In today’s complex deepwater and unconventional plays, operators need high-quality borehole images to characterize reservoir architecture, constrain reservoir models, and make timely decisions with precision and confidence. However, legacy imaging tools adapted for oil-based muds (OBM) lack the spatial resolution and circumferential coverage offered by imagers for water-based mud.

Schlumberger recently developed the Quanta Geo photorealistic reservoir geology service to provide OBM-adapted microresistivity imaging with both high resolution and nearly total borehole coverage—98% in 8-in holes. Due to innovative design, it is also the industry’s first borehole imaging service capable of recording image data while running into the hole.

In one deepwater well, for example, the new OBM-adapted imager achieved 80% circumferential coverage in a 9 7/8-in borehole, acquiring photorealistic images of critical geologic features while downlogging. In the Utica Shale, it achieved 93% coverage in an 8 1/2-in hole, enabling the operator to accurately locate 85 core plugs and characterize natural fractures.