Estimation of horizontal permeability using pressure changes derived from 4D seismic data

There are now several methods available for delivering separate estimates of pressure and saturation from time-lapse seismic data. A natural step beyond these procedures is to use the pressure component to estimate horizontal permeability, this then being used to constrain the reservoir model. Here, tests of this particular extension are performed on synthetic data examples typical of hydrocarbon reservoirs in the North Sea. The results indicate that with sufficient data repeatability, pressure inverted from time-lapse seismic could in the future be used to deliver permeability estimates of sufficient accuracy to be considered of value by reservoir engineers for updating reservoir models.