4D Seismic Least Square Migration in Carbonates: A Case of Successful Matching

Abstract

4D seismic surveys are now routinely used to monitor hydrocarbon reservoirs. Because seismic reflections are sensitive to formation stress and fluid content, repeated seismic surveys are able to detect pressure changes and fluid exchanges that occur during field production. These measurements can help to optimise recovery strategy and identify areas where hydrocarbons have been bypassed. In practice, the seismic signal associated with such changes may be negligible, especially in heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs. However, by applying a 4D seismic co-processing workflow, we were able to detect and quantify a 4D signal even with suboptimal repeated acquisition geometry. Seismic inversion helped to overcome noise, multiple contamination, and differences in dynamic amplitude range between baseline and monitor seismic surveys. Matching the 4D seismic signal to changes in reservoir production characteristics aided in the investigation of the mechanism underlying the observed 4D signal. Detectability of 4D signals was found to be primarily related to changes in reservoir pressure and fluid saturation, which increased from 2010 to 2020 the time-lapse between the base and monitor survey.