Continuous TDEM for monitoring shale hydraulic fracturing

Monitoring and delineating the spatial distribution of shale fracturing is fundamentally important to shale gas production. Standard monitoring methods, such as time-lapse seismic, cross-well seismic and micro-seismic methods, are expensive, timeconsuming, and do not show the changes in the formation with time. The resistivities of hydraulic fracturing fluid and reservoir rocks were measured. The results suggest that the injection fluid and consequently the injected reservoir are characterized by very low resistivity and high chargeability. This allows using of the controlled-source electromagnetic method (CSEM) to monitor shale gas hydraulic fracturing. Based on the geoelectrical model which was proposed according to the well-log and seismic data in the test area the change rule of the reacted electrical field was studied to account for the change of shale resistivity, and then the normalized residual resistivity method for time lapse processing was given. The time-domain electromagnetic method (TDEM) was used to continuously monitor the shale gas fracturing at the Fulin shale gas field in southern China. A high-power transmitter and multi-channel transient electromagnetic receiver array were adopted. 9 h time series of Ex component of 224 sites which were laid out on the surface and over three fracturing stages of a horizontal well at 2800 m depth was recorded. After data processing and calculation of the normalized resistivity residuals, the changes in the Ex signal were determined and a dynamic 3D image of the change in resistivity was constructed. This allows modeling the spatial distribution of the fracturing fluid. The model results suggest that TDEM is promising for monitoring hydraulic fracturing of shale.     

Body-wave passive seismic interferometry revisited: mining exploration using the body waves of local microearthquakes

As the global need for mineral resources is constantly rising and the exploitable concentrations of these resources tend to become increasingly complex to explore and exploit, the mining industry is in a constant quest for innovative and cost-effective exploration solutions. In this context, and in the framework of the Smart Exploration action, an integrated passive seismic survey was launched in the Gerolekas bauxite mining site in Central Greece. A passive seismic network, consisting of 129 three-component short-period stations was installed and operated continuously for 4 months. The acquired data permitted detection of approximately 1000 microearthquakes of very small magnitude (duration magnitude ranging between –1.5 and 2.0), located within or at a very close distance from the study area. We use this microseismicity as input for the application of passive seismic interferometry for reflection retrieval, using the body waves (P- and S-wave coda) of the located microearthquakes. We retrieve by autocorrelation zero-offset virtual reflection responses, per component, below each of the recording stations. We process the acquired results using reflection processing techniques to obtain zero-offset time and depth sections, both for P- and for S-waves. In the context of the present work, we evaluate one of the acquired depth sections, using an existing seismic line passing through the Gerolekas passive seismic network, and we perform forward modelling to assess the quality and value of the acquired results. We confirm that passive seismic reflected-wave interferometry could constitute a cost-effective and environmentally friendly innovative exploration alternative, especially in cases of difficult exploration settings.     

Importance of borehole deviation surveys for monitoring of hydraulic fracturing treatments

During seismic monitoring of hydraulic fracturing treatment, it is very common to ignore the deviations of the monitoring or treatment wells from their assumed positions. For example, a well is assumed to be perfectly vertical, but in fact, it deviates from verticality. This can lead to significant errors in the observed azimuth and other parameters of the monitored fracture‐system geometry derived from microseismic event locations. For common hydraulic fracturing geometries, a 2° deviation uncertainty on the positions of the monitoring or treatment well survey can cause a more than 20° uncertainty of the inverted fracture azimuths. Furthermore, if the positions of both the injection point and the receiver array are not known accurately and the velocity model is adjusted to locate perforations on the assumed positions, several‐millisecond discrepancies between measured and modeled SH‐P traveltime differences may appear along the receiver array. These traveltime discrepancies may then be misinterpreted as an effect of anisotropy, and the use of such anisotropic model may lead to the mislocation of the detected fracture system. The uncertainty of the relative positions between the monitoring and treatment wells can have a cumulative, nonlinear effect on inverted fracture parameters. We show that incorporation of borehole deviation surveys allows reasonably accurate positioning of the microseismic events. In this study, we concentrate on the effects of horizontal uncertainties of receiver and perforation positions. Understanding them is sufficient for treatment of vertical wells, and also necessary for horizontal wells.     

