SP Logging

Working Principles
The Spontaneous potential (SP) tool records the electrical potential (voltage)
produced by the interaction of formation connate water, conductive drilling fluid and
certain ion-selective rocks (shale).
The SP curve reflects a difference in the electrical potential between a movable
electrode in the borehole and a fixed reference electrode at the surface.
When mud filtrate salinities are lower than connate water salinities ( Rmf is > Rw), the
SP deflects to the left (the SP potential is negative). This is called a normal SP. When
the salinities are reversed (salty mud and fresh formation water, Rmf < Rw), the SP
deflects to the right. This is called a reverse SP. Other things being equal, there is no SP
(and no SP deflection) at all when Rmf = Rw.
It is important to point out that the SP cannot be recorded in oil-base muds, which
allow no conductive path

 In sand A- Rw is less than Rmf; which means

that formation water is saltier than the mud
filtrate.
In sand B- the SP deflection is less than in sand
A and thus a fresher formation water is
indicated.
In sand C- the SP is reversed, indicating that
formation water is fresher than the mud
filtrate and thus Rw is greater than Rmf.
Somewhere in the region of 7000 feet it may
be guessed that Rmf and Rw are equal.

SP Liquid Junction Potential

Two mechanisms cause SP

Electrokinetic (very small)
Electrochemical
i. Liquid Junction
ii. Membrane Potential

SP Membrane Potential

Static SP (SSP)

SP as a permeability or shale indicator

Since invasion can only occur in

permeable formations,
deflections of SP can be used to
identify permeable formations.
The vertical resolution of SP is
poor, and often the permeable
bed must be 30 ft or more to
achieve a static (flat baseline) SP

Rw from SSP

Under certain circumstances Rw can

be estimated from SP.
The SP value remains constant for
at least 30 feet.
The area where the SP is constant
must correspond to a very clean
sandstone.
The value of Rmf must remain
constant across this same interval.

SSP K c log

These conditions are rare, and

large errors in the Rw estimate
may occur.

K c 61 0.133T F

Rweq

R mfeq
Rweq

R mfeq
10

SSP
k c

K c 65 0.24TC
R w eq , R mfeq : Chart _ SP .2

Rmfeq from Rmf or Rw from Rweq

If Rmf @ 75degF > 0.1

Ohmm then Rmfeq=0.85
Rmf @ BHT

If Rmf @ 75 degF < 0.1

Ohmm then Rmfeq from
chart sp2,
Same with Rw

Chart SP-2

SP as Rw indicator

SP is more often used

qualitatively to predict
whether Rw > Rmf or not.

Rmf = Rw

Rmf < Rw
Saline mud

Rmf > Rw
Fresh mud

SP for correlation
-ve SP
deflectio
n

+ve SP
deflectio
n

SP for correlation
Keep in mind that SP deflection is Rmf dependent and never an absolute value

SP log

Rmf > Rw?

Where is Sand?
Where is Shale?
What is Vsh?

 The Electrochemical Component

The electro-chemical component Ec consists of the liquid junction
potential (Ej) and the membrane potential (Em). These potentials
create a current that flows at the shale / reservoir interface. When a
reference electrode is moved across this interface a difference in
potential is measured.
Liquid Junction Potential
SP is affected by formation water salinity. When solutions of
differing concentration are brought into contact, ions from the
solution with a higher concentration tend to migrate toward the
solution of lower concentration until equilibrium occurs

 However, with sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions, the Cl- anions move faster
than Na+ cations, so a conventional current (or potential) flows from the less
concentrated solution to the more concentrated solution. The electrical
potential that results from the combined sodium and chlorine ion movement is
known as the liquid junction potential (Elj).
In terms of the solutions present in a formation, mud filtrate can be substituted
for the less concentrated solution and formation water will be the more
concentrated solution. Borehole mud-weight is usually higher than the
formation fluid pressure. This produces an over-pressure at the face of the
reservoir exposed to the borehole, and causes mud filtrate to invade the
reservoir. A mud cake is subsequently formed and the invasion process slows
down. An invasion profile as shown, Liquid Junction Potential is formed which
separates, in this case, a high saline formation water and the low salinity mud
filtrate

 The liquid junction potential Ej is created at the interface between the invaded
zone and the uncontaminated zone due to a salinity difference between mud
filtrate and formation water. Since the negative Cl - anions (assuming an NaCl
solution) have a greater mobility than the positive Na+ cations, the net result is a
flow of negative charges (Cl - ions) from the more concentrated solution to the less
concentrated solution. This mechanism, which is driven by the conductivity
difference the mud filtrate and formation water is also shown by the above Liquid
Junction Potential graphic. The greater the contrast in salinity between mud
filtrate and formation water, the larger this potential

Membrane Potential
Another "battery" found in the formation arises from the molecular construction
of shale beds. Shale can act as an ionic sieve or membrane. This means that shale
can be permeable for one type of ion while acting as a barrier for another type.
This property is called ionic perm-selectivity, and the result is that the shalemembrane can preferentially prevent the movement of negative ions. In this
case, shales are permeable to Na+ ions, but not so permeable to C1- ions.
Shales are cation exchangers; they are electro-negative, and therefore repel
anions. This phenomenon occurs as a result of the crystalline structure of clay
minerals. Their exterior surfaces exchange sites where positively charged cations
cling temporarily. In most instances, the shales are 100% effective and therefore
repel all chlorine (negatively charged) ions. The positive sodium ions move toward
the lower salinity mud in the borehole, but the chlorine ions cannot follow this
movement.
Since Na+ ions effectively manage to penetrate through the shale from the saline
formation water to the less saline mud column, a positive potential is generated
toward the low-concentration NaCl solution of the mud column. This potential is
known as the membrane potential (Em). Figure 8 indicates the process.

