Aquifer Characterization

Using Advanced Borehole Geophysics

Borehole Geophysical Technologies

SCHLUMBERGER

TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES

On September 5, 1927, Conrad and Marcel

Schlumberger ran the very first downhole electric
log in Pechelbronn, France. This event marked the
birth of both the Wireline industry and
Schlumberger. Today, Schlumberger is the worlds
leading supplier of technology and services for
petroleum reservoir characterization, production
and management and employs over 64,000
highly-skilled people worldwide.

Schlumberger invests hundreds of millions of

dollars annually on product and services
development, allowing us to provide some of the
most sophisticated technologies, software
solutions, and services for complete subsurface
characterization. Our dedication to offering only
the highest quality services and technologies,
along with our approach to providing solutionsfocused logging services as opposed to simply
qualitative, geophysical-data-focused services,
sets our logging services apart from those offered
by your typical water well logging companies.

SCHLUMBERGER WATER SERVICES

Schlumberger Water Services (SWS) takes
powerful approaches to minimizing uncertainty
and maximizing results for:

SCHLUMBERGER SIGNATURE TOOLS

Water Resource Management

Aquifer Storage and Recovery
Coastal Zone Groundwater Management
Water Solutions for Mines
Environmental Site Solutions
Groundwater Monitoring

Our team of engineers, hydrogeologists and

geophysicists integrate cutting-edge field
technologies with data management and
modeling tools to solve complex groundwater
problems. SWS provides our clients with the
decision-making framework for addressing short
and long-term water demands.








MAGNETIC RESONANCE TOOLS measure

the magnetic resonance response of the
free hydrogen in a formations pore space
and is used to evaluate pore size
distribution, effective porosity, total
porosity, and hydraulic conductivity.
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING TOOLS
create fully-oriented images in 3-D space
of the electrical resistivity or acoustic
properties of the formation around the
borehole and are used to determine strikes
and dips of bedding and fractures, and to
evaluate rock/sediment texture.

GEOCHEMICAL LOGGING TOOLS measure

electronically-generated, neutron-induced
spectral gamma ray activity, which is used
to determine elemental weight fractions of
a number of key rock-forming elements.

DIPOLE SHEAR ARRAY SONIC TOOLS

use high-quality, monopole and dipole
sources and measure compressional, shear
and Stoneley slowness, which are used to
determine stress anisotropies,
geomechanical properties, porosity,
permeability, and fracture permeability,
along with calibrate surface seismic data.

MODULAR DYNAMIC TESTER TOOLS

measure aquifer pressures, collect fluid
samples, provide permeability and
anisotropy data, and conduct mini
hydrofrac tests.

ARRAY RESISTIVITY TOOLS measure

formation electrical resistivity at five,
highly-focused depths of investigation to
delineate bedding as thin as one foot,
evaluate drilling fluid invasion into the
formation, and estimate formation water
salinity.

HIGH-RESOLUTION BOREHOLE GEOPHYSICS

High-quality data and highly-skilled technical
analysis are critical components of a successful
groundwater management strategy. Our industryleading geophysical logging services provide the
foundation for detailed aquifer characterization and
valuable conceptual model development, thereby
reducing uncertainty and maximizing results for
water resource and water quality projects.
HYDROGEOLOGIC PROPERTIES
Schlumberger's innovative borehole geophysical
technologies are used to constrain the hydraulic
properties that control groundwater flow and
contaminant transport. Information from these
technologies are also used to optimally select
production, testing and injection aquifer
intervals.







Saturated and unsaturated hydraulic

conductivity
Transmissivity and storativity
Relative vertical flow profile
Capillary pressure
Pore pressure

FORMATION PROPERTIES
Schlumberger's high-resolution borehole
geophysical technologies measure continuous
physical properties that can be used to delineate
lithology, and define stratigraphic correlations,
which can be used to incorporate detailed
heterogeneity in conceptual modeling.







Pore size distribution

Effective and total porosity
Bulk density
Mineralogy
Bed thickness
Rock mechanical properties

In addition, depth-continuous estimates of insitu and produced groundwater salinity are

determined. Geochemical concentrations
measured from these tools are used to evaluate
groundwater quality for production, recharge,
and environmental projects.








