ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Solid Earth Geophysics
This article is part of the Research TopicFrontiers in Borehole Multi-Geophysics: Innovations and ApplicationsView all 12 articles
Well Logging Evaluation of Clastic Reservoir Productivity in the Wulanhua Depression, Hailaer Basin, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Yangtze University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430100, China, Wuhan, China
- 2Yibin University, Yibin, China
- 3China Oilfield Services Limited Production Division, Tianjin, China
- 4China National Offshore Oil Corporation(CNOOC)Ltd Tian Jin Branch, Tianjin, China
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Productivity evaluation is essential for reservoir characterization and development, particularly in low-porosity, low-permeability clastic systems. In the Wulanhua (WH) Depression of the Hailaer Basin, China, most reservoirs exhibit porosities below 15% and permeabilities lower than 100 × 10⁻³ μm², posing significant challenges for reliable productivity prediction. To address this, a multi-source, tiered evaluation approach integrating mercury intrusion capillary pressure (MICP), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and conventional well logging data is proposed. Quantitative analysis shows that reservoirs with mean pore-throat radii greater than 0.12 μm and displacement pressures below 5 MPa generally achieve natural productivity above 20 t/d, whereas those with radii below 0.05 μm require stimulation to reach industrial levels. NMR-based parameters, including an (S₂ + S₃) pore fraction exceeding 65% and a T₂ geometric mean time greater than 20 ms, correspond to high-yield zones (>15 t/d). When only conventional logs are available, deep resistivity (>20 Ω·m), low natural gamma (<70 API), and a resistivity multiplication coefficient (AII) > 1 × 10⁶ can effectively discriminate productive intervals. Field validation demonstrates that the integrated approach predicts well productivity with an average deviation of ±15%. The novelty of this study lies in the establishment of a quantitative, multi-tiered evaluation framework adaptable to varying data availability, providing a robust reference for efficient development of tight clastic reservoirs in the WH Depression and similar basins.
Keywords: Low-porosity, Low-permeability reservoirs, Productivity evaluation, nuclearmagnetic resonance logging, Pore structure
Received: 10 Sep 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Fan, Tang, Zhao and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Houjiang Fan
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