Lithology and fluid discrimination using rock physics-based modified upper Hashin–Shtrikman bound: an example from onshore Niger Delta Basin

The Ozifa reservoir is proven reservoir that cuts across the Northern and Greater Ughelli depo-belts of the Niger Delta Basin. This reservoir possesses heterogenous character southward of the field, making elastic properties, lithologies and fluid types difficult to describe accurately. In this study, rock physics template was applied to porosity and acoustic impedance (AI) crossplot clusters to illustrate rock–fluid relationships using modified Hashin–Shtrikman upper bound, Voigt upper bound and Reuss lower bound, as an input in the template. Values of acoustic impedance and porosity were used as lithofacies classification parameters for discrimination of lithofacies and fluid types. Our result showed that modified Hashin–Shtrikman upper bound line when applied in acoustic impedance (AI) and porosities (φ) crossplot domain discriminated gas-filled reservoirs from brine filled reservoirs and shale effectively. Similarly, results from crossplot showed clear separation of shale, heteroliths filled with brine and gas bearing sand, which was not plausible using conventional petrophysical analysis. This approach was successfully applied in analysing lithofacies and fluid relationship in different well locations and serves as a model for successful prediction of different lithology and fluid types, a major requirement for determining effects of geological variables such as sorting, clay distributions on the reservoir connectivity and optimum production using time-lapse (4D) seismic interpretation.