METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ESTIMATING ROCK PROPERTIES FROM ROCK SAMPLES USING DIGITAL ROCK PHYSICS IMAGING

摘要

A method is provided for efficiently characterizing rock traversed while drilling a borehole for hydrocarbon reservoir development. A rock sample can be obtained having a provenance of collection linked to a specific region of the borehole, which is scanned to obtain a 2D digital image that is segmented to pixels characterized as pore space and as mineral matrix and defining a boundary between them. A transform relationship, for example, a form of the Kozeny-Carman equation adapted for application to a 2D segmented image environment, can be applied to calculate the estimated value for a target rock property, which can be absolute permeability, relative permeability, formation factor, elasticity, bulk modulus, shear modulus, compressional velocity, shear velocity, electrical resistivity, or capillary pressure, and the estimated value is used to characterize the rock at that region of the borehole. This affords an opportunity to quickly and efficiently develop massive data directly characterizing extended regions of rock, whether traversed by the borehole in this or a related well. Computerized systems, computer readable media, and programs for performing the methods are also provided.