--> Abstract: Passive Seismic (Ipds®): An Outstanding Technology for Discovering Structural and Stratigraphic Traps, by Monzer Makhous, Ernst D. Rode, and Karim Akrawi; #90077 (2008)

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Passive Seismic (Ipds®): An Outstanding Technology for Discovering Structural and Stratigraphic Traps

Monzer Makhous1*, Ernst D. Rode2, and Karim Akrawi3
1Paris University for Science and Technology, France
2GeoDynamics Research, Italy
3ADCO
*[email protected]

Passive seismic - IPDS® (infrasonic passive differential spectroscopy) represents an outstanding technology for discovering structural and stratigraphic (non-structural) traps. Non-structural hydrocarbon prospects result from lithofacies variation at angular unconformities, or are due to diagenetic transformations, volcanic intrusions, morphological ante-deposition features, etc. Stratigraphic traps result from a variety of sealed geological containers capable of retaining hydrocarbons, formed by changes in rock types or pinch-outs, unconformities, or sedimentary features such as reefs, porous carbonates or sandstones zones. Such structures may trap hydrocarbons. However, detecting non-structural traps requires detailed geological work. Traditional seismic methods, principally focused on structural features, may miss the above-mentioned non-structural traps. In this regard, passive seismic – IPDS® is a technology for direct reservoir hydrocarbon indication (RHI) that is independent of reservoir type. This technique is based on the principle that the hydrocarbon reservoir is a multi-fluid system in a porous medium, which has an unconventional (non-linear) transfer characteristic for acoustic waves. Hydrocarbon fluid in porous system of reservoir rocks can be detected as a characteristic deformation of the Earth’s natural noise spectra in the acoustic low-frequency range between 0.2 and 10.0 Hertz. Blind-test wells in several petroleum-bearing basins, under various geological conditions, have shown that the IPDS® predictions are about 80% successful. The correlation coefficient between cumulative net pay zone thickness (cNPZ) and IPDS® data is very high, often in the order of 80–90%.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90077©2008 GEO 2008 Middle East Conference and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain