SPWLA Thirty-Second Annual Logging Symposium, June 16-19, 1991        PAPER H

 

Paper h

 

ELECTRICAL FLOW IN ROCKS: THE APPLICATION OF HIGH RESOLUTION ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY corE MEASUREMENTS

 

 

M.A. Lovell

Borehole Research, Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester, England

 

P.D. Jackson

British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, England

 

ABSTRACT

 

Recent developments in the measurement of electrical resistivity have enabled the acquisition of high resolution images which effectively map the distribution of electrical resistivity in a core sample. These quantitative, high density measurements have revealed both the intricate nature of the resistivity structure and its anisotropic and heterogeneous nature. Whilst some of these features correspond with the visually defined fabric, much of the detail suggests fine scale textural and structural effects control the observed variations. The measurement is able to provide an assessment of resistivity anisotropy in terms of constraining the electrical current flow either horizontally or vertically in the core sample. The quantitative imaging technique forms an Integral part of a fundamental study of the nature of the pore—space morphology in reservoir rocks.