Estimation of density from seismic data without long offsets – a novel approach.

Abstract

Estimation of density plays an important role in characterizing subsurface reservoirs. Reliable determination of density from noise-free seismic data requires long offsets, or it can be determined from measured converted waves. As the acquisition, processing and interpretation of multicomponent seismic data entails more time and cost, their use has been slow in our industry. Considering the importance of the density attribute in the determination of lithology and fluid discrimination, we describe a novel approach for its determination from conventional (PP) seismic data. The key point of this approach is that it does not require long offsets. Though this methodology has been applied to a variety of reservoir characterization exercises, we describe its application to the Montney Shale Formation in the Montney-Dawson area of British Columbia, Canada. We also demonstrate a comparison of the proposed approach with simultaneous impedance inversion application to longoffset seismic data for determination of density. The proposed approach has shown encouraging results.