Seismically Driven Improved Fractured Reservoir Characterization

Abstract

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractCharacterization of naturally fractured reservoir is a recurring challenge for many oil and gas companies that manage and develop fractured reservoirs. Several techniques have been applied in the past to characterize these complex reservoirs; most of them have been proven unreliable. This paper will describe a methodology to improve the characterization of fractured reservoir using seismic attributes derived from prestack and post-stack high resolution inversion and spectral imaging. The methodology presented in this paper uses the simultaneous integration of geophysical, geologic, and engineering data to improve the reservoir description. At the root of this reservoir characterization technique is the increasingly accurate seismic data collected on most of the reservoirs world-wide. Extensive use of this seismic information is made possible through the use of pre-stack high-resolution elastic inversion, post-stack high resolution inversion, and spectral imaging. These processes allow the derivation of seismic attributes that are extremely relevant to fracturing and could also be used as input in the continuous fracture modeling approach. Based on this seismically driven reservoir characterization, the fractured reservoir properties could be accurately estimated in 3D. An application of this technology and workflow is presented on a very complex fractured reservoir.