Visco-acoustic data modeling using optimum layer approximation technique: greenwood oil field example, USA

Abstract

It is desirable to use Finite Element (FE) or Finite Difference (FD) method to simulate elastic data for cross-hole seismic surveys. But FE and FD are computationally intensive and time-expensive for full wave-field modeling of large cross-hole survey. The computation cost – space and time- of elastic data modeling inhibits the use of synthetic data for providing solution to cross-hole geophysics problems .On the other hand, acoustic synthetic data require less computation time but lacks some of seismic arrivals seen in the field data. In this study a recursive reflectivity method incorporating P and S wave properties and attenuation effects is formulated to model cross-hole seismic data. The model is tested using a set of field data acquired in Green Wood field, USA. The visco-acoustic data modeled by the recursive reflectivity method show improvement over the acoustic data and gave a perfect match to the elastic and field data. The visco-acoustic data featured the different seismic arrivals seen in the field and elastic synthetic data. The data simulation method is stable, efficient, and fast. The inclusion of a scheme for determining the optimum layer model further reduced the computation time without compromising the quality of the results: only about one-eight of the time require for elastic data is needed to produce the equivalent visco-acoustic data. Because of its low computation cost, the study highlights the strong potentials for solving the problem of inefficient algorithm for processing and imaging cross-hole data, with a consequence of using cross-hole technology as a routine in oil and gas industry.

Keywords: Cross-hole seismic survey; synthetic data; acoustic wave simulation; visco-acoustic