--> A fractured reservoir in the light of seismic wave attenuation attribute.
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AAPG/SEG/EAGE/SPE Middle East Region RDPETRO

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A fractured reservoir in the light of Previous HitseismicNext Hit wave attenuation Previous HitattributeNext Hit.

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate a fractured reservoir zone in an oilfield located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, by using Previous HitseismicNext Hit wave attenuation Previous HitattributeNext Hit.

The dense geometry of a 3D VSP walkaway spiral survey carried out in the oilfield, permits to perform a high resolution (15o spacing) azimuthal estimation of the attenuation at different offsets. By assuming the azimuth of the minimum attenuation as the strike direction of fractures, we obtain this direction in the three reservoir units, R1, R2 and R3 at several offsets. The comparison between the estimated directions and those based on core data interpretation is quite satisfactory. This is a good indication about the potential of Previous HitseismicNext Hit wave attenuation Previous HitattributeNext Hit for fracture characterization.

Our results show that the effect of fractures on Previous HitseismicNext Hit wave attenuation is frequency dependent. By modifying the frequency range, the dominant orientation of fractures changes. This is related to scattering and intrinsic attenuation mechanisms that are strongly dependent on frequency. More investigation on this dependence can be useful to provide information about fracture sizes and their fluid content. This a great advantage of attenuation Previous HitattributeNext Hit, compared to the classical Previous HitseismicNext Hit attributes, such as curvature and ant tracking, which are widely used to extract fracture orientations from Previous HitseismicTop data.