Low‐frequency passive seismic experiments in Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates: implications for hydrocarbon detection

Low‐frequency passive seismic experiments utilizing arrays of 3‐component broadband seismometers were conducted over two sites in the emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The experiments were conducted in the vicinity of a producing oilfield and around a dry exploration well to better understand the characteristics and origins of microtremor signals (1–6 Hz), which had been reported as occurring exclusively above several hydrocarbon reservoirs in the region. The results of the experiments revealed that a strong correlation exists between the recorded ambient noise and observed meteorological and anthropogenic noises. In the frequency range of 0.15–0.4 Hz, the dominant feature is a double‐frequency microseism peak generated by the non‐linear interactions of storm induced surface waves in the Arabian Sea. We observed that the double‐frequency microseism displays a high variability in spectral amplitude, with the strongest amplitude occurring when Cyclone Gonu was battering the eastern coast of Oman; this noise was present at both sites and so is not a hydrocarbon indicator. Moreover, this study found that very strong microtremor signals in the frequency range of 2–3 Hz were present in all of the locations surveyed, both within and outside of the reservoir boundary and surrounding the dry exploration well. This microtremor signal has no clear correlation with the microseism signals but significant variations in the characteristics of the signals were observed between daytime and nighttime recording periods that clearly correlate with human activity. High‐resolution frequency‐wavenumber (f‐k) spectral analyses were performed on the recorded data to determine apparent velocities and azimuths of the wavefronts for the microseism and microtremor events. The f‐k analyses confirmed that the double‐frequency microseism originates from wave activity in the Arabian Sea, while the microtremor events have an azimuth pointing towards the nearest motorways, indicating that they are probably being excited by traffic noise. Results drawn from particle motion studies confirm these observations. The vertical‐to‐horizontal spectral ratios of the data acquired in both experiments show peaks around 2.5–3 Hz with no dependence on the presence or absence of subsurface hydrocarbons. Therefore, this method should not be used as a direct hydrocarbon indicator in these environments. Furthermore, the analyses provide no direct evidence to indicate that earthquakes are capable of stimulating the hydrocarbon reservoir in a way that could modify the spectral amplitude of the microtremor signal.     

震级、震源距对地震信号H/V影响分析

本文采用喜马拉雅科学探测台阵四川省境内10个台站,计算了所有地震信号0.5—15 Hz的H/V谱比,分析了震级、震源距对H/V谱比的影响,并与各台站场地地脉动H/V谱比进行了比较. 结果表明: 震级对各台站地震信号的H/V谱比振幅值以及峰值频率几乎没有影响;震源距对谱峰明显的H/V谱比曲线的谱形和峰值频率影响不大,但对谱峰不明显的H/V谱比曲线的峰值频率有一定影响;H/V谱峰明显的台站,地震信号与地脉动信号的H/V谱比曲线的峰值频率具有很高的一致性,H/V谱峰不明显的台站,二者的峰值频率有一定差异.      

A new energy density calculation method for reservoir delineation using seismic low-frequency signal

In comparison to high-frequency signals, low-frequency seismic signals suffer less from scattering and intrinsic attenuation during wave propagation, penetrate deeper strata and thus can provide more energy information related to the hydrocarbon reservoirs. Based on the asymptotic representation for the frequency-dependent reflections in the fluid-saturated pore-elastic media, we first derive a novel equation of the reservoir energy density and present an efficient workflow to calculate the reservoir energy density using low-frequency seismic data. Then, within a low-frequency range (from 1 to 30 Hz), we construct an objective function to determine the optimal frequency, using the energy densities calculated from the post-stack seismic traces close to the wells. Next, we can calculate the reservoir energy density using the instantaneous spectra of optimal frequency at the low-frequency end of the seismic spectrum. Tests on examples for synthetic and field data demonstrate that the proposed reservoir energy density can produce high-quality images for the fluid-saturated reservoirs, and it produces less background artefacts caused by elastic layers. This method provides a new way to detect the location of hydrocarbon reservoirs and characterize their spatial distribution.     

