Arab J Sci Eng
DOI 10.1007/s13369-015-1608-y
RESEARCH ARTICLE - PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
Tight Gas Sandstone Reservoirs Evaluation from Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Logs: Case Studies
Xiao Liang · Mao Zhi-qiang · Jin Yan
Received: 21 October 2014 / Accepted: 4 February 2015
© King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals 2015
Abstract Tight gas sandstone reservoirs parameters, such
as porosity, permeability and initial water saturation, are diffi-
cult to be precisely estimated from conventional logs. What’s
more, the effective gas-bearing formations cannot be directly
identified either due to the characteristics of complicated pore
structure, strong heterogeneity and high irreducible water sat-
uration. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logs, which are
usually used to evaluate reservoir pore structure, are found
to be effective in evaluating tight gas sandstone reservoirs.
In this study, typical tight gas sandstone reservoirs of south-
west China are used as examples; techniques of estimating
porosity, permeability, initial water saturation and construct-
ing pseudo-capillary pressure curve to quantitative evaluate
tight sandstone reservoirs pore structure are studied. The
acoustic and NMR logs are combined to calculate porosity.
The technique proposed by Volokitin et al. (1999) is used to
construct pseudo-capillary pressure curves from NMR logs.
X. Liang (B)
Key Laboratory of Geo-detection, China University
of Geosciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing,
People’s Republic of China
e-mail: xiaoliang@cugb.edu.cn
X. Liang
School of Geophysics and Information Technology, China
University of Geosciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
M. Zhi-qiang
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting,
China University of Petroleum, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
M. Zhi-qiang
Key Laboratory of Earth Prospecting and Information Technology,
Beijing, People’s Republic of China
J. Yan
Southwest Oil and Gas Field Branch Company, PetroChina,
Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
The saturation-height-function method is used to estimate
initial water saturation, and the Swanson parameter based
model is established to calculate permeability from con-
structed pseudo-capillary pressure curves. Comparisons of
estimating porosity, permeability and water saturation with
core-derived results illustrate that these techniques are effec-
tive in tight gas sands evaluation. Finally, the effective tight
gas sands can be identified through combined use of the esti-
mated reservoir parameters and constructed pseudo-capillary
pressure curves from NMR logs, which is verified by the drill
stem test data.
Keywords Tight gas sandstone reservoirs · Pore structure ·
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logs · Conventional
logs · Reservoir evaluation
1 Introduction
With the fast development of oil and gas exploration, tight oil
and gas sandstone reservoirs have played an important role
in stabilizing and increasing production. The proportion of
production from tight oil and gas sands is much high in China
[1]. The Changqing oil field, which is the typical ultra-low
permeability to tight sandstones, locates in the Ordos basin
and has been the biggest oil field, and in the Sichuan basin,
the biggest tight gas sandstone reservoirs have been found
recently. Comparing with conventional reservoirs, tight sand-
stone reservoirs evaluation is much more challenging due to
many factors, e.g., extreme low porosity, permeability, high
irreducible water saturation, complicated pore structure and
strong heterogeneity [2]. To improve the accuracy of tight
sandstone reservoirs study, the pore structure should be first
evaluated [2]. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logs
can be used to provide useful evaluation for many reservoirs
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 Arab J Sci Eng

500 800

X4 X4

400 X6 600 X6

Frequency
300 400
Frequency

200 200

100
0

0
0~2 2~4 4~6 6~8 8~10 10~12 12~14
CPERM, mD
CPOR, %
Fig. 2 The distribution of core-derived permeabilities for the tight gas
Fig. 1 The distribution of core-derived porosities for the tight gas sands sands in central Sichuan basin
in central Sichuan basin
0.6

parameters, such as total porosity, effective porosity and irre-

ducible water saturation. The NMR logs are also effective in
reservoirs pore structure evaluation. Hence, NMR logs have
become a very important logging suite in tight sandstone 0.4
Amplitude, v/v

reservoirs [3,4]. In this study, the typical tight gas sands of

central Sichuan basin are used as examples; the methods
and techniques of estimating reservoir parameters (poros-
ity, permeability and initial water saturation) and evaluating
pore structure are studied. The effective models have been
established, and the accuracy of tight gas sandstone reser-
voirs evaluation is much improved by using the proposed
method.
2 Characteristics of Tight Gas Sandstone Reservoirs
Sichuan basin, located in southwestern China, is the biggest
tight gas sandstone reservoir. The mainly gas-bearing sands
are the fourth and sixth sections of Xujiahe Formation (X4
and X6, respectively) of upper Triassic in central Sichuan
basin. The distributions of routine core-derived porosities and
permeabilities for more than 1600 core samples drilled from
these two Formations illustrate that these two formations are
typical tight gas sands (Figs. 1, 2). The porosities are mainly
ranging from 2.0 to 12.0 %; the average porosity of X4 is
5.87 %. The average value of X6 is 5.76 %. Permeabilities
of these two formations are mainly distributed from 0.01 to
1.0 mD. The average permeability for X4 and X6 is 0.45 and
0.4 mD, respectively.
In the X4 and X6 Formations, 20 core samples were drilled
for laboratory NMR measurements. The experimental para-
meters of NMR measurement are listed as following: polar-
0.2
0
0.1 10 1000 100000
T2, ms
Fig. 3 The NMR T2 distribution for core samples drilled from tight
gas sands
ization time (TW) is 6.0 s; inter-echo spacing (TE) is 0.2 ms;
the number of echoes per echo train (NE) is 4096; and scan-
ning number is 128. The CPMG echo strings are acquired,
after effective inversion methods are used, many parameters,
including the NMR T2 spectra, irreducible water saturation,
T2cutoff and effective porosity, are acquired. Figure 3 displays
the NMR T2 distributions for all 20 core samples. This figure
illustrates that for the vast majority of core samples drilled
from tight gas sands, the NMR spectra are unimodal, and
small-size pores (with short T2 transverse relaxation time)
are dominant. This denotes that they contain high irreducible
water saturation.
Figure 4 shows that in the X4 and X6 Formations,
the irreducible water saturations (Swi ) range from 37.06

