Improved reservoir characterization by means of supervised machine learning and model-based seismic impedance inversion in the Penobscot field,Scotian Basin

The present research work attempted to delineate and characterize the reservoir facies from the Dawson Canyon Formation in the Penobscot field,Scotian Basin.An integrated study of instantaneous frequency,P-impedance,volume of clay and neutron-porosity attributes,and structural framework was done to unravel the Late Cretaceous depositional system and reservoir facies distribution patterns within the study area.Fault strikes were found in the EW and NEE-SWW directions indicating the dominant course of tectonic activities during the Late Cretaceous period in the region.P-impedance was estimated using model-based seismic inversion.Petrophysical properties such as the neutron porosity(NPHI)and volume of clay(VCL)were estimated using the multilayer perceptron neural network with high accuracy.Comparatively,a combination of low instantaneous frequency(15-30 Hz),moderate to high impedance(7000-9500 gm/cc*m/s),low neutron porosity(27%-40%)and low volume of clay(40%-60%),suggests fair-to-good sandstone development in the Dawson Canyon Formation.After calibration with the welllog data,it is found that further lowering in these attribute responses signifies the clean sandstone facies possibly containing hydrocarbons.The present study suggests that the shale lithofacies dominates the Late Cretaceous deposition(Dawson Canyon Formation)in the Penobscot field,Scotian Basin.Major faults and overlying shale facies provide structural and stratigraphic seals and act as a suitable hydrocarbon entrapment mechanism in the Dawson Canyon Formation's reservoirs.The present research advocates the integrated analysis of multi-attributes estimated using different methods to minimize the risk involved in hydrocarbon exploration.

Reservoir Characterization of the Early Cretaceous Sarmord and Garagu Formations from Atrush-1 and Mangesh-1 Wells, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Petrophysical properties of the Early Cretaceous Sarmord and Garagu formations from the Atrush and Sarsang Blocks in the Kurdistan Region are studied. These formations are generally composed of limestones and dolomitic limestones interbedded with thin to medium layers of yellowish-gray marl (calcareous mudstone). The current study shows that the average shale volume in the Sarmord and Garage formations is between 16% and 20%. In Atrush-1 Well, the average porosity ratio of the Sarmord and Garagu formations is fair to good (15% and 11%, respectively). However, in Mangesh-1 Well, the porosity value is poor;it is around 4% on average. Generally, most of the hydrocarbons that have been observed within the pore spaces are residual oil type in Atrush-1 Well and movable hydrocarbon type in Mangesh-1 Well. In Atrush-1 Well, out of 362 m thickness of both formations, only 180 m is considered to be a pay zone;whereas, the pay zone is just around 8.0 m thick out of 347 m of the total thickness. According to the calculated porosity values, the Garagu and Sarmord formations are not considered as good reservoirs in the studied wells, with the exception of Atrush-1 Well where the Sarmord Formation has fair potential reservoir characteristics.

Fine quantitative characterization of high-H2S gas reservoirs under the influence of liquid sulfur deposition and adsorption

In order to clarify the influence of liquid sulfur deposition and adsorption to high-H2S gas reservoirs,three types of natural cores with typical carbonate pore structures were selected for high-temperature and high-pressure core displacement experiments.Fine quantitative characterization of the cores in three steady states(original,after sulfur injection,and after gas flooding)was carried out using the nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)transverse relaxation time spectrum and imaging,X-ray computer tomography(CT)of full-diameter cores,basic physical property testing,and field emission scanning electron microscopy imaging.The loss of pore volume caused by sulfur deposition and adsorption mainly comes from the medium and large pores with sizes bigger than 1000μm.Liquid sulfur has a stronger adsorption and deposition ability in smaller pore spaces,and causes greater damage to reservoirs with poor original pore structures.The pore structure of the three types of carbonate reservoirs shows multiple fractal characteristics.The worse the pore structure,the greater the change of internal pore distribution caused by liquid sulfur deposition and adsorption,and the stronger the heterogeneity.Liquid sulfur deposition and adsorption change the pore size distribution,pore connectivity,and heterogeneity of the rock,which further changes the physical properties of the reservoir.After sulfur injection and gas flooding,the permeability of TypeⅠreservoirs with good physical properties decreased by 16%,and that of TypesⅡandⅢreservoirs with poor physical properties decreased by 90%or more,suggesting an extremely high damage.This indicates that the worse the initial physical properties,the greater the damage of liquid sulfur deposition and adsorption.Liquid sulfur is adsorbed and deposited in different types of pore space in the forms of flocculence,cobweb,or retinitis,causing different changes in the pore structure and physical property of the reservoir.

