Purpose of the course is to provide real case studies of multicomponent seismic applications towards an actual dynamic reservoir problem. Course participants will view real data and learn from the experiences gained within the Reservoir Characterization Project at Colorado School of Mines. Topics include geology, reservoir characteristics, rock physics review specific to the problem, multicomponent overview, and details of multicomponent (9-C) seismic data acquisition & processing. Main part of the course will be the integration of the geological, reservoir engineering and geophysical data into an interpretation consistent with all data.
Duration
Two days
Intended Audience
Intermediate level
Prerequisites (Knowledge/Experience/Education Required)
The course is applicable to all levels and more importantly geologists and petroleum engineers.
Course Outline
Completion and production processes cause dynamic changes in reservoir properties including pressure, saturation and permeability. The most accurate geophysical tool for monitoring these changes is time-lapse multicomponent seismology, specifically in delineating the spatial distribution of the changes. Studies over the past fifteen years by the Reservoir Characterization Project (RCP) document the power of multicomponent seismology to observe and quantify these dynamic changes. RCP’s studies illustrate that more accurate quantitative measurements of reservoir properties can occur through the time-lapse multicomponent seismic monitoring and that these measurements must be introduced into dynamic reservoir characterization for more accurate prediction of reservoir performance.
This course covers time-lapse (4-D), multicomponent (9-C), 3-D seismic monitoring studies performed within RCP at Vacuum Field, New Mexico, Weyburn Field, Saskatchewan, Rulison Field, Colorado, Postle Field, Oklahoma and Delhi Field, Mississippi. Both Vacuum and Weyburn Fields are mature carbonate reservoirs undergoing tertiary recovery using CO2 injection. Postle and Delhi Fields are clastic sandstone reservoirs, also undergoing tertiary CO2 injection. Rulison Field is a tight gas sandstone reservoir within a basin-centered gas play. Results show that pressure and fluid changes associated with the reservoir processes result in rock property changes detected using surface 9-C seismic data over time (dynamic reservoir characterization).
Many time-lapse projects being reported in the literature today are focused on reservoirs where compressibility is the primary time-lapse signature. This study focuses on carbonate and clastic rocks where changes in rigidity, detected using measurements of shear wave anisotropy, are the primary observations to infer reservoir processes. All projects, with the exception of the Delhi Field study, are full 9-C data volumes, utilizing both vertical and horizontal vibrators as P- and S-wave sources recorded by multicomponent geophones.
Geoscientists curious about multicomponent applications in both static and dynamic reservoir characterization will benefit from attending. Emphasis is on real data examples but also provides a general theoretical background to relate the data observations and conclusions to current research efforts. This course offers a head start up the multicomponent learning curve by presenting case studies of dynamic reservoir characterization projects from field records through multidisciplinary integration.
Learner Outcomes
- Define what dynamic reservoir characterization is.
- Quantify the impact that multicomponent seismic data brings to the dynamic reservoir characterization process.
- Judge in measurable terms the value of applying multicomponent seismic data to reservoir characterization based on analogy and case studies.