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8
3 Problems of Tight Gas Sandstone Reservoirs
Evaluation in the Central Sichuan Basin

6
In reservoir evaluation and reserves calculation, estimation
of reservoir parameters, such as porosity, permeability and
oil saturation (thus water saturation), is of great importance.
Frequency

Identification of gas-bearing formations is also indispens-

4 able. For conventional reservoir, these parameters can be
relatively easy to be estimated using conventional methods.
However, estimation for reservoir parameters and effective
gas-bearing formation identification face great challenge in
2 tight gas sands. In this study, based on the analyzed results
from more than 1600 core samples, the laboratory NMR mea-
surements for 20 core samples, mercury injection capillary
0
pressure (MICP) measurements for 20 core samples and the
<35 35~40 40~45 45~50 50~55 55~60 >60 corresponding drill stem test data are used for tight gas sand-
Irreducible water saturation (Swi), % stone reservoirs evaluation in the central Sichuan basin.

Fig. 4 The distribution of irreducible water saturation (Swi ) for core 3.1 Problem of Porosity Estimation in Tight Gas Sands
samples with laboratory NMR experiment
Generally, reservoir porosity is estimated from conventional
8 logs (such as density, compensated neutron or acoustic logs),
when the relationship of conventional logs with core-derived
porosity is established by using the core calibration logging
6 method [5,6]. In the target tight gas sands of central Sichuan
basin, such a traditional method was used to establish the
relationships among core-derived porosity and other para-
Frequency

4 meters, including density, compensated neutron and interval

2 and compensated neutron logs with core-derived porosity
0
<8 8~12 12~16 16~20 20~24
T2cutoff, ms
Fig. 5 The distribution of T2cutoff for core samples with laboratory
NMR experiments
to 67.84 %, and the average value is 45.28 %. This illus-
trates that nearly half of the pore space is occupied by
the irreducible water. The high irreducible water saturation
always leads to relative low resistivity contrast in gas-bearing
formations.
Figure 5 presents the statistical results of experimental
T2cutoff for all core samples. From this figure, we can observe
that in the Xujiahe Formation, the T2cutoff s are lower than the
typical value of 33.0 ms for conventional reservoirs, and the
T2cutoff s are scattered. They range from 4.74 to 25.84 ms, and
the average T2cutoff is 16.93 ms. However, no obvious fixed
T2cutoff can be observed.
transit, which are showed in Fig. 6. From these three curves,
we can observe that the correlations of conventional density
are weak. Hence, they cannot be used to calculate reser-
voir porosity. Although the relationship of interval transit
time with core-derived porosity is relatively strong, it is also
>24 not effective in tight gas sands porosity estimation. This is
because the expected relative error is only 8.0 % in the reserve
evaluation [7]. Table 1 lists the absolute errors with sim-
ulative porosity increasing from 2.0 to 14.0 %. Simulated
porosities are coincided with the porosity distributions of X4
and X6 Formations (Fig. 1). From Table 1, we can observe
that porosity needed to be calculated much more accurately
for reserves evaluation of tight gas sands. For example, for
reservoirs with porosity of 10.0 %, the discrepancy of esti-
mated porosity and the true value is only 0.8 %. By using the
displayed relationship in Fig. 6c, such accuracy cannot be
satisfied.
3.2 Problem of Permeability Estimation in Tight Gas Sands
Permeability estimation is another critical element in tight
gas sandstone reservoirs evaluation due to the complicated
pore structure and strong heterogeneity [6,8]. Generally, per-
meability can be directly estimated from porosity in nor-

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 Arab J Sci Eng

a 20 Table 1 The absolute errors for simulative porosity increasing from

2.0 to 14.0 % [7]
X4
Simulative Relative Absolute Relative Absolute
16 X6 porosity, % error of error, % error of error, %
+8 % −8 %
CPOR, %

12
2.00 2.16 0.16 1.84 −0.16
3.00 3.24 0.24 2.76 −0.24
8 4.00 4.32 0.32 3.68 −0.32
5.00 5.40 0.40 4.60 −0.40
4 6.00 6.48 0.48 5.52 −0.48
7.00 7.56 0.56 6.44 −0.56
0 8.00 8.64 0.64 7.36 −0.64
2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3 9.00 9.72 0.72 8.28 −0.72
DEN, g/cm 3 10.00 10.80 0.80 9.20 −0.80
11.00 11.88 0.88 10.12 −0.88
b 20
12.00 12.96 0.96 11.04 −0.96
X4 13.00 14.04 1.04 11.96 −1.04
16 X6 14.00 15.12 1.12 12.88 −1.12
CPOR, %

12
1000

8 100

10
4
CPERM, mD

1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0.1
CNL, % X4_Well A
0.01
X4_Well B
c 20 X4_Well C
0.001
X4 X6_Well A

