Wave Speed Measurements of Grosmont Formation Carbonates: Implications for Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring by Nam (Oliver) Ong
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Wave Speed Measurements of Grosmont Formation Carbonates: Implications for Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring by Nam (Oliver) Ong A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geophysics Department of Physics University of Alberta © Nam Ong, 2019 Abstract The Grosmont Formation is a Devonian-aged carbonate platform complex that is estimated to hold over 64.5 billion m3 (406 billion bbl) of bitumen in place, accounting for a significant portion of Canada’s total hydrocarbon reserves. Despite this, the Grosmont formation has largely been undeveloped as a reservoir due to the high degree of heterogeneity, as well as the economic and environmental risks associated with in-situ heavy oil production. For such operations, thermal processes such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) are used to reduce the viscosity of the reservoir fluids, allowing them to flow freely towards producing wells. Time-lapse seismic (4D) methods are key tools used to monitor this process, allowing operators to potentially mitigate these risks associated with producing from such a reservoir. However, the proper interpretation of 4D seismic data requires detailed knowledge of how the physical properties of the reservoir rocks respond to the variety of pressure, temperature, and saturation conditions induced by steam injection. In this contribution, bitumen-saturated carbonates from the Grosmont Formation are characterized through ultrasonic velocity experiments conducted in a range of conditions. P- and S-wave velocities of bitumen- saturated samples decreased significantly with increasing temperature, largely governed by fluid effects. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the wave speed measurements highlighted porosity, temperature, pressure, and grain density as the main factors that contributed to velocity variations within and between samples. Multiple linear regressions applied to the dataset of wave speed measurements establish empirical relations between velocity and the predictor variables determined through PCA. These results provide insight into the behavior of heavy oil saturated rocks under production conditions, however, further measurements at seismic and well-logging frequency ranges are recommended for proper interpretation of seismic data. ii Preface This thesis is submitted for the degree of Master of Science in Geophysics at the University of Alberta. The research conducted for this thesis forms part of a research collaboration between the University of Alberta, Laricina Energy Ltd., and Osum Oil Sands Corp., led by Professor Douglas R. Schmitt. Chapter 6 of this thesis has been submitted for publication as “Ong, O.N., Schmitt, D.R., Rabbani, A., Kofman, R.S., 2018. Wave speed measurements of bitumen-saturated carbonates under thermal recovery conditions – Empirical relations and multi-variate analysis. Submitted. Geophys. Prospect.” I was responsible for the data collection, analysis, and manuscript composition. Prof. Douglas Schmitt was the supervisory author and was involved in manuscript preparation. iii Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to express the gratitude and appreciation I have towards my advisor, Dr. Douglas R. Schmitt. He was not only my supervisor, but my mentor and friend who has provided unwavering support, guidance, and encouragement throughout my undergraduate and graduate academic career. To my supervisory committee, Dr. Mauricio Sacchi, Dr. Moritz Heimpel, and Dr. Erik Rosolowsky; thank you for taking the time to review and provide feedback for this work. This project was made possible with the support of our industry partners: Laricina Energy Ltd. and Osum Oil Sands Corp, as well as financial support from NSERC. In particular, I would like to thank Jason Nycz and Ken Gray for their expertise and unrelenting support of this project. Thank you to Randy Kofman; your skills, expertise, and friendly chatter were instrumental in making this project a success. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues: Tariq Mohammed, Micah Morin, Chris Nixon, Sean Murray, Olivia Henderson, Deirdre Mallyon, Ryan Ferguson, Sean Bettac, and many others who I have spent countless hours collaborating with. Great works are hardly ever completed in isolation, and this is no exception. And finally, to my partner, Humirah Sultani. Your love, support, and sacrifices mean the world to me and for which, I can only hope for the opportunities to repay you. I could not have done this without you; thank you for always being by my side. iv Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Thesis Organization ........................................................................................ 2 2 Background Information ........................................................................................ 4 2.1 Literature Review on Laboratory Measurements ................................................. 4 2.2 Geological Framework .................................................................................... 7 2.3 Summary .................................................................................................... 15 3 Theoretical Background ....................................................................................... 16 3.1 Theory of Elasticity ....................................................................................... 16 3.2 Isotropic Media ............................................................................................ 19 3.3 Wave Propagation in Isotropic Media .............................................................. 20 3.4 Viscoelasticity .............................................................................................. 22 3.5 Maxwell and Kelvin-Voigt models ................................................................... 27 3.6 Poroelastic and Effective Medium Theories ...................................................... 30 3.7 Gassmann’s Equation ................................................................................... 31 3.8 Biot’s Formulation ........................................................................................ 35 3.9 Summary .................................................................................................... 38 4 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 39 4.1 Pulse Transmission Method ........................................................................... 39 4.1.1 Piezoelectric Elements ............................................................................ 40 4.1.2 Ultrasonic Transducer Assembly ............................................................... 44 v 4.1.3 Experimental setup / instrumentation ....................................................... 47 4.2 Sample Preparation ...................................................................................... 49 4.3 Experimental workflow ................................................................................. 49 4.4 Picking of Transit Times ................................................................................ 51 4.5 Error Analysis .............................................................................................. 52 4.6 Sample Characterization ............................................................................... 53 4.6.1 Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) ........................................................ 54 4.6.2 Helium Pycnometry (He Pyc) ................................................................... 57 4.6.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) ........................................................ 59 4.6.4 X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) ............................................................. 60 4.7 Summary .................................................................................................... 62 5 Ultrasonic velocities – Results and Discussion ......................................................... 63 5.1 Temperature and Pressure Dependence .......................................................... 63 5.2 Effects of saturation conditions ...................................................................... 70 5.3 Summary .................................................................................................... 70 6 Empirical relations and multi-variate analysis of wave speed measurements .............. 72 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 72 6.2 Geologic framework ..................................................................................... 74 6.3 Sample Characterization ............................................................................... 77 6.4 Ultrasonic measurements .............................................................................. 82 6.5 Results and Discussion ................................................................................. 87 6.6 Principal component analysis (PCA) ................................................................ 94 vi 6.7 Empirical relationships ................................................................................ 100 6.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 103 8 Conclusions ....................................................................................................