An Integrated Solution to Rock Physics Modelling in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

An integrated workflow is presented to model the seismic response of a fractured carbonate reservoir. Carbonate rocks are known to have a more complicated, heterogeneous pore structure than sandstone rocks. The workflow uses P-wave and porosity log data to calibrate a multi-porosity model using the extended Xu-White model (Xu and Payne, 2009). The model is then up-scaled to investigate the low frequency seismic response through the inclusion of aligned meso-scale fracture sets. Analysis is shown for log data measured in a fractured limestone reservoir. The rock physics model was used to predict the P-wave and P-to-S wave reflectivity from the top of the limestone reservoir. The results demonstrate that rock physics is able to play an important role in modelling and characterizing the seismic response of carbonate reservoirs.