Channel Sand Reservoir Characterization Based on Features Identified From

Electrical Borehole Images

HEF Petrophysical Consulting Inc.

This presentation is entitled Channel sand reservoir characterizations based on features identified from electrical borehole images: Example from the lower cretaceous McMurray Formation, northeast Alberta, Canada.

Channel Sand Reservoir Characterization Based on Features Identified from Electrical Borehole Images: Example from the lower

Cretaceous McMurray Formation, northeast Alberta, Canada

• Authors: Richard Shang, Kris Vickerman, Susan Xu and Paul Heffernan

• Presenting: Kris Vickerman

Before I get going, I'd like to thank my co-authors at HEF Petrophysical Consulting, Richard Shang, Susan Xu and Paul Heffernan.

Acknowledgements

• Brian Rottenfusser of Redfoot Enterprises Inc.

• Computalog

• Schlumberger of Canada

For further acknowledgements, I’d like to say that we were very lucky to have had Brian Rottenfusser involved and impressed with this technique because of his vast experience and knowledge in the field of tar sands core interpretation. I’d also like to acknowledge computalog and schlumberger whose imaging and interpretation techniques that will be employed in this presentation as well as Gord Stabb of Durando Resources, John Cox, and all the other people who were involved in this project who would rather remain unnamed.

Outline

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Comparison of EMI and Core Images

• SAGD Concerns

• Sand Body Orientation

• Example Well

• Conclusions

Just to give you all an idea about where this presentation is going, here is an outline of things to come. After some introductions into the project background and objectives, I will discuss a comparison between some electrical borehole images and some digital core photos, I’ll then talk about some SAGD concerns, and about using the established techniques of determining the sand body orientation from computed dip data. Finally, I'll show a complete example well in the tar sands environment and conclude.

Project Description

• 30 tar sands wells in the McMurray Formation

• To be developed using steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)

This 30 well project was drilled in the Cretaceous McMurray tar sands formation in northeastern Alberta. The ultimate goal of the operators was to produce the field using steam assisted gravity drainage or SAGD. Please notice the SAGD diagram on the next slide, where there are two horizontal wells, one placed over the top of the other.

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

The top well is used as an injector by pumping superheated steam into the formation which liquefies the heavy tar sands oil enough that it drains into the production wellbore, below. This project was an interesting one because environmental concerns over caribou and moose calving in the area forced a shortened season so innovative ways to drill the year's quota of wells had to be found. Our solution to this problem was to see if the wells could be logged with images rather than resorting to the slower method of coring to obtain data. This will be the main focus of the presentation.