Exploring the potential of drill cuttings for reservoir characterization:A case study from the Volga-Ural basin,Russia

The research objectives are to assess the possibility of using drill cutting analysis to obtain information about the mineralogical and geochemical properties of the reservoir rocks.Drill cutting samples were collected from a vertical well that penetrated the Domanik sediments(Semiluksk Formation)in one of the oil fields in the Volga-Ural petroleum province.Thin sections from drill cuttings were examined using an optical polarizing microscope(Axio Imager A2).X-ray diffraction(XRD)analyses were performed using a Brucker D2 Phaser X-ray powder diffractometer.Thermophysical properties were studied using an STA 449 F3 Jupiter instrument.The pyrolytic studies were performed using the Rock-Eval method.Visual inspection showed that the studied sediments are alternations of carbonates and siliceous-carbonate rocks.Thin section examinations revealed that the carbonates are mainly limestone(mudstone and wackestone)and are characterized by a dense texture and up to 30%organic residues.The siliceous-carbonate rocks are dominated by siliceous mudstones and are characterized by dark colours,layered structure,and an enrichment in organic matter.XRD analyses showed that the carbonate rocks are mainly composed of calcite,dolomite,quartz,feldspar,and mica,which are minor components.The siliceous-carbonate rocks are dominated by quartz,followed by calcite,although they also contain feldspars,mica,dolomite,and pyrite as impurities.According to the simultaneous thermal analysis,the average total hydrocarbon in the carbonate and siliceous-carbonate rocks is 13.6%(for the core samples)and 11.5%(for the drill cutting samples).The content of heavy hydrocarbons in the rocks is higher than the content of light hydrocarbons,indicating the immature nature of organic matter.Kerogen is found sporadically in siliceous-carbonate rocks.According to the pyrolytic studies,average S1 is 4.4 mg/g and average S2 is 19.8 mg/g(for the core samples);average S1 is 2.1 mg/g and average S2 is 17.8 mg/g(for the drill cutting samples),which indicated that the studied sediments have very good to excellent generation potential.The average T_(max) of 425.7℃(for the drill cutting samples)and 427.9℃(for the core samples)indicate immature organic matter that generated only heavy oils.Comparing the results of the analysed drill cutting samples with the results of the analysed core analysis from the same reservoir interval in the neighbouring wells showed a good correlation,which proves that this technique is a valid tool that provides an alternative,cost-effective method to determine the rock's characteristics from drill cuttings.

Harnessing deep transient testing for reservoir characterization and CO2 emission reduction in challenging geological settings

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Deep Transient Testing(DTT),a cutting-edge technique for reservoir characterization that has revolutionized the oil and gas industry.The main aim of DTT is to characterize the reservoir with a deeper radius of investigation.The optimization of the radius of investigation with the DTT approach is studied in detail.Reveal is a commercial numerical simulation application used to simulate the DTT process and evaluate the pressure wave analysis in the porous media.The main aim of the simulation is to understand the impact of the reservoir quality on the pressure response and use it to address the noise-to-pule ratio,which is a determinantal parameter in testing duration.The tested wells with the DTT tool show that measured well productivity can deliver the minimum commercial rate.The has been delivered within 2 days compared to the potential test time of 21 days which saved the 19 rig days and contributed to C02 emission reduction of(gas flaring 1340+rig emission 600)1940 Metric tons equivalent to 421 cars emission in a year.However,DTT also presents certain limitations,such as the requirement for specialized equipment and expertise,as well as the potential for formation damage during testing.This study provides a detailed description of the DTT technique,encompassing its history,theory,and practical applications.Furthermore,it discusses the benefits and limitations of DTT and presents case studies to illustrate its effectiveness across various reservoir types.Overall,this study serves as a valuable resource for reservoir engineers,geologists,and other professionals involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas.

