Microseismic Data Processing, Modeling and Interpretation in the Presence of Coals: A Falher Member Case Study
Date
2014-09-29
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Abstract
Low-velocity, low-density coal units are prevalent throughout the Cretaceous section of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Their elastic properties differ considerably from the surrounding clastic units, resulting in complex seismic propagation paths and interference patterns. This thesis presents a case study evaluating the implications these coal units have on the processing, finite-difference modeling and interpretation of a borehole microseismic dataset recorded in the Falher Member of western Alberta's Deep Basin.
Seismic energy generated during hydraulic fracturing of the Falher Member manifests as low-velocity, high-amplitude channel waves. A Matlab-based processing workflow is developed to analyze the data set, with emphasis on velocity model calibration, receiver orientation and hypocentre location in the presence of coals. Finite-difference modeling is used to evaluate the propagation of seismic energy through the monitoring interval, leading to the identification of complex P- and S-wave arrival patterns which significantly complicate microseimsic processing. Alternative acquisition geometries are evaluated via finite-difference modeling and offer improvements to the original acquisition design. The resulting hypocentre distribution suggests that the completion design effectively stimulated the reservoir along the wellbore. Systematic error introduced by the coal layers may contribute to distance-dependant uncertainty in the final hypocentre locations.
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Geophysics
Citation
Pike, K. A. (2014). Microseismic Data Processing, Modeling and Interpretation in the Presence of Coals: A Falher Member Case Study (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26910