The Seismic Experience

Ploiesti UPG October 2006/january 2007

Contents

Seismic Data Acquisition 1/2 Seismic Data Processing -1/2 Geology & Basin analysis -2 Seismic Data Interpretation 10

Geometry -1 Attributes -1 Seismic stratigraphy basics -1 Eustatic model -1 Extensional model -1 Compressional model -1 Seismic in exploration -1 Seismic in resrvoir characterisation -1 Time/depth conversion -1 Well seismic -1

Other methods -1

Geologist agree that:

Oil is generally found in sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are usually formed in a marine

environment Law of Horizontality Sedimentary rocks are formed in layers that are nearly flat Law of Superposition The oldest rocks are usually at the bottom of a sequence of rocks The youngest rocks are at the top of such a sequence

Formation of Sedimentary Rocks

Grains resulting from erosion of pre-existing rocks are transported
by gravity, wind and water to area of deposition

Area of deposition is called a basin and may be a: Topographic low or depression

Lake, sea, or ocean

Rocks tend to form as relatively flat, parallel layers (called strata) in

a marine environment

Reservoir Rock Properties

Need porosity to retain fluid Need permeability to allow the fluid to move Permeability is a dynamic property which changes
during sedimentation
unconnected pore spaces

flow path

The Origin of Oil

The similarity of the types of hydrocarbons found in petroleum
and in organisms points to an organic origin for oil

Small marine organisms are assumed to be the raw organic

ingredients for oil

Oceans are an abundant source of the types of the small

organisms required and are also repositories of vast quantities of sediment

Most oil is found in rocks deposited in marine environments However, decaying plant material can also be a source of coal
and gas

The Formation of OIL

Temperature and pressure increase with depth within

the Earth

As sediments are buried by subsequent deposition, the

heat and overburden pressure transform the organic material into its hydrocarbon components

This was all a VERY long time ago

Oil and Gas Accumulation

Requirements for oil to accumulate:

Source Rock - contains organic material from which

hydrocarbon is derived
Migration Path - a channel which allows oil to "flow"

from the source rock to the reservoir rock

Reservoir Rock - "stores" the accumulated

hydrocarbons
Cap Rock - structure or rock material change which

is required for hydrocarbons to accumulate

The Reservoir

A reservoir is a porous rock which contains fluids The reservoir has porosity and permeability
Gas Oil Cap Reservoir Water

Migrating hydrocarbon Source

Rock Types Relevant to OIL

The source and reservoir rocks need to be porous and

permeable Pores are needed to store the oil Permeability is necessary for oil to enter the rock

The cap rock needs to be impermeable

Impermeability is necessary to prevent the flow of oil

Geological Structures

Some geological structures are particularly conducive

to accumulation of oil

Example Unconformity

Example Folding

Anticlinal Trap
Free Gas Cap

Gas-Oil Contact

Oil-Water Contact

Example Faulting

Fault Trap

Traps can form on either side of the fault

So to Find Oil we need to .

Find a likely Structure Determine the rock types Determine Lithology

So How do we Start ?

Sink an oil well Problem - COST $ 2-5 million per well Want a cheaper and more reliable solution 1) Need to look into the Earth 2) Locate suitable rock structures 3) THEN sink an oil well

Problem

Surface area of the Earth 183,322,724 sq.km. = 2x108 km2 Where do we start ? Geologists walk around looking at rocks Measure PHYSICAL properties of the Earth GEOPHYSICS

Different rocks have different properties

MAGNETISM DENSITY RADIOACTIVITY

- magnetometer - gravimeter - geiger counter spectrometer

ACOUSTICS - seismic exploration

Contents

Geology Seismic Data Acquisition Seismic Data Processing Seismic Data Interpretation

Seismic Acquisition

Source

Receiver

Ideal Primaries Trace

A way to Generate Seismic Waves

A Better Way

Marine Vibroseis Land Vibroseis

Explosive Vibrational

Dynamite (Land) Airguns (Marine)

Seismic Waves
Surface Waves

Body Waves

Body Wave Types

2 types defined by the direction of particle motion

wave direction

1. P-waves
Particle motion parallel to wave propagation

2. S-waves

Particle motion perpendicular to wave propagation

Surface Waves

Wave direction

Particle motion is complex, may be elliptical Surface waves are noise Low velocity, less than S-waves Ground roll in land surface seismic

Wave Energy

On land, the energy division can be as poor as:

P-wave 6% S-wave 26% Surface waves 68%

Wavefronts and Raypaths

surface wave

Reflection points

Wavefronts

How waves actually travel Rays perpendicular to wavefront Surface of equal travel time Simple to use Surface of equal phase Ray trace modelling

Raypaths

Seismic Acquisition

Source

Receiver

Ideal Primary Traces

A Seismic Trace

PROCESSING In-line

2D Surveys

2D Reconnaissance Survey

2D Detailed Survey

A 3D survey Grid

Volume of data

Marine Seismic Acquisition

Some problems

We measure time rather than depth Velocity relates the two Finding the right velocity is CRITICAL and impossible
with this type of acquisition

