Loading patent…
AssigneeNonlinear Seismic Imaging, Inc.
InventorTawassul A. Khan
Estimating the term…
Permeability is one of the most important factors in influencing the commercial viability of a hydrocarbon reservoir. So far, permeability cannot be measured directly in-situ in reservoir formations. This invention relates to the field of estimating in-situ permeability of the reservoir rock formations. The measurements can be made across two wells or in a single well. Due to the morphology of their pore interconnections and the pore fluids in the rock, permeable rocks are elastically nonlinear. In a permeable rock, which is elastically nonlinear, the interactions between two elastic waves can be used in a unique way to map its physical properties. In this invention, the interaction of an elastic wave generated within the permeable rock with an externally generated seismic signal is used to determine the bulk tortuosity and bulk permeability of a reservoir rock formation.
A new method for determining in-situ bulk tortuosity of the interconnected pores of the reservoir rock, and estimating the bulk permeability of a reservoir formation connected between two wells, by analyzing the seismic signal transmitted into said formation from within one wellbore and received in another wellbore, said seismic signals including selected discrete frequencies. The method comprising:
A method for determining in-situ bulk tortuosity of the interconnected pores of the reservoir rock, and estimating the bulk permeability of the reservoir formation in a well between two depth points in that well, by analyzing the seismic signal transmitted into the said formation from a source at known depth and receiving and recording that signal at another predetermined and known depth, said seismic signals including selected discrete frequencies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.