# US 12,216,240 B2 · Method and apparatus for obtaining real-time formation gas saturation

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- Number: US 12,216,240 B2
- Document ID: US12216240B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/067,346
- Filed: 2022-12-16
- Published: 2023-04-20
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2021-02-11
- Assignees: China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation
- Applicants: China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation
- Inventors: Sheng Zhan; Jeremy Zhang; Zongqi Chen; Xianghua Liu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12216240B2

## CPC

- G01V 5/102: {the neutron source being of the pulsed type}
- G01V 5/104: {and detecting secondary Y-rays as well as reflected or back-scattered neutrons}
- G01V 5/045: {Transmitting data to recording or processing apparatus; Recording data}
- G01V 5/105: {the neutron source being of the pulsed type}
- G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02)

## Abstract

A method for obtaining a gas saturation value of a subterrain formation involves a tool having multiple dual-function detectors that detect neutrons and gamma rays. The method includes steps of emitting neutrons into the formation, detecting neutrons and gamma ray signals form the formation using the detectors, determining formation parameters including the formation type and formation porosity, and further determining parameters such as the ratio of thermal neutron count rates from at least two of three detectors, the ratio of capture gamma count rates from at least two of three detectors, and calculating the real-time gas saturation value using the determined parameters.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for evaluating a formation gas saturation of a subterranean formation, comprising:
S1: deploying a nuclear logging tool into the subterranean formation, wherein the nuclear logging tool comprises one or more neutron source and three or more dual-function detectors configured to simultaneously detect neutrons and gamma rays
S2: causing the one or more neutron sources to emit neutrons into the subterranean formation;
S3: detecting neutrons and gamma rays from the subterranean formation at the three or more detectors to form electric signals;
S4: separating electric signals from neutrons and gamma rays for each of the three or more detectors;
S5: obtaining detector count rates of total neutrons, fast neutrons and thermal neutrons;
S6: obtaining the ratios of thermal neutrons and determining the formation porosity;
S7: obtaining detector count rates of capture gamma rays, and the energy spectrum from inelastic gamma rays and the energy spectrum of capture gamma rays;
S8: determining the formation type and obtaining the ratio of capture gamma rays from at least two of the detectors
S9: determining the formation gas saturation using formation type, porosity, the ratios of thermal neutrons and the ratios of capture gamma rays.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the neutron source is utilized to generate neutrons in pulse mode or continuous mode.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements are selected from Mg, Fe, S, C, Al, Si, Ca, O, Ti, K, Gd, CI, and H.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein single element gamma ray energy spectrum for each of a plurality of elements is obtained.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein an elemental yield of each element is utilized to obtain a concentration of each element in the formation.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the fast neutrons and the thermal neutrons obtained at different detectors are used together with the inelastic spectrum and the capture spectrum obtained at each detector to calculate element concentrations and determined the formation type.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining formation porosity of a subterranean formation, comprises:
determining the formation type;
S10: obtaining count rates for total neutrons, fast neutrons, thermal neutrons for each of the three or more detectors;
S11: calculating a ratio of neutron count rates for every two detectors amongst the three or more detectors to obtain a plurality of neutron count rate ratios; and
S12: obtaining a formation porosity based on the plurality of neutron count rate ratios and the formation type.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method according to claim 7, wherein a first ratio, a second ratio, and a third ratio of count rates are obtained in S11, and S12 further comprising:
correcting a first neutron count ratio for near wellbore effect using a second neutron count ratio and a third neutron count ratio;
obtaining a correlation between neutron count ratio and formation porosity for the formation type; and
inputting the corrected first neutron count ratio into the correlation to obtain the porosity for the formation.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein measuring gas saturation of a subterranean formation, comprises:
obtaining the formation type and the formation porosity; and
calculating gas saturation using the formation type, the formation porosity, a ratio of capture gamma ray rate counts at two or more detectors and/or a ratio of thermal neutron count rates at two or more detectors.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method according to claim 9, wherein the calculating step further comprises:
calculating one or more gas saturation values using the formation type, the formation porosity, and one or more ratios of capture gamma rate count ratios, and one or more ratios of thermal neutron rate count ratios; and calculating a gas saturation value using one or more gas saturation values.