Many types of noise are also recorded and are difficult

to attenuate with this type of acquisition

Flat Earth Society - Multiples

Ideal P+M Trace

Source

Receiver

Flat Earth Society - Common Shot Gather

Ideal Offset Traces

Source

Receivers

Multiple Coverage

Information about any single point within the earth is recorded several times using the Multiple Coverage technique

Flat Earth Society - CMP gather

Common mid-point

Source

Receiver

Ideal cmp Traces

Flat Earth Society - CMP Stack

cmp Traces
Primaries cmp traces after NMO Stack Trace

Primaries

NMO

STACK

Multiple Multiple (attenuated)

Recorded Data
Two bits of information are recorded on computer tape:

The time for the energy to travel from the source to the detector The strength of the signal as it reaches the detector

A Marine Seismic Survey

NEAR TRACE GROUP 1 / TRACE 1

FAR TRACE GROUP n

NTO

FTO

A Problem with 2D

Boat

Deep Canyon

Three reflections from same structure

3D Answer

Interesting Geological Structures

3D Answer
1) Define Survey Area

80kms

100 kms

3D Answer

12.5m line spacing

2) Collect Many Parallel Lines of data

3D Answer

12.5m line spacing

3) Up to 500,000kms in a survey

Volume of data on Typical Survey

60.000 kms of data collected 2,400,000 Shot Records 2,750,000,000,000 Bytes of data 2,750,000 Megabytes of data 275 3590 cassettes

Marine 3D Acquisition

TS

SA IL

A birds eye-view

LA TE RA

FF SE

LI

NE

3D Acquisition Technique
2 source, 6 streamer configuration 12 lines shot in 1 boat pass

Sea surface

Sea bed

Data Acquisition and finally .

Data processing will usually commence with the receipt of the following (or part thereof) : Tape containing recorded seismic data (trace sequential or multiplexed) Observer logs/reports Field Geophysicist logs/reports and listings Navigation/survey data Field Q.C. displays

Contents

Geology Seismic Data Acquisition Seismic Data Processing Seismic Data Interpretation

Surface Seismic Processing

T i m e

D e p t h

Raw shot records

Final Migration

And in 3D

Seismic Cross-sections
0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

timeslice at 2700ms
4.0

Data Processing The Building Blocks

Processing will usually be based on Client objectives Test results (Data dependant factors) Signal enhancement, noise rejection To produce a final section representative of the geology Cost Turnaround requirements Most processing routes will incorporate certain key applications as standard. More specific procedures are added based on the above factors.

Noise Mechanisms

Seismic data contains 2 noise types: Coherent - related to the source Random - not related to the source

Coherent Noise Mechanisms

Coherent Land Noise Multiples Ground Roll Air Wave Vibroseis truck noise Dynamite ghosts Other seismic crews

Coherent Marine Noise Multiples Mud roll Bubble oscillation Propellor noise Mains hum Back-scatter Wave-guided energy Bulge wave

Random Noise Mechanisms

Random Land Noise Wind noise Rain noise cultural noise (traffic, people walking etc) Instrument noise Other seismic crews

Random Marine Noise Wave action Ship noise Streamer jerk Instrument noise Marine life Other seismic crews Flow noise

Sources of noise in marine surface seismic

RAIN SEA STATE SHIP VIBRATION INTERNAL PROPELLER NOISE NODE TAIL BUOY VIBRATION OTHER TRAFFIC WIND BIRD

VIBRATION TURBULENCE FLOW NOISE

FISH

BREN T SPA

REFLECTED REFRACTED

SEA BED ANOMALIES

Some Multiple Paths

free-surface (ground or sea-level)

Iinter-bed or

Water-bottom multiple

Water-bottom pegleg multiple (receiver side)

Pegleg multiple

Free-surface multiple

Internal multiple

Data Processing - raw shot data

Time zero ref. i.e. reference is time when shot fired Linear noise e.g. direct arrivals

Data corresponding to one shot (located somewhere on the earth) which was recorded into 96 (only data from 1shown on plot) different receivers (also located somewhere on earth!)

Reflection - hyperbolic

Loss of amplitude with time

Loss of frequencies with time

Processing Sequence
Where are the shots and receivers located ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
The most important values for data processing are relative OFFSETS! These may be source-receiver offsets, receiver - receiver offsets etc

Geometry definition

Processing Sequence
What if the surface elevation changes ?
Geometry definition Static corrections

datum

i.e. remove the difference in travel time caused by shots and receivers being at different elevations - change our time-zero ref. point to simulate the re-positioning of shots and receivers

Wheres all the source energy gone ?

