Raageshwari Deep Gas (RDG) Field is situated in the southern part of the Barmer Basin in Rajasthan, India, at a depth of 3000 m. With both clastic and volcanic lithologies, the main reservoirs are tight, and hydraulic fracturing is required to enhance productivity, especially to improve permeability through interaction of induced fractures with natural fractures. Therefore, optimal development of the RDG Field reservoirs requires characterization of faults and natural fractures. To address this challenge, a wide-azimuth 3D seismic data set over the RDG Field was processed to sharply define faults and capture anisotropy related to open natural fractures. Anisotropy was indicated by the characteristic sinusoidal nature of gather reflection events processed using conventional tilted transverse imaging (TTI); accordingly, we used orthorhombic imaging to correct for these, to quantify fracture-related anisotropy, and to yield a more correct subsurface image. During prestack depth migration (PSDM) processing of the RDG data, TTI and orthorhombic velocity modeling was done with azimuthal sectoring of reflection arrivals. The resultant PSDM data using this velocity model show substantial improvement in image quality and vertical resolution at the reservoir level compared to vintage seismic data. The improved data quality enabled analysis of specialized seismic attributes like curvature and thinned fault likelihood for more reliable characterization of faults and fractures. These attributes delineate the location and distribution of probable fracture networks within the volcanic reservoirs. Interpreted subtle faults, associated with fracture zones, were validated with microseismic, production, and image log data.
Characterization of reservoir sands using 3D seismic attributes in the coastal swamp area of Niger Delta Basin