Three‐dimensional VS profiling using microtremors in Kushiro,Japan

A practical method is presented for determining three‐dimensional S‐wave velocity (V_S) profile from microtremor measurements. Frequency–wave number (f–k) spectral analyses of microtremor array records are combined, for this purpose, with microtremor horizontal‐to‐vertical (H/V) spectral ratio techniques. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, microtremor measurements using arrays of sensors were conducted at six sites in the city of Kushiro, Japan. The spectral analyses of the array records yield dispersion characteristics of Rayleigh waves and H/V spectra of surface waves, and joint inversion of these data results in V_S profiles down to bedrock at the sites. Conventional microtremor measurements were performed at 230 stations within Kushiro city, resulting in the H/V spectra within the city. Three‐dimensional V_S structure is then estimated from inversion of the H/V spectra with the V_S values determined from the microtremor array data. This reveals three‐dimensional V_S profile of Kushiro city, together with an unknown hidden valley that crosses the central part of the city. The estimated V_S profile is consistent with available velocity logs and results of subsequent borings, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Joint viscoacoustic waveform inversion with the separated upgoing and downgoing wavefields in zero-offset vertical seismic profile data

The attenuation of seismic waves propagating in reservoirs can be obtained accurately from the data analysis of vertical seismic profile in terms of the quality-factor Q. The common methods usually use the downgoing wavefields in vertical seismic profile data. However, the downgoing wavefields consist of more than 90% energy of the spectrum of the vertical seismic profile data, making it difficult to estimate the viscoacoustic parameters accurately. Thus, a joint viscoacoustic waveform inversion of velocity and quality-factor is proposed based on the multi-objective functions and analysis of the difference between the results inverted from the separated upgoing and downgoing wavefields. A simple separating step is accomplished by the reflectivity method to obtain the individual wavefields in vertical seismic profile data, and then a joint inversion is carried out to make full use of the information of the individual wavefields and improve the convergence of viscoacoustic full-waveform inversion. The sensitivity analysis of the different wavefields to the velocity and quality-factor shows that the upgoing and downgoing wavefields contribute differently to the viscoacoustic parameters. A numerical example validates our method can improve the accuracy of viscoacoustic parameters compared with the direct inversion using full wavefield and the separate inversion using upgoing or downgoing wavefield. The application on real field data indicates our method can recover a reliable viscoacoustic model, which helps reservoir appraisal.     

Near‐field seismic effects in a homogeneous medium and their removal in vertical seismic profile attenuation estimates

To better understand (and correct for) the factors affecting the estimation of attenuation (Q), we simulate subsurface wave propagation with the Weyl/Sommerfeld integral. The complete spherical wavefield emanating from a P‐wave point source surrounded by a homogeneous, isotropic and attenuative medium is thus computed. In a resulting synthetic vertical seismic profile, we observe near‐field and far‐field responses and a 90° phase rotation between them. Depth dependence of the magnitude spectra in these two depth regions is distinctly different. The logarithm of the magnitude spectra shows a linear dependence on frequency in the far‐field but not in those depth regions where the near‐field becomes significant. Near‐field effects are one possible explanation for large positive and even negative Q‐factors in the shallow section that may be estimated from real vertical seismic profile data when applying the spectral ratio method. We outline a near‐field compensation technique that can reduce errors in the resultant Q estimates.     

Estimating the near surface amplification factor to minimize earthquake damage: a case study at West Wadi Hagoul area, Egypt

The damage caused by earthquake occurrences in different localities all over the world necessitates the evaluation of the underground and/or sub-soil structure for strategic projects. The case study is the proposed area for a new factory construction that lies 3 km west of Suez Cement factory, in the area between Kottamiya and Ain Sokhna. The shallow seismic refraction survey was carried out through 10 major lines (grid lines), comprising 30 seismic profiles. The microtremor measurements were done at 25 locations at the grid intersection points. The obtained compressional (P) and horizontal shear (SH) wave velocities, with the horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratios, are used to deduce the subsurface structures, to evaluate the elastic and dynamic properties and the transfer function at both the surface and bedrock. The results illustrate that there is a good correlation between the fundamental frequencies deduced through the theoretical transfer function and the H/V spectral ratio. The maximum value of ground motion amplification factor of the study area is 3.3 at a corresponding frequency of 7.8 Hz.     