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery

Geometric spreading, absorption etc

Factors which Affect Amplitudes

Instrument Balance Superimposed Noise Source Strength and Coupling Geophone Sensitivity and Coupling Interference of different Events Peg-Leg multiples from thin reflectors Spherical divergence Absorption Reflection coefficient Variation of Reflection Coefficient with incident angle Reflector Curvature and rugosity Array Directivity

Scattering

What happens at boundaries

How to remove coherent noise?

Offset Direct wave 1500 m/s

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery
Refractor 1800 m/s

Velocity filtering
What about random noise?

Time
Mud Roll 500 m/s Reflector 2000 m/s Multiple < 2000 m/s

- K-filter? Bandpass filter? May leave until stacking process!

How to improve the vertical resolution?

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering Deconvolution

Compensate for the filtering effects of the earth etc

How to order the data?

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering Deconvolution CMP gather
Some processes must be carried out in the CMP domain Multiple Coverage Acquisition techniques

Correct for time differences due to offset in the CMP?

Offset

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering

Time

Deconvolution CMP gather

Time Difference

NMO correction

Residual NMO
Raw 2264 m/s 2000 m/s 2500 m/s

Overcorrected

Undercorrected

uncorrected

velocity correct

velocity too slow

velocity too fast

Velocity Analysis Tools

semblance CMP gather MVFS

Velocity pick producing a kneepoint on the velocity function

Do the reflections all come from a single point?

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections

midpoint

Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering Deconvolution CMP gather NMO correction DMO Correction

How to reduce the number of traces?

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering Deconvolution CMP gather NMO correction DMO Correction CMP stack

Do the reflections all come from vertically below? midpoints

Processing Sequence
Geometry definition Static corrections Amplitude recovery Velocity filtering Deconvolution CMP gather NMO correction DMO Correction CMP stack Migration

Processing Flow is governed by

Signal to Noise Ratio Complexity of Velocity model

Summary
Simple velocities, simple structure post-stack migration Simple velocities, complex structure pre stack time migration

Complex velocities, simple structure post stack depth migration

Complex velocities, complex structure pre stack depth migration

Salt
Post-stack time migration Pre-stack depth migration

Complex structure
Post-stack time migration Pre-stack depth migration

Accurate Velocity

Can be used in Amplitude Correction Can be used in Multiple Attenuation Can be used in DMO Correction Is used in Stacking Is used in Imaging (Migration)

Is considered as a volume of data just like the seismic

QC-ed via in-lines, cross-lines, time-slices, horizon-

slices Its effect on the seismic data

Generic Processing Flow

Reformat Geometry Signal Processing Velocity Processing Pre-stack Imaging Stack Pre-conditioning for Migration Migration Post-migration Processing Final Products

Processing Sequence (2D land)

Basic Processes
Field data in Geometry Field statics Amplitude recovery Noise rejection Deconvolution CMP gather NMO correction Residual statics Mute 2D DMO & Stack Migration Filtering Amplitude scaling Final products

loop
Initial velocity field 2D DMO Final velocity field

Testing Stage

Processes and parameters are chosen using a subset

of the whole data

As we proceed to other parts of the survey, we must

verify that the processes/parameters are still working well - without redoing a full-scale testing programme!

So, QC is required

Make sure the processes and parameters are still

solving the problem and no other problems have been introduced

Seismic Data

Selected In-lines & Cross-lines Selected Shot/CMP gathers Near-Trace Cube Time-Slices

Trace Attributes

Maps of
Amplitude Header Literals

Position (X/Y Coords) Water Depth etc Fold of Coverage

Histograms of
Amplitude

Defining the GRID of QC Lines

Acronyms
AVO

Amplitude Versus Offset pre-stack analysis to help define lithology A single line processed in isolation

2D

3D
Multiple lines processed together 4D (Time-Lapse) 3D surveys repeated at time intervals 3C/4C (Multi-component) Specialised detectors to monitor returning energy in different directions

Acronyms (contd)

PSTM
Pre-Stack Time Migration

PSDM
Pre-Stack Depth Migration

Inversion
Converting seismic amplitudes to acoustic

impedance or velocity

Data Processing and finally

Interpretation used to be done on paper sections Nowadays the stack volume is given to the client on
magnetic tape (EXABYTE is popular!) for them to load up on specialised workstations

Other data may be requested to be saved and stored

(for future processing e.g. merging 3D surveys, AVO)

Final report

Contents

Geology Seismic Data Acquisition Seismic Data Processing Seismic Data Interpretation

Interpretation Workflow

The Life of a Reservoir

First find your reservoir! Seismic exploration tools are used to identify structures which might or might not - contain a reservoir. How big is it! Reservoir confirmed by drilling More detailed seismic study carried out to determine the true nature and extent of the field. Whats happening inside my reservoir? What happens in the reservoir as the hydrocarbons are extracted? 4D seismic surveys can help to answer this question and help maximize the recovered hydrocarbons.