Table of contents

A lot of research on the 2D or 3D effects of large-scale basins (within several kilometers depth) have been conducted in the past. However, different 2D aspects of small-scale sedimentary basins (within tens of meters depth) remain in the developing stage. Here, an attempt is made to analyze different aspects of small-scale basins using both numerical and empirical investigations. In the first step, the 2D effects of small-scale basins on strong motion characteristics are numerically examined both in the time and frequency domains. In addition, the effects of input motion are also explained by the results of model excitation in different orthogonal directions. Then, the numerical outcomes are verified by the analysis of actual earthquake data recorded at a downhole array in the Fujisawa small basin, Japan. In the second step, since available recorded earthquake data in small basins with a clear understanding of subsurface geology are very limited, different 2D aspects of the small basin are parametrically investigated. For this purpose, extensive parametrical studies are carried out on the main features of a small basin such as slope angle, shape, infill soil properties, and basin thickness by using the finite difference numerical method. The horizontal and vertical peak ground accelerations of 2D with respect to 1D ones are defined as the horizontal and vertical aggravation factors (AG_H and AG_V). The AG_H and AG_V factors show large sensitivity to infill soil properties, shape and thickness, and small sensitivity to slope angle. The values of AG_H and AG_V factors vary in the range of 0.5–2 with large variations around small basin edges due to wave coupling, conversion, scattering and focusing in the vicinity of small basin edges. These cause a complicated pattern of 2D de-amplification and amplification, which mostly affect the motion in the high frequency range (>1 Hz). Finally, the outcomes provide numerical and field evidence on the 2D effects of small basins, and give some recommendations for design codes.

The Simav Earthquake that occurred on 19 May 2011 in western Turkey was investigated on the basis of seismological data and geological observations. Approximately WNW–ESE trending surface ruptures were observed on the Simav Fault. The focal mechanism parameters of the earthquake (Mw = 5.8) and its aftershocks (Mw  >  3.5) were estimated using time-domain moment tensor inversion. A total of 2245 events were located with Geiger's conventional absolute location method then relocated using the double difference (DD) algorithm. The calculated locations at a depths between 2 and 16 km were found to be consistent with Coulomb stress variation in the area. Average variance reduction (VR) of the solutions was calculated as ~70%. The focal parameters of strike dip and slip of the main shock, occurring at a depth of 11 km dipping towards the NNE, were estimated at 277, 62 and −92, respectively. The most striking indication of the study is that the area is dominated by normal faults with mainly WNW–ESE trends. It is also concluded that earthquakes in the region are caused by an active and regional NNE–SSW (N 12° E) trending (σ₃ axis) extension regime. The mean stress ratio is 0.80, indicating a triaxial stress state. This extension is probably associated with a slab–pull force and /or roll-back due to the complex subduction process of the African Plate beneath Anatolian block along both the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Contamination of seismic signal with noise is one of the main challenges during seismic data processing. Several methods exist for eliminating different types of noises, but optimal random noise attenuation remains difficult. Based on multi-scale, multi-directional locality of curvelet transform, the curvelet thresholding method is a relatively new method for random noise elimination. However, the high redundancy of a 3D curvelet transform makes its computational time and memory for massive data processing costly. To improve the efficiency of the curvelet thresholding denoising, a low-redundancy curvelet transform was introduced. The redundancy of the low-redundancy curvelet transform is approximately one-quarter of the original transform and the tightness of the original transform is also kept, thus the low-redundancy curvelet transform calls for less memory and computational resource compared with the original one. Numerical results on 3D synthetic and field data demonstrate that the low-redundancy curvelet denoising consumes one-quarter of the CPU time compared with the original curvelet transform using iterative thresholding denoising when comparable results are obtained. Thus, the low-redundancy curvelet transform is a good candidate for massive seismic denoising.

As a powerfully diagnostic tool for structural interpretation, reservoir characterization, and hydrocarbon detection, quality factor Q provides useful information in seismic processing and interpretation. Popular methods, like the spectral ratio (SR) method, central frequency shift (CFS) method and peak frequency shift (PFS) method, have their respective limitations in dealing with field seismic data. The lack of a reliable method for estimating Q from reflection seismic data is an issue when utilizing the Q value for hydrocarbon detection. In this article, we derive an approximate equation and propose a dominant and central frequency shift (DCFS) method by combining the quality factor Q, the travel time, and dominant and central frequencies of two successive seismic signals along the wave propagating direction. Based on multi-layered analysis, we then proposed a method to obtain continuous volumetric Q estimation results. A test using synthetic data and statistical experiments showed the proposed method can achieve higher accuracy and robustness compared with existing methods. Application of field data also shows its potential and effectiveness to estimate seismic attenuation.