16 0.0001 X6_Well C
X6
X6_Well D
0.00001
0 5 10 15 20
12
CPOR, %

CPOR, %

8 Fig. 7 The scatter plot of core-derived porosity and permeability in

the target tight gas sandstone reservoirs

voirs, poor correlations exist between porosity and perme-

0 ability due to heterogeneous formations. Figure 7 displays
50 60 70 80
AC, μs/ft
Fig. 6 Relationships between conventional logs and core-derived
porosity in the X4 and X6 Formations. a Relationship between den-
sity log and core-derived porosity, b relationship between compensated
neutron log and core-derived porosity, c relationship between acoustic
log and core-derived porosity
mal reservoirs, because a strong correlation between poros-
ity and permeability can often be established in these types
of reservoirs [9–11]. However, in tight gas sandstone reser-
90
the scatter plot of porosity and permeability of core samples,
which were drilled from our target tight gas sands of sev-
eral adjacent wells. From Fig. 7, it can be concluded that
the relationship between porosity and permeability is poor.
In all wells, the relationships between core-derived poros-
ity and permeability are entirely different. No single formula
can be established to express the relationship between these
two attributes. Hence, conventional methods seem not to be
effective in permeability estimation for tight gas sandstone
reservoirs.

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Arab J Sci Eng

3.3 Problem of Water Saturation Estimation in Tight Gas a 100

Sands

For conventional reservoirs, the Archie’s equations are the

Formation factor
most suitable for water saturation evaluation from con-
ventional logs. Since the necessary input parameters were
10
first determined from rock resistivity experimental measure-
ments, this method has been widely used in the past 70 years. y = 1.8389x-1.247
R² = 0.9312
The Archie’s equations are expressed in Eqs. 1 and 2 [12].
R0 a
F= = m (1)
Rw ϕ 1
Rt 1 0.01 0.1 1
Ir = = n (2)
Ro Sw Porosity, fraction

where R0 is the rock resistivity with fully water saturated,

Rw is the formation water resistivity, Rt is the rock resistivity b 10
no.1 no.2
with hydrocarbon saturated. The unit for all these parame- no.3 no.4
no.5 no.6
ters is ohm m. F is the formation factor and Ir is the resis- no.7 no.8
tivity index, both of which are dimensionless; ϕ is the rock no.9 no.10
no.11 no.12

Resistivity index
porosity in fraction; Sw is the water saturation in fraction; no.13 no.14
no.15 no.16
a is the tortuosity factor; m is the cementation exponent; n no.17 no.18
is the saturation exponent, and its value is affected by rock no.19 no.20
no.21 no.22
pore structure; a, m and n are referred to as rock resistivity no.23 no.24
no.25 no.26
parameters. no.27 no.28
Combining Eqs. 1 and 2, a derivative formula could be no.29 no.30
no.31 no.32
written in Eq. 3. no.33 no.34
no.35 no.36
 1
a × Rw
Sw = n m (3) 0.1 1
ϕ × Rt Water saturation, fraction

This formula illustrates that the values of a, m, n, Rw , ϕ and
Rt must be first determined for water saturation calculation.
Generally, the deep lateral resistivity (RLLD) or deep
induction resistivity (RILD) can be directly used as Rt , while
Rw can be checked from the formation water salinity by using
the Schlumberger’s log interpretation charts [13], and ϕ can
be accurately calculated once effective models have been
established.
Determination of rock resistivity parameters is the most
important in estimating water saturation by using Eq. 3. Gen-
erally, the values of a, m and n are determined by using the
statistical regression method based on laboratory resistivity
measurements of the target core samples. Determination of
a and m is relying on the scatter plot of porosity and forma-
tion factor. The value of n can be obtained from the scatter
plot of water saturation and resistivity index. For conven-
tional reservoirs, the values of rock resistivity parameters
are easily acquired by using the rock resistivity experimen-
tal measurements, and the Archie’s equations can be used
to calculate water saturation. However, in tight gas sands,
the values of rock resistivity parameters are difficult to be
obtained, because the relationships between porosity and for-
mation factor, water saturation and resistivity index, cannot
Fig. 8 a The cross-plot of porosity versus formation factor for core
samples drilled from tight gas sandstones of X4 and X6 Formations in
Sichuan basin, southwest China [14]. b The cross-plot of water satu-
ration versus resistivity index for core samples drilled from tight gas
sandstones of X4 and X6 Formations in Sichuan basin, southwest China
[14]
by expressed by using the typical power function (Fig. 8).
This is particularly challenging for the determination of n. In
this case, Archie’s equations are invalid in water saturation
estimation.
3.4 Problem of Effective Formation Identification in Tight
Gas Sands
Based on Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, it can be concluded that these
tight gas sands displayed such characteristics of ultra-low
porosity, permeability and high irreducible water saturation
in the X4 and X6 Formations. These characteristics pose
challenges for effective gas-bearing formation identification.
The resistivity contrast of gas-bearing formations and water-
saturated layers is lower than that of the conventional reser-
voirs. Figure 9a, b shows the conventional log responses of

