oa Visualizing Borehole Images in a Slabbed-Core Format

A core slab provides geologists a continuous view of the rock in two-dimensions, exactly as one would see in a road-cut or how one looks at any picture. Another very effective source for detailed geological interpretation is the borehole image. Borehole images provide a continuous image of the sub-surface geology as seen in the borehole wall. The images are presented as an unwrapped cylinder of the borehole wall. However, in this view, planes, such as bedding planes, fractures, faults, etc., get displayed as sinusoids rather than as straight lines as seen in core slabs. In this paper, the standard view of presenting borehole images is discussed as a “Sinusoidal view”. If a geologist can be provided with borehole images where planes are seen as straight lines, as in a slabbed core, the geologist is able to extract more information from the image and do superior geological interpretations. This paper discusses an advanced new mode of displaying borehole images – in true two-dimensions in a slabbed-core-like format. The paper also presents cases from different geological settings demonstrating the value of the gain in geological interpretation using the new image visualization format.