GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-25DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0612.1
Rui Yang, Huaizhen Chen
{"title":"A novel rock physics model of organic-rich shale considering maturation influence","authors":"Rui Yang, Huaizhen Chen","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0612.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0612.1","url":null,"abstract":"Geochemical parameters, e.g. maturity, and total organic carbon (TOC) content, play a crucial role in the prediction of sweet spots and the exploration of oil and gas in organic-rich shales. Thermal maturity significantly affects the conversion of solid organic matter (OM) into hydrocarbons and the evolution of microstructures, thereby altering the overall elastic properties of shales. To clarify how the maturity affects shale property, we propose a novel Rock Physics Model (RPM) of organic-rich shale, in which we consider the continuous process of thermal maturity.#xD;Firstly, we present how to estimate maturity level, TOC content, and organic porosity using logging data. Secondly, different from only considering the discrete-stage maturity, we establish a novel RPM, in which a continuous kerogen maturation process serves as a key control condition. Furthermore, we propose how to calibrate the volumetric proportion of each porosity type as a function of maturation. Finally, we apply the RPM to investigate how sweet spot parameters (thermal maturity, TOC content, and brittle mineral content), overpressure and diagenesis affect the overall elastic properties and anisotropy of shale. Results demonstrate that using the proposed RPM we may predict acoustic velocity of shale formations reliably, and kerogen evolution has a noticeable impact on the elastic properties of shale rocks, particularly during the wet gas window stage of mid-to-high maturation. We conclude that thermal maturity emerges as a crucial sweet spot parameter in the case of exploration of oil and gas in organic-rich shales.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140655048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0231.1
Huixing Zhang, Yancang Feng, Bing-Shout He
{"title":"Optical flow vector of elastic waves in TI media","authors":"Huixing Zhang, Yancang Feng, Bing-Shout He","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0231.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0231.1","url":null,"abstract":"The propagation direction of the wavefield is particularly important for migration imaging in the reverse-time migration (RTM) of elastic waves in TI media. However, due to the problem of computational instability of the Poynting vector, the wave field propagation direction estimated based on the Poynting vector method has errors and cannot accurately indicate the real propagation direction of the elastic wavefield. To solve this problem, a method for calculating the optical flow vector of elastic waves in TI media is proposed to obtain the propagation direction. The optical flow vector of elastic waves in TI media is determined by applying the spatial and temporal derivatives of the wavefield at each time step, under the assumption that the wavefields are almost the same at subsequent time steps and are smooth in the spatial direction. As the additional smoothing item is added and the multiple iterative algorithm is introduced in calculating the optical flow vector, the direction is calculated more accurately than the Poynting vector. Based on the optical flow vectors, we can separate the source-wavefield and receiver-wavefield into four directions: up-going, down-going, left-going and right-going wavefields, respectively, and finally perform elastic reverse-time migration (ERTM) imaging based on the optical flow vector traveling-wave separation. We utilize a layered model and the BP model to test our method. The testing results demonstrate that the optical flow vector can overcome the Poynting vector limitations and get more accurate and reliable information regarding the direction of elastic wave propagation in TI media, as well as precisely separate the wavefields. The separated wavefields for migration effectively improve the quality of the ERTM.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140668843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0670.1
P. Koyan, J. Tronicke
