Seismic inversion

Seismic inversion, in geophysics (primarily in oil-and-gas exploration/development), is the process of transforming seismic reflection data into a quantitative rock-property description of a reservoir. Seismic inversion may be pre- or post-, deterministic, random or geostatistical; it typically includes other reservoir measurements such as well logs and cores .

Geophysicists routinely perform seismic surveys to gather information about the geology of an oil or gas field. These surveys record sound waves which have traveled through the layers of rock and fluid in the earth. The amplitude and frequency of these waves can be estimated so that any side-lobe and tuning effects introduced by the wavelet may be removed.

Seismic data may be inspected and interpreted on its own without inversion, but this does not provide the most detailed view of the subsurface and can be misleading under certain conditions. Because of its efficiency and quality, most oil and gas companies now use seismic inversion to increase the resolution and reliability of the data and to improve estimation of rock properties including porosity and net pay.

There are many different techniques used in seismic inversion. These can be roughly grouped into two categories:

The combination of these categories yields four technical approaches to the inversion problem, and the selection of a specific technique depends on the desired objective and the characteristics of the subsurface rocks. Although the order presented reflects advances in inversion techniques over the past 20 years, each grouping still has valid uses in particular projects or as part of a larger workflow.

All modern seismic inversion methods require seismic data and a wavelet estimated from the data. Typically, a reflection coefficient series from a well within the boundaries of the seismic survey is used to estimate the wavelet phase and frequency. Accurate wavelet estimation is critical to the success of any seismic inversion. The inferred shape of the seismic wavelet may strongly influence the seismic inversion results and, thus, subsequent assessments of the reservoir quality.

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