Application of seismic sedimentology in characterization of fluvial-deltaic reservoirs in Xihu sag, East China Sea shelf basin

The fluvial-deltaic reservoirs of the Oligocene Huagang Formation in the Xihu sag of the East China Sea shelf basin reflect rapid lateral change in sedimentary facies and poor morphology of conventional slice attributes,which bring difficulties to the reservoir prediction for subsequent exploration and development of lithologic reservoirs.The traditional seismic sedimentology technology is optimized by applying the characteristic technologies such as frequency-boosting interpretation,inversion-conventional–90°phase shift joint construction of seismic lithologic bodies,nonlinear slices,paleogeomorphology restoration,and multi-attribute fusion,to obtain typical slice attributes,which are conducive to geological form description and sedimentary interpretation.The Huagang Formation developed three types of sedimentary bodies:braided river,meandering river and shallow water delta,and the vertical sedimentary evolution was controlled by the mid-term base-level cycle and paleogeomorphology.In the early–middle stage of the mid-term base-level ascending cycle,braided channel deposits were dominant,and vertical superimposed sand bodies were developed.In the late stage of the ascending half-cycle and the early stage of the descending half-cycle,meandering river deposits were dominant,and isolated sand bodies were developed.In the middle–late stage of the descending half-cycle,shallow-water delta deposits were dominant,and migratory medium–thick sand bodies were developed.Restricted paleogeomorphology controlled the sand body distribution,while non-restricted paleogeomorphology had little effect on the sand body distribution.Based on reservoir characterization,the fault sealing type and reservoir updip pinch-out type structural lithological traps are proposed as the main directions for future exploration and development in the Xihu sag.

Reservoir heterogeneity analysis using multi-directional textural attributes from deep learning-based enhanced acoustic impedance inversion:A study from Poseidon,NW shelf Australia

Reservoir heterogeneities play a crucial role in governing reservoir performance and management.Traditionally,detailed and inter-well heterogeneity analyses are commonly performed by mapping seismic facies change in the seismic data,which is a time-intensive task.Many researchers have utilized a robust Grey-level co-occurrence matrix(GLCM)-based texture attributes to map reservoir heterogeneity.However,these attributes take seismic data as input and might not be sensitive to lateral lithology variation.To incorporate the lithology information,we have developed an innovative impedance-based texture approach using GLCM workflow by integrating 3D acoustic impedance volume(a rock propertybased attribute)obtained from a deep convolution network-based impedance inversion.Our proposed workflow is anticipated to be more sensitive toward mapping lateral changes than the conventional amplitude-based texture approach,wherein seismic data is used as input.To evaluate the improvement,we applied the proposed workflow to the full-stack 3D seismic data from the Poseidon field,NW-shelf,Australia.This study demonstrates that a better demarcation of reservoir gas sands with improved lateral continuity is achievable with the presented approach compared to the conventional approach.In addition,we assess the implication of multi-stage faulting on facies distribution for effective reservoir characterization.This study also suggests a well-bounded potential reservoir facies distribution along the parallel fault lines.Thus,the proposed approach provides an efficient strategy by integrating the impedance information with texture attributes to improve the inference on reservoir heterogeneity,which can serve as a promising tool for identifying potential reservoir zones for both production benefits and fluid storage.

Quantitative characterization of tight gas sandstone reservoirs using seismic data via an integrated rock-physics-based framework

Seismic characterizing of tight gas sandstone (TGS) reservoirs is essential for identifying promising gas-bearing regions. However, exploring the petrophysical significance of seismic-inverted elastic properties is challenging due to the complex microstructures in TGSs. Meanwhile, interbedded structures of sandstone and mudstone intensify the difficulty in accurately extracting the crucial tight sandstone properties. An integrated rock-physics-based framework is proposed to estimate the reservoir quality of TGSs from seismic data. TGSs with complex pore structures are modeled using the double-porosity model, providing a practical tool to compute rock physics templates for reservoir parameter estimation. The VP/VS ratio is utilized to predict the cumulative thickness of the TGS reservoirs within the target range via the threshold value evaluated from wireline logs for lithology discrimination. This approach also facilitates better capturing the elastic properties of the TGSs for quantitative seismic interpretation. Total porosity is estimated from P-wave impedance using the correlation obtained based on wireline log analysis. After that, the three-dimensional rock-physics templates integrated with the estimated total porosity are constructed to interpret microfracture porosity and gas saturation from velocity ratio and bulk modulus. The integrated framework can optimally estimate the parameters dominating the reservoir quality. The results of the indicator proposed based on the obtained parameters are in good agreement with the gas productions and can be utilized to predict promising TGS reservoirs. Moreover, the results suggest that considering microfracture porosity allows a more accurate prediction of high-quality reservoirs, further validating the applicability of the proposed method in the studied region.

