Introduction to Acoustic Logging

Although the acoustic properties of rocks are of interest for their own sake, academic interest was not responsible for the development of acoustic borehole logging. The requirements of hydrocarbon exploration and evaluation were the stimuli for the introduction of this third category of physical measurements into well logging. Unlike resistivity measurements, which could be used directly for hydrocarbon detection, and nuclear measurements, which were initially directed at the determination of porosity, acoustic logging started out as a companion to seismic exploration. The first part of this chapter relates the history of how acoustic measurements finally came to be an integral part of wireline logging, after a shaky start as a seismic adjunct.