Forward modeling of spectral gamma-ray (SGR) logging in sedimentary formations

We propose a new approach to improve spectral gamma-ray (SGR) logging forward modeling by considering the radioactive minerals present in the rock as gamma-ray sources. This is based on the radioactive attenuation theory. The assumptions are: 1) minerals with K40, U238, and Th232 content are conside...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lechuga Lagos, Francisco Miguel, Aquino López , Ambrosio, Valdez Grijalva, Miguel Ángel, Campos Enríquez , José Oscar
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:México
Institución:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Geofísica Internacional
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:revistagi.geofisica.unam.mx:article/1710
Acceso en línea:http://revistagi.geofisica.unam.mx/index.php/RGI/article/view/1710
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Registro de rayos gamma espectral
Modelado directo
Minerales radioactivos
Formaciones sedimentarias
Radioisótopos K40
U238
Th232
Spectral gamma-ray logging
Forward modeling
Radioactive minerals
Sedimentary formations
K40
Th232 radioisotopes
Descripción
Sumario:We propose a new approach to improve spectral gamma-ray (SGR) logging forward modeling by considering the radioactive minerals present in the rock as gamma-ray sources. This is based on the radioactive attenuation theory. The assumptions are: 1) minerals with K40, U238, and Th232 content are considered radioactive sources uniformly distributed in the rock; 2) the measured radioactivity is proportional to the concentration of radioactive minerals and inversely proportional to the rock bulk density; 3) the radioactivity is only attenuated by absorption of gamma-rays. The forward modeling was tested using a synthetic case of sandstone with clay minerals and brine-saturated pores to analyze the sensitivity of SGR to changes in illite/smectite-illite/mica ratios and sandstone porosities. Finally, it was further validated with 44 core samples, of which 22 are from two shale gas and 22 from two clastic formations. The Pearson correlation coefficient applied to measure the misfit between the simulated and observed K, U, Th, and SGR data attained values of 0.82, 0.83, 0.61, and 0.57, respectively. A further improvement to 0.87, 0.85, 0.65, and 0.69 was achieved when applying joint inversion for data where illite/smectite and illite/mica ratios were not specified. The correlation between the simulated and observed data supports the viability of the proposed SGR forward modeling approach method.