Turbidite Dynamics and Hydrocarbon Reservoir Formation in the Tano Basin: A Coastal West African Perspective

This study examines the turbidite dynamics and hydrocarbon reservoir formation in Ghana’s Tano Basin, which is located in coastal West Africa. Through an exploration of geological processes spanning millions of years, we uncover key factors shaping hydrocarbon accumulation, including source rock richness, temperature, pressure, and geological structures. The research offers valuable insights applicable to exploration, management, and sustainable resource exploitation in coastal West Africa. It facilitates the identification of exploration targets with higher hydrocarbon potential, enables the anticipation of reservoir potential within the Tano Basin, and assists in tailoring exploration and management strategies to specific geological conditions of the Tano Basin. Analysis of fluvial channels sheds light on their impact on landscape formation and hydrocarbon exploration. The investigation into turbidite systems unveils intricate interactions involving tectonics, sea-level fluctuations, and sedimentation patterns, influencing the development of reservoirs. An understanding of sediment transport and depositional settings is essential for efficient reservoir management. Geomorphological features, such as channels, submarine canyons, and distinct channel types, are essential in this situation. A detailed examination of turbidite channel structures, encompassing canyons, channel complexes, convex channels, and U-shaped channels, provides valuable insights and aids in identifying exploration targets like basal lag, channel levees, and lobes. These findings underscore the enduring significance of turbidite systems as conduits for sediment transport, contributing to enhanced reservoir management and efficient hydrocarbon production. The study also highlights how important it is to examine the configuration of sedimentary layers, stacking patterns, and angular laminated facies to identify turbidites, understand reservoir distribution, and improve well design. The dynamic nature of turbidite systems, influenced by basin characteristics such as shape and slope, is highlighted. The research provides valuable insights essential for successful hydrocarbon exploration, reservoir management, and sustainable resource exploitation in coastal West Africa.

Reservoir quality of the Late Cretaceous Volador Formation of the Latrobe group,Gippsland Basin,Australia:Implications from integrated analytical techniques

Increasing demand for energy due to the populous Eastern Australia has driven oil and gas industries to find new sources of hydrocarbons as they are the primary energy suppliers.Intensive study has been done on the Volador Formation in the Gippsland Basin by means of core-based petrophysical,sedimentological,and petrographic analyses as well as well log-based interpretation and capillary pressure test.Five wells from Kipper,Basker and Tuna fields with available dataset were investigated in this study:Kipper-1,Basker-1,Basker-2,Basker-5 and Tuna-4.Overall,the formation has good reservoir quality based on the high porosity and permeability values obtained through core and well log petrophysical analyses.The formation made up of mostly moderate to coarse quartz grains that has experienced strong anti-compaction and is poorly cemented.Montmorillonite and illite clays are seen dispersed in the rock formation,with the minority being mixed clays.These clays and diagenetic features including kaolinite cement and quartz overgrowth that can lead to porosity reduction only have insignificant impact on the overall reservoir quality.In addition,capillary pressure data shows that most samples are found in the transition to good reservoir zones(<50%saturation).The results obtained from this study have shown that the Volador Formation in the Gippsland Basin is worth for hydrocarbon exploration.

Pore Structure Characterization of Clay Minerals in the Lower Karamay Formation Conglomerate Reservoir in the Junggar Basin and its Impact on Hydrocarbon Storage and Seepage

The micro-nano pore structure of conglomerate in the Lower Karamay Formation of the Xinjiang Oilfield,Junggar Basin,northern China is characterized to predict its impact on fluid reserves and seepage.Authigenic clay minerals are mainly kaolinite(67%),followed by an illite/smectite mixed layer(18%),illite(10%),and chlorite(5%).For kaolinite,pore throats between 0–200 nm are dominant,accounting for 90%of the total pore throats.For illite/smectite mixed layer,pore throats also between 0–200 nm account for nearly 80%,while pore throats between 200-500 nm only account for 15%.For illite,pore throats below 100 nm account for about 80%,while pore throats in the range of 100–500 nm only account for 20%.For chlorite,most throats are below 200 nm.The pore roundness of illite is the highest,while the pore roundness of chlorite is relatively lower.The lower limits of the dynamic and static pore throat radii are 42.128 nm and 72.42 nm,respectively.The theoretical contribution rates of the illite/smectite mixed layer,kaolinite,illite and chlorite to storage/seepage are 60%/45.86%,52.72%/38.18%,37.07%/28.78%and 32.97%/26.3%,respectively.Therefore,the contribution rates of clay minerals in the study area are as follows:illite/smectite mixed layer,kaolinite,illite and chlorite.

