Find Out What Each Zone Is Actually Producing, and Prove It From the Log
Principles & Application of Production Logging Tools (PLT)
Sensor physics, multiphase wellbore flow, spinner and holdup measurement, array tools for horizontal wells, survey design, quality control and full interpretation using industry-standard production logging software.
Principles & Application of Production Logging Tools (PLT)
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Principles & Application of Production Logging Tools (PLT) - RE-PLT-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RE-PLT-PEA27 | 12 - 16 Apr 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours Per Day |
Online |
USD |
4500 |
Boost your team's skills and your budget! Enjoy group discounts for collaborative learning. Send an inquiry to info@peassociations.com.
Principles & Application of Production Logging Tools (PLT) (Industry Software Applications)
Description
A production log is the only measurement that tells an operator where the fluid is entering the wellbore and in what proportion. Everything else — surface rates, well tests, reservoir models — describes the well as a whole. When a well produces more water than expected, when an injector fails to take its allocation, when a horizontal well delivers a fraction of the rate its length should support, or when a zone is suspected of crossflowing into another, the production log is what settles the question. It is also one of the most frequently misinterpreted measurements in the industry, because the sensors respond to flow conditions in the wellbore rather than to the reservoir directly, and those conditions are complicated.
This course covers both halves of the problem. The first is measurement physics: how a spinner responds to fluid velocity and to its own friction and threshold behaviour, how fluid density and capacitance sensors distinguish oil, water and gas, what a temperature log actually records, and what array probe and array spinner tools measure in a segregated horizontal wellbore. The second is interpretation: converting sensor response into velocity, applying slip correlations to convert velocity and holdup into phase rates, calibrating against surface rates, and allocating flow to individual zones. The course then moves into full interpretation using industry-standard production logging software, and applies the workflow to producers, water and gas injectors, gas wells, horizontal completions and well integrity investigations.
Production logging exists because a well is not a single object. It is a series of perforated or open intervals, each connected to rock with its own pressure, permeability and fluid saturation, all sharing one wellbore. Surface measurement gives their combined output. Only a measurement made inside the wellbore, across the producing interval, can separate the contributions and identify which zone is delivering the oil and which is delivering the water.
The measurement is indirect. A spinner records rotation, not flow rate. A density sensor records apparent fluid density, not phase fractions. A capacitance sensor records dielectric response, which changes sharply at low water fractions and barely at high ones. Converting these responses into a zone-by-zone rate allocation requires knowledge of the wellbore geometry, the deviation, the phase slip behaviour, the sensor calibration and the flow regime in each interval. In a deviated or horizontal well, where phases segregate and countercurrent flow is common, a single centralised sensor can be reading a fluid that is not representative of the whole cross-section, and array tools become necessary.
The consequences of getting it wrong are practical and expensive. Zones are squeezed off on the strength of a log that misread the water entry point. Injection profiles are accepted that do not reflect where the water is going. Horizontal wells are stimulated in intervals that were already contributing. Interpretation quality therefore depends on the engineer understanding the sensors well enough to know when their response is unreliable, and on approaching the log as a piece of evidence to be reconciled with surface rates, completion records, pressure data and reservoir understanding rather than as an answer to be read off directly.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Explain the measurement principle, response characteristics and limitations of each production logging sensor
- Describe multiphase flow behaviour in vertical, deviated and horizontal wellbores and identify the prevailing flow regime
- Interpret spinner data, construct calibration plots and determine apparent and corrected fluid velocity
- Determine phase holdups from density, capacitance and array probe measurements
- Apply slip velocity correlations to convert velocity and holdup into individual phase rates
- Interpret temperature, pressure and noise logs to identify entry points, crossflow and flow behind casing
- Design a production logging survey including tool string, conveyance, pass programme and rate sequence
- Carry out data quality control, depth correction and log editing before interpretation
- Perform a full zone-by-zone rate allocation using industry-standard production logging interpretation software
- Diagnose water and gas entry, thief zones, crossflow, injection profile problems and completion integrity failures
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Establish reliably where water, gas and oil are entering each well and act on the correct zone
- Improve the return on intervention spend by targeting the right intervals for shut-off, stimulation or recompletion
- Verify injection profiles and confirm that injected water is reaching the intended reservoir units
- Reduce dependence on service company interpretations by building the capability to review and challenge them
- Improve survey design and data quality so that acquired logs answer the question that was asked
- Strengthen reservoir surveillance and history matching with reliable zonal allocation data
Participants will:
- Understand the physics behind every production logging sensor rather than treating outputs as given
- Interpret production logs independently and defend the resulting allocation
- Recognise the conditions under which a sensor response is unreliable and treat it accordingly
- Design surveys that acquire the data the interpretation actually requires
- Diagnose well performance and integrity problems from log evidence
- Work confidently with production logging software as an interpretation tool