123

Fig. 9 a Conventional log response of gas-bearing formation [2]. b Conventional log response of water-saturated layer [2]
two adjacent wells. From the drill stem test data, it can be seen
that for the interval of xx39–xx51 m in Fig. 9a, gas production
was estimated as 10.578 × 104 m3 /day. While the interval of
xx70–xx07 m displayed in Fig. 9b, it is pure water-saturated
layers. With detailed analysis of these two tested intervals,
it can be further observed that these two intervals almost
present the same bulk density of 2.4 g/cm3 , which denotes
similar porosity. For the resistivity response, the gas-bearing
formation shows that the resistivity is about 9  m, and the
resistivity of the water-saturated layer is about 5  m. The
resistivity difference between these two intervals is lower
than that of the conventional gas-bearing and water reser-
voirs. This poses a challenge for effective identification of
tight gas-bearing formations from conventional methods [2].
4 Novel Methods of Estimating Tight Gas Sandstone
Reservoir Parameters
Based on the discussion in the previous paragraphs, we can
conclude that tight gas sandstone reservoirs evaluation using
conventional methods faces great challenge in the Xujiahe
Formation. The challenge is primarily caused by the com-
plicated pore structure and strong heterogeneity of tight gas
sandstone reservoirs. To improve tight gas sands evaluation,
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Arab J Sci Eng
the pore structure should be first evaluated [2]. The NMR
logs have significant advantage in reservoir characterization,
especially in tight sandstone reservoirs with ultra-low poros-
ity, permeability and complicated pore structure [3,4]. In oil
bearing or water-saturated formations, reservoir porosity can
be determined from NMR logs, whereas in tight gas sands,
the extracted porosity is often underestimated due to the low
hydrogen index of natural gas [15]. Based on the analysis of
the NMR T2 spectrum, pore structure of the formation can be
qualitatively estimated. However, it still remains a challenge
in quantitatively estimating the pore throat radius and pore
structure parameters from NMR logs. To effectively evaluate
tight gas sands using the log data, a method that combines
conventional and NMR logs should be proposed. In the next
section, we will introduce an effective method for tight gas
sands evaluation.
4.1 Estimation of Porosity from NMR and Acoustic Logs
4.1.1 Principle of Calculating Porosity from NMR
and Acoustic Logs
In gas-bearing formations, to correct the effect of low hydro-
gen index of natural gas on NMR porosity, Coates et al. [3]
Arab J Sci Eng

and Dunn [4] proposed the NMR porosity correction method on porosity. It is difficult in calculating porosity only from
in Eq. 4: conventional interval transit time log [5].
If we define two parameters of α and β,
CMRP = φ × Sg × HIg × Pg + φ × HI f × (1 − Sg ) (4) where
t − tma
where α=
t f − tma
− TTw
Pg = 1 − e 1,g β = 1 − HIg × Pg

where CMRP is the NMR porosity in % and can be directly Substituting these two parameters into Eqs. 4 and 8, respec-
obtained from NMR logs; φ is the formation porosity in %; Sg tively, Eq. 9 can be derived,
is the gas saturation in fraction; HIg is the gas hydrogen index,    
HIf is the pore fluid hydrogen index and the units of them are β α
φ= × PHIS + × CMRP (9)
fraction; Pg is the polarization factor; Tw is the polarization α+β α+β
time in microseconds; and T1,g is the longitudinal relaxation
time for natural gas in microseconds. If we further define the following two parameters m and n:
For fully water-saturated rocks where HIf is designed as β
1.0, Eq. 4 can be rewritten in Eq. 5: m=
α+β
α
CMRP n=
= 1 − Sg × (1 − HIg × Pg ) (5) α+β
φ
Equation 9 can be simplified as follows:
Equation 5 illustrates that the values of Sg , HIg and Pg should
be first determined to obtain porosity from NMR logs for gas- φ = m × PHIS + n × CMRP (10)
bearing reservoirs. Actually, these parameters are difficult to
be obtained from conventional logs at present, bringing the where
difficulty of porosity estimation from NMR logs.
β α
Based on the general form of the Wyllie’s average time m+n = + =1
equation, the response equation of interval transit time log α+β α+β
can be expressed as follows [16]: The effects of natural gas to conventional and NMR logs can
be calibrated by using Eq. 10, and formation porosity can be
t = tma ×(1−φ)+tw ×φ ×(1− Sg )+tg ×φ × Sg (6) estimated by integrating interval transit time and NMR logs
once the values of m and n are determined.
where t is the log measured interval transit time; tma is
the interval transit time of rock matrix for sandstone, and its 4.1.2 Calibration of m and n in the Target Tight Gas Sands
value is 55.5 µs/ft; tw is the interval transit time of water,
and its value is 189; tg is the interval transit time of gas. From Eq. 10, it can be observed that parameters m and n
All parameters in the unit of them are microsecond per feet. should be first calibrated before the equation can be applied
For clean sandstone, the porosity can be calculated from to calculate tight gas sandstone porosity. To calibrate m and
Eq. 7: n, more than seven hundreds of core samples are used for
calibration and the rest are used for validation.
t − tma
PHIS = (7) The core-derived porosity can be considered as the true
t f − tma
formation porosity. After both sides of Eq. 10 are divided by
where PHIS is porosity from acoustic log in fraction; tf is CMRP, Eq. 10 can be rewritten as:
the interval transit time of pore fluid.
CPOR PHIS
Substituting Eq. 6 into Eq. 7, a derivative expression could =m× +n (11)
be obtained as follows: CMRP CMRP
   Parameters m and n are calibrated using the core samples.
PHIS t − tma
= 1 + Sg × (8) Equation 11 is expressed in Fig. 10 and Eq. 12.
φ t f − tma
φ = 0.809 × PHIS + 0.191 × CMRP, R 2 = 0.8939 (12)
Equation 8 illustrates that Sg and tf are the two important
input parameters in calculating porosity using interval transit From Fig. 10, we find strong correlation among CPOR,
time log. However, the determination of Sg and tf is relied CMRP and PHIS. The correlation coefficient is high enough.

