RP P1.

Fluid substitution without S-wave velocity information in hydrocarbon saturated reservoirs

Jonathan E. Downton*, Veritas DGC, and Jay Gunderson, Veritas DGC
Summary A method is presented for performing fluid substitution without knowledge of the S-wave velocity that is based on the Biot-Gassmann relationship. In order to perform this, the Biot-Gassmann relationship is rearranged in terms of the measurable properties of P-wave velocity and density. The user must supply the porosity, the Biot coefficient, the bulk modulus of the fluid and the bulk modulus of the solid. All but the Biot coefficient can be estimated or calculated using established techniques. Thus, the key parameter containing the non-uniqueness in the problem is the Biot coefficient. The Biot coefficient describes pore space stiffness and hence how the rock responds to changes in fluid, porosity, and pore type. Several methods to estimate the Biot coefficient are discussed. Further, the Biot coefficient has well-defined upper and lower bounds, limiting the range of allowable solutions. Introduction In performing AVO modeling and fluid substitution, the explorationist is often confronted with inadequate well log information. In order to perform fluid substitution one needs at a minimum, density, compressional sonic (Pwave) and shear sonic (S-wave) well curves along with the standard suite of curves required to predict the mineralogy and porosity f. However, in practice the S-wave velocity and/or density information is often missing. Both of these may be estimated using empirical relationships. For example, density may be estimated using Gardner et al. s (1974) relationship, while S-wave velocity may be estimated from P-wave velocity using linear relationships such as Castagna et al. (1985), or Greenberg and Castagna (1992). However, the S-wave velocity estimates from these methodologies assume brine-filled rocks, creating a problem if the starting point is a hydrocarbon-saturated reservoir. Mavko and Mukerji (1995) outline two approaches to approximate S-wave velocity in hydrocarbon-bearing rocks to bypass this problem. This paper demonstrates an alternative approach to solving this problem by reformulating the Biot-Gassmann relationship in terms of P-wave velocity Vp, density r, the solid modulus K0 and fluid modulus Kf, and the Biot coefficient b. The physical significance of the Biot coefficient, its theoretical bounds, and several methods for empirically estimating this parameter, are discussed. The method is demonstrated using two wells from southern Alberta, Canada. Both wells have dipole information. For testing purposes, fluid substitution was performed without the S-wave velocity information following the approach outlined in this paper. These results were compared to a full fluid substitution using all available information (i.e. including S-wave velocity) with a very small fractional error. Method In describing this approach, it is assumed that the measured values of P-wave velocity and density are available while only S-wave velocity information is missing. Typically, when S-wave velocity is available, it is used in conjunction with P-wave velocity and density to calculate the saturated bulk modulus Ksat, and shear modulus msat, upon which the fluid substitution is performed. In the absence of S-wave velocity information, there is no longer enough information to calculate the moduli uniquely so we chose to reparameterize the Biot-Gassmann equation in terms of Pwave velocity and the Biot coefficient. The Biot coefficient b, is defined as

b = 1-

K dry K0

where 0 K dry K 0 ,

(1)

where Kdry is the dry frame bulk modulus and K0 is the solid or grain bulk modulus. Upon rewriting equation (1)

b =

K 0 - K dry K0

DK , K0

(2)

and the substitution DK = K 0 - K dry , it is evident that the Biot coefficient is a fractional quantity with the limits
0 b 1.

The Biot-Gassmann relationship may be written in many equivalent forms, but one that we find particularly intuitive is

K sat = K dry + b 2 N ,
m sat = mdry ,
-1 -1 0

(3) (4)

where N = (f / K f + (b - f )K ) . With a change in fluid from f1 to f2, it is evident that the change in saturated modulus DK sat = K sat - K sat is solely due to the second
2 1

term in equation (3)

DK sat = b 2 ( N2 - N1 ),
which is primarily a function of b,f and Kf.

