Borehole image logs for turbidite facies identification: core calibration and outcrop analogues

In exploration, appraisal, and development of hydrocarbon fields, the understanding of the sedimentary model requires increasingly sophisticated techniques and analysis to interpret the geometry, facies, and petrophysical properties of the reservoirs. The objective is to understand the reservoir flow properties for making optimum decisions during field development. For this purpose, the use of high resolution image logs provided by service companies has become essential in sedimentary interpretation. When they are correctly calibrated against known facies, image logs can replace coring operations, which are time-consuming, expensive, and limited in the depth interval sampled. Recent examples of application have proved highly successful for exploration wells. Now mature fields can be reinterpreted in the light of the new understanding gained, enabling development plans to be revised with enhanced recovery methods. As a result of the success of this approach, image-based facies interpretation is now included in the standard procedure for evaluation of data from exploration, appraisal, and development wells.