Multi-physics inversion approaches for reservoir characterization and monitoring

Aria Abubakar
Schlumberger-Doll Research

There are variety of measurements that may illuminate the reservoir with varying coverage and resolution such as: Electromagnetic (EM) (controlled-source EM (CSEM), magnetotelluric (MT), surface to borehole EM (STB-EM), cross-well EM), Seismic (surface seismic, cross-well seismic, and vertical seismic profiling (VSP)), gravity (surface and borehole), and production history/well testing data. The interpretation of each measurement on its own will provide incomplete information due to the non-uniqueness and the limited spatial resolution. However, when they are integrated together and combined with other measurements such as near-wellbore data (Resistivity, Sonic, and Nuclear), they may provide considerable values such as: to enable estimation of reservoir properties and to obtain an improved reservoir model. At the end, it will help us in making appropriate field management decisions with reduced uncertainty.

In this talk, we will present an overview of joint inversion algorithms and workflows for integrating EM, seismic/sonic, and production data for both reservoir and wellbore scales. We will discuss challenges, advantages, and disadvantages of these approaches. In particular, for reservoir characterization applications, We will present both joint structural and petrophysical algorithms for integrating EM and seismic/sonic data (CSEM & surface seismic and cross-well EM & cross-well seismic, single-well resistivity, sonic, and nuclear). For reservoir monitoring applications, we will present EM data (for single-well, cross-well and STB) inversion algorithms constrained by the fluid-flow simulator. Some synthetic and field test cases will be discussed.


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