Well-Logging Constraints on Gas Hydrate Saturation in Unconsolidated Fine-Grained Reservoirs in the Northern South China Sea

Abstract

Recently, drilling wells have encountered rich gas hydrates in fine-grained sediments in the northern South China Sea. Gas hydrate in fine-grained sediments is very heterogeneous, and its physical properties are different from those of oil and gas reservoirs. The reliability of the classical logging saturation evaluation models established for diagenetic reservoirs is questionable. This study used four wells in GMGS3 and GMGS4 to evaluate the effects of the application of three typical methods for evaluating saturation with different principles in the unconsolidated fine-grained sediments: nuclear magnetic logging, sigma logging, and the Archie formula. It was found that the value of the lithologic capture cross-section in sigma logging and the rock’s electrical parameters in the Archie formula affect the accuracy of the model. Therefore, to obtain a reliable saturation value for fine-grained sediments, an innovative method for the calculation of resistivity and acoustic time is proposed to estimate gas hydrate saturation based on logging data, which is most consistent with the results of core analysis. The overall relative error of the verification well was 5.87%, whereas that of the density NMR logging method was 56%, showing that the accuracy of the newly proposed resistivity DT logging method’s saturation formula was significantly improved. Finally, a new model-based cross chart was developed, which can rapidly differentiate gas saturation during drilling.

Keywords

• gas hydrates
• well log
• gas hydrate saturation
• resistivity and acoustic time calculation method
• South China Sea