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 Arab J Sci Eng

4 would be hyperbolic curve if it is displayed in log–log

plots, and the inflexion point of MICP curve, the mer-
cury injection saturation threshold in the main pore sys-
y = 0.809x + 0.191 tem which primarily controls the fluid flow, is related with
R² = 0.8939
3 permeability. If mercury injection saturation (SHg ) is dis-
played along the X -axis, and the ratio of SHg and Pc
(mercury injection pressure) is displayed along the Y -axis,
CPOR/CMRP

the inflection point is located at the apex. It is called

2 as the Swanson parameter and expressed as (SHg /Pc )max .
1 models based on the Swanson parameter can be estab-
0 curve.
0 1 2 3
PHIS/CMRP
Fig. 10 Calibration of m and n from core samples in the target tight
gas sands
If Eq. 12 is applied in tight gas sands evaluation in the Xujiahe
Formation, the gas effect should be corrected and accurate
porosity could be calculated.
4.2 Model of Estimating Permeability from Mercury
Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) Data
Figure 7 illustrates that permeability cannot be precisely pre-
dicted from porosity due to the poor correlation between
core-derived porosity and permeability. To effectively esti-
mate reservoir permeability, the pore structure should be
first evaluated [2]. Mercury injection capillary pressure
(MICP) data are the most effective in reservoir pore struc-
ture evaluation [17]. Hence, the MICP data are expected
to be strongly correlated with permeability. Guo et al.
[17] and Swanson [18] pointed out that the MICP curve
Xiao et al. [19] verified that the Swanson parameter is
highly correlated with permeability in conventional and
low permeability sandstones, and permeability estimation
lished, whereas in tight gas sands, the relationship between
the Swanson parameter and permeability is not always
exist because the MICP curve is not always a hyperbolic
4
In the X4 and X6 Formations, 20 core samples were
drilled for laboratory MICP measurements, the results illus-
trate that MICP curves for all 20 core samples can be
displayed as hyperbolic curves in log–log plots. Hence,
the Swanson-based permeability estimation model can be
applied in our target tight gas sands. Figure 11 displays
a typical MICP curve of the X4 Formation, where the
method of determining the Swanson parameter is also dis-
played. Based on this method, the Swanson parameters
for all 20 core samples are obtained. We try to establish
the relationship between the Swanson parameter and per-
meability; a good model is established and displayed in
Fig. 12.
From Fig. 12, we can observe that strong relationship
exists between the Swanson parameter and core-derived per-
meability. Such relationship can be used to improve perme-
ability estimation. However, one should notice that this rela-
tionship is established from laboratory experimental mea-
surements where a limited number of core samples are used.
If we want to extend this model to field application for con-
secutive permeability estimation, the MICP curves should be
obtained in the whole intervals.

Fig. 11 Determination of the The Swanson parameter

Swanson parameter for the 100 30
typical MICP curve

The inflexion point

10 20
Pc, MPa

SHg/Pc

1 10

0.1 0
1 10 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
SHg, % SHg, %

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Arab J Sci Eng

1000 where rpor is the pore radius in micrometer; Fs is the geo-

metric factor of pore shape. For rock with spherical pore, the
y = 0.0079x1.428
value of Fs is 3, and for columnar pore, Fs is 2.
100 R² = 0.9068 Combining Eqs. 13 and 14, Eq. 15 can be obtained:
 
ρ2
CPERM, mD

1 S
= ρ2 = Fs (15)
10
T2 V pore rpor

From Eq. 15, we can observe that the transverse relaxation

time T2 is correlative with rock pore size and shape. For rock
1
with low porosity and narrow pore throat, T2 is short, and
vice versa.
Based on the theory of capillary pressure, the relation-
0.1 ship between capillary pressure and pore throat radius can
1 10 100 1000
be expressed in Eq. 16 [24]:
The Swanson parameter
2σ cos θ
Fig. 12 Tight gas sands permeability estimation model based on the Pc = (16)
Swanson parameter rc

where Pc is the capillary pressure in MPa; σ is the surface

4.3 Method of Constructing Pseudo-Capillary Pressure tension between the two phases fluid in dyn/cm; θ is the
Curves from NMR Logs contact angle in (◦ ); and rc is the pore throat radius in µm.
For two phases fluid of mercury and air that used in the
NMR logs are the most effective in reservoir pore structure mercury injection experiment, σ is equal to 480 dyn/cm, and
evaluation, which can be used to construct capillary pressure θ is 140◦ . Substituting these two values in Eq. 16, Eq. 17 can
curve once reliable models are applied [2,20–23]. In this be obtained:
study, we attempt to test different methods in our target tight
0.735
gas sands for constructing capillary pressure curves from Pc = (17)
NMR logs. We found that the method presented in Volokitin rc
et al. [21] is the most effective. Hence, we use the Volokitin’s
Assuming that the relationship between pore size and pore
method to construct capillary pressure curve from NMR logs.
throat, radius exists and can be expressed as follows:
4.3.1 Principle of Constructing Pseudo-Capillary
rpor = nrc (18)
Pressure from NMR Logs
where n is the proportionality coefficient of pore size and
Based on the theory of NMR logs, the NMR transverse relax-
throat radius.
ation time T2 for water wetting rock is dominated by the sur-
Substituting Eq. 18 into Eq. 15, a derivative expression
face relaxation under fully water saturated, while the bulk
could be written as follows:
relaxation and diffuse relaxation can be ignored. Hence, T2
can be expressed in the following equation [3,4]: 0.735
n ≈ ρ2 × T2 × Fs (19)
  Pc
1 1 S
≈ = ρ2 (13)
T2 T2s V por The relationship between Pc and T2 can then be described as
follows:
where T2 is the NMR transverse relaxation time, T2s is the
surface relaxation time, both of which are in the unit of ms; 1
Pc = C × (20)
ρ2 is the proportionality constant between 1/T2 and surface T2
to volume ratio of the pore; S/V is the surface relaxivity.
where C is the conversion coefficient of NMR T2 relaxation
If the shape of rock pore is assumed as regular, such as bul-
time and capillary pressure. If the value of C can be cali-
bous or cylindrical, the ration of S/V can then be expressed
brated by using core samples, the distribution of NMR T2
as follows:
can be used to construct a capillary pressure curve to evalu-
S Fs ate formation pore structure and predict permeability, using
= ρ2 (14)
V rpor the models displayed in Fig. 12.

