The Saudi Aramco EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) has successfully developed and tested the industry's first small-hole Logging-While-Drilling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance tool (LWD NMR). Two years ago, EXPEC ARC teamed up with Baker Hughes and the Reservoir Description and Simulation Department to develop the next-generation NMR technology useful for obtaining real-time measurements in angled and horizontal wells of small diameters. That effort has now succeeded in the development of a tool deployed while drilling that provides this sought-after capability, and the first two prototypes have been deployed in Saudi Aramco fields. “EXPEC ARC identified a clear business need, built the team and succeeded with a most innovative, valuable tool that will contribute significantly in placing wells in the most productive zones of our reservoirs,” said Abdulla A. Al Naim, vice president of Petroleum Engineering and Development. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a technique that exploits the magnetic properties of nuclei of certain atoms, such as hydrogen, that contain odd numbers of protons or neutrons. When a magnetic field is applied, the result is NMR spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. A familiar use of NMR spectrum is in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for medical diagnosis. The oil industry adapted the MRI technique to probe and diagnose how much hydrogen exists within the rock space some thousands of feet below the ground. The NMR technique reveals rock-pore characteristics and how much hydrocarbon and water are contained within the rock, according to a report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site.
