Seismic rock physics of steam injection in bituminous oil sand reservoirs

This thesis explores the seismic rock physics pertaining to oil sands reservoirs subject to the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) thermal enhanced recovery process. Rock physics modeling is applied to the shallow McMurray reservoir (135-160 m depth) encountered by the Underground Test Facility (UTF) within the bituminous Athabasca oil sands deposit in Western Canada in order to construct a petrophysical velocity model of the SAGD process. Injected steam pressure and temperature controls the fluid bulk moduli within the pore space, and the stress dependant elastic frame modulus is the most poorly known yet most important factor governing the changes of seismic properties during this recovery operation. The results of the fluid substitution are used to construct a 2D synthetic seismic section in order to establish seismic attributes for analysis and interpretation of the physical SAGD process. The findings of this modeling promote a more complete description of 11 high resolution time lapse 2-D seismic profiles collected at the UTF by the University of Alberta.