This short course discusses the growing importance of three-component (3C) seismic technology that combines shear waves with compressional waves in the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of surface-seismic and borehole data.
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Duration
Two days
Intended Audience
Intermediate
Prerequisites (Knowledge/Experience/Education Required)
The course is for those with a basic background and experience in conventional P-wave acquisition, processing and interpretation techniques.
Who should attend?
- The course is intended for geophysicists, geologists, and engineers to:
- develop a practical understanding of vector wavefield applications (VSP) and
- understand how recorded S-waves are a benefit to P-waves for elastic-property and petrophysical inversion.
- It is also intended for seismic:
- processors and imagers who want to learn about joint prestack migration and tomography, and
- interpreters who want to use S-waves to improve impedance and density inversion for reservoir petrophysics.
- The course would be most relevant to those currently involved with, or considering:
- AVO/A inversion
- fracture/stress analyses and “brittleness” characterization of unconventional reservoirs, or
- interpretation in gas-obscured reservoirs.
Course Outline
- Introduction – Overview
- Definitions and wavefield properties
- Three components
- Anisotropy, coordinate systems, and 3C full wavefields
- Applications and PS-wave emphasis
- S-waves and VSP in the 20th century
- Development and sources
- Shear-wave properties from P-wave AVO and anisotropy
- Converted wave and VSP applications
- Fundamentals: wavefield dynamics and kinematics
- Elastodynamic, reflection, and transmission responses
- Seismic response, reflection point coverage
- Modeling and resolution
- Acquisition
- Sources, receivers, and surface responses
- Geometries and PS-wave illumination
- Common-offset vector gathers
- VSP geometries
- Processing and analysis
- Preprocessing: rotation, statics, and S-wave splitting
- Signal processing: vector fidelity, rotation, and wavefield separation
- Transformation to zero offset: CCP gathering, velocity, NMO, registration, and VP/VS analysis
- VSP wavefield separation, processing, and velocity analyses
- Imaging applications
- Anisotropy and VMB: post and prestack Kirchhoff migration
- Tomography
- VSP imaging
- Imaging through gas zones
- Inversion applications
- Layer stripping and inversion for S-wave splitting
- Joint AVO/A inversion
- Unconventional reservoirs
- Time lapse
- Interpretation and business drivers
- Inversion for petrophysical properties
- Vector wavefield strategy: P- and S-wave anisotropy coupling
- Unconventional reservoir opportunities
Learner Outcomes
Students will obtain an understanding of theoretical and practical aspects of 3C seismic and VSP, including how to use PS-wave and vector wavefield data to improve rock property applications, as well as:
- Explain the basics of PS-wave registration, velocities, and birefringence (S-wave splitting)
- Describe elastodynamic processes that generate converted waves and how they relate to elastic rock properties
- Understand the issues of PS-wave asymmetry and illumination
- Associate VSP multicomponent wavefields with 3C land and marine surface-seismic events
- Recognize the unique characteristics of PS-wave processing: time registration with P-waves, S-wave splitting, VP/VS analyses, velocities, and conversion-point gathering
- Explain and characterize the importance of 3C vector fidelity
- Describe applications of 3C seismic and VSP data for prestack migration, elastic impedance joint inversion, imaging through gas, fracture/stress characterization, and timelapse
- Understand interpretation techniques of converted-wave and VSP wavefields for petrophysical properties