水力压裂微地震井地联合监测系统及仪器

水力压裂技术是油气田增产和低渗透油田开发的有效技术手段,通过监测油层裂缝延展过程中产生的微地震事件,能够有效地判断裂缝走向.现有的井中监测方法存在成本较高、施工难度大的问题;地面监测存在信号信噪比低、垂向分辨能力差等问题.本文采用井地联合微地震监测的方法,在地面布置采集仪器的同时,选择邻近的单口监测井放置井中仪器,对微地震事件进行联合监测定位.采用联合监测的方法,在水平方向和垂直方向上都能够获得较好的监测视角,对比单一监测方法提高了微地震事件的定位精度.在此方法的基础上研制的井地联合微地震监测仪器系统,解决了现有仪器系统在进行联合监测时通讯链路不通的问题,实现了在压裂施工现场对微地震联合监测数据的实时回收、处理及结果呈现.应用本系统在大庆油田进行现场监测,获取的微地震事件对压裂裂缝进行了有效评价;通过对已知射孔点进行反演定位,采用井地联合监测将定位误差由地面监测的32 m降低至14 m,验证了本文技术的有效性.     

油田压裂井地电法双参数联合监测技术与仪器研究

目前世界上水力压裂技术是老油田增产和低渗透油气田开发所应用最为广泛、最为有效的技术措施,油气储层裂缝分布规律监测对于油田勘探开发具有重要意义.本文利用压裂液在地层中的低阻特性与极化特性,基于井地电阻率法与激发极化法联合,根据位场理论镜像原理,采用三维有限差分,计算了多种压裂模型的地表传导电位与极化电位;通过非等权值的数据融合算法,计算了地表双参数异常,仿真数据的研究结果表明,双参数融合技术在异常提取方面具有明显优势.在此基础上,基于双波大功率联合发射技术、时分复用低噪声接收技术,研制了井地电法双参数联合监测仪器系统,共模抑制比达110 dB,有效地提取了微弱异常信号.通过陕西省富县华北局油田的压裂野外联合监测试验,表明了井地电法双参数联合监测仪器系统在水力压裂裂缝监测中具有较好的监测效果和较高的分辨率,解决了在低电阻率储层压裂或深井压裂情况下监测困难以及单一方法的监测结果多解性等问题,实现对油田水力压裂裂缝的实时监测.     

主动源与被动源地震数据插值及联合数据成像

本文提出了两种情况下主动源数据和被动源数据的插值方法,并研究了两种数据在偏移成像中的互补效果.基于互相关法被动源数据重构原理,本文提出了结合多域迭代去噪技术的重构方法.提出了两种时间域主动源和被动源数据的插值方法,分别是共炮点域能量匹配插值和共检波点域最小平方匹配插值.然后对获得的主动源和被动源联合地震数据进行叠前深度偏移成像.在被动源活跃度不是很高的地区进行被动源地震勘探时,少量的主动源地震数据可以有效控制和补充被动源数据的成像效果.在稀疏炮点的主动源勘探中,有效利用被动源的信息能够在成像中增加更多的细节信息,提高成像质量.     

Optimum size and density of surface grid arrays for retrieving accurate shear-tensile fracturing of microearthquakes

