Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Introduction to

Rock Physics
by

Gary Mavko

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Contents
Introduction 1
Basic Geophysical Concepts 14
Porosity 26
Conceptual Overview of Factors Impacting Velocities 28
Effective Medium Models 71
Bounds 72
Wyllie Time Average 79
Raymer-Hunt-Gardner Relation 81
Backus Average 83
Fluid Substitution 85
Ellipsoidal Inclusion Models 112
Shaley Sand; Velocity-Porosity Relations 123
Critical Porosity 126
Clay Effects 136
Cementing/Sorting Trends 151
Sand Models 163
Fluid Flow and Permeability 175
Velocity Dispersion and Q 189
Partial Saturation 225
Upscaling 253
Vp/Vs - Rock Physics of AVO 267
Empirical Vp/Vs Relations 277
Krief, et al 282
Greenberg, Castagna 287
Gardner’s Relations 289
North Sea Facies Classification 292
AI/EI 312
4D Summary 330

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

What Controls Amplitude over this

North Sea Turbidite?

Courtesy Per Avseth

Lithology, porosity, pore fluids, stresses

… but also sedimentation and diagenesis

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Image of Saturation and Reservoir

Heterogeneity.
Can we understand this quantitatively?

From Nestvold, 1989

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Seismic Signatures of Pore Fluids

and Saturation Heterogeneity

Water

Oil and Gas

Blangy, 1992

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Buried Stream Channel

Sand or Clay? Water or Oil?

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Seismic velocity depends on

pore fluids … but not uniquely!
5

4.5

4
VpVp(km/s)
(km/s)

Drainage, Coarse Scale

Drainage
3.5

2.5 Imbibition, Fine Scale

Imbibition

After Knight and Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990

2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
K.1

SwSw(fraction)
(fraction)

It also depends on saturation scales.

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

4D Signature of saturation, depends

on rock stiffness, fluids, porosity, …
and saturation scale

Prediction based on
upscaled flow simulator
are poor
Δ RMS Amp (Mid)

Observed
from field
seismic
•Downscaled
Saturations
•Increasing
Patchiness
•Decreasing total
gas thickness
Δ RMS Amp (Near)
Courtesy Madhumita Sengupta
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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Fractures have a variety of seismic

signatures, depending on lithology,
fracture orientations, pore fluids

Gas: smaller
azimuthal AVO
than water!

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Pitfall: Water saturated fractured cap

resembles gas-saturated fractured Res.

Water-filled Fractures
in Cap Rock

Gas-filled Fractures
in Reservoir

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Rock Physics
Discover, understand relations
between
1. Seismic Attributes:
•Velocity
•Impedance
•Reflectivity
•AVO
•Attenuation
•Etc.

2. Rock and Fluid Properties:

•Rock type, mineralogy
•Porosity
•Pore fluids, saturation
•Stress, Pore, Pressure, Temperature

Why?
•Quantify Seismic Interpretation
•Understand the links between geology & seismic
•Make smarter extrapolations
•Quantify uncertainty
•Understand, Minimize Interpretation Risk
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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

People Often Ask the Difference:

Rock physics:
• understand relations between geophysical
measurements and rock properties;
• emphasis on interpreting seismic, sonic,
and ultrasonic data

Petrophysics:
• interpretation of logs for formation
evaluation.
• similar to rock physics, with emphasis on
well logs, and often ignoring sonic logs and
seismic

Rock Mechanics:
• Emphasis on stress, faulting, fracture
processes

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 Stanford Rock Physics Laboratory - Gary Mavko

Goal of this course:

•Synthesize, generalize the current
state of the art
•Provide recipes, recommendations

•Point out pitfalls in the use of Rock

physics and shortcomings of our
knowledge
•Hopefully, to give you new tools to
use back at the office

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