Sedimentological Analysis Using Geophysical Well Logs

The application of geophysical well logs in sedimentology and stratigraphic prospecting holds great promise in solving a number of geological problems. A suite of logs provides data on a wide range of rock properties: vertical and lateral variation of resistivity, natural polarization, natural and induced radioactivity, shear strength, and acoustic properties. Each of these properties is controlled by the depositional environment of the sediments and their later diagenesis. The attention of geologists and geophysicists is drawn to new techniques in the interpretation of geophysical well logs for exploration, appraisal, and development of oil and gas fields. The relationship between geophysical logs and depositional environments is explored. Bulk composition, rock structure, and texture and facies variation can be quantified by electric log parameters. Also, the possibility of using logs to demonstrate long- and short-period sedimentary cycles is demonstrated. Methods of sedimentological analysis using geophysical well logs are demonstrated. The importance of a genetic approach in the interpretation of geological sequences and paleogeological reconstructions is emphasized using examples taken from oil and gas prospecting operations in the Ukraine.