Getting the most out of seismic data for supporting unconventional drilling programs: Velocity, Inversion, Anisotropy & Full Elastic Imaging
Authors
David Kessler, SeismicCity and Dave Langton, Devon Energy
Presenter: David Kessler
Talk Abstract
In the talk we will discuss and demonstrate how depth imaging can assist in planning of horizontal wells used in unconventional plays. The basic goals of either time or depth imaging are to provide accurate time to depth conversion and to provide clear imaging of both large-scale and small-scale geological features. We will discuss what need to be done to achieve these goals. In many cases we try to extract additional information from the seismic data, including fracture orientation and high-resolution details. This can be done by using azimuthal anisotropy extracted from the seismic data and by use of full Elastic imaging. We will explain how these processes work and what we can expect as results. The last subject that we will review is the selection of gathers for impedance inversion, answering the question if PSDM gathers can be used with confidence as input to inversion. The advantage in using PSDM gathers is that the inversion results are provided in correct space and depth. To demonstrate the above processes, we will use data examples from Barnett shale in Texas Forth Worth basin, Woodford formation in Oklahoma Anadarko basin and from Delaware basin in the Permian basin.
David Kessler Bio
Dr. Kessler serves as the President of SeismicCity since its incorporation in early 2000. He started his industrial career as a research Geophysicist developing algorithms for velocity estimation, model building and prestack depth migration and held a Senior Research Scientist position for Landmark/ITA (1991-1994) and a Senior Research Geophysicist position for Cogniseis Development (1994-1996). In 1996 Dr. Kessler moved his focus from research and development to production processing and became the Manager of Depth Imaging Services for CGG Americas (1996-2000). In early 2000, together with several other colleagues, Dr. Kessler founded SeismicCity with the objective of creating a technology leader in the development and implementation of depth imaging technology. Dr. Kessler holds a Ph. D., M. Sc. and B. Sc. degrees, all in Geophysics from Tel Aviv University.
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