Fracture Characterization from Formation MicroImager Data

The Formation MicroImager (mark of Schlumberger) is an electric imaging tool that produces electrical scans of the borehole walls. These measurements provide useful information on the fracture aperture of naturally fractured reservoirs. In this paper, we present a laboratory set-up that was realized to perform controlled experiments on fractured samples using a Formation MicroImager pad. A three-dimensional numerical model was used to develop the laboratory set-up. Numerical simulations were run to investigate the relationship between the fracture aperture and its electrical response for different properties (mud resistivity, formation resistivity and tool standoff). Preliminary results showed the capability of the set-up to be used to perform controlled experiments for a wide range of fracture properties and investigate their influence on the determination of the fracture aperture.