Geosteering

Geosteering is the intentional directional control of a wellbore based on the results of downhole geological logging measurements rather than three-dimensional targets in space, usually to keep a directional wellbore within a pay zone. In mature areas, geosteering may be used to keep a wellbore in a particular section of a reservoir to minimize gas or water breakthrough and maximize economic production from the well. In the process of drilling a borehole, geosteering is the act of adjusting the borehole position (inclination and azimuth angles) on the fly to reach one or more geological targets. These changes are based on geological information gathered while drilling.

From 2D and 3D models of underground substructures, deviated wells (2D and 3D) are planned in advance to achieve specific goals: exploration, fluids production, fluids injection or technical.

A well plan is a continuous succession of straight and curved lines representing the geometrical figure of the expected well path. A well plan is always projected on vertical and horizontal maps.

While the borehole is being drilled according to the well plan, new geological information is gathered from mud logging, measurement while drilling (MWD) and logging while drilling (LWD). These usually show some differences from what is expected from the model. As the model is continuously updated with the new geological information (formation evaluation) and the borehole position (well deviation survey), changes start to appear in the geological substructures and can lead to the well plan being updated to reach the corrected geological targets.

The following data can be used for the geosteering: MWD, LWD, Image logs, 2D and 3D seismic data, geological models.

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Wikipedia