Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/09/2020
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Categories No Categories
April, 2020 DGS Webinar
Note: This replaces cancelled in-person luncheon! WebEx invite will be sent to registrants shortly before the meeting date (April 9)
Fracture Seismic: Mapping subsurface connectivity and fluid flow
Charles Sicking, Tom Fleure, Ambient Reservoir Monitoring
The fracture seismic method maps the location, extent and density of fractures in the
subsurface using passive seismic data recorded by a large array of vertical sensors planted on
the surface. The strongest fracture seismic signals are emitted from connected fluid-pathways
and therefore the predominant use case for this methodology over the last decade has been in
monitoring hydraulic stimulations in tight oil and gas reservoirs. Fracture seismic is able to map
the fractures because of two types of mechanical actions in the fractures. First, in cohesive
rock, fractures can emit short duration energy pulses when growing at their tips through
opening and shearing. The industrial practice of recording and analyzing these short duration
events is commonly called micro-seismic. Second, coupled rock–fracture–fluid interactions take
place during earth deformations and this generates signals unique to the fracture’s physical
characteristics. Fracture seismic captures and images the signals from the entire fracture and
builds a three-dimensional image of the fractures. Time-lapse fracture seismic methods map
the flow of fluids in the rocks and reveal how the reservoir connectivity changes over time.
Fracture seismic is capable of detecting resonances from fluids trapped in natural fractures that
are excited by earth tides, tectonic deformations, or other sources of stress or differential
pressure. The Active Fracture Image (AFI) volume computed by the fracture seismic system
provides a completely independent geophysical attribute compared to attributes from active
source seismic. The AFI volume maps the seismic emissions from fractures that are open and
fluid filled, whereas the active 3D seismic volumes show faults or fractures that have sufficient
displacement to cause a diffraction or discontinuity in the reflected horizons.
For this presentation we will conduct a short review the acquisition and processing
methodology for fracture seismic data followed by examples from hydraulic fracturing projects,
a water flood project in a Paleozoic (Mississippian) carbonate reservoir, and two exploration
case studies from Latin America. The first case documents a successful fracture seismic survey
conducted in the Middle Magdalena Basin in Colombia and the second case shows the fracture
seismic results for a Cretaceous / Paleocene sandstone reservoir in Paraguay.
Dr. Sicking is currently the Chief Technology Officer for Ambient Reservoir Monitoring
(ARM). ARM uses the Fracture Seismic Method to map fractures in the subsurface using
fracture emissions. Dr. Sicking served as the Technical Chair for the 2016 SEG annual meeting,
was the Vice President for R&D for Global Geophysical Services and was Chief Geophysicist
for Weinman GeoSciences. At Global Geophysical Services Dr. Sicking led the development of
seismic processing algorithms including: interferometric method for marine Surface Related
Multiple Elimination (SRME); azimuth migration for HTI; HFVS separation; Harmonic Noise
Filters; and the Fracture Seismic processing system. During his career in Geophysics, Dr.
Sicking developed many seismic processing algorithms in the areas of imaging, deconvolution,
wavelet estimation, velocity analysis, filtering, interpolation, attenuation and AVO.
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.