(5)

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The Biot-Gassmann relationship may be written in terms of P-wave velocity by substituting equation (3) into the definition of the P-wave modulus M = K sat + 4 / 3m

rVp2 = Kdry + 4 / 3m + b 2 N .

porosity using log data from a calibration well where we have measured P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, and density data through a 25m thick brine-filled sand. Second, to apply this relationship to a hydrocarbon-bearing target well, located just over a township away, which penetrates 14m of gas sand in the same channel sequence. Standard formation evaluation methods are used to evaluate the two wells for volume shale Vsh, porosity, and water saturation. Vsh is computed from gamma ray and spontaneous potential curves. Effective porosity is derived from the neutron-density logs and calibrated to nuclear magnetic resonance porosity data (3ms T2 cutoff), which were acquired for both wells The Biot coefficient for brine-saturated rocks is easily computed from the calibration well using P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, density, and the Biot- Gassmann equations. Cross-plotting the Biot coefficient versus porosity for these data reveals a reasonably linear trend relating these two parameters (Figure 1). Data points in Figure 1 are colored by Vsh and exhibit porosities in the range of 10-20%. A linear regression through these data provides an equation, which relates the Biot coefficient and porosity. This equation can be used to estimate the Biot coefficient for sands at varying porosities. Using this regression equation, and the gas sand porosity in the target well, the Biot coefficient was estimated. Based on this estimate the brine-saturated compressional velocity was subsequently calculated (Fig. 3) using equation (7). Finally S-wave velocity is obtained from a locally derived or empirical Vp-Vs mudrock trend. Although this method is recommended specifically for wells with hydrocarbon-bearing zones and lack of measured shear data, we intentionally selected a target well with measured dipole shear data so we could verify the technique. A comparison of P-wave velocities from this method and a full Biot-Gassmann fluid substitution is shown in Figure 3. The agreement is very good, with an average difference of about 1.5%. Shear velocities, which are likely to be more susceptible to errors because of the added dependence on a mudrock trend, show less than 1% difference. Figure 2 shows the Biot coefficient, computed from measured P-wave and S-wave velocity, versus porosity for the gas sand from the target well. The regression equation derived from the calibration well is shown for reference. Discussion and Conclusions We have reformulated the Biot-Gassmann relationship in terms of P-wave velocity and density rather than saturated and dry bulk moduli. As such, it is relatively easy to implement using the measured P-wave velocity and density. However, an estimate of the Biot coefficient is also required. Several methods are proposed, with one method demonstrated for estimating this parameter. The example demonstrates that this methodology accurately estimates the P-wave velocity after the fluid substitution,

(6)

Calculating the difference between two fluids f2 and f1 and using the linear density relationship r = r f f + r 0 (1 - f ) results in the desired form of the Biot-Gassmann relationship written in terms of P-wave velocity and density.

Vp f 2 =

N2 - N1 r1 Vp21 + b 2 . r1 + (r f 2 - r f 1 )f r1 + (r f 2 - r f 1 )f (7)

In performing the fluid substitution the solid modulus K0, fluid modulus Kf and density rf, must be known. The fluid modulus and fluid density may be calculated following Batzle and Wang (1992), while the solid modulus may be estimated as a function of mineralogy from published values (Mavko et al., 1998) using Hill s average of the Voight and Reuss bounds. Biot coefficient values In implementing fluid substitution using equation (7) the question arises, "Where does one get the Biot coefficient?" This is trivial if one has S-wave velocity information, but our initial assumption is that we do not. The Voight and Reuss averages place a lower bound b f and an upper bound b 1 on the Biot coefficient, restricting the range of permissible values. In practice, the Hashin-Shtrikman bounds should be used as they are slightly more restrictive, but they are not presented here because of their additional algebraic complexity. Depending on the availability of information, core measurements from reservoir rock at the analysis well or close by may be used to estimate the Biot coefficient. Alternatively, if there is a well in the proximity that has dipole information, an empirical relationship can be constructed describing the Biot coefficient. In our example we use a linear relationship, although any polynomial relationship may be used. If none of this information exists an empirical relationship linking the dry and solid modulus may be used to estimate the Biot coefficient. For example the critical porosity model (Nur et al., 1998) leads to the linear relationship b = f / f c where fc is the critical porosity. This last relationship is explicitly a function of porosity and implicitly a function of lithology though the critical porosity term fc. Example The technique is tested using two wells from southeastern Alberta. Both wells penetrate lithic channel sands of the Cretaceous Mannville Group. Our procedure is to first derive a relationship between the Biot coefficient and

