Dependence of spectral‐induced polarization response of sandstone on temperature and its relevance to permeability estimation

Abstract

The possibility to estimate permeability from the electrical spectral induced polarization (SIP) response might be the most important benefit offered by SIP measurements. It can thus be deduced that, in the future, SIP measurements will be carried out more frequently at the field scale or in a well‐logging context to estimate permeability. In the shallow subsurface, however, the temperature generally exhibits seasonal variability, and in the deeper subsurface, it usually increases with depth. Hence, knowledge about the dependence of the SIP response on temperature is necessary in order to avoid possible misinterpretation of datasets impacted by thermal effects. In our study, we present a semiempirical framework to describe the temperature dependence of the SIP response. We briefly introduce the SIP response and its relation to permeability in terms of an electrochemical polarization mechanism and combine this formulation with relationships for the dependence of ionic mobility on temperature. We compare the predictions of our formulation with the experimental data from SIP measurements performed on sandstone at temperatures from 0°C to 80°C. The measured SIP response was transformed into a relaxation time distribution, using the empirical Cole‐Cole model and a regularized Debye decomposition procedure. The SIP response was found to be in good agreement with the theoretical model. The temperature dependence of both direct current conductivity and relaxation time is controlled mainly by the dependence of ionic mobility on temperature, and the shape of the relaxation time distribution of the investigated sandstone is almost independent of temperature. The temperature effect on the SIP response can therefore be easily corrected.