Multiwell 3D distributed acoustic sensing vertical seismic profile imaging with engineered fibers: CO2CRC Otway Project case study

Abstract

The 4D surface seismic monitoring is a standard method for reservoir surveillance during the production of hydrocarbons or CO2 injection. However, land 4D seismic acquisition campaigns are often associated with high cost and disruptions to industrial operation or agricultural activities in the area of acquisition. An alternative technique for time-lapse monitoring of the subsurface is the 3D vertical seismic profiling (VSP), which becomes particularly attractive when used with distributed acoustic fiber-optic sensors (DAS) installed in wells. The advantages of 3D DAS VSP include its relatively low cost, minimal footprint on the local area during acquisition, and superior spatial resolution compared to the resolution of geophones. The potential of this technique is explored by processing and analyzing multiwell 3D DAS VSP data acquired at the CO2CRC Otway Project site in Victoria, Australia. The DAS data were recorded using an engineered fiber with enhanced backscattering cemented behind the casing of five wells. The data from each well are processed individually using the same processing flow and then migrated using a 3D migration code tailored to DAS data. Having DAS along the full extent of multiple wells ensures adequate seismic coverage of the area of CO2 injection. The migrated images provide detailed information about the subsurface up to 700 m away from a well and up to 2 km depth. The images are consistent with previously acquired geophone VSP and surface seismic data. The quality of the 3D DAS VSP imaging is comparable or superior to the quality of conventional imaging using geophone data. Therefore, 3D DAS VSP is a demonstrably optimal solution for reservoir monitoring.