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despite the lack of S-wave velocity information. The Swave velocity may then be estimated using standard empirical methods. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Veritas for permitting them to publish this material and Brian Russell and Tad Smith for many discussions that lead up to this paper. In addition we would like to thank Jan Dewar for many helpful suggestions in proofreading. REFERENCES
Batzle, M. and Wang, Z., 1992, Seismic properties of pore fluids: GEOPHYSICS, 57, 1396-1408. Castagna, J.P., Batzle, M.L., Eastwood, R.L., 1985, Relationships between compressional-wave and shear wave velocities in clastic silicate rocks: Geophysics, 50, 571-581.

Gardner, G. H. F., Gardner, L. W. and Gregory, A. R., 1974, Formation velocity and density - The diagnostic basics for stratigraphic traps: Geophysics, 39, 770-780. Greenberg, M. L. and Castagna, J. P., 1992, Shear-wave velocity estimation in porous rocks: Theoretical formulation, preliminary verification and applications: Geophys. Prosp., 40, 195-210. Mavko, G., Mukerji, T., and Dvorkin, J., 1998, The rock physics handbook: Cambridge University Press. Mavko, G., Chan, C. and Mukerji, T., 1995, Fluid substitution: Estimating changes in Vp without knowing Vs: GEOPHYSICS, 60, 1750-1755. Nur, A., Mavko, G., Dvorkin, J. and Galmudi, D., 1998, Critical porosity: A key to relating physical properties to porosity in rocks: THE LEADING EDGE, 17, no. 03, 357362.

Figure 1: Cross-plot of the Biot coefficient as a function of porosity over the reservoir zone in the brine-saturated well. The dark black line indicates the best least squares fit for a linear relationship. This was used to estimate the Biot coefficient as a function of porosity in gas saturated well.

Figure 2: Cross-plot of the Biot coefficient as a function of porosity over the reservoir zone in the gas-saturated well. The dark black line shows the prediction from the calibration well. Note the estimate is slightly larger than the actual data points leading to a 1.5% error in the fluid substitution.

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Figure 3: Track 5: comparison of P-wave velocity before (green) and after fluid substitution (blue). The fluid substitution using equation (7) and the Biot coefficient derived in Figure (1) is shown with a dashed line in Track 5. The P-wave velocity fluid substitution results using all the information including the S-wave information is shown with a solid line. The measured S-wave velocity is also compared with that estimated by using a mudrock relationship.

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EDITED REFERENCES Note: This reference list is a copy-edited version of the reference list submitted by the author. Reference lists for the 2005 SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts have been copy edited so that references provided with the online metadata for each paper will achieve a high degree of linking to cited sources that appear on the Web. Fluid substitution without S-wave velocity information in hydrocarbon saturated reservoirs References Batzle, M., and Z. Wang, 1992, Seismic properties of pore fluids: Geophysics, 57, 1396 1408. Castagna, J. P., M. L. Batzle, R. L. Eastwood, 1985, Relationships between compressional-wave and shear wave velocities in clastic silicate rocks: Geophysics, 50, 571581. Gardner, G. H. F., L. W. Gardner, and A. R. Gregory, 1974, Formation velocity and density - The diagnostic basics for stratigraphic traps: Geophysics, 39, 770780. Greenberg, M. L., and J. P. Castagna, 1992, Shear-wave velocity estimation in porous rocks: Theoretical formulation, preliminary verification and applications: Geophysical Prospecting, 40, 195210. Mavko, G., C. Chan, and T. Mukerji, 1995, Fluid substitution: Estimating changes in Vp without knowing Vs: Geophysics, 60, 17501755. Mavko, G., T. Mukerji, and J. Dvorkin, 1998, The rock physics handbook: Cambridge University Press. Nur, A., G. Mavko, J. Dvorkin, and D. Galmudi, 1998, Critical porosity: A key to relating physical properties to porosity in rocks: The Leading Edge, 17, 357362.