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Numerical Analysis of Velocity Dispersion in Multi-Phase Fluid-Saturated Porous Rocks

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Abstract

Seismic waves are subject to velocity dispersion when they propagate in fluid-saturated porous media. In this work, we explore the velocity dispersion behavior of P- and SV-waves in multi-phase fluid-saturated porous reservoirs while taking into account the effects of multi-phase pore fluids on the effective viscosities that control the wave-induced fluid flow. The effective viscosities associated with the hydrocarbon saturation of a synthetic sandstone reservoir saturated with different pore fluid mixtures are calculated using the Refutas model. We then analyze the frequency-dependent velocity, dispersion variation rate and characteristic frequency for different fluid saturation cases by employing Chapman’s dynamic equivalent-medium theory. The results demonstrate that the hydrocarbon proportions and types in multi-phase mixed pore fluids significantly affect the magnitude and characteristic frequencies of velocity dispersion features for both the P- and S-waves. The dispersion anomalies of SV-waves are in general larger than those of the P-waves. This indicates that the velocity dispersion anomalies of SV-waves are equally sensitive to fluid saturation as the P-waves and should not be neglected. The velocities at lower frequencies (e.g., 10 and 100 Hz) within the seismic frequency range show a more remarkable decrease with increasing hydrocarbon proportion than those at higher frequency (1000 Hz). The numerical examples help to improve the understanding of the frequency-dependent AVO inversion from seismic reflection data.

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Acknowledgements

This work was continuously supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41374134 and 41574130), the Sichuan Provincial Foundation Program for Distinguished Youth Leader in Science (Grant No. 2013JQ0011), the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2016ZX05014-001-009), the Sichuan Provincial Youth Science and Technology Innovative Research Group Fund (No. 2016TD0023) and the Cultivating Program of Excellent Innovation Team of Chengdu University of Technology (KYTD201410). We greatly appreciate the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and suggestions that significantly improved the manuscript. The first author greatly appreciates Prof. Richard L. Gibson, Jr. at Texas A&M University for his assistance and insightful discussions. The corresponding author, Wenli Zhong, would like to thank Prof. Yuehan Lu at the Department of Geological Sciences of The University of Alabama for her support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu University of Technology, #1 Erxianqiao Dongsan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610059, China

    Xuehua Chen & Zhenhua He

  2. Key Lab of Earth Exploration and Information Techniques of Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology, #1 Erxianqiao Dongsan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610059, China

    Xuehua Chen

  3. College of Earth Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, #1 Erxianqiao Dongsan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610059, China

    Wenli Zhong

  4. Geophysics and Oil Resource Institute, Yangtze University, 1 Nanhuan Road, Jingzhou, Hubei, 434023, China

    Gang Gao

  5. Geophysical Exploration Company, Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. Ltd., CNPC, 1 Huayang Avenue, Huayang Town, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610213, China

    Wen Zou

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  1. Xuehua Chen
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Correspondence to Wenli Zhong.

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Chen, X., Zhong, W., Gao, G. et al. Numerical Analysis of Velocity Dispersion in Multi-Phase Fluid-Saturated Porous Rocks. Pure Appl. Geophys. 174, 1219–1235 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-016-1457-y

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