Permeability estimation using rock physics modeling and seismic inversion in a carbonate reservoir

Permeability is an important factor for reservoir characterization. It is routinely estimated by building a rela-tionship between porosity and permeability. But because of the complexity of the pore types in carbonate res-ervoirs, sometimes this method does not yield good results. This paper proposes an integrated workflow using rock physics modeling and seismic inversion to estimate the permeability section using core data, petrophysical logs, and seismic data. Our data set belongs to a carbonate reservoir from Abadan Plain and includes three wells and a 2D seismic offset gathers. First, we estimated geophysical pore types (stiff, reference, and cracks) using a pore type inversion algorithm. The validity of the obtained results is investigated using the scanning electron microscope, and thin section images from core samples. Then, the contribution of different pore types to permeability prediction has been investigated and compared to the routine method of permeability prediction using porosity. Analysis of the results at the well locations shows that we achieved better permeability estimation (around 10% improvement in this case) by integrating information of various pore types with the flow capacity. Furthermore, using the proposed method, a permeability section has been generated using the integration of seismic, well logs, and rock physics modeling results for pore types.

Automated summary

This paper proposes an integrated workflow using rock physics modeling and seismic inversion to estimate the permeability section of carbonate reservoirs. By estimating pore types and investigating their contribution to permeability, better permeability estimation results are obtained.