A modified nuclear magnetic model for characterizing the fluid signal response in hydrocarbon bearing rocks

Abstract

The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique is a crucial means for formation evaluation. It can provide an accurate set of formation parameters in single-phase-flow reservoirs, such as porosity, permeability, and pore structure distribution; however, in most cases, there are hydrocarbon-water two-phase fluids in the reservoirs. The secondary change of the T2 distribution makes the accuracy of the evaluation a challenge. Hence, it is necessary to clarify the impact of changes in hydrocarbon content on the response of NMR signals before using the traditional evaluation methods. In this paper, we analyzed the response mechanism of NMR T2 distribution under different saturation conditions. Based on the theoretical derivation, we established a nuclear magnetic model that describes the relation among the T2 geometric mean value of water signal, hydrocarbon signal, and water saturation. The accuracy of each model part was verified by numerical simulation. In addition, the calculation results in core samples show that the proposed model is more effective and reliable than two existing models (the T2 saturation ratio model and the Xiao empirical model), especially in extreme conditions (irreducible water and hydrocarbon saturated samples). Finally, we applied the proposed model to field application in the Tertiary formation in the Bohai Bay Basin, China, which achieved good effects in the NMR fluid substitution and the NMR saturation evaluation.