Recovery of Fracture Orientation and Fluid Saturation by Scattered Waves: Numerical Experiments and Field Observations

2016

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DOI 10.2118/182555-ms
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Abstract The main peculiarity of hydrocarbon reservoirs in carbonate environment is impermeability of the rock matrix. Oil is concentrated within cavities, but flows through the system of fractures. Hence, it is important not only to identify the presence of fractures, but also to determine their dominant orientation. This knowledge is necessary to optimize location and direction of horizontal wells to guarantee optimal exploration of the reservoir. The necessary stage to reveal manifestation of fracture corridors and their orientation is detailed analysis of the synthetic seismograms simulated for realistic geological model of the cracked reservoir. We developed special software to do that for 3D realistic heterogeneous multiscale media and applied it for typical model of the fractured carbonate reservoirs of East Siberia. Results of the series of numerical experiment prove that orientation of fracture corridors and fluid saturation of the reservoir have significant impact in the scattered waves. The next stage is to separate scattering and specular reflections. To do that we compute selective images and use them to localize areas with higher fracturing and fluid saturation. To conclude our analysis we present results of real data processing for some oil deposits in East Siberia and their valdation on well test data.