Fracture detection using crosswell and single well surveys

Abstract

We recorded high‐resolution (1 to 10 kHz), crosswell and single well seismic data in a shallow (15 to 35 m), water‐saturated, fractured limestone sequence at Conoco's borehole test facility near Newkirk, Oklahoma. Our objective was to develop seismic methodologies for imaging gas‐filled fractures in naturally fractured gas reservoirs. The crosswell (1/4 m receiver spacing, 50 to 100 m well separation) surveys used a piezoelectric source and hydrophones before, during, and after an air injection that we designed to displace water from a fracture zone. Our intent was to increase the visibility of the fracture zone to seismic imaging and to confirm previous hydrologic data that indicated a preferred pathway. For the single well seismic imaging (a piezoelectric source and an eight‐element hydrophone array at 1/4 m spacing), we also recorded data before and after the air injection. The crosswell results indicate that the air did follow a preferred pathway that was predicted by hydrologic modeling. In addition, the single well seismic imaging using vertical common depth‐point (CDP) gathers indicated an anomaly consistent with the anomaly location of crosswell and hydrologic inversion results. Following the field tests, a slant well was drilled and cored to confirm the existence and nature of the rock associated with the seismic anomalies. A vertical fracture was intersected within less than 1 m of where the seismic results had predicted.