Carbonate Rocks: A case Study to Evaluate Rock Properties Using Digital Rock Physics

Accurate knowledge of petrophysical parameters plays a significant role in effective characterization of hydrocarbon reservoir. Only using experimental methods is difficult to get detailed knowledge of the factors that affect rock properties, such as pore geometry, cementation state, and pore morphology. Digital Rock Physics (DRP) techniques relying on imaging technologies can be used to obtain estimates for various macroscopic rock properties from digital rock images. But DRP study in carbonates is always a challenge due to their complex pore structures and heterogeneity. Single resolution image cannot be used to address all issues of the calculations of rock properties, thus, multi-scale image fusion technique is needed. In this paper, we present a case study on calculation of rock properties with multi-scale image fusion method for five carbonate rock samples. Both 2D Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images and 3D X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) images are used to do the simulations of rock properties, such as porosity, permeability, P- and S-wave velocities. By analyzing the simulations and the lab measurements, the rock properties of carbonates can be evaluated.