Improved Reservoir Characterisation by Multisensor Towed Streamer Seismic Data at the Mariner Field

Abstract

Summary The Mariner field is a shallow heavy-oil field located in the UK sector of the North Sea. As part of the development of the field we are investigating which seismic technology is most appropriate for imaging and monitoring this complex field. The main challenge at Mariner is the mapping of the Heimdal sands. The new broadband acquisition solutions all open up new and unique possibilities in broadband seismic data processing, imaging, interpretation and monitoring. Broadband seismic is in its infancy. It is expected that large improvements in seismic processing, imaging/inversion and monitoring will take place in the next years, leading to huge improvements in data quality and more reliable seismic interpretation. In August 2012 a seismic survey using WesternGeco’s multisensor towed-streamer technology was acquired at the Mariner field. Whilst no single interpretation strategy can be applied to all Heimdal sands on any one datatype, it is demonstrated that the multisensor streamer dataset provides a basis for Heimdal sand-mapping that will reduce the reliance on stochastic Heimdal modelling in the drainage strategy. Interpretation products are expected to be associated with less uncertainty than those derived from OBC data.