- Production engineers and well performance engineers
- Reservoir engineers using zonal allocation and surveillance data
- Petrophysicists and log analysts extending into production logging
- Well intervention and workover engineers
- Production logging and wireline operations personnel
- Completion engineers dealing with zonal isolation and inflow control
- Field development and surveillance staff responsible for well performance monitoring
Module 1 — Production Logging Fundamentals and Survey Objectives
- What production logging measures and what it cannot measure
- Typical survey objectives: allocation, water entry, gas entry, integrity
- Position of production logging within well surveillance practice
- Tool string configuration and standard sensor combinations
- Memory and surface readout operations
- Log presentation formats and reading a production log header
- Defining the question before designing the survey
Module 2 — Multiphase Flow in the Wellbore
- Superficial velocity, holdup, slip and mixture properties
- Flow regimes in vertical flow: bubble, slug, churn and annular
- Flow regimes in deviated and horizontal wellbores
- Phase segregation, countercurrent and recirculating flow
- Effect of deviation angle on holdup and interpretation validity
- Slip velocity correlations and their applicable ranges
- Wellbore geometry, restrictions and their effect on flow profile
Module 3 — Spinner Flowmeter Measurements
- Full bore, in-line and continuous spinner design and application
- Spinner response, threshold velocity, friction and pitch
- Multi-pass logging and cable speed variation
- Spinner calibration plots and interpretation of the response lines
- Determining apparent velocity and applying velocity profile correction
- Effect of viscosity, deviation and fluid type on spinner response
- Diagnosing faulty or fouled spinner data
Module 4 — Fluid Identification Sensors
- Gradiomanometer and nuclear fluid density measurement
- Density response in two-phase and three-phase mixtures
- Capacitance and dielectric water holdup measurement
- Sensitivity limits of capacitance at high water cut
- Optical and probe-based phase discrimination
- Combining density and capacitance for three-phase holdup
- Sensor calibration and validation against surface samples
Module 5 — Pressure, Temperature and Their Interpretation
- Pressure measurement, gradients and fluid density determination
- Geothermal gradient and the undisturbed temperature profile
- Joule-Thomson behaviour for gas and liquid entries
- Identifying entry points and injection profiles from temperature
- Detecting flow behind casing and channelling
- Temperature response in shut-in and transient conditions
- Combining temperature with flow measurement for confirmation
Module 6 — Array Tools for Deviated and Horizontal Wells
- Why single-sensor tools fail in segregated flow
- Array spinner tools and cross-sectional velocity mapping
- Array capacitance and resistance probes for holdup imaging
- Optical probe arrays and phase distribution imaging
- Tool orientation, relative bearing and probe positioning
- Building a cross-sectional flow picture from array response
- Interpretation of countercurrent and recirculating flow
Module 7 — Complementary Flow Measurement Techniques
- Radioactive tracer logging: velocity shot and tracer loss methods
- Oxygen activation and pulsed neutron water flow measurement
- Detecting flow outside casing and in the annulus
- Noise logging and spectral noise interpretation
- Distributed temperature and distributed acoustic sensing principles
- Selecting the right technique for the question being asked
- Combining techniques where a single measurement is inconclusive
Module 8 — Survey Design, Conveyance and Acquisition
- Defining survey objectives and required measurement accuracy
- Tool string selection and sensor redundancy
- Conveyance methods: wireline, slickline, coiled tubing and tractor
- Access constraints, well control and pressure control equipment
- Rate sequence design and stabilisation requirements
- Pass programme: up and down passes, stationary readings and speeds
- Surface rate and sampling requirements during the survey
- Common acquisition failures and how to prevent them
Module 9 — Data Quality Control and Log Preparation
- Depth control, correlation and tool string offset correction
- Cable speed correction and depth shifting between passes
- Identifying sensor malfunction, drift and noise
- Editing and splicing multi-pass data
- Reconciling downhole and surface measurements
- Assessing whether the data can support the intended interpretation
- Documenting data quality limitations before interpretation
Module 10 — Interpretation Workflow and Rate Allocation Using Industry Software
- Building the well model: completion, deviation and geometry input
- Loading and conditioning log data within the software
- Spinner calibration and velocity determination in the interpretation environment
- Holdup computation and three-phase resolution
- Slip correlation selection and sensitivity to that choice
- Zone-by-zone rate allocation and downhole to surface rate conversion
- Reconciliation with measured surface rates and iteration of the solution
- Reporting the allocation with its associated uncertainty
Module 11 — Application to Producers, Injectors and Gas Wells
- Locating water entry and distinguishing coning from channelling
- Gas entry identification and gas breakthrough diagnosis
- Crossflow diagnosis in flowing and shut-in conditions
- Thief zone identification in water and gas injection wells
- Injection profile evaluation and conformance assessment
- Gas well surveys and low-density flow interpretation
- Horizontal well production profiling and inflow distribution
- Evaluating inflow control device and screen performance
Module 12 — Well Integrity Applications and Reservoir Surveillance Integration
- Casing and tubing leak detection
- Packer and completion integrity evaluation
- Cement channel and behind-casing flow identification
- Detecting flow across abandoned or isolated zones
- Integrating production logging with well test and pressure data
- Using allocation data in reservoir surveillance and history matching
- Building a repeat survey programme for performance monitoring
- Case studies and interpretation review of complete field surveys
Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.
Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
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