Experimental measurements and response analysis of resistivity of reservoirs with complex wettability: A case study of Yan’an Formation, Ordos Basin, China

Abstract

Resistivity logs are commonly used to distinguish oil and water reservoirs. However, the complex hydrocarbon accumulation pattern in the study area leads to complex wettability, which significantly affects the resistivity as well as the density and neutron logs and causes difficulties in fluid-type identification. To understand the resistivity characteristics and accurately identify the fluid types, resistivity experiments of core samples selected by the density and neutron logs are performed. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is simultaneously measured to determine the rock wettability. Instead of the conventional “aged” method for restoring the original wettability, a new set of experimental procedures is developed for obtaining resistivity and NMR [Formula: see text] spectra of samples with wettability as close as possible to that of the original reservoir. Specifically, samples with and without oil washing are measured separately, and a simple correction method for the resistivity index is developed. Moreover, the difference in the water salinity of different wells is considered. The results find that the resistivity index of samples drilled from possible oil-wet reservoirs indicated by the “abnormal” density and neutron responses varied from 2.807 to 5.388, whereas that of possible water-wet reservoirs was less than 2.0. The [Formula: see text] spectra at different states confirm the wettability of the samples. The resistivity index versus saturation ([Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]) curves of oil-wet rocks are nearly straight lines other than the theoretical concave lines in double-logarithmic coordinates. Oil washing changes the rock wettability to varying degrees. Furthermore, the resistivity log responses of the reservoirs are accurately interpreted using the experimental data. The resistivity is simultaneously affected by the salinity, wettability, and saturation. Finally, based on the factors affecting the reservoir resistivity, fluid identification plots are established for reservoirs with different wettabilities. The agreement rates of identification using the crossplots and oil test are greater than 90%.