Case Study: South Region of Mexico Well Drilling Company achieves clearer fracture evaluation in OBM-drilled carbonates with SLB FMI-HD microimager

High-Quality Imaging of Fractures and Vugs in Carbonates Drilled with Oil-Base Mud,

SLB worked with the South Region of Mexico Well Drilling Company to evaluate carbonate reservoirs in a well drilled with oil-base mud. The company needed clear, high-definition formation images to identify fractures, vugs, and other features that could indicate whether the interval had enough reservoir potential for completion.

SLB deployed the FMI-HD high-definition microimager to capture images in the nonconductive OBM environment, along with Techlog wellbore software for interpretation. The images were comparable to WBM logs, allowing the team to identify bedding, fractures, faults, and lithofacies; the first interval was judged to have fracture density too low for production, so the operator drilled a new 6-in section with WBM, imaged it again, and successfully completed the well. The FMI-HD approach then became a standard part of the operator’s formation evaluation program, with over 50 runs in the region.