journal article·2026-07-13Open access

A New Neutron Gamma Density Algorithm Based on Drill-Collar Inelastic Gamma Information

Tian Xie, Quanying Zhang, Chao Yuan, Guobin Liu, Huichuan Li, Yin Huang

Applied Sciences· Volume 16· Issue 14

Abstract

Neutron gamma density (NGD) logging, as a safer and more environmentally friendly density logging method, has been applied in logging while drilling (LWD) for many years. However, most NGD algorithms have low density sensitivity and exhibit significant errors in the presence of gas and high-salinity water. To address the above issues, the inelastic gamma information of the drill collar is simulated by the Monte Carlo method, and its impact on NGD sensitivity and the results are studied. Using the drill-collar inelastic gamma information, a new neutron gamma density algorithm is proposed. The study shows that the drill-collar inelastic gamma information occupies a large proportion of the total inelastic gamma count recorded by the detector, which reduces the sensitivity of the NGD algorithms using the total inelastic gamma information. By eliminating the contribution of the drill collar from the total inelastic gamma count, the density sensitivity of the NGD algorithms can be significantly improved. In addition, the drill-collar inelastic gamma information is closely related to high-energy fast neutrons and can be used to correct the fast neutron distribution in NGD logging. The new NGD algorithm, utilizing the drill-collar inelastic gamma information, has excellent performance in the presence of gas and high-salinity water. However, similar to the other algorithms, the new algorithm is still affected by other environmental factors such as borehole, lithology, and shale. Furthermore, this new algorithm does not require any additional modifications to existing NGD tools and can work with other NGD algorithms.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Drilling and Well Engineering · Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis · Geothermal Energy Systems and Applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Key Laboratory of Exploration Technologies for Oil and Gas Resources (Yangtze University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430100, China

College of Geophysics and Petroleum Resources, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China

PetroChina Oil, Gas & New Energies Company, Beijing 100007, China

Funding

National Oil & Gas Major Project

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