A simple, effective‐medium model for water saturation in porous rocks

Abstract

A general equation for water saturation is derived from effective‐medium theory. A simpler low‐frequency equation is also derived. Both equations are directly solvable for water saturation. The model should be applicable to any granular, water‐wet formation. Additional relationships are derived specifically for application to shaly sandstones, but the model should be applicable to a wide range of rock types, water conductivities, and tool frequencies. In the derivation, hydrocarbons are included in the matrix component of the equation and the combined “matrix” elements are treated as resistors in parallel. The low‐frequency equation is compared to various approaches to calculation of water saturation, such as Dual‐Water, Waxman‐Smits, and Bussian. The general equation is compared to three‐component effective medium, porosity index, and complex refractive index models (CRIM). The model is proven to work on experimental data under a wide range of frequencies and water conductivities. It is recommended that the new saturation model be used for nearly all types of electrical saturation calculation, whether the measurements are from standard resistivity tools or from dielectric tools.