From Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin (www.beg.utexas.edu).
For more information, please contact the author.

SPEE Monthly Luncheon, Houston, Texas, April 2, 2003

Vertical Profiling and Multicomponent Imaging—Two Important Seismic Technologies in Reservoir Management

Bob Hardage

Abstract:

Vertical seismic profiling (VSP) is a high-resolution imaging technique that utilizes vertical arrays of seismic sensors stationed in deep wells. The basic principles of the technology will be described and examples will be presented that illustrate how VSP data have played important roles in managing reservoirs.

Multicomponent seismic data acquisition is the latest revolution in the seismic industry. These data allow reservoir systems to be imaged with both compressional (P) and shear (S) waves, in contrast to conventional seismic data that provide only P-wave images. Applications of multicomponent seismic technology in reservoir management will be described and then illustrated with real data.