Surface arrays became an important tool for monitoring the induced seismicity in hydraulic fracturing experiments and for assessing the impact of fluid injection on the fracturing process of microearthquakes. The layout of sensors plays a key role in this task because it controls the accuracy of event locations and retrieved seismic moment tensors. We simulate various configurations of grid sensor arrays characterized by a different number of sensors, array span, sensor spacing, depth of sources and various shear/tensile source mechanisms of events. The moment tensor inversion is carried out using synthetically calculated P-wave amplitudes with added random noise. A bias in the solutions is evaluated by errors in the double-couple percentage of inverted moment tensors because the double-couple errors inform us about the sensitivity of the network to detect the shear/tensile fracturing mode of induced microearthquakes. The results show that the accuracy of the double-couple percentage is mostly controlled by the offset-to-depth ratio R defined as the ratio of half of the network size to the event depth. The optimum value of R is in the range of 0.75–1.5 irrespective of the type of the focal mechanism. If 121 (11 × 11) sensors are distributed in a regular grid and recorded data are characterized by a 10% random noise, the double-couple error is less than 6%. This error increases, if R is not optimum or if the number of sensors is reduced. However, even sparse arrays with 49 (7 × 7) or 16 (4 × 4) sensors can yield a reasonable accuracy, provided the surface grid arrays are designed to have an optimum size.     

连云港地震台台基噪声与干扰源分析

通过对连云港地震台台基背景噪声进行计算和分析,得出该台台基背景噪声属于Ⅰ类噪声水平。分析该台6—7月观测数据,得出日夜噪声差值约3 dB。分析发现,该台人为干扰为基础建设的工程车干扰、景区人员聚集和车辆干扰;自然环境干扰主要来自大风干扰。     

Recent advances in seismic monitoring technology at Canadian mines

We provide an overview of the current status of seismic monitoring instrumentation employed in Canadian underground mines. Based on several case studies, we outline how passive seismic monitoring techniques are being used to evaluate fractures and stress conditions associated with ore extraction at depth. It is shown that induced microseismicity allows for the remote monitoring of active fractures, delineating modes of failure with advancing excavation fronts, and identifying variations in principal stress orientations during sequential stages of mining. Advances into the characterization of excavation zone of influence through deformation state analysis and the use of seismic hazard analysis to evaluate the potential for ground instability are also discussed.     

Consistency of stress state,locations and source mechanisms of events induced by hydraulic fracturing: downhole monitoring

We present results of processed microseismic events induced by hydraulic fracturing and detected using dual downhole monitoring arrays. The results provide valuable insight into hydraulic fracturing. For our study, we detected and located microseismic events and determined their magnitudes, source mechanisms and inverted stress field orientation. Event locations formed a distinct linear trend above the stimulated intervals. Source mechanisms were only computed for high‐quality events detected on a sufficient number of receivers. All the detected source mechanisms were dip‐slip mechanisms with steep and nearly horizontal nodal planes. The source mechanisms represented shear events and the non‐double‐couple components were very small. Such small, non‐double‐couple components are consistent with a noise level in the data and velocity model uncertainties. Strikes of inverted mechanisms corresponding to the nearly vertical fault plane are (within the error of measurements) identical with the strike of the location trend. Ambient principal stress directions were inverted from the source mechanisms. The least principal stress, σ₃, was determined perpendicular to the strike of the trend of the locations, indicating that the hydraulic fracture propagated in the direction of maximum horizontal stress. Our analysis indicated that the source mechanisms observed using downhole instruments are consistent with the source mechanisms observed in microseismic monitoring arrays in other locations. Furthermore, the orientation of the inverted principal components of the ambient stress field is in agreement with the orientation of the known regional stress, implying that microseismic events induced by hydraulic fracturing are controlled by the regional stress field.     

Self-potential and passive seismic monitoring of hydrothermal activity: A case study at Iodine Pool,Waimangu geothermal valley,New Zealand

Iodine geyser, located in the Waimangu Geothermal Valley (New Zealand), has been studied by both passive electrical and seismic methods. The activity of the geyser was monitored at various distances from the vent using self-potential method. The self-potential signals display cyclic negative variations with respect to a baseline drawn when the geyser is quiet. The minimum in the self-potential signals coincides with the maximum overflow. We provide a numerical model able to explain both the polarity and magnitude of the observed signal. This model is based on the fluctuations of the hydraulic head in the conduit of the geyser; the divergence of the streaming current density is created at the interface between the pipe and the surrounding rock. Passive seismic experiments were used to localize ambient noise sources. These signals have been processed with the so-called Matched-Field Processing technique (MFP); a dominant source emerged from this processing, that we characterized in range and depth with a good accuracy.     

