New frontier for the seismic inversion: Five reasons for the anisotropic approach

Abstract

Summary Although it is widely recognized that anisotropy can have a significant influence in the depth imaging for focusing and positioning of migrated reflection events, at the same time it can be fundamental for AVO (Amplitude Versus Offset) analysis and seismic inversion. In fact the correct characterization of the anisotropic elastic properties of subsurface formations can improve the match of synthetics with prestack amplitudes of field data. In this study we outline the importance of introducing the anisotropy in the seismic inversion workflow in order to remove the possible anisotropic effect from the final result. Five key points have been identified as fundamental advantages: consistent low-frequency velocity model, correct estimation of seismic wavelet for the partial-stack sections, better well ties and AVO analysis, enhanced lithology discrimination and a general improvement in the reservoir characterization.