Rock electrical parameters of tight gas sandstone show large variations in the T₂ member in Dingbei Block, Ordos Basin, China. Applying the same rock electrical parameters in water saturation calculations would lead to large errors. Based on casting thin sections, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cathode luminescence, porosity and permeability, image analysis, and high-pressure mercury intrusion/withdrawal method, identification of the diagenetic facies are first conducted, and then their pore structure and their relationship with rock electrical parameters are investigated.

Five diagenetic facies (A–E), which are identified based mainly on pore types and authigenic minerals, have different pore structure and rock electrical parameters. Conceptual models that incorporate the rock properties of each diagenetic facies have been built, before applying the electrical efficiency theory to explain the values of cementation exponent (m) and saturation exponent (n). A conventional network model, a shunt pore model, a netted pore model, and a dotted line model are utilized to mimic the intergranular pores, authigenic kaolinite intercrystal pores, carbonate-cement dissolution pores, and clay-matrix intercrystal pores, respectively. A decrease of the contents of large pores increases electrical efficiency and therefore reduces m. The saturation exponent, which depends on the distribution of water and gas, can be better understood by applying the different pore models. In the shunt and netted pore models, gas displacement starts from the larger pores and smaller pores provide alternative conduction pathways, hence sustaining electrical efficiency and decreasing n. Clay-matrix intercrystal pores are mainly micropores, since the brine in the rocks are isolated after gas displacement, reducing overall electrical efficiency and dramatically increasing the value of n in the diagenetic facies, which is dominated by clay-matrix intercrystal pores.

Reverse time migration (RTM) is an accurate seismic imaging method for imaging the complex subsurface structure. Traditional common shot RTM suffers from low efficiency due to the large number of single shot gathers, especially for marine seismic data. Phase encoding is commonly used to reduce the computational cost of RTM. Phase encoding in the frequency domain is usually related to time shift in the time domain. Therefore, phase-encoding-based RTM needs time padding to avoid information loss which degrades the efficiency of the time-domain wavefield extrapolator. In this paper, an efficient time-domain RTM scheme based on the amplitude encoding is proposed. This scheme uses the orthogonal cosine basis as the encoding function, which has similar physical meaning to plane wave encoding (i.e. plane-wave components with different surface shooting angles). The proposed scheme can generate a qualified imaging result as well as common shot RTM but with less computational cost. Since this scheme does not need time padding, it is more efficient than the phase encoding schemes and can be conveniently implemented in the time domain. Numerical examples on the Sigsbee2a synthetic dataset demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Gas shale has shown considerable force in gas production worldwide, but little attention has been paid to its electrical properties, which are essential for reservoir evaluation and differentiating absorbed gas and free gas. In this study, experiments are designed to research water saturation establishment methods and electrical properties of gas shale. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with short echo space (TE) is used to identify water saturation and distribution of saturated pores which contribute to the conductivity. The experimental results indicate that NMR with shorter TE can estimate porosity and fluid distribution better than NMR with longer TE. A full range of water saturation is established by the combination of new-type spontaneous imbibition and semi-permeable plate drainage techniques. Spontaneous imbibition gains water saturation from 0% to near irreducible water saturation, and, semi-permeable plate drainage desaturates from 100% to irreducible water saturation. The RI-Sw curve shows a nonlinear relationship, and can be divided into three parts with different behaviors. The comparative analysis of transverse relaxation time (T₂) distribution and RI-Sw curves, indicates that free water, and water trapped by capillarity in the non-clay matrix, differ in terms of electrical conductivity from water absorbed in clay. The new experiments prove the applicability of imbibition, drainage and NMR in investigating electrical properties of gas shale and differentiating fluid distribution which makes contribution to conductivity.

Blended acquisition significantly improves the seismic acquisition efficiency. However, the direct imaging of blended data is not satisfactory due to the crosstalk contamination. Assuming that the distribution of subsurface reflectivity is sparse, in this paper, we formulate the seismic imaging problem of blended data as a Basis Pursuit denoise (BPDN) problem. Based on compressed sensing, we propose a L1 norm constrained migration method applying to the direct imaging of blended data. The Fast Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm, which is stable and computationally efficient, is implemented in our method. Numerical tests on the theoretical models show that the crosstalk introduced by blended sources is effectively attenuated and the migration quality has been improved enormously.

