Reservoir Characterization with the

Application of Seismic inversion

Rockphysics & Petrophysics
By Rajdeep Buragohain, M.Tech(Exploration Geophysics)

All the pertinent information that is required to describe
a reservoir in terms of its ability to store and produce
hydrocarbons.
The entails knowing the complete reservoir architecture
including the
1. Internal and external geometry,
2. Its model with distribution of reservoir
properties (static such as porosity, permeability,
heterogeneity, net pay thickness, etc.),
3. Understanding the fluid flow within the
reservoir (dynamic).

Reservoir Characterization
Reservoir Characterization
Such information helps to
1. improve production rates,
2. rejuvenate oil fields,
3. predict future reservoir performance,
4. minimizes costly expenditure,
5. help managements of oil companies to draw up
accurate financial models.


Reservoir Characterization
Development in Reservoir characterization can be listed as
follow:
Innovative visualization packages for interactive interpretation
workstations and visionariums.
The idea of integration of different types of data got firmly
rooted in oil and gas companies in form of asset teams.
Ever since 3D seismic survey became routine in oil and gas
companies in the early 1990s, there have been significant
advancement in data acquisition and processing techniques
that have led to more accurate imaging of reservoirs and their
internal architecture.

Seismic Inversion
Seismic inversion, in Geophysics (primarily
Oil and Gas exploration/development), is the
process of transforming seismic reflection
data into a quantitative rock-property
description of a reservoir.

The aim of inversion is to improve the
interpretability of seismic data. Through
wavelet removal and the integration of a low
frequency model, seismic inversion produces
layer based rock physics properties and
thereby helps reveal the underlying geology.

Seismic Inversion
Seismic inversion may be pre-or post-stack,
deterministic, random or geostatistical, and
typically includes other reservoir measurements
such as well logs and cores.
Petrophysics (Seismic Petrophysics)
Seismic petrophysics is a term used to describe the
conversion of seismic data into meaningful
petrophysical or reservoir description information,
such as porosity, lithology, or fluid content of the
reservoir.
More quantitative nowadays with advancement in
seismic API technology.
Petrophysics
Calibrating this work to well log - ground truth - can
convert the seismic attributes into useful reservoir
exploration and development tools. Since there are
an infinity of possible inversions, it is pretty
important to find the one that most closely
matched the final edited logs or the computed
results from those logs.

Rock Physics
Rock Physics address the relationship between
measurement of elastic parameters made from
surface, well, and lab equipment; and intrinsic
properties of rocks, such as mineralogy, porosity,
and pore shapes; pore fluids; pore pressures;
permeability; viscosity; stresses; and overall
architecture such as laminations and fractures.
Optimize all imaging and characterization solutions
based on elastic data.

Rock Physics
An important goal of rock physics is to help us
understanding the physical properties of the
reservoir. Usually, at the location of a drilled well,
we have measurements that gives us a good idea of
the elastic and physical properties of subsurface
(Velocity, density, lithology, porosity, confining
stress, pore pressure, saturation, fracturing, etc.).
Rock Physics
Rock physics helps us to link these properties to the
seismic data. Rock physics help us to link these
properties to the seismic data and infer the variation of
reservoir properties in a lateral and vertical sense. Rock
physics today from an important component of most
reservoir characterization studies.

Why we do Seismic Inversion?
Using amplitude data to estimate rock properties
between wells.
Qualitative Interpretation: Inversion improves the
quality and resolution of the image.
Quantitative Interpretation: Calibration to well
control allows accurate mapping of log
characteristics into the inverted seismic data.
Seismic Inversion
Benefits Of Inverted Acoustic Impedance
Compares directly wells.
Easier to interpret horizons, faults, stratigraphic units.
Inversion process attenuates wavelet effects, reduces
side lobes and tuning effects.
Possibility of extending beyond the seismic band.
Seismic Inversion workflow
Inversion
Seismic
Data
Wavelet
Estimation
Well Seismic
Tie
Well
Data
Low
Frequency
Model
Horizon
Volumetric
Estimation
Interpretation
P-impedance identifies the Reservoir
1. P-impedance is often directly related to
reservoir property.
2. Establish relationship at wells.
Identify the Reservoir Extent.
Quantify the Reservoir.
Product A
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Product B
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Petrophysics