TOTAL SP
Etotal = Elj + Em
E K log

Con w
Con mf

 The currents created by this series of potentials flow through

5 different media, each with its own resistivity:

borehole filled with mud (Rm),

mudcake (Rmc),

invaded zone filled with mud filtrate (Rxo),

virgin zone filled with uncontaminated fluids (Rt)

surrounding shales (Rsh).

In each medium the potential along a line of current flow (I)
drops in proportion to the resistance that is encountered.
Etotal

Rm
mud

I
Rmc
mudcake

+
I
Rxo
flushed zone

+
IR t
virgin zone

The motor providing the potential (Etotal) can therefore be expressed as:

[E-6]

E total E m E j E km c E ksh

+
I
Rsh
adjacent shale

APPLICATIONS OF THE SPONTANEOUS POTENTIAL LOG

The main applications of the Spontaneous Potential log are:
Detection of permeable beds
Location of reservoir boundaries.
Determination of Rw (formation water resistivity).
Delineation of shale beds
Determination of shale volumes
Correlation from well to well
Indications on the environment of deposition
permeability indicator,
shale volume indicator (see Vsh calculation in the next section),
porosity indicator, and
measurement of Rw (hence formation water salinity).

In order to perform quantitative analysis of the SP, the relationship between the SP and the
resistivities of the mud filtrate and the formation water must be determined. It can be shown that
SP = -K log (Rmf/Rw)
where SP is measured in millivolts and K is a constant that depends on temperature. By
inspection, Rw can be found if SP, K, and Rmf are known.
The SP should be read in a water-bearing sand, provided it is clean (no shale is present) and
sufficiently thick to allow for full development of the potential. As mentioned previously, K can be
estimated from the temperature of the formation. A good approximation is,

T 505
K
8
where T is the formation temperature in F.

SHALE VOLUME CALCULATION

The presence of shale in art otherwise "clean" sand tends to supress the SP. This effect can be
used in estimating the shale content of a formation. If SPlog is the value of the SP curve at the
desired measurement point on the log, and SPsand is the value observed in a clean, waterbearing sand and SPshale is the value observed in a shale, then any intermediate value of the SP
may be converted into a value for the shale volume (Vsh) by the relationship

(Vsh ) SP

SPlog ( SP) sand

( SP) shale ( SP) sand
This concept is illustrated in Figure 3: Shale Volume Calculation Example Using the
SP.

GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION

 FACTORS AFFECTING THE SP

SP readings are usually accurately and easily measured. However, there are some
circumstances where SP readings need careful consideration.

Oil-base muds completely lack an electrical path through the mud column,
hence no SP can be generated.

Shaly formations suppresses the measured SP. This phenomenon permits
the formation shaliness to be determined if a clean sand with the same water
salinity is available for a legitimate comparison.

Hydrocarbon saturation suppresses SP deflections. Thus, only water-bearing
sands should be selected for Rw determination from the SP.

Unbalanced mud columns, with differential pressure into the formation, can
cause "streaming" potentials that augment the SP. This effect, known as
electrokinetic SP, is noticeable in depleted reservoirs, and is impossible to
compensate quantitatively.

Resistivities may be very high in hard formations, except in permeable zones
or shales. These high resistivities affect the distribution of the SP currents, hence
the shape of the SP curve. As illustrated in Figure 1: Schematic Representation of
the SP in Highly Resistive Formations, the SP currents flowing from shale bed Shl
toward permeable bed P2 are largely confined to the borehole between Shl and
P2 because of the very high resistivity of the formation in this interval.

 Accordingly, the intensity of the SP current in the borehole in this interval

remains constant. Assuming the hole diameter is constant, the potential drop
per foot is constant and the SP curve is a straight line.
In high resistivity formations, SP current can leave or enter the borehole only
opposite permeable beds or shales. This causes the SP curve to show a
succession of straight portions with a change of slope opposite every
permeable interval (with the concave side of the SP curve toward the shale
line) and opposite every shale bed (with the convex side of the SP curve toward
the shale line). The boundaries of the permeable beds cannot be located with
accuracy by use of the SP in such highly resistive formations.
Bed thickness can affect the SP measurement quite dramatically. In thin beds,
the SP does not fully develop. Figure 2: Factors Affecting SP Reduction
illustrates
the
factors
which
produce
this
effect.