水力压裂物理实验模拟初探

为了研究水力压裂中岩石的破裂及裂缝延展规律,开展水力压裂实验模拟.采用大型真三轴压裂设备对花岗岩岩样(300 mm×300 mm×300 mm)进行水力压裂,16道检波器接收,在识别的声发射信号上拾取初至走时,Geiger定位结果表明,压裂中声发射事件位置与压裂示踪剂显示相一致,CT扫描制作的数字岩心准确反映实际的破裂...     

Delineation of potential seismic sources for seismic zoning of Iran

A total of 235 potential seismic sources in Iran and neighboring regions are delineated based on available geological, geophysical, tectonic and earthquake data for seismic hazard assessment of the country. In practice, two key assumptions are considered; first, the assumption of earthquake repeatedness, implying that major earthquakes occur preferentially near the sites of previous earthquakes; second, the assumption of tectonic analogy, which implies that structures of analogous tectonic setting are capable of generating same size earthquakes. A two-step procedure is applied for delineation of seismic sources: first, demarcation of seismotectonic provinces; second, determination of potential seismic sources. Preferentially, potential seismic sources are modeled as area sources, in which the configuration of each source zone is controlled, mainly, by the extent of active faults, the mechanism of earthquake faultings and the seismogenic part of the crust.     

天然地震层析成像技术在油气勘探中的应用

天然地震层析成像技术,主要是利用布设地震台阵记录天然地震事件体波到时信息,通过反演得到研究区域的三维速度结构分布.全国油气资源战略选区调查与评价项目在柴达木盆地西部复杂地区进行的天然地震层析成像试验结果表明,根据层析成像结果所推断的构造分布与其它方法的勘探结果相比具有一定的相似性,波速异常与测井得到的岩性特征有较好的对...     

水力压裂对速度场及微地震定位的影响

水力压裂是页岩气开发过程中的核心增产技术,微地震则广泛用于压裂分析、水驱前缘监测和储层描述.微地震反演过程中,用于反演的速度模型往往基于测井、地震或标定炮资料构建,忽略了压裂过程中裂缝及孔隙流体压力变化对地层速度的影响.本文首先基于物质守恒、渗流理论和断裂力学模拟三维水力压裂过程,得到地下裂缝发育特征和孔隙压力分布.继而根据Coates-Schoenberg方法和裂缝柔量参数计算裂缝和孔隙压力对速度场的影响,得到压裂过程中的实时速度模型.最后利用三维射线追踪方法正演微地震走时和方位信息,并采用常规微地震定位方法反演震源位置及进行误差分析.数值模拟结果表明,检波器空间分布影响定位精度,常规方法的定位误差随射线路径在压裂带中传播距离增加而变大,且不同压裂阶段的多点反演法与单点极化法精度相当.     

基于水力压裂实验的龙马溪组页岩各向异性特征研究

水力压裂储层改造技术是页岩气开发的关键技术手段.大量高压流体注入页岩储层会显著改变岩石的纵横波速度、岩石力学参数及其各向异性特征.文章在伪三轴应力加载条件下对龙马溪组页岩开展了差异化的水力压裂岩石物理实验,对比了应力加载方式和水-岩物理化学反应对于页岩纵横波速度和岩石力学参数的影响.实验结果表明,对于干燥页岩样品,各向...     

