Seismic Acquisition Parameters Analysis for Deep Weak Reflectors in the South Yellow Sea

The Mesozoic-Paleozoic marine residual basin in the South Yellow Sea(SYS) is a significant deep potential hydrocarbon reservoir. However, the imaging of the deep prospecting target is quite challenging due to the specific seismic-geological conditions. In the Central and Wunansha Uplifts, the penetration of the seismic wavefield is limited by the shallow high-velocity layers(HVLs) and the weak reflections in the deep carbonate rocks. With the conventional marine seismic acquisition technique, the deep weak reflection is difficult to image and identify. In this paper, we could confirm through numerical simulation that the combination of multi-level air-gun array and extended cable used in the seismic acquisition is crucial for improving the imaging quality. Based on the velocity model derived from the geological interpretation, we performed two-dimensional finite difference forward modeling. The numerical simulation results show that the use of the multi-level air-gun array can enhance low-frequency energy and that the wide-angle reflection received at far offsets of the extended cable has a higher signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and higher energy. Therefore, we have demonstrated that the unconventional wide-angle seismic acquisition technique mentioned above could overcome the difficulty in imaging the deep weak reflectors of the SYS, and it may be useful for the design of practical seismic acquisition schemes in this region.

Classification and characteristics of tight oil plays

Based on the latest conventional–unconventional oil and gas databases and relevant reports,the distribution features of global tight oil were analyzed.A classification scheme of tight oil plays is proposed based on developed tight oil fields.Effective tight oil plays are defined by considering the exploiting practices of the past few years.Currently,potential tight oil areas are mainly distributed in 137 sets of shale strata in 84 basins,especially South America,North America,Russia,and North Africa.Foreland,craton,and continental rift basins dominate.In craton basins,tight oil mainly occurs in Paleozoic strata,while in continental rift basins,tight oil occurs in Paleozoic–Cenozoic strata.Tight oil mainly accumulates in the Cretaceous,Early Jurassic,Late Devonian,and Miocene,which correspond very well to six sets of globaldeveloped source rocks.Based on source–reservoir relationship,core data,and well-logging data,tight oil plays can be classified into eight types,above-source play,below-source play,beside-source play,in-source play,between-source play,in-source mud-dominated play,insource mud-subordinated play,and interbedded-source play.Specifically,between-source,interbedded-source,and in-source mud-subordinated plays are major targets for global tight oil development with high production.Incontrast,in-source mud-dominated and in-source plays are less satisfactory.