Nonlinear simultaneous inversion of pore structure and physical parameters based on elastic impedance

Carbonate reservoirs have complex pore structures, which not only significantly affect the elastic properties and seismic responses of the reservoirs but also affect the accuracy of the prediction of the physical parameters. The existing rock-physics inversion methods are mainly designed for clastic rocks, and the inversion objects are generally porosity and water saturation The data used are primarily based on the elastic parameters, and the inversion methods are mainly linear approximations To date, there has been a lack of a simultaneous pore structure and physical parameter inversion method for carbonate reservoirs. To solve these problems, a new Bayesian nonlinear simultaneous inversion method based on elastic impedance is proposed. This method integrates the differential effective medium model of multiple-porosity rocks, Gassmann equation, Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) theory, Bayesian theory, and a nonlinear inversion algorithm to achieve the simultaneous quantitative prediction of the pore structure and physical parameters of complex porous reservoirs. The forward modeling indicates that the contribution of the pore structure, i.e., the pore aspect ratio, to the AVO response and elastic impedance is second only to that of porosity and is far greater than that of water saturation. The application to real data shows that the new inversion method for determining the pore structure and physical parameters directly from pre-stack data can accurately predict a reservoir’s porosity and water saturation and can evaluate the pore structure of the effective reservoir.