Temperature-dependent models for wave velocity of oil sand

Abstract

Knowledge of how temperature affects the oil–sand acoustic response is useful to exploit these reservoir rocks with seismic methods. We propose three models: double-porosity coherent potential approximation (CPA), lower-bound Hashin–Shtrikmann (HS-), and contact cement (CC), based on different spatial distributions of heavy oil and temperature and frequency-dependent empirical equations. The shear modulus and S-wave velocity are affected by temperature in all the cases. Moreover, the properties of oil sands with heavy oil as a continuous matrix and higher viscosity are more sensitive to temperature. The models can provide theoretical support for the establishment of rock physical models in heavy oil reservoirs so as to quantitatively characterize the seismic response changes caused by thermal mining.