Integration of rock physics, reservoir simulation, and time‐lapse seismic data for reservoir characterization at Weyburn Field, Saskatchewan

Author(s):  
Leo T. Brown ◽  
Thomas L. Davis ◽  
Michael Batzle
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 668-678
Author(s):  
Alan Mur ◽  
César Barajas-Olalde ◽  
Donald C. Adams ◽  
Lu Jin ◽  
Jun He ◽  
...  

Understanding the behavior of CO2 injected into a reservoir and delineating its spatial distribution are fundamentally important in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CO2 capture and sequestration activities. Interdisciplinary geoscience collaboration and well-defined workflows, from data acquisition to reservoir simulation, are needed to effectively handle the challenges of EOR fields and envisioned future commercial-scale sites for planned and incidental geologic CO2 storage. Success of operations depends on decisions that are based on good understanding of geologic formation heterogeneities and fluid and pressure movements in the reservoir over large areas over time. We present a series of workflow steps that optimize the use of available data to improve and integrate the interpretation of facies, injection, and production effects in an EOR application. First, we construct a simulation-to-seismic model supported by rock physics to model the seismic signal and signal quality needed for 4D monitoring of fluid and pressure changes. Then we use Bayesian techniques to invert the baseline and monitor seismic data sets for facies and impedances. To achieve a balance between prior understanding of the reservoir and the recorded time-lapse seismic data, we invert the seismic data sets by using multiple approaches. We first invert the seismic data sets independently, exploring sensible parameter scenarios. With the resulting realizations, we develop a shared prior model to link the reservoir facies geometry between seismic vintages upon inversion. Then we utilize multirealization analysis methods to quantify the uncertainties of our predictions. Next, we show how data may be more deeply interrogated by using the facies inversion method to invert prestack seismic differences directly for production effects. Finally, we show and discuss the feedback loop for updating the static and dynamic reservoir simulation model to highlight the integration of geophysical and engineering data within a single model.


Author(s):  
A. Ogbamikhumi ◽  
T. Tralagba ◽  
E. E. Osagiede

Field ‘K’ is a mature field in the coastal swamp onshore Niger delta, which has been producing since 1960. As a huge producing field with some potential for further sustainable production, field monitoring is therefore important in the identification of areas of unproduced hydrocarbon. This can be achieved by comparing production data with the corresponding changes in acoustic impedance observed in the maps generated from base survey (initial 3D seismic) and monitor seismic survey (4D seismic) across the field. This will enable the 4D seismic data set to be used for mapping reservoir details such as advancing water front and un-swept zones. The availability of good quality onshore time-lapse seismic data for Field ‘K’ acquired in 1987 and 2002 provided the opportunity to evaluate the effect of changes in reservoir fluid saturations on time-lapse amplitudes. Rock physics modelling and fluid substitution studies on well logs were carried out, and acoustic impedance change in the reservoir was estimated to be in the range of 0.25% to about 8%. Changes in reservoir fluid saturations were confirmed with time-lapse amplitudes within the crest area of the reservoir structure where reservoir porosity is 0.25%. In this paper, we demonstrated the use of repeat Seismic to delineate swept zones and areas hit with water override in a producing onshore reservoir.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. M41-M48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Liu ◽  
Mustafa Naser Al-Ali

The ideal approach for continuous reservoir monitoring allows generation of fast and accurate images to cope with the massive data sets acquired for such a task. Conventionally, rigorous depth-oriented velocity-estimation methods are performed to produce sufficiently accurate velocity models. Unlike the traditional way, the target-oriented imaging technology based on the common-focus point (CFP) theory can be an alternative for continuous reservoir monitoring. The solution is based on a robust data-driven iterative operator updating strategy without deriving a detailed velocity model. The same focusing operator is applied on successive 3D seismic data sets for the first time to generate efficient and accurate 4D target-oriented seismic stacked images from time-lapse field seismic data sets acquired in a [Formula: see text] injection project in Saudi Arabia. Using the focusing operator, target-oriented prestack angle domain common-image gathers (ADCIGs) could be derived to perform amplitude-versus-angle analysis. To preserve the amplitude information in the ADCIGs, an amplitude-balancing factor is applied by embedding a synthetic data set using the real acquisition geometry to remove the geometry imprint artifact. Applying the CFP-based target-oriented imaging to time-lapse data sets revealed changes at the reservoir level in the poststack and prestack time-lapse signals, which is consistent with the [Formula: see text] injection history and rock physics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 1229-1230
Author(s):  
Yasir Bashir ◽  
Nordiana Mohd Muztaza ◽  
Nur Azwin Ismail ◽  
Ismail Ahmad Abir ◽  
Andy Anderson Bery ◽  
...  