A robust deep structured prediction model for petroleum reservoir characterization using pressure transient test data

A robust deep learning model consisting of long short-term memory and fully connected neural net-works has been proposed to automatically interpret homogeneous petroleum reservoirs having infinite,no flow,and constant pressure outer boundary conditions.The pressure change data recorded during the well test operation along with its derivative is input into the model to perform the classification for identifying the reservoir model and,further,regression to estimate output parameter.Gaussian noise was added to analytical models while generating the synthetic training data.The hyperparameters were regulated to perform model optimization,resulting in a batch size of 64,Adam optimization algorithm,learning rate of 0.01,and 80:10:10 data split ratio as the best choices of hyperparameters.The perfor-mance accuracy also increased with an increase in the number of samples during training.Suitable classification and regression metrics have been used to evaluate the performance of the models.The paper also demonstrates the prediction performance of the optimized model using simulated and actual oil well pressure drawdown test cases.The proposed model achieved minimum and maximum relative errors of 0.0019 and 0.0308,respectively,in estimating output for the simulated test cases and relative error of 0.0319 for the real test case.

Analytical models & type-curve matching techniques for reservoir characterization using wellbore storage dominated flow regime

The applicability of early time data in reservoir characterization is not always considered worthy.Early time data is usually controlled by wellbore storage effect.This effect may last for pseudo-radial flow or even boundary dominated flow.Eliminating this effect is an option for restoring real data.Using the data with this effect is another option that could be used successfully for reservoir characterization.This paper introduces new techniques for restoring disrupted data by wellbore storage at early time production.The proposed techniques are applicable for reservoirs depleted by horizontal wells and hydraulic fractures.Several analytical models describe early time data,controlled by wellbore storage effect,have been generated for both horizontal wells and horizontal wells intersecting multiple hydraulic fractures.The relationships of the peak points(humps)with the pressure,pressure derivative and production time have been mathematically formulated in this study for different wellbore storage coefficients.For horizontal wells,a complete set of type curves has been included for different wellbore lengths,skin factors and wellbore storage coefficients.Another complete set of type curves has been established for fractured formations based on the number of hydraulic fractures,spacing between fractures,and wellbore storage coefficient.The study has shown that early radial flow for short to moderate horizontal wells is the most affected by wellbore storage while for long horizontal wells;early linear flow is the most affected flow regime by wellbore storage effect.The study has also emphasized the applicability of early time data for characterizing the formations even though they could be controlled by wellbore storage effect.As a matter of fact,this paper has found out that wellbore storage dominated flow could have remarkable relationships with the other flow regimes might be developed during the entire production times.These relationships can be used to properly describe the formations and quantify some of their characteristics.

Binary Level Set Methods for Dynamic Reservoir Characterization by Operator Splitting Scheme

In this paper,operator splitting scheme for dynamic reservoir characterization by binary level set method is employed.For this problem,the absolute permeability of the two-phase porous medium flow can be simulated by the constrained augmented Lagrangian optimization method with well data and seismic time-lapse data.By transforming the constrained optimization problem in an unconstrained one,the saddle point problem can be solved by Uzawas algorithms with operator splitting scheme,which is based on the essence of binary level set method.Both the simple and complicated numerical examples demonstrate that the given algorithms are stable and efficient and the absolute permeability can be satisfactorily recovered.