基于匹配追踪的瞬时能量异常属性在Albertine地堑油气预测中的应用

东非裂谷Albertine地堑是当今世界油气勘探的热点地区之一,具有埋藏浅、演化快、地层新的地质特点。作为主力含油气层段的新生代地层中疏松砂岩异常发育,物性参数差异较大,受控于孔隙度以及孔隙流体的综合影响,含油气储层的地震响应无明显规律,油气预测难度较大。基于能量吸收分析思想的指导,在利用匹配追踪时频分解方法有效提高时频分辨率的前提下,进一步提出瞬时能量异常属性的计算方法。以Albertine地堑的W油田为例,针对含油气储层表现的低频能量增加、高频能量衰减的异常特征,借助瞬时能量异常属性实现了油气预测,预测结果获得了钻井的验证。      

基于Poynting矢量行波分离的最小二乘逆时偏移

因为在逆时偏移中基于双程波动方程构建震源波场和检波器波场,所以在波场延拓过程中地震波遇到波阻抗界面时,背向发育的反射波会与正常传播的波场互相关产生较强振幅的低频噪声.这一特点使得以逆时偏移为基础的最小二乘偏移方法在梯度计算时同样存在着低频噪声的干扰,从而导致反演收敛的速度减慢.考虑到计算量和存储成本的因素,本文借助Po...     

The effects of conduit length and acoustic velocity on conduit resonance: Implications for low-frequency events

Low-frequency seismic events at volcanoes are modelled as the seismic wavefield from a magma-filled conduit embedded in a solid country rock using a finite difference method. The effects of varying the conduit length and the impedance contrast between the magma and the country rock are examined, generating a range of possible signals. Short-windowed spectrograms are used to look at the time–frequency relationships within the events in detail, and some of the possible variations are identified using a series of schematic spectrograms. The numerical results are compared to examples of observed seismic data from Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. While the spectra of the observed events are often different to the spectra of the numerical results, the spectrograms have similar features and show that the low-frequency events from Montserrat are composed of discrete subevents.     

Microtremor Measurements for the Microzonation of Dinar

v--vThe geotechnical site conditions in Dinar town located in western Turkey were investigated after the 1995 Dinar earthquake based on borings, in situ penetration tests, seismic wave velocity measurements, and microtremor records. The variation of damage distribution within the town was evaluated with respect to 23 district damage ratios calculated, based on the detailed damage survey conducted by the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs. Site amplifications were estimated from microtremor spectral ratios and microzonation was performed using a GIS methodology. The results of in situ penetration tests and seismic wave velocity measurements as well as the damage distribution were compared with the amplification zonation obtained from microtremor records. The results indicate the applicability of microtremor spectral ratios for assessing the local site conditions and site amplifications.     

A new seismic attribute for ambiguity reduction in hydrocarbon prediction

Hydrocarbon prediction from seismic amplitude and amplitude‐versus‐offset is a daunting task. Amplitude interpretation is ambiguous due to the effects of lithology and pore fluid. In this paper, we propose a new attribute “J” based on a Gassmann–Biot fluid substitution to reduce ambiguity. Constrained by seismic and rock physics, the J attribute has good ability to detect hydrocarbons from seismic data. There are currently many attributes for hydrocarbon prediction. Among the existing attributes, far‐minus‐near times far and fluid factor are commonly used. In this paper, the effectiveness of these two existing attributes was compared with the new attribute. Numerical modelling was used to test the new attribute “J” and to compare “J” with the two existing attributes. The results showed that the J attribute can predict the existence of hydrocarbon in different porosity scenarios with less ambiguity than the other two attributes. Tests conducted with real seismic data demonstrated the effectiveness of the J attribute. The J attribute has performed well in scenarios in which the other two attributes gave inaccurate predictions. The proposed attribute “J” is fast and simple, and it could be used as a first step in hydrocarbon analysis for exploration.     

