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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1990; v. 48; p. 255-262;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1990.048.01.21
© 1990 Geological Society of London

Identification of Faults and Fractures

Circumferential acoustic logs detect natural fractures and determine their orientation

W. H. Fertl

Atlas Wireline Services, Western Atlas International. Inc., Houston, TX 77251, USA

As the direction of fractures shifts from horizontal/near-horizontal toward the vertical plane with respect to the intersecting wellbore, conventional acoustic logging devices become unreliable for fracture detection purposes. Under these circumstances, circumferential acoustic logging technology has already proven to be an excellent technique to determine vertical and/or near-vertical open fracture systems that intersect a wellbore and to measure the directional subsurface trends of these detected fractures. In addition to visual ‘quick-look’ interpretation of the recorded acoustic waveform data, novel digital interpretive techniques enhance the fracture evaluation.