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 Arab J Sci Eng

  c  
Amplitude, v/v A D 1
Pc = 1+ × × (21)
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 B × T2 + 1 K T2
10 0.1
where A, B, C, D and K are the mentioned input parameters
1 in the conversion function, all of which needed to be first
1

T2 relaxation time, ms
calibrated.
10 Volokitin’s model had been applied to many areas of China
1/T2, ms -1

0.1
and had been verified to be effective [27–29]. It is also applied
100 in our study. Results illustrate that it is an effective method
0.01 for our case study. Hence, in this study, the model expressed
1000
in Eq. 21 is used to construct pseudo-capillary pressure curve
NMR reverse cumulative curve
0.001
10000
from NMR logs.
NMR T2 distribution

0.0001 100000 4.3.2 Calibration of the Mentioned Input Parameters

100 80 60 40 20
Reverse cumulative saturation, %
Fig. 13 Principle of acquiring NMR reversed cumulative curve from
NMR T2 distribution
To obtain the value of C, a pseudo-curve from NMR T2
spectrum that is similar MICP curve should be first obtained.
To obtain this pseudo-curve, the NMR T2 amplitude is
reversely cumulated and normalized to obtain the reversed
cumulative saturation. Based on the scatter plot of reversely
cumulated saturation versus 1/T2 , a NMR reversed cumu-
lative curve can be obtained. The principle of obtaining the
NMR reversed cumulative curve is displayed in Fig. 13.
Once the NMR reversed cumulative curve is acquired,
the next step is to determine the optimal value of C, which
makes the NMR reversed cumulative curve similar to the
MICP curve as much as possible.
A number of methods in the literature have been proposed
to determine the value of C [2,20–23,25,26], among which
the method proposed by Volokitin et al. [20] is the most
popular.
Volokitin et al. [20] pointed out that the conversion func-
tion of NMR reversed cumulative curve and MICP curve can
be expressed as follows:
0 in the Volokitin’s Model
To use Eq. 21 to construct capillary pressure curve from
NMR logs, the values of the parameters A, B, C, D and K
need to be first determined. To calibrate these parameters
in the Volokitin’s model, 20 core samples drilled from our
target tight gas sands were simultaneously applied for both
laboratory MICP and NMR experimental measurements.
The MICP and NMR measurements were obtained. To cal-
ibrate these parameters, the MICP and corresponding NMR
reversed cumulative curves for 20 core samples were used,
which are displayed in Fig. 14a, b, separately.
By using these MICP and corresponding NMR reversed
cumulative curves for 20 core samples, input parameters
in Eq. 21 are calibrated. The values of A, B, C, D, and K
are 5, 1, 1, 2000, and 2, respectively. Using these calibrated
parameters, the NMR logs can be constructed as pseudo-
capillary pressure curves, which can be used to evaluate tight
gas sandstone reservoir pore structure.
4.3.3 Reliability Verification
To verify the credibility of the calibrated Eq. 21, it is used to
core samples with NMR experimental measurements to con-

Fig. 14 a The MICP curves for a b

20 core samples drilled from 100 10
tight gas sands. b The NMR
reversed cumulative curves for 1
10
20 core samples drilled from
tight gas sands 0.1
1/T2, ms-1

1
Pc, MPa

0.01
0.1
0.001

0.01
0.0001

0.001 0.00001
100 80 60 40 20 0 100 80 60 40 20 0
SHg, % So, %

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Arab J Sci Eng

Fig. 15 Comparisons of
capillary pressure curves
a 1000 b 10000
acquired from two different Por=10.6% Por=7.9%
100 1000 Perm=0.323mD
methods Perm=1.05mD
100
10

Pc, MPa

Pc, MPa
10
1
1
0.1
MICP curve 0.1 MICP curve
0.01 Pseudo capillary pressure 0.01 Pseudo capillary pressure
curve curve
0.001 0.001
100 80 60 40 20 0 100 80 60 40 20 0
SHg, % SHg, %

c 1000 d 1000
Por=7.5% Por=14.7%
100 Perm=0.851mD 100 Perm=5.06mD

10 10

Pc, MPa
Pc, MPa

1 1

0.1 0.1
MICP curve MICP curve
0.01 Pseudo capillary pressure 0.01 Pseudo capillary pressure
curve curve
0.001 0.001
100 80 60 40 20 0 100 80 60 40 20 0
SHg, % SHg, %