Study on anisotropy of Longmaxi shale using hydraulic fracturing experiment

Hydraulic fracturing reservoir reconstruction technology is crucial in the development of shale gas exploitation techniques.Large quantities of high-pressure fluids injected into shale reservoirs significantly alter compressional(P)and shear(S)wave velocities,rock mechanical parameters,and anisotropic characteristics.In this study,differentiated hydraulic fracturing petrophysical experiments were carried out on Longmaxi Formation shale under pseudo-triaxial stress loading conditions.The effects of stress loading methods,and water-rock physical and chemical reactions on P-and S-wave velocities and rock mechanical parameters were compared.The experimental results showed that isotropic stress loading may increase the P-and Swave velocities and Young’s modulus of dry shale kldnsample.Furthermore,it may lead to a weakening of the corresponding anisotropy.In contrast,differential stress loading was able to improve the anisotropy of Young’s modulus and accelerate the decrease in the compressive strength of shale in the vertical bedding direction.The water-rock physical and chemical reactions prompted by hydraulic fracturing was found to"soften"shale samples and reduce Young’s modulus.The influence of this"soften"effect on the compressional and shear wave velocities of shale was negligible,whilst there was a significant decrease in the anisotropy characteristics of Thomsen parameters,Young’s modulus,and Poisson’s ratio.The negative linear relationship between the Poisson’s ratios of the shale samples was also observed to lose sensitivity to stress loading,as a result of the"soften"effect of fracturing fluid on shale.The results of this study provide a reliable reference point and data support for future research on the mechanical properties of Longmaxi shale rocks.     

Intrinsic Qp seismic attenuation from the rise time of microearthquakes: a local scale application at Rio‐Antirrio,Western Greece

We determine the attenuation structure of a three‐dimensional medium based on first pulse‐width measurements from microearthquake data. Ninety‐five microearthquakes from a seventy stations local network were considered in this study. Measurements of the first half cycle of the wave, the so‐called rise time τ were carried out on high quality velocity seismograms and inverted to estimate the P‐waves intrinsic quality factor Q_p. The results of this investigation indicate that first pulse width data from a local microearthquake network permit retrieval with sufficient accuracy of the heterogeneous Q_p structure. The inferred attenuation variability corresponds to the known geological formations in the region.     

Designing and testing a network of passive seismic surveying and monitoring in Dehdasht (South Western Iran)

From August 2016 to July 2017, a passive seismic survey was conducted in South Western Iran as a part of a pilot project aimed to improve the imaging in geologically complex areas. Passive seismic methods have shown to be a useful tool to infer the physical properties of the underground geological structures where traditional hydrocarbon exploration methods are challenging. For this purpose, a dense passive seismic network consisting of 119 three-component borehole seismic stations was deployed over an area of 400 km² around the city of Dehdasht. This paper focuses on the details of the network design, which was devoted to high-resolution seismological applications, including local earthquake tomography and seismic attenuation imaging. In this regard, we describe the instrument types and the station installation procedures used to obtain high-quality data that were used to retrieve three-dimensional models of P- and S-wave velocity and P-wave attenuation in the area using tomographic inversion techniques. We also assess the network performance in terms of the seismic ambient noise levels recorded at each station site, and we revise the horizontal orientation of the sensors using surface waves from teleseismic earthquakes.     

Characterization of the sedimentary cover at the Himalayan foothills using active and passive seismic techniques

The characterization of the sediments, down to bedrock, is very important from the seismological point of view in order to study the possible earthquake effects (site effects). Resonance frequency and shear-wave velocity profile are the main features used to estimate the thickness and stiffness of the sedimentary cover. To map these characteristics different geotechnical, geophysical and seismological methods have been developed and applied over a last few years. In this work, different soil investigation methods have been applied around the Himalayan foothills, focusing on three sites with different soil characteristics that span from the Doon valley to the Ganga foreland basin. Active and passive array experiments were carried out: Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (active MASW), Passive Remote MASW and f–k technique. A dispersion curve was estimated for every site covering a wider frequency band rather than if only one method would have been used. Moreover, ambient noise measurements were also recorded in order to apply the H/V method and to estimate the resonance frequencies. Combining the information provided from all methods and using the neighbourhood algorithm, the best suitable shear (S) wave velocity profiles were estimated for each area. In this way, soil sediments were characterized by the resonance frequency, the soil thickness and the mean S-wave velocity. It has been demonstrated that the use of different methods give coherent and more robust results than when only one method is applied. This greatly contributes to the credibility of the results.