Numerical Analysis of Velocity Dispersion in Multi-Phase Fluid-Saturated Porous Rocks

Abstract

Seismic waves are subject to velocity dispersion when they propagate in fluid-saturated porous media. In this work, we explore the velocity dispersion behavior of P- and SV-waves in multi-phase fluid-saturated porous reservoirs while taking into account the effects of multi-phase pore fluids on the effective viscosities that control the wave-induced fluid flow. The effective viscosities associated with the hydrocarbon saturation of a synthetic sandstone reservoir saturated with different pore fluid mixtures are calculated using the Refutas model. We then analyze the frequency-dependent velocity, dispersion variation rate and characteristic frequency for different fluid saturation cases by employing Chapman’s dynamic equivalent-medium theory. The results demonstrate that the hydrocarbon proportions and types in multi-phase mixed pore fluids significantly affect the magnitude and characteristic frequencies of velocity dispersion features for both the P- and S-waves. The dispersion anomalies of SV-waves are in general larger than those of the P-waves. This indicates that the velocity dispersion anomalies of SV-waves are equally sensitive to fluid saturation as the P-waves and should not be neglected. The velocities at lower frequencies (e.g., 10 and 100 Hz) within the seismic frequency range show a more remarkable decrease with increasing hydrocarbon proportion than those at higher frequency (1000 Hz). The numerical examples help to improve the understanding of the frequency-dependent AVO inversion from seismic reflection data.