High resolution cross well imaging of a west texas carbonate reservoir: Part 4. Reflection imaging

Author(s):  
S. K. Lazaratos ◽  
J. M. Harris ◽  
J. W. Rector ◽  
M. Van Schaack
1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Harris ◽  
Richard Nolen‐Hoeksema ◽  
J. W. Rector ◽  
M. Van Schaack ◽  
S. K. Lazaratos

Geophysics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 682-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Van Schaack ◽  
Jerry M. Harris ◽  
James W. Rector ◽  
Spyros Lazaratos

We have collected low‐noise crosswell data in a high‐velocity carbonate environment with a spatial sampling interval of 2.5 ft (0.76 m). This sampling reveals a variety of coherent events not previously identified in coarsely sampled gathers. Nearly every event in our field record can be explained using simple approximations for the geology, source, and receivers without accounting for the presence of the boreholes. We have used synthetic records as a guide in a moveout‐based analysis of the field data. Our analysis shows that much of the full wavefield energy, i.e., scattered waves, in our data are converted modes arising from the direct P‐ and S‐waves. This observation suggests that for crosswell reflection imaging, the focus of acquisition and wavefield separation techniques should be on the suppression of once‐converted modes.


Geophysics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 667-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry M. Harris ◽  
Richard C. Nolen‐Hoeksema ◽  
Robert T. Langan ◽  
Mark Van Schaack ◽  
Spyros K. Lazaratos ◽  
...  

A carbon dioxide flood pilot is being conducted in a section of Chevron’s McElroy field in Crane County, west Texas. Prior to [Formula: see text] injection, two high‐frequency crosswell seismic profiles were recorded to investigate the use of seismic profiling for high‐resolution reservoir delineation and [Formula: see text] monitoring. These preinjection profiles provide the baseline for time‐lapse monitoring. Profile #1 was recorded between an injector well and an offset observation well at a nominal well‐to‐well distance of 184 ft (56 m). Profile #2 was recorded between a producing well and the observation well at a nominal distance of 600 ft (183 m). The combination of traveltime tomography and stacked CDP reflection amplitudes demonstrates how high‐frequency crosswell seismic data can be used to image both large and small scale heterogeneity between wells: Transmission traveltime tomography is used to image the large scale velocity variations; CDP reflection imaging is then used to image smaller scale impedance heterogeneities. The resolution capability of crosswell data is clearly illustrated by an image of the Grayburg‐San Andres angular unconformity, seen in both the P‐wave and S‐wave velocity tomograms and the reflection images. In addition to the imaging study, cores from an observation well were analyzed to support interpretation of the crosswell images and assess the feasibility of monitoring changes in [Formula: see text] saturation. The results of this integrated study demonstrate (1) the use of crosswell seismic profiling to produce a high‐resolution reservoir delineation and (2) the possibility for successful monitoring of [Formula: see text] in carbonate reservoirs. The crosswell data were acquired with a piezoelectric source and a multilevel hydrophone array. Both profiles, nearly 80 000 seismic traces, were recorded in approximately 80 hours using a new acquisition technique of shooting on‐the‐fly. This paper presents the overall project summary and interpretation of the results from the near‐offset profile.


Geophysics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 692-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Rector ◽  
Spyros K. Lazaratos ◽  
Jerry M. Harris ◽  
Mark Van Schaack

Using crosswell data collected at a depth of about 3000 ft (900 m) in west Texas carbonates, one of the first well‐to‐well reflection images of an oil reservoir was produced. The P and S brute stack reflection images created after wavefield separation tied the sonic logs and exhibited a vertical resolution that was comparable to well log resolution. Both brute stacks demonstrated continuity of several reflectors known to be continuous from log control and also imaged an angular unconformity that was not detected in log correlations or in surface seismic profiling. The brute stacks, particularly the S‐wave reflection image, also exhibited imaging artifacts. We found that multichannel wavefield separation filters that attenuated interfering wavemodes were a critical component in producing high‐resolution reflection images. In this study, the most important elements for an effective wavefield separation were the time‐alignment of seismic arrivals prior to filter application and the implementation of wavefield‐separation filters in multiple domains, particularly in common offset domain. The effectiveness of the multichannel filtering was enhanced through the use of extremely fine wellbore sampling intervals. In this study, 2.5 ft (0.76 m) vertical sampling intervals for both source and receiver were used, whereas most previous crosswell data sets were collected with much coarser sampling intervals, resulting in spatial aliasing and limiting the utility of the data for reflection processing. The wavefield separation techniques employed in this study used data volumes and associated filtering operations that were several orders of magnitude larger than those encountered in conventional VSP data analysis.


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