Time-lapse rock physics inversion of thermal heavy oil production

Time-lapse (4D) seismic monitoring of thermal heavy oil production represents a simple, robust and cost-effective method of characterizing changes in reservoir conditions. Conventional 4D seismic monitoring techniques track changes in a reservoir by comparing differences in seismic amplitudes over time. These amplitude differences offer insight into the spatial extent of production and injection effects, but the physical cause of the observed amplitude differences remains ambiguous. In order to properly distinguish between the effects of heated oil, steam, pressure and temperature we must extract more information from our seismic data. In this study, we combine AVO analysis and rock physics modeling in a rock physics inversion to quantify petrophysical changes in the reservoir thereby offering a more complete description of subsurface conditions.