泉州地震台数字地震仪台址的地脉动噪声分析

利用2008年泉州台甚宽频带数字地震仪连续48 h和全年每月连续48 h内白天与夜间各连续4 h的地脉动记录,计算5 Hz、5 s和100s的静态地脉动噪声功率谱密度、1/3倍频程1-20Hz带宽各段的平均静态地脉动噪声有效值、1/3倍频程100-30 s带宽各段的平均静态地脉动加速度噪声有效值,以及上述3个频点和2个...     

Improving reservoir thickness prediction using seismic attributes and attributes fusion

Usage of any single attribute would introduce unacceptable uncertainty due to limited reservoir thickness and distribution, and strong lateral variations in lithological traps. In this paper, a wide range of prestack and post-stack seismic attributes is utilized to identify a range of properties of turbidity channel sandstone reservoir in Block L118 of J Oilfield, China. In order to better characterize the turbidity channel and lower the uncertainty, we applied multi-attribute fusion to weight a variety of seismic attributes in terms of their relevance to the identification of turbidity channel reservoir. Turbidity channel boundary is clearly present in the new attribute and the reservoir thickness prediction is improved. Additionally, fluid potential of reservoir was predicted using this fused attribute with a high value anomaly indicating high fluid potential. The multi-attribute fusion is a valid approach for the fine prediction of lithologic reservoirs, reducing the risks typically associated with exploration.     

Using a three-component KMV seismometer for recording microtremors in the zone of a landslide slope

Some results are presented from an experimental study of the natural microtremor field on an active landslide-prone slope using a KMV seismometer. Anomalous zones of increased microtremor amplitude have been identified within this landslide feature corresponding to zones of density deficit. It is shown that the velocity characteristics in the upper portion of the cross section can be estimated from spectral ratios of horizontal and vertical signal components in three-compont records. The present microtremor mapping results were compared with those derived via other geophysical techniques, in particular, directional surveys and differentazimuth multiwave seismic prospecting.     

用HV谱比法推测银川市区沉积层基底分布特征

在缺乏其他资料的情况下,地脉动常常用做确定地震动对地表介质产生影响效应的简便手段。本文以银川市区为研究对象,根据地震勘探资料有目的的选取5条测线在银川市区进行地脉动观测,观测点共141个。用Nakamura提出的HV谱比法解析观测数据,在给定地下构造剪切波速度(VS)的基础上,由H/V比值曲线中的基本频率推测盆地深层地下构造。通过理论计算进一步验证了解析结果。结合前人地震勘探资料推测了银川市区脉动基本频率分布特征,并给出2D和3D银川市基底构造变化情况,对比分析表明,HV谱比法得到的脉动基本频率值可以反映银川盆地基底变化情况。     

基于两步SVD变换的零偏VSP资料上下行波场分离方法

垂直地震剖面(Vertical Seismic Profiling,VSP)资料处理中波场分离是关键问题之一.随着属性提取技术的发展,新的属性参数(例如Q值)提取技术对波场分离的保真性要求越来越高.本文改进了传统奇异值分解(Singular Value Decomposition,SVD)法,给出了一种对波场的动力学特征具有更好的保真性,可以作为Q值提取的预处理步骤的零偏VSP资料上下行波场分离方法.该方法通过两步奇异值分解变换实现:第一步,排齐下行波同相轴,利用SVD变换压制部分下行波能量;第二步,在剩余波场中排齐上行波同相轴,使用SVD变换提取上行波场.在该方法的实现过程中,压制部分下行波能量后的剩余波场中仍然存在较强的下行波干扰,使得上行波同相轴的排齐比较困难.本文给出了一种通过极大化多道数据线性相关程度(Maximize Coherence,MC)排齐同相轴的算法,在一定程度上解决了低信噪比下排齐同相轴的问题.将本文提出的方法用于合成数据和实际资料的处理,并与传统SVD法的处理结果进行对比,结果表明本文提出的波场分离方法具有良好的保真性,得到波场的质量明显优于传统SVD法.通过对本文方法和传统SVD法处理合成数据得到的下行波场提取Q值,然后进行对比可知,本文方法可以有效提高所提取Q值的准确性,适合作为Q值提取的预处理步骤.     