{"title":"3D ground-penetrating radar data analysis and interpretation using attributes based on the gradient structure tensor","authors":"P. Koyan, J. Tronicke","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0670.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0670.1","url":null,"abstract":"In near-surface geophysics, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are routinely employed in a variety of applications including those from archaeology, civil engineering, hydrology, and soil science. Thanks to recent technical developments in GPR instrumentation and antenna design, 3D surveys comprising several 100.000 traces can be performed daily. Especially in complex environments such as sedimentary systems, analyzing and interpreting the resulting GPR volumes is a time-consuming and laborious task that is still largely performed manually. In the last decades, several data attributes have been proposed to guide and improve such tasks and assure a higher degree of reproducibility in the resulting interpretations. Many of these attributes have been developed in image processing or computer vision and are routinely used, for example, in reflection seismic data interpretation. Especially in sedimentary systems, variations in the subsurface are accompanied by variations of GPR reflections in terms of amplitudes, continuity, and geometry in view of dip angle and direction. A promising tool to analyze such structural features is known as the gradient structure tensor (GST). Up to today, the application of the GST approach is limited to a few 2D GPR examples. Thus, we take up the basic idea of GST analysis and introduce and evaluate the corresponding attributes to analyze 3D GPR data. We apply the proposed GST approach to one synthetic and two field data sets imaging diverse sedimentary structures. Our results demonstrate that the proposed set of GST-based attributes can be efficiently computed in 3D and that these attributes represent versatile measures to address different typical interpretation tasks and, thus, help for an efficient, reproducible, and more objective interpretation of 3D GPR data.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140670277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0566.1
Xushan Lu, Colin G Farquharson, Peter Lelieévre
{"title":"Surface geometry inversion of transient electromagnetic data","authors":"Xushan Lu, Colin G Farquharson, Peter Lelieévre","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0566.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0566.1","url":null,"abstract":"We investigate an emerging method called surface geometry inversion (SGI) for the inversion of transient electromagnetic (TEM) data. Conventional minimum-structure inversion methods parameterize the Earth model with many mesh cells within which the physical properties are constant and construct a physical property model that is usually smoothly varying as well as fitting the observations. With these smooth models, it is difficult to extract the interface between different geological units, and it can be especially difficult to target drill holes for thin, plate-like targets which are frequently encountered in mineral exploration. Our SGI parameterizes the model in terms of the coordinates of the nodes (vertices) used to connect together the surfaces that define the geological interfaces. The algorithm then inverts for the locations of these nodes, which directly provides geometric information about the target. This can be more useful than a fuzzy image of conductivity, especially for an exploration project. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the non-linear over-determined optimization problem. We use a finite-element solver to solve the TEM forward modeling problem of each candidate model in the GA population. Because forward modeling is independent for each model, we implement a hybrid MPI + OpenMP parallel method to improve computational efficiency. We investigate a new parameterization method specifically designed for thin, plate-like structures, that is more efficient and can effectively avoid self-intersection. We first illustrate the effectiveness of our SGI algorithm on a synthetic block model before testing the new parameterization method on a synthetic thin plate model. Finally, we apply our SGI to a real dataset collected for the exploration of thin graphitic faults. The constructed model from our SGI corresponds well with the drilling data.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140669625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on high-power and high-efficiency emission of cross-well electromagnetic logging","authors":"Yongsheng Chao, Yongli Ji, Defu Zang, Zhiqiang Li, Huaxiong Wang, Yanmin Ren","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0260.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0260.1","url":null,"abstract":"Cross-well electromagnetic (EM) logging has useful implications in oil, gas, and water monitoring, as well as carbon sequestration estimation. Difficulties in the efficient propagation of EM waves through a steel casing inhibit cross-well EM logging at distances greater than 300 m. This study investigates whether high-power transmission and high-efficiency transmitting antennas can resolve the challenges of long-distance cross-well EM logging through steel casings. Theoretical analysis shows that the emission moment should be at least 12 000 A·m2. By calculating the equivalent relative permeability and selecting appropriate coil materials and magnetic cores, the maximum emission magnetic moment can realize a high-power transmission. Based on series and parallel resonant circuits and the AC/DC cable core multiplexing power supply method, the effective transmission bandwidth is broadened and transmission efficiency is increased three-fold. The emission unit is fabricated and tested with a single, fiberglass, and double casing. We observed that the cross-well EM technology performs better for nonmetal casing wells than for metal casing wells. The amplitude and phase curves between two fiberglass casing wells in the range of 425 m are quite smooth. However, the receiving signals in the double-layer steel casing drop to only a few tenths of the value in the fiberglass casing wells, highlighting the difficulty of long-distance EM-wave transmission when using steel casings. Thus, studies on EM transmission through four or more layers of steel casings should be conducted in the future.