Seismic Anisotropic Fluid Identification in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Xiaolong Guo, Bin Yan (), Juyi Zeng, Guangzhi Zhang (), Lin Li, You Zhou and Rui Yang
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Xiaolong Guo: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Bin Yan: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Juyi Zeng: Guizhou Energy Industry Research Institute Co., Ltd., Guiyang 550000, China
Guangzhi Zhang: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Lin Li: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
You Zhou: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Rui Yang: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: Seismic fluid identification plays an important role in reservoir exploration and development. Natural vertical fractures are common in carbonate rocks, it is essential to consider fracture-induced anisotropy in the fluid identification of fractured carbonate reservoirs. We have developed a novel Bayesian elastic impedance variation with an angle and azimuth (EIVAZ) inversion approach for directly estimating the fracture fluid indicator ( FFI ), which can avoid cumulative errors produced in the indirect calculation process. Under the assumption of weak anisotropy and a small incident angle, we first derive a new approximate PP-wave coefficient for horizontal transverse isotropic (HTI) media. Analysis shows that the new approximation has reasonable accuracy at angles of incidence less than 30°. To estimate the FFI from observed azimuthal P-wave seismic reflection data, we further deduce the azimuthal EI equation and establish a two-step inversion workflow. Finally, the proposed approach is demonstrated by tests on a synthetic data example and a field data set of a fractured carbonate reservoir in the Sichuan Basin (China). Results show that the model parameters can be reasonably estimated even with moderate noise levels. The estimated FFI and quasi-normal fracture weakness show relatively high values at the location of reservoirs, which reliably indicate a fractured gas-bearing reservoir.

Keywords: fluid identification; fracture detection; fractured carbonate reservoirs; elastic impedance variation with angle and azimuth (EIVAZ) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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