Chimneys are vertical chaotic disturbances in seismic sections related to the propagation of fluids (especially gas) through fissures and fractures in rocks. They can be indicative of mud diapirism, active gas seepage, migration pathways or hydrocarbon reservoirs themselves (Aminzadeh et al., 2002).
This paper presents a study on geophysical inverse modelling for sub-surface structural properties of an unconventional hydrocarbon site that was monitored previously by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology for surface deformation. A static three-dimensional geomodel along with extracted property maps replicates the depth of each underlying stratigraphic unit and structural feature with the density of each geological layer. We examine the hypothesis that integration of elastic properties of each formation layer with InSAR observations in a stratified elastic medium will lead to a viscoelastic geophysical inverse problem that can be solved to estimate fractional volume change at the reservoir level. Moreover, we examine synthetic scenarios in which the elastic properties of the formations are perturbed before determining the resulting impact on the rate of surface deformation.The results show that although the slope of underlying formations, their density and depth can define the extent and pattern of a deformation signal, their properties have a marginal impact on volumetric change compared to the dense network of shallow depth Coal Seam Gas(CSG) mining wells. Besides, it is also demonstrated that the inversion of InSAR deformation maps can resolve the uncertainties associated with low-resolution seismic interpretation as well as filling the data gaps within seismic acquisitions. A significant contribution of this investigation to the geological basin modelling involves a) introducing a remote and non-invasive technology such as InSAR to improve geophysical mapping of subsurface structures such as faults in areas with sparse or no reflective seismic information, and b) applying a multi-layer viscoelastic geophysical source model for an unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir such as CSG.
Sedimentary rocks with sealing potential can cap a reservoir by impeding the upward movement of hydrocarbons. An effective seal should have three qualifying factors of geometry, integrity, and capacity. Mapping seismic horizons and faults across the area of study reveals much about the geometry and integrity of the sealing unit. Capacity, however, depends on capillary pressure measurements of core and cuttings samples. Modeling capacity of seals away from and between wells has traditionally involved simple gridding techniques or association with most likely geologic or seismic facies. We have developed a different approach in using seismic data and applying it to the evaluation of sealing potential. Shales are the most common seals in petroleum systems. Seismically, well-developed shale units that have undergone compaction are likely to be anisotropic and are typical vertical transverse isotropic media. Seismic data with suitable acquisition parameters were processed to extract [Formula: see text] and Thomsen’s parameters of weak seismic anisotropy, tied to the vertical seismic profile data at wells. The spatial distribution of [Formula: see text] has shown a good correlation with capillary measurements of well samples. Hence, 3D modeling of epsilon was used as a weight factor to guide the capillary pressure ([Formula: see text]) values away from the wells. Capillary pressure values were then mapped on the fault planes to high grade the analysis of sand-shale juxtaposition. Our results helped to explain the distribution of successful wells and dry holes within the study area.
This paper discusses the potential for storing CO2 and producing lower carbon intensity oil from onshore oil fields in the Cooper and Surat basins of South Australia and Queensland. A comprehensive database was compiled for the oil fields in the basins above, including the key required data to assess the potential of the basins for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The South Australia and Queensland oil field databases contain 140 reservoirs with a combined original oil in-place of 1497 million barrels. These reservoirs have, to date, produced a total of 382 million barrels, with 458 million barrels of expected ultimate recovery (EUR). The database was compiled with support from Santos, Bridgeport, and Beach Energy. These reservoirs were screened further based on their size and pressure. The next step was to model the application of a CO2 flood in each of the shortlisted reservoirs using the CO2 EOR Prophet model developed by Advanced Resources International. The modelling showed that joint implementation of CO2 storage and CO2 EOR would allow the Cooper and Surat basins to store 116–158 million metric tons of CO2 and produce 248–518 million barrels of additional oil. Creating hubs and clustering fields based on their geographical location helps to reduce the cost of infrastructure and CO2 transportation. Therefore, the reservoirs in this study, were grouped and anchored to the most dominant oil reservoir that has the largest CO2 storage and EOR capacity. The results of the clusters are summarised in this paper.
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