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140676501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0510.1
Jingshou Liu, Yuanhong Lu, Yang Luo, Haimeng Yang, Lin Lu
{"title":"Method for predicting the injection pressure for horizontal wells in fractured tight sandstone reservoirs","authors":"Jingshou Liu, Yuanhong Lu, Yang Luo, Haimeng Yang, Lin Lu","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0510.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0510.1","url":null,"abstract":"Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal well drilling are the key technologies for increasing the production of continental tight sandstone reservoirs. Taking the typical fractured tight sandstone in the Yuan-287 block of the Ordos Basin as an example, a reservoir geological model was established based on the stratigraphic correlation of 206 wells. The model and 3D paleostress field were combined to predict fracture parameters such as density and strike. By using reservoir breakdown pressure (RBP) monitoring data combined with reservoir physical and mechanical parameters, tectonic fracture characteristics, and in situ stress parameters, a quantitative evaluation model of RBP, which predicts the 3D distribution of RBP, was established via the stepwise regression method, and the factors controlling the RBP were analyzed. The rock P-wave velocity, horizontal minimum principal stress and fracture density were found to be three key parameters that control the breakdown pressure of this tight sandstone reservoir. By comparing the fracture opening pressure (FOP) of subsurface tectonic fractures with the RBP, a new method for predicting the optimal water injection pressure (OWIP) of this reservoir was proposed. This work provides a valuable evaluation model for accelerating the efficient development of continental tight sandstone reservoirs.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140673021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0530.1
Kittinat Taweesintananon, R. A. Rørstadbotnen, Martin Landrø, Ståle E. Johansen, B. Arntsen, Matthias Forwick, Alfred Hanssen
{"title":"Near-surface characterization using shear-wave resonances: A case study from offshore Svalbard, Norway","authors":"Kittinat Taweesintananon, R. A. Rørstadbotnen, Martin Landrø, Ståle E. Johansen, B. Arntsen, Matthias Forwick, Alfred Hanssen","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0530.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0530.1","url":null,"abstract":"Shear-wave (S-wave) resonances are typically observed when the surficial marine sediments over a rock substrate have relatively low S-wave velocities. We observe these phenomena using ocean-bottom fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in two subsea fiber-optic telecommunication cables in Svalbard, Norway. Strong seismic energy from sufficiently large earthquakes is required to trigger and enhance the multiple order modes of S-wave resonances. Here, we use the interpreted S-wave resonance frequencies of the first two modes to determine the thickness and the S-wave velocity of the near-surface low-velocity layer (LVL) beneath the seafloor. Additionally, we use existing active P-wave seismic reflection data to determine the LVL thickness and to help build a more accurate S-wave velocity model from the S-wave resonance frequencies. The estimated S-wave velocity varies laterally within the LVL formation. Here, we find that the sediments or deposits with high S-wave velocity presented in the estimated LVL model agree with the distribution of some glacigenic sediments and landforms deposited in the survey area. Therefore, S-wave resonances measured by ocean-bottom DAS can be used to characterize the corresponding near-surface LVLs.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140676697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0274.1
Björn E. Rommel