struct pseudo-capillary pressure curves. We then compare the
shapes of the constructed pseudo-capillary pressure curves
with the MICP curves. Figure 15 displays the comparisons of
four representative core samples. From these comparisons,
we can observe that all the constructed capillary pressure
curves match with the laboratory MICP curves very well,
illustrating that Eq. 21 is effective in our target tight gas
sands in constructing capillary pressure curves from NMR
logs.
If this technique is extended to field application, the
pseudo-capillary pressure curve, the corresponding pore
throat radius distribution and the pore structure evaluation
parameters, including the average pore throat radius, the
threshold pressure and median pore throat radius, can also
be estimated from the pseudo-capillary pressure curves in
the interval with which NMR logs had been acquired.
4.4 Calculation of Irreducible Water Saturation from NMR
Logs
called irreducible water. Figure 4 displays that in our target
tight gas sands, the average Swi is close to 45 %, leading to
low resistivity contrast. It is therefore difficult in identifying
effective gas-bearing formation from water-saturated layers.
Estimated Swi could be used to overlap with initial water
saturation; gas-bearing formation could then be effectively
identified.
The NMR logs have unique advantages in estimating Swi .
However, Fig. 5 illustrates that in our target tight gas sands,
unified T2cutoff cannot be obtained from laboratory NMR
experimental measurements. Hence, the T2cutoff technique
cannot be used to extract Swi from NMR logs in the X4 and
X6 sections.
Based on the theoretical analysis of the classical Timur
and the SDR model [30–32], Xiao et al. [33] derived a model
that combines porosity and T2 logarithmic mean of the NMR
T2 spectrum (T2lm ) to estimate Swi . This model is effective in
Swi estimation in the Xujiahe Formation. Hence, it is directly
applied in our target tight gas sands. This model is expressed
as follows:

−0.24518
Irreducible water saturation (Swi ) is a very important para- Swi = 118.91 × ϕ −0.08326 × T2lm (22)
meter in tight gas sandstone reservoirs evaluation. This is
because in tight gas sands, the pore space is mainly occu- where ϕ is the porosity in %, which can be estimated by
pied by water that cannot flow into the borehole, which is using Eq. 12; T2lm is the T2 logarithmic mean of the NMR

123

T2 spectrum in ms, which can be directly obtained from the
NMR logs.
By using Eq. 22, Swi can be calculated from NMR logs.
4.5 Calculation of Water Saturation by Using the
Saturation-Height-Function (SHF) Method
Based on the theory of hydrocarbon migration and accu-
mulation, the forming process of oil and gas reservoir can
be described as the initial water occupied pore space was
replaced by hydrocarbon. Hence, the non-wetting hydrocar-
bon will be saturated in the pore space once the capillary
pressure caused by the pore throat was broken through. The
dynamic condition of saturating hydrocarbon is the buoyancy
produced from density difference of these two phases of flu-
ids of hydrocarbon and water and the hydrocarbon column
height. If the buoyancy and capillary pressure are balanced,
saturating hydrocarbon is then stopped. Hence, if the free
water level (FWL) is obtained, the buoyancy that caused by
the density contrast of oil (gas)-water can be calculated as
follows:
F = h × ρ × g = h × (ρw − ρh ) × g (23)
where F is the buoyancy that caused by the density contrast of
hydrocarbon and water and the hydrocarbon column height;
h is the hydrocarbon column height in meter; ρ is the
density contrast of hydrocarbon and water in g/cm3 ; ρw is
the water density in g/cm3 ; ρh is the hydrocarbon density
in g/cm3 , in our tight gas sands, ρh is the gas density and
rewritten as ρg . g is the gravitational acceleration, which is
9.8 m/s2 .
The equilibrium state of buoyancy and capillary pressure
can be described in the following equation.
Pg−w = F = h × ρ × g (24)
where Pg−w is the capillary pressure of reservoir condition in
MPa, which can be estimated from laboratory MICP experi-
mental measurements using Eq. 25.
σg−w × cos θg−w
Pg−w = × PHg−air (25)
σHg−air × cos θHg−air
where PHg−air is the mercury injection pressure; σg−w is the
surface tension of gas and water; σHg−air is the surface tension
of mercury and air; θg−w is the contact angle of natural gas
and water; θHg−air is the contact angle of mercury and air.
Combining with Eqs. 23 to 25, the relationship between
gas column height (thus FWL) and water saturation in-suit
situation can be described as the saturation-height-function
(SHF). In our target tight gas sands, the saturation-height-
function can be obtained once input parameters are deter-
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Arab J Sci Eng
50
40
Gas column height, m
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Water saturation, %
Fig. 16 The saturation-height-function of two phase fluids of gas and
water in our target tight gas sands
mined. Figure 16 displays the acquisition of saturation-
height-function for three typical core samples.
If this technique is applied in the whole intervals with
pseudo-pressure curves were constructed from NMR logs,
the saturation-height-function can be obtained. The initial
water saturation can then be estimated from the saturation-
height-function.
5 Case Study
Using the proposed method, the target tight gas sands of X4
and X6 are analyzed. Figure 17 shows a field example of
evaluating tight gas sands from NMR logs. In the first track
of Fig. 17, the displayed curves are gamma ray (GR), spon-
taneous potential (SP) and borehole diameter (CAL). Their
contribution is effective formation indication. In the second
track, we show density log (DEN), compensated neutron log
(CNL) and interval transit time log (AC), all of which are used
for porosity estimation. RT displayed in the third track is deep
lateral resistivity, and RXO is shallow lateral resistivity. The
fourth track is depth, and its unit is meter. T2_DIST displayed
in the fifth track is field NMR spectrum, which was acquired
from Schlumberger’s CMR-plus tool. PC_DIST displayed
in the sixth track is the constructed pseudo-capillary pres-
sure curve from field NMR logs by using Eq. 21, and it
is displayed by the variable density method. In the seventh
track, we compare the calculated porosity (AMRP) using
the AMR technique with core-derived porosity. From this
comparison, it can be observed that the estimated porosi-
ties from NMR and acoustic logs match with the true for-
mation porosities very well. This confirms that the AMR
technique is effective in our target tight gas sands. SWCAL
Arab J Sci Eng
Fig. 17 A field example of evaluating tight gas sandstone reservoir by using NMR logs
displayed in the eighth track is estimated initial water satura-
tion from the pseudo-capillary pressure curves using the SHF
method. SWICAL is the estimated irreducible water satura-
tion using Eq. 21, and SWICORE is the irreducible water
saturation obtained from the core samples with laboratory
NMR experimental measurements. From the comparison of
the values of several kinds of the water saturation, it can be
concluded that the SWCAL and SWICAL are coincided with
each other very well. Additionally, they are closed to the core-
derived results. This illustrates that the estimated SWCAL
and SWICAL are accurate, and the proposed method is reli-
able. PERM displayed in the ninth track is the estimated
permeability from pseudo-capillary pressure curves by using
the Swanson-based permeability model displayed in Fig. 12.
A good consistency of estimated permeability with core-
derived permeability (CPERM) illustrates that the Swanson-
based permeability model is valuable in tight gas sands per-
meability estimation. From the tenth to twelve tracks, we
compare the estimated average pore throat radius (RM),
maximum pore throat radius (RMAX) and threshold pres-
sure (PD) from the pseudo-capillary pressure curves with
the core-derived average pore throat radius (CRM), maxi-
mum pore throat radius (CRMAX) and threshold pressure
(CPD), separately. In the last track, we compare the Swan-
son parameter acquired from two different kinds of methods.
Swanson is the estimated Swanson parameters from con-
structed pseudo-capillary pressure curve using the method
illustrated in Fig. 11, and Cswanson is the extracted Swan-
son parameters from experimental MICP data. Comparison
shows that the pore structure evaluation parameters and the
Swanson parameter acquired from the constructed pseudo-
capillary pressure are coincided with the core-derived results.
This demonstrates the effectiveness of the technique of con-
structing pseudo-capillary pressure curves from field NMR
logs.
From the estimated results, it can be found that in the
interval of xx88–xx00m, although the estimated initial water
saturation reaches to 40–50 %, it is coincided with the irre-
ducible water saturation. This denotes that no free water
can be produced. After analyzing the constructed pseudo-
capillary pressure, estimated porosity, permeability and pore
structure evaluation parameters, it can be concluded that the
pore structure of this interval is good. If necessary fracture
treatments are applied, this interval is worth of developing.
Such conclusion is confirmed by the drill stem testing data.
The drill stem testing data illustrate that this interval is pure
gas-bearing formation, where no water is produced. This field
example illustrates that the proposed method in this study is
valuable in tight gas reservoirs evaluation, and they can be
further extended to be applied to other types of tight sand-
stone reservoirs.
6 Discussion
Detailed observing Eq. 21, we can find that in the process of
constructing pseudo-capillary pressure curves in our target
tight gas sands, the unitary input parameters in the Volok-
itin’s model are calibrated and used. This is because in our
target tight gas sandstone reservoirs of X4 and X6 Forma-
tions, the heterogeneity is not strong enough, and this can
be verified by the displayed MICP curves in Fig. 14a. From
123

