Seismic Inversion Using Multi-Point Geostatistics and Rock Physics

This paper presents the formulation and describes the algorithm of a new seismic inversion technique, which combines multiple-point geostatistics (MPG) and rock physics principles. The seismic inversion technique is based on the formulation of the inverse problem as an inference problem, with MPG and conditional rock physics to characterize the geological prior information. The solutions provided by the technique (realizations of lithologies and elastic properties) are consistent with the expected geology, well-log and seismic data, and honor local rock physics transformations. A pattern-based algorithm was selected as the MPG component; however, any MPG algorithm can be adopted without changing the core structure of the proposed algorithm. Results of a synthetic test are presented to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the described inversion technique.