{"title":"Weakly-Anelliptical Traveltime Analysis: Ambiguity between Subsurface and Elasticity","authors":"Björn E. Rommel","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0274.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0274.1","url":null,"abstract":"The building of a subsurface and (anisotropic) velocity model from a single gather of reflection traveltime (kinematic) data is inherently ambiguous since the processing of such data can only determine a horizontal slowness component, not a vertical one. Based thereon I derive a simple algorithm that generates an infinite series of combinations of subsurface - velocity models, all of which will show nearly the same seismic kinematic response, as further demonstrated by simulating wave propagation through a model with different interface dips. This algorithm assumes, firstly, all interface dips remain constant over the distance considered and, secondly, an approximation of the elasticity model – that is, linearization of a phase velocity – valid for weak anisotropy can be used. Furthermore, when applied at the classic, and analytically solvable, case of traveltime analysis for a stack of flat layers with weak transverse isotropy, the algorithm explains theoretically the combination of anisotropy parameters that govern the non-hyperbolic term of a traveltime series: the established [Formula: see text] and its new counterpart [Formula: see text] for a [Formula: see text] - and [Formula: see text] -wave, respectively.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140674526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1190/geo2023-0442.1
Ming Zhang, Xin Zhang, Jing Liang, Xiaoyu Jiang, L. Gan, Xiping Sun, Xiaowei Yu
{"title":"Application of multicomponent seismic data to tight gas reservoir characterization: A case study in the Sichuan Basin, China","authors":"Ming Zhang, Xin Zhang, Jing Liang, Xiaoyu Jiang, L. Gan, Xiping Sun, Xiaowei Yu","doi":"10.1190/geo2023-0442.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2023-0442.1","url":null,"abstract":"Combining PP and PS-waves from multicomponent data is an effective hydrocarbon characterization strategy because these two wave types are sensitive to different subsurface properties. We present a case study using multicomponent data to characterize tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation, the western Sichuan Basin, China. In the study area, PP data have difficulties to distinguish sandstones, mudstones and gas sand, while recently acquired multicomponent data show potential for the joint characterization of lithology, porosity, and gas saturation from the combination of PP and PS reflections. Sandstones and mudstones show small P-velocity contrasts and large S-velocity contrasts. Thus, PS data provide a more accurate description of sandstones as a substantial proportion of sandstones are undetectable from PP sections. P-impedance is sensitive to sandstone porosity variation, and seismic-predicted porosities based on impedance inversion are in good agreement with log-interpreted porosities. The ratio of P-velocity to S-velocity is sensitive to gas accumulation, and the ratios derived from joint PP-PS prestack inversion are determined to be better than from PP prestack inversion in terms of their agreements with logs and distinct gas-sand boundaries.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140672390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GEOPHYSICSPub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1190/geo2022-0759.1
J. Bustamante, G. Fabien-Ouellet, Mathieu J. Duchesne, Amr Ibrahim
{"title":"Deep-learning viscoelastic seismic inversion for mapping subsea permafrost","authors":"J. Bustamante, G. Fabien-Ouellet, Mathieu J. Duchesne, Amr Ibrahim","doi":"10.1190/geo2022-0759.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2022-0759.1","url":null,"abstract":"Marine seismic surveys can be used to map ice-bearing subsea permafrost on a large scale. However, present seismic processing technologies have limited capacity to image permafrost distribution at depth, mainly due to the low sensitivity of primary reflections and refractions to the velocity inversion found at the base of permafrost. Guided waves and multiples are more sensitive to the velocity variations below the top of permafrost, but they remain challenging to use in physics-based inversion approaches. A deep-learning-based seismic inversion has the potential to improve seismic imaging below the top of permafrost by automatically extracting information from all wave modes. We present a multi-input neural network to estimate seismic velocities from marine seismic data. The network is trained on synthetic data generated from representative distributions of the seismic properties of subsea permafrost. We show that our network can image large velocity contrasts and reversals in depth, typical of subsea permafrost. We use our network to estimate P- and S-wave velocity and Q-factor models from a seismic line in the Beaufort Sea. The neural network indicates highly discontinuous subsea permafrost with variable thickness in the area. Our work shows that deep-learning-based seismic inversion could become a cost-effective technology to map the distribution of subsea permafrost on a large scale and, more generally, high-velocity geological layers located in shallow waters.","PeriodicalId":509604,"journal":{"name":"GEOPHYSICS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140676218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}