Elemental concentrations
Mineralogy
Lithology
Groundwater salinity
NAPL saturation
Potential arsenic bearing units
Discrete depth pore fluid samples

GEOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES
In-situ stress can be estimated from
measurements of borehole breakout, induced
drilling fractures and minifrac testing.
Geomechanical properties can also be
calculated using acoustic and density wireline
techniques. These data are used for assessing
and predicting regional and local stresses
pertinent to the design of underground
engineered structures and predicting
subsidence/deformation due to groundwater
pumping/injection.



In-situ stress field and anisotropy

Rock strength, compressibility and rigidity

FRACTURES AND FAULTING

Fractures and faults may serve as conduits for
groundwater flow and contaminant migration.
Information about the orientations and
permeability of these features support local and
regional geomechanical assessments, the
design of hydrologic tests and groundwater
monitoring networks. Borehole data along with
cross-well and surface seismic surveys can
determine the continuity of fractures.

GEOCHEMISTRY


Geochemical logging tools provide depthcontinuous percentages of rock forming

elements such as Si, Ca, Fe, S, Hg, Ni, Co, Cu,
Mn, Cr, Gd, Cl, S, H, C/0 ratio, Ti, and Al.





Fracture identification
Fracture orientation, dip and aperture
Permeable fracture delineation
Fracture plane projection

Borehole Geophysical Services

Optimize Well Design
Schlumberger's borehole geophysical technologies offer a proven means for measuring
depth-continuous properties of an aquifer system and aiding in the design and construction
of groundwater supply, waste water injection, environmental remediation, and multilevel
monitoring wells. SWS range of advanced geophysical tools go beyond traditional
subsurface characterization methods, and offers the ability for identifying aquifer properties
influencing the yield, quality, and life expectancy of a water supply well.







Identify high yield zones for optimal well design and improved well performance
Define grain size distribution to determine optimal screen type and design
Locate potential metal-bearing zones and potential arsenic-bearing zones for risk
mitigation
Define aquifer thicknesses and stratification
Quantify depth-continuous hydraulic conductivity, grain size distribution, total
porosity, effective porosity, mineralogy/lithology, and TDS

Characterize Contaminated Site Complexity

SWS provides specialized techniques for in-situ assessment of contaminated subsurface media
using a combination of wireline logging, surface geophysical, and hydrologic testing techniques.
Our full-service logging technologies quantify the amounts of contamination within the system
and provide depth-continuous, high-resolution data that is necessary for effective contaminant
transport modeling and treatment facility design.








Quantify depth-continuous hydraulic conductivity, total porosity, effective porosity, & TDS
Measure concentrations of gamma-ray emitting radioisotopes and NAPLs
Evaluate the transmissivity, storativity and specific yield of individual aquifers for
modeling
Define saturated and unsaturated zone soil properties to determine optimal groundwater
or soil remediation techniques
Determine fine-scale hydrogeologic features affecting flow and contaminant migration
Identify fractures, bed orientations and dips, which can influence contaminant migration
Obtain discrete depth, in-situ purged pore fluid samples and core samples

Improve Aquifer Modeling

SWS industry-leading logging technologies reduce risk and uncertainty when quantifying
aquifer properties, defining aquifer heterogeneity, and determining water quality in both
open boreholes and cased wells. This valuable information will help to improve conceptual
aquifer model development leading to realistic flow modeling.







Evaluate the transmissivity, storativity and specific yield of the individual aquifer unit
Quantify depth-continuous hydraulic conductivity, total porosity, effective porosity,
and TDS in open and cased holes for model input
Differentiate aquifers and aquitards when modeling flow and transport
Define saturated and unsaturated zone properties
Quantify bed thicknesses, cross bedding characteristics, textural features,
heterogeneity, and bed contact dips and orientations
Characterize permeable fracture networks

Constrain Surface Geophysics Processing

Schlumberger is a pioneer in the development of surface electrical, electromagnetic and
seismic technology, and in the usage of surface geophysical data to improve subsurface
characterization. SWS utilizes industry-leading borehole geophysical data in order to
constrain the inversion of surface geophysical data and to make advanced interpretations of
hydrogeologic properties across an aquifer system.