Fig. 14a, it can be observed that the shapes of all 20 core
samples are relative regular, and they are not divergent. In
this case, the unified model can be used. However, if forma-
tions are inhomogeneous, the unified function cannot be used
to construct pseudo Pc curve [25]. In this case, formations
should be classified into several types by other methods, and
in every type of formation, individual mentioned input para-
meters in the Volokitin’s model should be calibrated. Mean-
while, it need to be noticed that the SHF method is applicative
only in the structural hydrocarbon reservoir. This is because
in this type of reservoirs, the unified oil (gas)/water inter-
face can be determined, and the hydrocarbon column height
can be calculated. However, in the lithologic hydrocarbon
reservoir, there is not unified FWL, and the SHF method will
be invalid. In this case, the Rccutoff (pore throat radius cut-
off) may be determined by combining with the laboratory
NMR measurements, and then, the water saturation is pre-
dicted from the extracted pore throat radius distribution from
pseudo Pc curve by using the determined Rccutoff [2].
7 Conclusions
Tight gas sandstone reservoirs evaluation faces great chal-
lenges. The conventional methods, which are effective in
normal reservoirs, are not often effective. The NMR logs,
however, play an important role in tight gas reservoirs eval-
uation as they provide the information of pore structure.
The AMR technique is effective in porosity calculation
in tight gas sands, and it can be used to accurately estimate
reservoir porosity. Comparing with conventional density and
compensated neutron log, the AMR technique can avoid the
affection of low hydrogen index to porosity estimation.
The relationship of core-derived porosity and permeability
is divergent, making the conventional permeability estima-
tion method invalid. The Swanson-based permeability esti-
mation model adequately involve the pore structure informa-
tion, which can be used to precisely estimate tight gas sands
permeability.
After calibrating input parameters of the Volokitin’s model
by using sufficient number of samples, the NMR logs can
be used to construct pseudo-capillary pressure curves to
evaluate the pore structure of tight gas sandstone reser-
voirs. Meanwhile, if the Swanson-based permeability model
is applied, permeability can be estimated. The saturation-
height-function can be further used to predict initial water sat-
uration, which is beyond the capacity of the typical Archie’s
equation.
By combining estimated porosity, permeability, irre-
ducible water saturation, initial water saturation and the infor-
mation of pore structure evaluation, effective tight gas sands
with low resistivity contrast can be effectively identified from
pure water-saturated layers.
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Arab J Sci Eng
Acknowledgments This research work was supported by National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41302106), China Post-
doctoral Science Foundation funded project (Nos. 2012M520347,
2013T60147), National Science and Technology Major Project (No.
2011ZX05044), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities and Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Geo-detection
(China University of Geosciences, Beijing), Ministry of Education (No.
GDL1204).
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