Interval Anisotropic Parameter Estimation Using Velocity-independent Layer Stripping
Moveout analysis of long-spread P-wave data is widely used to estimate the key time-processing parameter η in layered VTI media. Inversion for interval η values, however, suffers from instability caused by the tradeoff between the effective moveout parameters and by the subsequent error amplification during Dix-type layer stripping. Here, we propose an alternative approach to interval parameter estimation based on the velocity-independent layer-stripping method of Dewangan & Tsvankin (2006). This method makes it possible to compute the interval moveout in a layer of interest without knowledge of the medium parameters in the overburden. Then the interval traveltimes are inverted for the normal-moveout velocity (Vnmo) and η using the single-layer nonhyperbolic moveout equation. Thus, the layer stripping of η in the conventional method is replaced by the much more stable stripping of reflection traveltimes. We also develop the 3D version of the layer-stripping method and apply it to interval parameter estimation for orthorhombic media using wide-azimuth P-wave data. The superior accuracy and stability of our algorithm is illustrated on ray-traced synthetic data for typical layered VTI and orthorhombic models. Even small correlated noise in reflection traveltimes produces substantial distortions in the effective η, and for some models, even in the effective Vnmo. As a result, the inter val η values estimated by the conventional Dix-type method may be highly inaccurate. In contrast, the output of our layer-stripping algorithm proves to be insensitive to mild correlated traveltime errors. The algorithm is also tested on wide-azimuth P-wave reflection data recorded above a fractured reservoir at Rulison field in Colorado. The interval moveout parameters estimated by the velocity-independent layer stripping in the shale layer above the reservoir are more plausible and stable than those obtained by the Dix-type method.
Estimation of interval anisotropic attenuation from reflection data
Knowledge of interval attenuation can be highly beneficial in reservoir characterization and lithology discrimination. We combine the spectral-ratio method with velocity-independent layer stripping to develop a technique for the estimation of the interval attenuation coefficient from reflection seismic data. The layer-stripping procedure is based on identifying the reflections from the top and bottom of the target layer that share the same ray segments in the overburden. The algorithm is designed for heterogeneous, arbitrarily anisotropic target layers, but the overburden is assumed to be laterally homogeneous with a horizontal symmetry plane. Although no velocity information about the overburden is needed, interpretation of the computed anisotropic attenuation coefficient involves the phase angle in the target layer. Tests on synthetic P-wave data from layered transversely isotropic and orthorhombic media confirm the high accuracy of 2D and 3D versions of the algorithm. We also demonstrate that the interval attenuation estimates are independent of the inhomogeneity angle of the incident and reflected waves.
Azimuthal variation in AVO response for fractured gas sands
Natural fractures in reservoirs play an important role in determining fluid flow during production, and hence the density and orientation of fractures is of great interest. In the presence of aligned vertical fractures, the reflection amplitude at finite offset varies with azimuth. The effect of natural fractures on the azimuthal AVO response from a gas‐sandstone reservoir encased within shale is investigated. A simple expression for the difference in P‐wave reflection coefficient from the top of the reservoir parallel and perpendicular to the strike of the fractures is obtained in terms of the normal and tangential compliances, ZN and ZT, of the fractures. This expression is valid for small anisotropy and material contrasts and is compared with the results of numerical modelling. For a given value of ZT, the azimuthal variation in reflection coefficient at moderate offsets is found to increase with decreasing ZN/ZT. For gas‐filled open fractures ZN/ZT ≈ 1, but a lower ratio of ZN/ZT may result from the presence of cement or clay within the fractures, or from the presence of a fluid with non‐zero bulk modulus. For ZN/ZT = 1 and moderate offsets, the variation with offset of the reflection coefficient from the top of the fractured unit is dominated by the contrast in Poisson's ratio between the gas sand and the overlying shale, the effect of fractures only becoming noticeable as the critical angle for the unfractured sandstone is approached. However, for reflections from the base of the fractured unit, the variation in reflection amplitude with azimuth is much greater at conventional seismic offsets than for the reflection from the top. Azimuthal variations in the strength of the reflection from the top of the reservoir depend only on the variation in reflection coefficient, whereas the raypath is also a function of azimuth for reflections from the base of the fractured unit, leading to stronger, more visible, variations of AVO with azimuth. It follows that an azimuthal variation in AVO due to fractures in the overburden may be misinterpreted as due to the presence of aligned fractures in the reservoir.