OPINION 7
Fresh frontiers demand applied knowledge and new techniques
Ron Silva discusses how seismic data
processing techniques and geotechnical knowledge are being applied to tackle today’s new, more challenging oil exploration frontiers.
Ron Silva estudia la aplicación actual de las técnicas de procesamiento de datos sísmicos y de los conocimientos geotécnicos para superar nuevas y más difíciles fronteras en la exploración de yacimientos de petróleo.
Ron Silva erläutert, wie mit seismischen Datenverarbeitungs- verfahren und geotechnischem Fachwissen die aufwändigeren
Ölexplorationsvorhaben von heute in Angriff genommen werden.
O
il and gas exploration is becoming increasingly challenging as oil reserves decline and both major oil companies and smaller
regional and specialist exploration companies are compelled to develop and test new, cost-effective techniques and
approaches.Seismic data processing is an essential step for improving the quality of raw data acquired in the field.
By considering knowledge of the area’s geology, appropriate new and specialist techniques are being selected to improve imaging available for interpretation by petroleum geoscientists.
Some techniques
such as reverse time migration (RTM) which have been proposed in the past are only now becoming practicable as computing hardware becomes more powerful, although hardware issues still remain.
seismic data is also recognised in processes such as multiple attenuation and migration. Of course, this assumes that azimuths are adequately and properly sampled in the first place. The emergence of streamers with dual sensors offer the possibility of decoupling the up and downgoing wavefields when processing data recorded at the surface. Travel time
“New techniques can evolve from either
re-examining established methods and techniques and/or applying them in different scenarios. The
importance of compensating for source-receiver azimuth in processing 3D seismic data is also recognised in processes such as multiple attenuation and migration.”
Dr Ron Silva,
This industry has, and will, continue to push hardware developments required to process seismic data in a timely manner. It is anticipated that RTM will become a method used in standard production use when hardware limitations are resolved in the future.
New techniques can evolve from either
re-examining established methods and techniques and/or applying them in different scenarios.
The importance of compensating for source-receiver azimuth in processing 3D
www.engineerlive.com
Group Technical Manager, Spectrum
inversion will be replaced by full waveform inversion, for example, and 4D seismic will be performed in the depth domain. Spectrum has also found that the reprocessing of data from existing surveys using new techniques, technology, and perhaps more up to date knowledge of a region can provide a powerful and cost effective dataset for reservoir characterisation. Whether
processing onshore, on board and or reprocessing older data to give it a new lease of life, with the
right knowledge and understanding there are now techniques available to improve results. Some of these are outlined below.
Sub-basalt imaging
The first licensing round in the Norway- Iceland Jan Mayen agreement area opened on 22 January and included bid rounds in the Northern Dreki area of Iceland. Although little prospect information was known about the area, a well-documented
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