The Use of Real-Time and Time-Lapse Logging-While-Drilling Images for Geosteering and Formation Evaluation in the Breitbrunn Field, Bavaria, Germany

Abstract

Summary Six horizontal wells were drilled into the Tertiary Chatt Sand reservoir of the Breitbrunn gas field in Bavaria, Germany. The purpose of this campaign was to develop part of the depleted reservoir into a gas-storage sand. A detailed geological and petro-physical study was prepared before drilling and resulted in the identification of high-quality reservoir layers that were targeted by the horizontal wells. Despite the simple anticline structure of the field, geometric drilling was ruled out because of remaining geological and directional uncertainties. The geosteering approach adopted relies on real-time resistivity-at-bit images, which were used for the first time during this drilling campaign. The image data are compressed downhole and transmitted to the acquisition computer on the rig, where they are decompressed and analyzed. The images allow the precise placement of the borehole relative to the geology. Layer heterogeneity such as tight streaks, concretions, or patchy porosity can be identified as such and is not interpreted as a different layer entered by the hole, which would lead to a wrong geosteering decision. Logging-while-drilling (LWD) azimuthal data are acquired during drilling and during washdown passes that follow a bit change. A comparison of these time-lapse data sets can provide invasion profiles through time and around the borehole.