Inversion of multicomponent seismic data and rock-physics intepretation for evaluating lithology, fracture and fluid distribution in heterogeneous anisotropic reservoirs

Technical Report · Wed Nov 17 04:00:00 EST 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/834389· OSTI ID:834389

Tsvankin, Ilya ^[1]; Larner, Kenneth L

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1. Colorado School of Mines

Within the framework of this collaborative project with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Stanford University, the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) group developed and implemented a new efficient approach to the inversion and processing of multicomponent, multiazimuth seismic data in anisotropic media. To avoid serious difficulties in the processing of mode-converted (PS) waves, we devised a methodology for transforming recorded PP- and PS-wavefields into the corresponding SS-wave reflection data that can be processed by velocity-analysis algorithms designed for pure (unconverted) modes. It should be emphasized that this procedure does not require knowledge of the velocity model and can be applied to data from arbitrarily anisotropic, heterogeneous media. The azimuthally varying reflection moveouts of the PP-waves and constructed SS-waves are then combined in anisotropic stacking-velocity tomography to estimate the velocity field in the depth domain. As illustrated by the case studies discussed in the report, migration of the multicomponent data with the obtained anisotropic velocity model yields a crisp image of the reservoir that is vastly superior to that produced by conventional methods. The scope of this research essentially amounts to building the foundation of 3D multicomponent, anisotropic seismology. We have also worked with the LLNL and Stanford groups on relating the anisotropic parameters obtained from seismic data to stress, lithology, and fluid distribution using a generalized theoretical treatment of fractured, poroelastic rocks.

• Research Organization: Colorado School of Mines
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-98ER14908
• OSTI ID: 834389
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

multicomponent seismic data
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
ALGORITHMS
DISTRIBUTION
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
FRACTURES
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY
LITHOLOGY
PROCESSING
REFLECTION
SEISMOLOGY
TOMOGRAPHY
VELOCITY
fractured reservoirs
reservoir fluids
rock physics
seismic anisotropy
seismic methods