Detecting the presence of gaseous formation fluids, estimating the respective volumes, and characterizing their spatial distribution is important for a wide range of applications, notably for geothermal energy production. The ability to obtain such information from remote geophysical measurements constitutes a fundamental challenge, which needs to be overcome to address a wide range of problems, such as the estimation of the reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. With these motivations, we compute the body wave velocities of a fractured granitic geothermal reservoir formation with varying quantities of steam to analyze the seismic signatures in a partial saturation context. We employ a poroelastic upscaling approach that accounts for mesoscale fluid pressure diffusion (FPD) effects induced by the seismic strain field, and, thus, describes the governing physical processes more accurately than standard representations. Changes in seismic velocities due to steam saturation are compared with changes associated with fracture density variations, as both are plausible results of pressure changes in geothermal reservoirs. We find that steam saturation has a significant impact on P-wave velocities while affecting S-wave velocities to a significantly lesser extent. This contrasting behavior allows to discriminate between fracture density and steam saturation changes by means of P- and S-wave velocity ratio analyses. To evaluate the potential of seismic methods to provide this information, a canonical geothermal reservoir model is employed to compute Rayleigh wave velocity dispersion and seismic reflection amplitude vs angle (AVA) curves. These studies reveal that AVA analyses allow to differentiate changes in fracture density from changes in steam saturation. We also note that Rayleigh-wave-based techniques are much less sensitive to steam content changes than to fracture density changes. Comparisons with elastic approaches show that including FPD effects through the use of a poroelastic model is crucial for the reliable detection and characterization of steam in fractured geothermal reservoirs.
Passive seismic characterization is an environmentally friendly method to estimate the seismic properties of the subsurface. Among its applications, we find the monitoring of geothermal reservoirs. One key characteristic to ensure a productive management of these reservoirs is the degree of fracture connectivity and its evolution, as it affects the flow of fluids within the formation. In this work, we explore the effects of fracture connectivity on Rayleigh wave velocity dispersion accounting for wave‐induced fluid pressure diffusion (FPD) effects. To this end, we consider a stratified reservoir model with a fractured water‐bearing formation. For the stochastic fracture network prevailing in this formation, we consider varying levels of fracture density and connectivity. A numerical upscaling procedure that accounts for FPD effects is employed to determine the corresponding body wave velocities. We use a Monte‐Carlo‐type approach to obtain these velocities and incorporate them in the considered fractured reservoir model to assess the sensitivity of Rayleigh wave velocity dispersion to fracture connectivity. Our results show that Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities exhibit a significant sensitivity to the degree of fracture connectivity, which is mainly due to a reduction of the stiffening effect of the fluid residing in connected fractures in response to wave‐induced FPD. These effects cannot be accounted for by classical elastic approaches. This suggests that Rayleigh wave velocity changes, which are commonly associated with changes in fracture density, may also be related to changes in interconnectivity of pre‐existing or newly generated fractures.
<p>The seismic characterization of fractured geological formations is of importance for a wide range of applications throughout the Earth, environmental and engineering sciences, such as, for example, hydrocarbon exploration and production, CO&#173;&#173;<sub>2 </sub>sequestration, monitoring of enhanced geothermal reservoirs, nuclear waste storage, and tunneling operations. Seismic methods are indirect in nature, and, hence, comprehensive modelling techniques are required to translate corresponding observations into rock physical properties. In this regard, numerous works have employed the theoretical framework of poroelasticity in order to explore the seismic response of particularly complex and elusive parameters of fluid-saturated fracture networks, such as their fracture density and interconnectivity. This is motivated by the fact that poroelasticity allows to account for fluid pressure diffusion effects between connected fractures as well as between fractures and their embedding background. Fluid pressure diffusion prevails when zones of contrasting compliance are traversed by a seismic wave, as this results in pressure gradients, which induce oscillatory fluid flow and, consequently, energy dissipation. This form of energy dissipation has a significant impact on seismic velocity dispersion, attenuation, and anisotropic characteristics, which are key seismic observables. While a wide range of approximations are employed to represent fracture properties in order to compute the seismic response of formations, they do tend to inherently ignore the complex interrelationships between the lengths, compliances, apertures, and permeabilities of fractures remains, as of yet, unaccounted for. In this work, we seek to alleviate this in combination with a poroelastic modelling approach to explore how length-dependent fracture scaling characteristics affect the effective seismic properties of fractured rocks. We start by revisiting canonical models with two orthogonally intersecting fractures of different lengths to analyze the interactions occurring when fractures are affected by a seismic wavefield. We then proceed to explore how scaling relations affect these results. Finally, we consider fracture networks with realistic stochastic length distributions, for which we compare the effective seismic response with and without the proposed length-dependent scaling of the fracture characteristics. Our results demonstrate that the scaling of fracture properties does indeed have a significant effect on the seismic response, as it dramatically reduces the contribution of smaller fractures to fluid pressure diffusion between connected fractures, which, in turn, affects the overall seismic characteristics of the formation.</p>
<p>The use of passive seismic techniques to monitor geothermal reservoirs allows to assess the risks associated with their exploitation and stimulation. One key characteristic of geothermal reservoirs is the degree of fracture connectivity and its evolution. The reason for this is that changes in the interconnectivity of the prevailing fractures affect the permeability and, thus, the productivity of the system. An increasing number of studies indicates that the Rayleigh wave velocity can be sensitive to changes in the mechanical and hydraulic properties of geothermal reservoirs. In this work, we explore the effects of fracture connectivity on Rayleigh wave velocity dispersion accounting for wave-induced fluid pressure diffusion effects. To this end, we consider a 1D layered model consisting of a surficial sandstone formation overlying a fractured and water-saturated granitic layer, which, in turn, is underlain by a compact granitic half-space. For the stochastic fracture network prevailing in the upper granitic layer, we consider varying levels of fracture connectivity, ranging from entirely unconnected to fully interconnected. We use an upscaling approach based on Biot&#8217;s poroelasticity theory to determine the effective properties associated with these scenarios. This procedure allows to obtain the frequency-dependent seismic body wave velocities accounting for fluid pressure diffusion effects. Finally, using these parameters, we compute the corresponding Rayleigh wave velocity dispersion. Our results show that Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities exhibit a significant sensitivity to the degree of fracture connectivity, which is mainly due to a reduction of the stiffening effect of the fluid residing in connected fractures in response to wave-induced fluid pressure diffusion. This suggests that time-lapse observations of Rayleigh wave velocity changes, which so far are commonly associated with changes in the fracture density, could also be related to changes in the interconnectivity of pre-existing fractures.</p>
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