3D geocellular modeling for reservoir characterization of lacustrine turbidite reservoirs:Submember 3 of the third member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation,Dongying depression,Eastern China

3D geocellular modeling is increasingly essential in the petroleum industry;it brings together all petroleum disciplines,and it is commonly used in simulation and production forecast.However,modeling slope and deep-water turbidite reservoirs using conventional modeling methods pose a significant challenge due to the structural complexity and thin-beds associated with these reservoirs.Through the innovative modeling technology of PaleoScan,the reservoirs in Sub member 3 of the third member of the Shahejie Formation are modeled to understand the structural framework.The resulting model is populated with petrophysical properties i.e.,porosity and permeability to predict their lateral and vertical distribution within these sandstone reservoirs.The study suggests that the reservoir in the highstand system tract(HST)is characterized by the clinoforms configuration framework.The reservoir is highly faulted mainly in the northern and southeastern parts of the depression.The sedimentary layers are deposited across the slope and downlapping,thinning,and terminating toward to the west.The two isochore surface maps reveal sediment thickness variation and depositional trends within each individual depositional layer.The zones or areas that corresponds to low values on the thickness maps suggest minor uplifts associated with intensive faulting in the Eocene period.These topographical highs played a fundamental role in distributing the sediments delivered to the basin from distant sources.The maps reveal that sediments that filled the basin appear to come from different source points,primarily delivered from the north,southeast,and northeast of the basin with varying depositional trends.The modeled porosity and permeability indicate that the delta fed turbidite reservoirs are characterized by medium to high porosity values of 10e20%and low to medium permeability values of 30-410mD,respectively.The porosity values increase to the southeast and toward the basinwards(west)while permeability varies within the individual sedimentary layers.The distribution of porosity and permeability is not uniform vertically.This suggests the presence of mixed none-reservoir layers with locally and periodically deposited sandstone reservoirs within the stratigraphic during rapid delta progradation.The HST is characterized by six different delta progradation cycles;each phase produced locally deposited lacustrine turbidite sandstones in the basin,which are essential reservoirs in this Formation.The innovative PaleoScan interpretation technology has successfully created a high-resolution 3D reservoir model of this complex geology-such innovative technology is vital to similar complex geology globally.

Characterization of favorable lithofacies in tight sandstone reservoirs and its significance for gas exploration and exploitation: A case study of the 2nd Member of Triassic Xujiahe Formation in the Xinchang area, Sichuan Basin

By using core,logging curves,and experiment data,favorable lithofacies types in the 2 nd Member of Triassic Xujiahe Formation in the Xinchang area,Sichuan Basin were classified,standard of the favorable lithofacies was established,planar distribution regularities of the favorable lithofacies were identified,and forming mechanisms of the favorable lithofacies and their control effect on production were examined.(1)The 2 nd Member of Xujiahe Formation has twelve types of lithofacies,among which multiple layer medium-coarse grain sandstone lithofacies,parallel bedding medium-coarse grain sandstone lithofacies,massive bedding medium-coarse grain sandstone lithofacies,inclined bedding medium-coarse grain sandstone lithofacies,and charcoal-bearing medium-coarse grain sandstone lithofacies with better physical properties and higher gas content are favorable lithofacies;they feature low gamma,low neutron porosity,low resistivity,and high acoustic travel time on logging curves.(2)The sedimentary process controls spatial distribution of sand bodies which are the material basis of the favorable lithofacies;post diagenetic fluids would differentially reconstruct the favorable lithofacies;tectonic activities and abnormal formation pressure made strata slide along the weakness plane,giving rise to fractures in different types of rocks,which can enhance the reservoir permeability significantly.(3)The development degree of favorable lithofacies is a major factor affecting stable production of gas well.

The application study on the multi-scales integrated prediction method to fractured reservoir description

In this paper,we implement three scales of fracture integrated prediction study by classifying it to macro-（ 1/4/λ）,meso-（ 1/100λ and 1/4λ） and micro-（ 1/100λ） scales.Based on the multi-scales rock physics modelling technique,the seismic azimuthal anisotropy characteristic is analyzed for distinguishing the fractures of meso-scale.Furthermore,by integrating geological core fracture description,image well-logging fracture interpretation,seismic attributes macro-scale fracture prediction and core slice micro-scale fracture characterization,an comprehensive multi-scale fracture prediction methodology and technique workflow are proposed by using geology,well-logging and seismic multi-attributes.Firstly,utilizing the geology core slice observation（Fractures description） and image well-logging data interpretation results,the main governing factors of fracture development are obtained,and then the control factors of the development of regional macro-scale fractures are carried out via modelling of the tectonic stress field.For the meso-scale fracture description,the poststack geometric attributes are used to describe the macro-scale fracture as well,the prestack attenuation seismic attribute is used to predict the meso-scale fracture.Finally,by combining lithological statistic inversion with superposed results of faults,the relationship of the meso-scale fractures,lithology and faults can be reasonably interpreted and the cause of meso-scale fractures can be verified.The micro-scale fracture description is mainly implemented by using the electron microscope scanning of cores.Therefore,the development of fractures in reservoirs is assessed by valuating three classes of fracture prediction results.An integrated fracture prediction application to a real field in Sichuan basin,where limestone reservoir fractures developed,is implemented.The application results in the study area indicates that the proposed multi-scales integrated fracture prediction method and the technique procedureare able to deal with the strong heterogeneity and multi-scales problems in fracture prediction.Moreover,the multi-scale fracture prediction technique integrated with geology,well-logging and seismic multi-information can help improve the reservoir characterization and sweet-spots prediction for the fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Seismic low-frequency-based calculation of reservoir fluid mobility and its applications