Mapping the thickness of sediments in the Ljubljana Moor basin (Slovenia) using microtremors

The Ljubljana Moor basin is characterized by moderate bedrock topography and thicknesses of Quaternary lacustrine and fluvial sediments ranging from 0 to 200 m. More than 65 boreholes which reached the bedrock were drilled in the area, but their distribution in the basin is very uneven and some data from the boreholes uncertain. There are also no data on S-velocity distribution within the basin, but seismic refraction measurements pointed out a rather uniform increase of P-velocity with depth, great impedance contrast with the bedrock and relatively small lateral velocity variations. The microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method was therefore applied as a complementary tool to seismic refraction survey to map the thickness of sediments. First, microtremors were measured at the locations of boreholes which reached the bedrock and the resonance frequencies determined. The inverse power relationship between the resonance frequency and the thickness of sediments was then determined from 53 data pairs. The quality of the correlation is moderate due to possible heterogeneities in sediments and possible 3D effects in some minor areas, but the obtained parameters correspond well to the values obtained in six other European basins. Secondly, a 16 km-long discontinuous seismic refraction profile was measured across the whole basin, leaving uncovered some larger segments where active seismic measurements were not possible. Microtremors were then measured at 64 locations along the same profile, using 250 m point spacing, without leaving any gaps. The frequency–thickness relationship was used to invert resonance frequencies to depths. These were first validated using the results of the seismic refraction survey, which showed good agreement, and finally used for interpolation in the segments of missing refraction data to obtain a continuous depth profile of the bedrock. The study has shown that the microtremor method can be used as a complementary tool for mapping the thickness of unconsolidated sediments also in areas characterized by moderate bedrock topography. As the input data are always to some extent uncertain, it is important to have a sufficiently large number of borehole data to establish a frequency–thickness relationship, as well as some additional independent geophysical information for its validation.     

Array performances for ambient vibrations on a shallow structure and consequences over <Emphasis Type="Italic">V</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis></Subscript> inversion

Valuable information about one-dimensional soil structures can be obtained by recording ambient vibrations at the surface, in which the energy contribution of surface waves predominates over the one of other types of waves. The dispersion characteristics of surface waves allow the retrieval of the shear-wave velocity as a function of depth. Microtremor studies are usually divided in two stages: deriving the dispersion (or auto-correlation) curve from the recorded signals and inverting it to obtain the site velocity profile. The possibility to determine the dispersion curve over the adequate frequency range at one site depends on the array aperture and on the wavefield spectra amplitude that can be altered by filtering effects due to the ground structure. Microtremors are usually recorded with several arrays of various apertures to get the spectral curves over a wide frequency band, and different methods also exist for processing the raw signals. With the objective of defining a strategy to achieve reliable results for microtremor on a shallow structure, we analyse synthetic ambient vibrations (vertical component) simulated with 333 broadband sources for a 25-m deep soil layer overlying a bedrock. The first part of our study is focused on the determination of the reliable frequency range of the spectral curves (dispersion or auto-correlation) for a given array geometry. We find that the wavenumber limits deduced from the theoretical array re sponse are good estimates of the valid spectral curve range. In the second part, the spectral curves are calculated with the three most popular noise-processing techniques (frequency–wavenumber, high-resolution frequency–wavenumber and spa tial auto-correlation methods) and inverted indi vidually in each case. The inversions are performed with a tool based on the neighbour hood algorithm that offers a better estimation of the global uncertainties than classical linearised methods, especially if the solution is not unique. Several array apertures are necessary to construct the dispersion (auto-correlation) curves in the appropriate frequency range. Considering the final velocity profiles, the three tested methods are almost equivalent, and no significant advantage was found for one particular method. With the chosen model, all methods exhibit a penetration limited to the bedrock depth, as a consequence of the filtering effect of the ground structure on the vertical component, which was observed in numerous shallow sites.