Aquifer Characterisation (Formation Logging)

Having a strong petrophysical or geophysical understanding of the lithology plays a critical role in the success of installed bores. Particularly if those bores provide water to agriculture and horticultural systems, or local communities. It is therefore necessary to characterise the producibility of an aquifer by knowing the volume of the available water, and how easy it moves through the rock mass.

Surtech assists hydrogeologists through the design and deployment of a suitable logging program, providing the information required to make informed decisions on future planning.

Services:

  • Natural gamma for bed boundaries, lithology identification, and correlation
  • Advanced Resistivity and induction tools for formation and water salinity calculations
  • Borehole Magnetic Resonance for total formation porosity
  • Borehole Magnetic Resonance for hydraulic conductivity
  • Compensated Formation density for lithological interpretation
  • Full-wave Sonic logs for characterising the mechanical properties of the formation
  • Integrated Fractured Rock Evaluation to study all different constituents of the rock framework of a fractured rock mass

With the correct logging program it is possible to reduce the need for lab and other downhole tests, such as pump and packer tests. With Surtech, all logs and data are supplied in a format that can be integrated into existing workflows.

Aquifer Characterisation3 Groundwater Integrated Fractured Rock Evaluation

Client Challenge

The demand for freshwater for agricultural and horticultural industries in the client’s area has placed an ever-increasing demand on groundwater resources. As the demand increases for access to water supplies, more information is required to better manage the limited resources. A monitoring program was initiated for the area that involved the drilling of several monitoring bores. To maximise the project success the bores required near real time aquifer information to be gathered between drilling and casing with minimal rig downtime. This information was used at the rig to determine the screen intervals of piezometers as well as gather information on the aquifer for future analysis. The client also wanted to know if there were other parts of the formation that may be of interest to monitor and whether to take the opportunity while the rig was present to deliver additional bores at the same site. This information was going to be used to help guide the management and regulation of the basin.

Our Solution

Surtech has the capability in deploying advanced tooling to measure the presence of water within the rock mass without the reliance on lithology; utilising the Borehole Magnetic Resonance (BMR) technology from NMR Services Australia (does not have a radioactive source!). As part of a packaged logging program, Surtech was able to provide a petrophysics interpretation service that correctly identified the optimal placement of well screens to maximise water flow. As well as confirming a reduction in additional wells, the data was also used to provide knowledge on the salinity of the water.