ARTICLE

Integrated geostatistical seismic inversion to predict a thin sandstone reservoir under fan delta sedimentary environment: a case study in the Junggar Basin

WANLONG ZHANG1 ZONG SUN1 ZONGCHUN SUN2 FENG ZHAO3 ZHILIANG MING3
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1 Laboratory for Integration of Geology and Geophysics Research, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, P.R. China. wanlong.zhang@cgg.com,
2 PetroChina Xinjiang Research Institute of Exploration and Production, 29 Junggar Road, KeLamay 834000, P.R. China.,
3 Jason, CGG, A1207-1209, Ocean International Center, 55 East 4th-Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100025, P.R. China.,
JSE 2014, 23(2), 177–199;
Submitted: 9 June 2025 | Revised: 9 June 2025 | Accepted: 9 June 2025 | Published: 9 June 2025
© 2025 by the Authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Zhang, W., Sun, Z.D., Sun, Z.C., Zhao, F. and Ming, Z.L., 2014. Integrated geostatistical seismic inversion to predict a thin sandstone reservoir under fan delta sedimentary environment: a case study in the Junggar Basin. Journal of Seismic Exploration, 23: 177-199. Well drilling proved that the Permian’s rough grained sandstone reservoir in the centre of Junggar basin was not fully controlled by structure. This type of reservoir is traditionally difficult to identify on conventional seismic data because of the lack of an effective workflow to detect lithology and fluid using real logs and seismic data. In this case study of PetroChina’s Xinjiang oilfield, China we present an effective workflow for describing the spatial distribution of sandstone reservoirs and for the feasibility of fluid detection, explaining the reasons why the wells drilled within the higher area of the structure produce water while the other wells located within the lower area produce oil. Forward models derived from petrophysics and rock physics defined the resolution of deterministic inversion, the AVO response of the real reservoir sequence, which inversion method and which elastic parameter were most sensitive to lithology and fluid changes under the real geological environment. In addition, they provide a benchmark for seismic data quality. Higher-resolution reservoir characterization of geostatistical inversion gave the sandstone spatial distribution, the reservoir discontinuity and the horizontal thickness. This integrated workflow guarantees that the final geological map is meaningful not only in terms of elastic parameters, but also in terms of geology, petrophysics, geophysics and engineering.

Keywords
petrophysics
rock physics
forward modelling
geostatistical inversion
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Journal of Seismic Exploration, Electronic ISSN: 0963-0651 Print ISSN: 0963-0651, Published by AccScience Publishing