Estimating anisotropic permeability from attenuation anisotropy using 3C-2D data

Nicolas Williams Martin, R. James Brown

It has been experimentally proved that the attenuation, Q, rather than velocity, is strongly correlated with permeability (Klimentos and McCann, 1990; Akbar et al., 1993). Thus it should be possible to relate attenuation anisotropy with anisotropic permeability in partially or completely saturated rocks (Gelinsky et al., 1994).

A mathematical approach is presented for estimating anisotropic permeability from 3C-2D data, using the narrow relationship between seismic attenuation and permeability as predicted by Biot s laws for isotropic saturated porous media.

This approach could be applied to media with anisotropic permeability due to transverse isotropy produced by a stack of horizontal layers or azimuthal anisotropy caused by vertical fractures.