Elements of Rock Physics and Their Application to Inversion and AVO Studies

The goal of oil exploration is to locate and characterize rock types and underground fluids, which can save millions of dollars by avoiding dry holes. Rock physics is a key tool in this process, providing insights into physical properties such as velocity, density, and pore pressure. This book covers a range of topics in rock physics, including elasticity, pore pressure, and fluid substitution, and is intended for practitioners and students alike. It also includes innovative ideas that can be tested by oil companies with substantial data.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 14 February 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The ultimate objective of the oil exploration industry is to meticulously ascertain the distribution of rock types and underground fluids. At this juncture, we possess the capability to accurately determine the distribution of various underground physical properties. However, the task at hand for the rock physicist is to translate these physical attributes (such as P-velocity, S-velocity, density) into rock types and fluids (gas-bearing sand, shale, oil-bearing shale, or water-bearing sand, shale). When executed flawlessly, the risk of encountering dry holes can be mitigated, resulting in significant cost savings. Ultimately, a comprehensive approach is indispensable. This book delves into a diverse range of topics in rock physics, encompassing elasticity, pore pressure, the incompressibility of rocks, the Gassmann equation, fluid substitution, forward modeling, empirical equations, rock physics applications to AVO studies and inversion studies, and the Differential Effective Medium (DEM) method. Primarily aimed at practitioners (geophysicists, geologists, geophysicists, and reservoir engineers), it occasionally provides detailed instructions to accomplish specific tasks. Certain chapters, while theoretical and more mathematical in nature, are anticipated to hold interest for both practitioners and students. Additionally, other chapters present innovative ideas that could be empirically tested by oil companies possessing substantial datasets.

This book will prove to be an invaluable resource for practitioners (geologists, petrophysicists, geophysicists, and reservoir engineers) as well as students/academics.

Weight: 513g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032199931