Electrical Properties Effect of Clays Effect of Wettability

Effect of Clays on Electrical Properties

Clays provide an alternate path for flow of electrical current, violating the assumption in Archies Equations that all current flows due to conductivity of formation water
Archies Equations are too pessimistic for shaly formations
missed opportunities for development of potentially productive reservoirs wrong amounts and type of investment in reservoir development due to skewed economic projections

Effect of Clays on Formation Factor

The formation factor (F=Ro /Rw) is constant for a clean sand; F decreases for shaly sand as value of Rw increases
due to conductivity of clays becoming more significant compared to conductivity of water same core sample
with clay present varying only Rw

Effect of Clays Saturation Equations

Clays provide an alternate path for flow of electrical current The best saturation equation for shaly formations seems to vary
Jordan and Campbell, Table 6.9 shows 10 different models
Depends on type of clays present (advanced topic not discussed here)

Waxman and Smits recommended as definitive model for resistivity behavior of Ro in shaly rocks
Waxman and Smits will be discussed as an important example of a saturation equation for shaly formations

Review: Archies Saturation Equation

Power Law Model IR=Rt /R0=Sw
-n
Rt R0 1000

Rock type 1 100

No conductive materials (clay) present

IR =

10

Rock type 2

1 .01 .1 Sw
From NExT, 1999

1.0

Effect of Clays Resistivity Index / Saturation Relationship

For a clean formation Rt as Sw 0 When conductive solids are present (e.g. clays) RtRrock as Sw0 Rrock is resistivity of rock with formation water not providing any conductivity

Note: Resistivity Index, IR=Rt/Ro

Effect of Clays Waxman and Smits Saturation Relationship

Waxman and Smits modified Archies model to account for the presence of clays IR = Rt /Ro = Sw-n [(1+a)/(1+(a/Sw))]
The parameter, a, is semi-empirical and depends on
Rt /Ro, fraction

Comparison of Saturation Equations

100

Rw B, ionic conductance
electrolyte conductivity temperature

10

Archie, n=1 Waxman and Smit, n=1, a=1/9 1 0.001

Qv, concentration of exchange cations

0.01 Sw , fraction

0.1

Effect of Clays Waxman and Smits Saturation Relationship

Application of the Waxman and Smits saturation equation is often done by matching observed data to curves with known values of n and a
no sliding allowed, simply determine which known curve the data follows data points at higher Sw values used to determine n
As Sw 1, results are the same as Archies model

data points at lower Sw values used to determine a

Asymptotic value of Rt /Ro as Sw 0

Homework #7 will include exercises on this matching process

Effect of Wettability on Electrical Properties

Wettability determines which pores are occupied by phases and at what saturations, phases become discontinuous
wetting phase in small pores when water starts to become discontinuous, Rt tends to increase sharply

Effect of Wettability Resistivity Index / Saturation Relationship

Sandstone formations
Wettability has a significant effect on:
saturation exponent for Archies Law (n) model to be used (Archies model is a power law, i.e. log-log straight line)

Effect of Wettability Resistivity Index / Saturation Relationship

Carbonate formations
Wettability has a significant effect on
saturation exponent for Archies Law (n) model to be used (Archies model is a power law, i.e. log-log straight line)