A new inversion method for (T2, D) 2D NMR logging and fluid typing

One-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (1D NMR) logging technology has some significant limitations in fluid typing. However, not only can two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) provide some accurate porosity parameters, but it can also identify fluids more accurately than 1D NMR. In this paper, based on the relaxation mechanism of (T2, D) 2D NMR in a gradient magnetic field, a hybrid inversion method that combines least-squares-based QR decomposition (LSQR) and truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) is examined in the 2D NMR inversion of various fluid models. The forward modeling and inversion tests are performed in detail with different acquisition parameters, such as magnetic field gradients (G) and echo spacing (TE) groups. The simulated results are discussed and described in detail, the influence of the above-mentioned observation parameters on the inversion accuracy is investigated and analyzed, and the observation parameters in multi-TE activation are optimized. Furthermore, the hybrid inversion can be applied to quantitatively determine the fluid saturation. To study the effects of noise level on the hybrid method and inversion results, the numerical simulation experiments are performed using different signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs), and the effect of different SNRs on fluid typing using three fluid models are discussed and analyzed in detail.

► A hybrid inversion method is proposed for (T2, D) 2D NMR logging and fluid typing.
► The (T2, D) 2D NMR logging responses in with different field gradients is studied.
► The multi-TE parameters with different echo trains in 2D NMR tests are optimized.
► The fluid saturations are successfully calculated by the hybrid method.
► The effects of different SNRs on the inversion results are studied in detail.