concentration
.

Because hydrogen in a porous formation is concen

trated in the fluid-filled pores, energy loss can be r
elated to the formations porosity. 4
 (NEUTRON LOG)




Thermal veloci
ty





GAS EFFECT
Whenever pores are filled with gas rather than oil
or water, neutron porosity will be lowered.

This occurs because there is less concentration of

hydrogen in gas compared to oil or water.

A lowering of neutron porosity by gas is called gas

effect .

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NEUTRON LOG (CONT.)
Neutron log response vary, depending on (1) dif
ferences in detector types, (2) spacing between sou
rce and detector, and (3) lithology i.e. sandstone,
limestone, and dolomite.

These variations in response can be compensated f

or by using the appropriate charts.
A geologist should remember that neutron logs (unlike
all other logs) must be interpreted from the specific ch
art designed for a specific log (i.e. Schlumberger charts
for Schlumberger logs and Dresser Atlas charts for Dre
sser Atlas logs). 7
NEUTRON LOG (CONT.)
The first modern neutron log was the Sidewall Neu
tron Log ( ).
The Sidewall Neutron Log has both the source and dete
ctor in a pad which is pushed against the side of the bo
rehole.

The most modern of the neutron logs is a Compen

sated Neutron Log ( ) which has a
neutron source and two detectors.

The advantage of Compensated Neutron logs over

Sidewall Neutron logs is that they are less affected 8

by borehole irregularities.
NEUTRON LOG (CONT.)
Both the Sidewall and Compensated Neutron logs
can be recorded in apparent limestone, sandstone,
or dolomite porosity units.

If a formation is limestone and the neutron log is r

ecorded in apparent limestone porosity units, app
arent porosity is equal to true porosity.

However, when the lithology for a formation is san

dstone or dolomite, apparent limestone porosity
must be corrected to true porosity by using the ap 9
propriate chart.
CHART FOR CORRECTING CNL FOR LITHOL
OGY

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NEUTRON POROSITY FOR SHALY SANDS

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NEUTRON POROSITY FOR SHALY SANDS
After the volume of shale (Vsh) is determined, it can b
e used to correct the porosity log for shale effect. The
formula for correcting the density log for volume of sh
ale is (Schlumberger, 1975):

Where,
N-sh neutron porosity corrected for shale

N neutron porosity uncorrected for shale

N clay neutron porosity of adjacent shale
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Vsh volume of shale
COMBINATION NEUTRON-DENSITY LO
G

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COMBINATION NEUTRON-DENSITY LO
G
The Combination Neutron-Density Log is a combin
ation porosity log.

Besides its use as a porosity device, it is also used t

o determine lithology and to detect gas-bearing zo
nes.

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GAS EFFECT
Gas effect is created by gas in the pores. Gas in the por
es causes the density log to record too high a porosity
(i.e. gas is lighter than oil or water), and causes the neu
tron log to record too low a porosity (i.e. gas has a lowe
r concentration of hydrogen atoms than oil or water).

Where an increase in density porosity occurs along wit

h a decrease in neutron porosity in a gas-bearing zone,
it is called gas effect.

The effect of gas on the Neutron-Density Log is a very i

mportant log response because it helps a geologist to d
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etect gas-bearing zones.
TRUE POROSITY -- NEUTRON-DENSITY P
OROSITY
The method of determining neutron-density porosi
ty is:
N D
2 2
N D For gas-bearing formation
2

N D
N D For oil- or water-bearing formation
2

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HOMEWORK #5 -- NEUTRON LOG (CN
L)

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HOMEWORK #5 NEUTRON LOG

CNL

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HOMEWORK #5 NEUTRON LOG
Dept NPHI N Vsh N-sh
h
7600 Information:

7610 The formation is

7620 Sandstone and the
neutron log is recorded
. in apparent limestone
porosity units
.
.
.
.
.
. 20
7840
7850
CHART FOR CORRECTING CNL FOR LITHOL
OGY

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HOMEWORK #5 NEUTRON-DENSITY LOG
Dep N N-sh D D-sh N-D N-D-sh
th
N D
7600 2 2

7610
N D
2
7620

N sh D sh
2 2
.
N D sh
. 2
.
.
.
.
. 22

7840