Constrain the processing of surface geophysical data such as electrical,

electromagnetic, seismic, and magnetic resonance inversions and interpretations
using corresponding borehole technologies
Interpret TDS, transport properties, and hydrostratigraphic variation along surface
geophysical profiles, improving the aquifer model
Forward model synthetic surface geophysical profiles from borehole geophysics used for
survey design and as a base case for inversions
Constrain surface geophysical depth interpretations, improving the processing of
surface geophysical data

Analyze Properties Behind Casing

Evaluate the formation properties in cased wells and identify zones where poor-water quality
is entering your well so that appropriate steps can be taken to eliminate the problem. SWS
will accurately evaluate the integrity of your production well and determine the cause of
problems to reduce risk and assist with well rehabilitation.








Determine formation total porosity, lithology, mineralogy, and TDS in order to

accurately identify aquifer/aquitard conditions
Identify which aquifers are producing poor quality water
Evaluate flow between casing and formation in order to diagnose a compromise in
the well integrity
Delineate voids and channels behind casing, determine annular fill placement
Inspect casing and screens for corrosion, and internal/external damage using imaging
and casing thickness logs

Characterize Fractured Media

Schlumberger offers high-resolution wireline logging tools that are used to detect and
characterize fractures and faults within the formation. These features are visible where they
intersect the borehole and, in certain cases, beyond the borehole. Several ranges of vertical
and horizontal resolution are possible.





Quantify fracture orientations, dips and apertures allowing for the analysis of fracture
density and porosity
Identify permeable fractures
Project permeable fracture planes across site

Data Consulting Services

DATA INTERPRETATION AND INTEGRATION

DATA-DRIVEN AQUIFER MODELING

GROUNDWATER SIMULATION

SWS offers a complete range of services for

processing, analyzing, and interpreting your
geophysical data and for integrating the
interpretations into the hydrogeologic
conceptual model. Our advanced software
applications allow us to develop and evaluate
realistic solution scenarios, minimizing
uncertainty and maximizing results for
groundwater resource and quality projects.

Effective utilization of geophysical data for

detailed geologic and hydrogeologic conceptual
modeling requires specialized yet flexible
integration tools. As a key component of SWS
services, the Petrel* modeling system provides a
seamless workflow from data importation to
detailed three dimensional conceptual model
development for realistic groundwater flow and
contaminant transport simulation. Our tools for
interpretation and quantitative integration of
borehole geophysical logs, borehole imagery,
and surface geophysical data help to assure that
you achieve optimal value from your geophysical
data and resulting hydrogeologic interpretations.

SWS expands the geologic model into the

simulation environment where aquifer flow and
contaminant migration can be better understood.
Building from the high-resolution geologic model
developed in Petrel, our hydrogeologists use
ECLIPSE* for simulating flow and mass transport in
highly complex, variably saturated conditions, with
the ability to incorporate density effects when
modeling brine or coastal aquifers, explicitly model
NAPLs and chemical reactions, and couple
geomechanical modeling with fluid flow.

Our data consulting services utilize:



specialized tools that support advanced

log interpretations and geological modeling
artificial neural networks to automate
the identification of discrete geologic facies
from geophysical log curves
extensive data analysis tools to assist in
the identification of important statistical
parameters and spatial trends in the data
sophisticated algorithms to facilitate
quantitative three dimensional modeling of
depositional processes such as shoreline
transitions and fluvial systems

ECLIPSE allows users to:



The Petrel modeling system provides:




3D models of key subsurface properties

using geophysical well logs
the option of using 3D facies models, 3D
geophysical seismic attributes, and/or
geostatistical models to control and
condition the modeling
the ability to combine modeling techniques
for each run
the ability to create discrete fracture
networks

Integrate, analyze,
and visualize your geophysical data

mitigate modeling risk by using new

workflows to resolve previous contradictions
perform reliable fluid flow predictions
receive accurate risk assessments by
analyzing uncertainty in reserves and
production estimates

In addition to Petrel and ECLIPSE, SWS offers

the Waterloo Hydrogeologic Software Suite
(WHS), a range of applications engineered for
groundwater data management, analysis,
modeling, visualization, and reporting. With
WHS, groundwater professionals have the tools
necessary to manage all aspects of their
groundwater and environmental projects.

Building a strong foundation

for aquifer characterization

www.water.slb.com
June 2006

SWS-03-07-22 Schlumberger *Mark of Schlumberger