Machine Learning Assisted Prediction of Porosity and Related Properties Using Digital Rock Images

Accurately estimating reservoir rock properties is paramount for modeling the storage and flow of fluids (hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide, and groundwater) in porous media. However, existing laboratory techniques to measure rock properties are usually time-consuming, expensive, and computationally intensive. This work proposes an efficient workflow that uses the machine learning algorithm, based on the convolutional neural network (CNN) framework, to predict rock properties from microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) X-ray images. The workflow involves data preprocessing, label extraction, training, and prediction using the segmented images of the rock to predict porosity, throat area, and pore surface area, which are essential for pore-scale modeling. The model was trained and validated on the Bentheimer sandstone, which was then used to predict properties of other sandstones (Castlegate and Leopard) with different pore structures and flow properties. The model yielded a good prediction for the throat and pore surface area but a significant error for porosity. Subsequently, a new complex model was trained and validated using diverse images from Bentheimer and an additional rock Castlegate, which was then used to predict the properties of Leopard sandstone. The new model improved the prediction of each property, resulting in mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values of 2.19%, 3.04%, and 6.08% for porosity, pore surface area, and throat area with the binary images, respectively. In addition, we present a novel data-driven method using a simple regression model to predict the absolute permeability of a digital rock sample using the pore network parameters as predictors. The extreme gradient boost (XGBoost), which performed the best among several machine algorithms, was trained and validated using digital rock images from Bentheimer and Castlegate sandstone. The generated model was then used to predict the absolute permeability of the Leopard sandstone with an R2 of 0.813, which was a significant improvement over the model generated solely by using either the Bentheimer or the Castlegate sandstone images. Furthermore, our analysis showed that the tortuosity had the most significant effect on the absolute permeability prediction of the rock sample. This study showed that we can reliably predict the morphological properties of porous media using computationally efficient models generated from digital rock images, which can be used to build a regression model to predict the crucial petrophysical properties needed to model the flow of fluids in porous media.