Abstract Basement rocks tend to have negligible primary (rock matrix) porosity and, where present, almost all porosity is fracture-related. An insight into fracture type and distribution is therefore of importance when attempting to predict potential flow zones in hydrocarbon reservoirs. In the absence of core, borehole images provide a proven means of characterizing fractures within basement rocks. This paper will concentrate upon the classification and characterization of basement structural elements, including fractures, faults and breccias, versus lithological elements, such as foliations and intrusion boundaries from borehole images. In addition, suggestions of how to differentiate present-day in-situ stress indicators from natural fractures will be made as these features may provide important information regarding open fracture set orientations. Examples of microresistivity and acoustic borehole images acquired in fractured igneous basement rocks from oil wells in Yemen will be presented together with a suggested methodology for their interpretation. The discussion will be based on hydrocarbon reservoirs; however, the methodology outlined can potentially have wider applications in, for example, groundwater pollution prevention schemes or groundwater extraction, radioactive waste disposal, geothermal energy resources and deep-drilling research programmes.

Abstract This manual was created in 1994 to assist the geologist to interpret logs. In the not too distant past, the reading of geology from wireline logs was highly interpretive. The ability of a rock to conduct electrical current or sound waves is several steps removed from traditional outcrop descriptions based on the eye and hammer. However, the range of logging measurements has expanded markedly over the years. In particular, the addition of nuclear tools has introduced log traces that reflect both rock composition and geochemistry in a more direct manner. Taken together, both new and old logs contain a host of keys to patterns of rock formation and diagenesis. The majority of books on log analysis focus on the reservoir engineering properties of formations penetrated in the borehole. The promise of potential porous and hydrocarbon-saturated rocks generally pays for both the hole and the logging run. There are many examples of common log types from a variety of sequences.