A New Azimuthal Deep-Reading Resistivity Tool for Geosteering and Advanced Formation Evaluation

Drilling services and oil companies have long been interested in acquiring the capability of landing a well accurately in a hydrocarbon reservoir and remaining in it for optimal drainage. Although traditional logging-while-drilling (LWD) propagation resistivity tools can help to achieve this goal, their overall effectiveness is not satisfactory because they lack azimuthal sensitivity. Ideally, geosteering and advanced formation-evaluation methods, such as anisotropy calculations, require azimuthally sensitive measurements. This paper discusses a newly developed propagation resistivity tool that is designed to be azimuthally sensitive for use in geosteering and formation evaluation while drilling. It uses the tilted-antenna concept to produce directionally sensitive measurements that are lacking in traditional LWD propagation tools. This paper also discusses the theory and the development of this tool, as well as the experimentation and numerical-modeling data used to characterize its azimuthal capability. Advanced application algorithms used to calculate the horizontal and the vertical resistivity (anisotropy calculation), as well as dipping angle, will be explained in detail. Finally, the paper presents and discusses field examples to demonstrate that this newly developed tool is a two-in-one service: geosteering and advanced formation evaluation. The azimuthal deep-reading resistivity is shown to bear promise for use in optimization of well trajectory and well placement and in advanced formation evaluation while drilling. This newly developed tool is superior to traditional propagation tools in locating bed boundaries and in keeping the well in the desired pay zone. In addition to providing traditional multiple-depth-of-investigation resistivity measurements, this new tool provides multiple-depth-of-investigation azimuthal resistivity measurements.