Low frequency content of seismic signals contains information related to the reservoir fluid mobility. Based on the asymptotic analysis theory of frequency-dependent reflectivity from a fluid-saturated poroelastic medium, we derive the computational implementation of reservoir fluid mobility and present the determination of optimal frequency in the implementation. We then calculate the reservoir fluid mobility using the optimal frequency instantaneous spectra at the low-frequency end of the seismic spectrum. The methodology is applied to synthetic seismic data from a permeable gas-bearing reservoir model and real land and marine seismic data. The results demonstrate that the fluid mobility shows excellent quality in imaging the gas reservoirs. It is feasible to detect the location and spatial distribution of gas reservoirs and reduce the non-uniqueness and uncertainty in fluid identification.

Integrated application of 3D seismic and microseismic data in the development of tight gas reservoirs

The development of unconventional resources, such as shale gas and tight sane gas, requires the integration of multi-disciplinary knowledge to resolve many engineering problems in order to achieve economic production levels. The reservoir heterogeneit3 revealed by different data sets, such as 3D seismic and microseismic data, can more full3 reflect the reservoir properties and is helpful to optimize the drilling and completioT programs. First, we predict the local stress direction and open or close status of the natura fractures in tight sand reservoirs based on seismic curvature, an attribute that reveals reservoi heterogeneity and geomechanical properties. Meanwhile, the reservoir fracture network is predicted using an ant-tracking cube and the potential fracture barriers which can affec hydraulic fracture propagation are predicted by integrating the seismic curvature attribute anc ant-tracking cube. Second, we use this information, derived from 3D seismic data, to assis in designing the fracture program and adjusting stimulation parameters. Finally, we interpre the reason why sand plugs will occur during the stimulation process by the integration of 3E seismic interpretation and microseismic imaging results, which further explain the hydraulic fracure propagation controlling factors and open or closed state of natural fractures in tigh sand reservoirs.

Assessing the Viability of Gandhar Field in India’s Cambay Basin for CO_(2) Storage

Our research is centered on the Gandhar oil field, which was discovered in 1983, where daily oil production has declined significantly over the years. The primary objective was to evaluate the feasibility of carbon dioxide(CO_(2)) storage through its injection into the siliciclastic reservoirs of Ankleshwar Formation. We aimed to obtain high-resolution acoustic impedance data to estimate porosity employing model-based poststack seismic inversion. We conducted an analysis of the density and effective porosity in the target zone through geostatistical techniques and probabilistic neural networks. Simultaneously, the work also involved geomechanical analysis through the computation of pore pressure and fracture gradient using well-log data, geological information, and drilling events in the Gandhar field. Our investigation unveiled spatial variations in effective porosity within the Hazad Member of the Ankleshwar Formation, with an effective porosity exceeding 25% observed in several areas, which indicates the presence of well-connected pore spaces conducive to efficient CO_(2) migration. Geomechanical analysis showed that the vertical stress(Sv) ranged from 55 MPa to 57 MPa in Telwa and from 63.7 MPa to 67.7 MPa in Hazad Member. The pore pressure profile displayed variations along the stratigraphic sequence, with the shale zone, particularly in the Kanwa Formation, attaining the maximum pressure gradient(approximately 36 MPa). However, consistently low pore pressure values(30-34 MPa) considerably below the fracture gradient curves were observed in Hazad Member due to depletion. The results from our analysis provide valuable insights into shaping future field development strategies and exploration of the feasibility of CO_(2) sequestration in Gandhar Field.