Sandstone reservoirs have generally high porosity in the Shawan formation of the Chunguang oil field, Junggar basin, because they developed in geological conditions of shallow and weak compaction. High porosity always links lower acoustic velocities in sandstone. However, when it is more than a certain value (approximately 27.5%), the porosity is not in accordance with acoustic velocities. In addition, cast thin sections illustrated incoherence between pore types and porosity. Fluids and mineral content are the two main factors changing acoustic velocities. This means that acoustic velocities of the high-porosity sandstone are mainly affected by the mineral content and fluid properties. Hence, data from litho-electric analysis are used to measure velocities of the compression shear waves, and thin sections are used to identify the mineral content. By the application of cross-plot maps, relations of acoustic velocities and mineral contents are proposed. Mineral contents include mainly quartz, feldspar, and tuff. In normal rock physical models, the shale content is calculated from well logs. The mineral grain is often regarded as pure quartz grain or average mineral composition. However, the application of the normal rock physics model will be inaccurate for high-porosity sandstone. Experience regression functions of the velocity model are established to estimate acoustic velocities. Also, mineral content logs could be predicted by using the P-wave acoustic log, and the rock physics model would be enhanced by using these logs of dynamic mineral contents. Shear wave velocity could also be estimated more accurately.

Horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing have been common and efficient practices in exploitation of tight reservoirs. Establishing corresponding mathematical models and analyzing transient pressure behaviors of this type of well-reservoir configuration can provide a better understanding of fluid flow patterns in formation as well as estimations of important parameters. Most current models proposed for fractured horizontal wells in tight reservoirs do not incorporate either reservoir permeability loss during the production, which is believed to be non-ignorable or finite conductivity of hydraulic fractures.

A coupling model for a multi–fractured horizontal well (MFHW) in tight reservoirs is presented in this article, in which finite conductivity of hydraulic fractures and stress-dependant reservoir permeability are taken into account simultaneously. A semi-analytical solution is obtained in the Laplace domain by using source function theory, Laplace transformation, perturbation technique, discretization of fractures, and superposition principle. Analysis of transient pressure responses indicates that several characteristic flow periods of fractured horizontal wells in tight reservoirs can be identified, including linear flow in fracture, bi-linear flow, linear flow in reservoir, pseudo-radial flow around fractures, and pseudo-radial flow around the horizontal wellbore and fractures. Parametric analysis shows that fracture conductivity, fracture spacing, fracture length, permeability modulus, and skin effect can significantly influence the transient pressure responses of fractured horizontal wells in tight reservoirs. The model presented in this article can be applied to obtain important parameters pertinent to reservoir or fractures by type curve matching, and it can also provide useful information for optimizing fracture parameters. Finally, the model presented in this article can also be easily extended to dual-porosity cases.

Estimation of in situ stresses is a key step in many petroleum engineering applications, ranging from wellbore stability to sanding analysis and hydraulic fracturing design. Direct techniques conventionally used to determine in situ stresses are indeed very time consuming and expensive. These measurements would also be restricted as to the depth of acquisition, and generalization of the results to entire rock masses may not yield representative results. In this paper, applications of three indirect methods–Zoback's polygon, shear moduli, and poroelastic–are studied to assess their applicability in providing reliable stress estimation under isotropic and anisotropic conditions. Determination of elastic, strength, and in situ stress parameters according to the assumption of each method for one of the vertical wells drilled in south Iran indicated that the shear moduli method is an appropriate approach for prediction of maximum horizontal stress within an interval where sufficient field data including leak-off tests are acquired. However, the poroelastic method seems to be a better method in prediction of in situ stresses under anisotropic conditions. This might be due to the presence of excessive shale formations in subsurface layers, causing structural or intrinsic anisotropy-based methods such as poroelastic equations to deliver more accurate results. However, making general conclusions based on studying a single vertical wellbore may not be sufficient, and therefore further studies are required.

We performed a geophysical study at a historical site in Buenos Aires, Argentina, corresponding to the location of a Jesuit Mission established during the 17^th century, remaining there until the 18th century. The site consisted of a church, cloisters, a school, orchards and a procurator's office; also several tunnels were built, connecting the mission with different public buildings in the town. In the 19th century the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires was built in a sector of the site originally occupied by an orchard, functioning until its demolition in 1973. At present, this area is a cobbled square. With the aim of preserving and restoring the buried structures, work was carried out in this square looking for tunnels and remains of the basement of the old building.