Seismic data acquired in the field show the subsurface reflectors or horizon among the geological strata, while the seismic inversion converts this reflector information into the acoustic impedance section which shows the layer properties based on lithology. The research aims to predict the porosity to identify the reservoir which is in between the tight layer. So, the output of the seismic inversion is much more batter than the seismic as it is closer to reality such as geology. Seismic inversion is frequently used to determine rock physics properties, for example, acoustic impedance and porosity.


Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. V169-V181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Colombo ◽  
Diego Rovetta ◽  
Ernesto Sandoval-Curiel ◽  
Apostolos Kontakis

We have developed a new framework for performing surface-consistent amplitude balancing and deconvolution of the near-surface attenuation response. Both approaches rely on the early arrival waveform of a seismic recording, which corresponds to the refracted or, more generally speaking, to the transmitted energy from a seismic source. The method adapts standard surface-consistent amplitude compensation and deconvolution to the domain of refracted/transmitted waves. A sorting domain specific for refracted energy is extended to the analysis of amplitude ratios of each trace versus a reference average trace to identify amplitude residuals that are inverted for surface consistency. The residual values are either calculated as a single scalar value for each trace or as a function of frequency to build a surface-consistent deconvolution operator. The derived operators are then applied to the data to obtain scalar amplitude balancing or amplitude balancing with spectral shaping. The derivation of the operators around the transmitted early arrival waveforms allows for deterministically decoupling the near-surface attenuation response from the remaining seismic data. The developed method is fully automatic and does not require preprocessing of the data. As such, it qualifies as a standard preprocessing tool to be applied at the early stages of seismic processing. Applications of the developed method are provided for a case in a complex, structure-controlled wadi, for a seismic time-lapse [Formula: see text] land monitoring case, and for an exploration area with high dunes and sabkhas producing large frequency-dependent anomalous amplitude responses. The new development provides an effective tool to enable better reservoir characterization and monitoring with land seismic data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. T1057-T1069
Author(s):  
Ritesh Kumar Sharma ◽  
Satinder Chopra ◽  
Larry Lines

The discrimination of fluid content and lithology in a reservoir is important because it has a bearing on reservoir development and its management. Among other things, rock-physics analysis is usually carried out to distinguish between the lithology and fluid components of a reservoir by way of estimating the volume of clay, water saturation, and porosity using seismic data. Although these rock-physics parameters are easy to compute for conventional plays, there are many uncertainties in their estimation for unconventional plays, especially where multiple zones need to be characterized simultaneously. We have evaluated such uncertainties with reference to a data set from the Delaware Basin where the Bone Spring, Wolfcamp, Barnett, and Mississippian Formations are the prospective zones. Attempts at seismic reservoir characterization of these formations have been developed in Part 1 of this paper, where the geologic background of the area of study, the preconditioning of prestack seismic data, well-log correlation, accounting for the temporal and lateral variation in the seismic wavelets, and building of robust low-frequency model for prestack simultaneous impedance inversion were determined. We determine the challenges and the uncertainty in the characterization of the Bone Spring, Wolfcamp, Barnett, and Mississippian sections and explain how we overcame those. In the light of these uncertainties, we decide that any deterministic approach for characterization of the target formations of interest may not be appropriate and we build a case for adopting a robust statistical approach. Making use of neutron porosity and density porosity well-log data in the formations of interest, we determine how the type of shale, volume of shale, effective porosity, and lithoclassification can be carried out. Using the available log data, multimineral analysis was also carried out using a nonlinear optimization approach, which lent support to our facies classification. We then extend this exercise to derived seismic attributes for determination of the lithofacies volumes and their probabilities, together with their correlations with the facies information derived from mud log data.


Geophysics ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. O1-O11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Stovas ◽  
Martin Landrø

We investigate how seismic anisotropy influences our ability to distinguish between various production-related effects from time-lapse seismic data. Based on rock physics models and ultrasonic core measurements, we estimate variations in PP and PS reflectivity at the top reservoir interface for fluid saturation and pore pressure changes. The tested scenarios include isotropic shale, weak anisotropic shale, and highly anisotropic shale layers overlaying either an isotropic reservoir sand layer or a weak anisotropic sand layer. We find that, for transverse isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (TIV), the effect of weak anisotropy in the cap rock does not lead to significant errors in, for instance, the simultaneous determination of pore-pressure and fluid-saturation changes. On the other hand, changes in seismic anisotropy within the reservoir rock (caused by, for instance, increased fracturing) might be detectable from time-lapse seismic data. A new method using exact expressions for PP and PS reflectivity, including TIV anisotropy, is used to determine pressure and saturation changes over production time. This method is assumed to be more accurate than previous methods.


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