Your challenges

You have one or more of the following questions about your reservoir? Then we certainly can help you. If there is something more special you are after (maybe pore pressure prediction, geomechanical analysis), give us a call or send an email and we can together think about a solution.
1. Porosity and permeability of the reservoir

This is one of the fundamental questions in each E&P project, already at exploration stage, when a prospect has to be risked, but also later during appraisal and development of the field. Reservoir quality is one essential parameter for a good, highly productive well or field. We like to know as early as possible, whether there is a tight reservoir or a high porosity/permeability reservoir. Porosity determines the storage capacity of the reservoir. Porosity can usually be predicted from post- or pre-stack seismic data very well. Permeability, which is also mandatory for an economic production of the reservoir, cannot be directly derived from seismic in most cases. We need a certain poro-perm relation, and usually higher porosity is accompanied by higher permeability.

2. Pore fluid content inside the reservoir

Another fundamental question is the kind of fluid in the pore space of the reservoir; does the reservoir contain brine, oil or gas? This is relevant both for green field projects as well as brown field developments. Seismic data are usually very sensitive to highly compressible pore fluids such as gases (methane but also CO2) or steam. But in several cases, oil, especially that with a high GOR, can be discriminated from brine. After some production has occurred, the related saturation and pressure changes can often be identified and mapped with multiple 3D seismic measurements (4D or time-lapse seismic method).

3. Sealing capacity of overburden or compartmentalizing faults

An important risk factor in exploration is the sealing capacity of the overburden of a reservoir and of the bounding faults. We use seismic data to analyse the sealing formation with respect to possible faults and large-scale fractures, sometimes using special attributes. We look for leakage phenomena such as gas clouds or chimneys. Thinning sealing formations may require a tuning analysis. Seismic inversions can be used in an indirect manner to judge the sealing capacity of faults by comparing elastic layer properties on both sides of the fault.

4. Fractured reservoirs

Another important question could be whether your reservoir is fractured or not. This question should definitely be raised when we have a carbonate or a tight sandstone or an unconventional reservoir. If the overburden is not too complex and the seismic data quality is excellent, a seismic fracture characterization (SFC) project could be successful. Such a project could deliver information about the presence, density and orientation of fractures and joints.

5. Temperature and steam distribution
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects can benefit from seismic data analysis, in particular from time lapse measurements. In recent years we have gained some experience with steam injection into heavy oil sandstone reservoirs. As indicated above, the steam chests can usually be determined rather well by seismic amplitudes and attributes. The temperature effect on the rock matrix, especially when the heavy oil serves as a kind of “cement” between grains, can be observed and used to infer the temperature distribution in the reservoir.