Considering the conductive features of the subsoil, mainly formed by clays and silt, the complex characteristics of the buried structures, and the urban localization of the study area with its consequent high level of environmental electromagnetic noise, we performed pre-feasibility studies to determine the usefulness of different geophysical methods. The best results were achieved from the geoelectrical method. Dipole–dipole profiles with electrode spacings of 1.5 and 3 m provided enough lateral and vertical resolution and the required penetration depth. Reliable data were obtained as long as the electrodes were buried at least 15 cm among the cobble stones. Nine 2D electrical resistivity tomographies were obtained by using a robust inversion procedure to reduce the effect of possible data outliers in the resulting models. The effect on these models of different error estimations was also analyzed. Then, we built up a pseudo-3D model by laterally interpolating the 2D inversion results. Finally, by correlating the resulting model with the original plans, the remains of the expected main structures embedded in the site were characterized. In addition, an anomaly was identified that indicates the presence of a tunnel not previously reported.

The integration of 4D seismic (4DS) attributes and reservoir simulation is used to reduce risks in the management of petroleum fields. One possible alternative is the saturation and pressure domain. In this case, we use estimations of saturation and pressure changes from 4D seismic data as input in history matching processes to yield more reliable production predictions in simulation models. The estimation of dynamic changes from 4DS depends on the knowledge of reservoir rock and fluid properties that are uncertain in the process of estimation. This paper presents a study of the impact of rock and fluid uncertainties on the estimation of saturation and pressure changes achieved through a 4D petro-elastic inversion. The term impact means that the saturation and pressure estimation can be perturbed by the rock and fluid uncertainties. The motivation for this study comes from the necessity to estimate uncertainties in saturation and pressure variation to incorporate them in the history matching procedures, avoiding the use of deterministic values from 4DS, which may not be reliable. The study is performed using a synthetic case with known response from where it is possible to show that the errors of estimated saturation and pressure depend on the magnitude of rock and fluid uncertainties jointly with the reservoir dynamic changes. The main contribution of this paper is to show how uncertain reservoir properties can affect the reliability of pressure and saturation estimation from 4DS and how it depends on reservoir changes induced by production. This information can be used in future projects which use quantitative inversion to integrate reservoir simulation and 4D seismic data.

Shale oil is a key resource that could mitigate the impending energy shortage in the future. Despite its abundance in China, studies on shale oil are still at the preliminary stage. Shale oil development through CO₂ flooding has been successfully implemented in the United States. Therefore, the mechanics of CO₂ flooding in shale oil reservoirs should be investigated. This study applies a simulation method to evaluate the development efficiency of CO₂ flooding in shale oil reservoirs. Near-miscible CO₂ flooding can effectively develop shale oil. After 20 years, recovery could improve by up to 9.56% as a result of depletion development under near-miscible CO₂ flooding with 0.5% pore volume gas injection. Horizontal well injection is better than vertical well injection in terms of sweep efficiency and recovery. Cyclic gas injection is superior to continuous gas injection because the former reduces gas channelling. Thus, the use of horizontal wells with near-miscible cyclic gas injections has the potential to effectively develop shale oil reservoirs.

Low porosity and permeability make it extremely difficult to develop shale oil and gas reservoirs. The stimulated reservoir volume is believed to have potential to obtain industry production by multi-stage or simultaneous fracturing in horizontal wells. The formation mechanism of network hydraulic fractures in fractured shale reservoirs remains poorly understood. In this article, a true tri-axial hydraulic fracturing system associated acoustic emission monitor was deployed to simulate hydraulic fracturing on shale outcrops. Results showed that the properties of natural fractures (such as aperture, orientation), compared to the viscosity and displacement of the fracturing fluid, affect the propagation direction of hydraulic fractures more predominantly. Each natural fracture in a natural fracture network can independently affect the hydraulic fracture. Low displacement (below the diffusion ability of a reservoir) fracturing tends to connect pre-existing fractures, while high displacement (surpass the diffusion ability of a reservoir) tends to create new fractures. After the breakdown pressure, an increase in injection rate results in more acoustic emission energy and induces new fractures. These results suggest that step-displacement fracturing technology is a possible mechanism to obtain effective fracture networks. Such an understanding would help to avoid unproductive, or sometimes destructive, costly segments of the hydraulic fracturing treatment design.