ابوالفضل دهقان منفرد

Accurate determination of cementation factor (m) has a significant role in the petrophysical characterization of underground reservoirs. For clean sandstones, the application of this parameter in Archie’s Equation provides a basic framework for estimating water saturation. However, the presence of clay minerals in the rock texture could affect the evaluation process. There are different correlations from which the cementation factor can be estimated. In addition, applying rock classification techniques revealed an excellent prospect for better estimating this parameter. However, in most of the mentioned approaches, the effect of clay minerals is missed. In this study, a newly developed modified form of electrical rock typing technique (i.e. classification of rock samples according to their electrical properties) incorporating the effect of clay minerals for improving the prediction of cementation factor in clay-bearing rocks is proposed. In doing so, a new form of electrical quality index is defined based on which the modified formation resistivity factor versus porosity data for 204 clayey rock samples are classified into nine distinct rock types. Comparative studies demonstrated the priority of the suggested methodology rather than classic hydraulic flow unit-based methods such as flow zone indicator and discrete rock type. The latter showed a high degree of scattering in the classification stage. For each rock type, developed based on the proposed scheme, the equations were proposed in which the modified form of formation resistivity factor and cementation factor versus porosity were correlated. Linear relationships with reasonable values of coefficient of determination were then demonstrated for the developed equations. In addition, the effect of clay minerals on the rock’s electrical quality and electrical properties (i.e., rock conductivity and cementation factor) is discussed. The results of this study offer a better framework to incorporate the effect of cla