crossline: The direction that is perpendicular to the orientation of receiver cables.

fluid-flow communication: two wells communicate with each other in a fluid-flow sense if a change in rock pore pressure at one well can be detected in the second well.

fluid-flow connection: see fluid-flow communication. If two wells are in fluid-flow communication, their wellbores are connected in a fluid-flow sense.

horizon slice: A surface interpreted across a 3-D seismic data volume that represents a fixed geologic time, not a fixed seismic image time.

interwell: a term used to describe processes and attributes within the space between two different wellbores.

pressure interference test: a measurement that determines if a change in pore pressure at one point in a reservoir interferes with (or varies) the pore pressure at a second point. Such tests are done typically between perforation zones in two different wells.

pressure pulse: a decline and rebuild of the pressure exerted on fluids in the pore spaces of a rock. A pressure pulse is applied to a reservoir through perforations in well casing and typically consists of several repeated decline/rebuild cycles that each span one or more days.

reflection amplitude: a measure of the magnitude of the seismic response associated with an imaged rock interface. Typical reflection amplitude measurements are the amplitude of a peak or a trough of a seismic trace.

reflection phase: a measure of the polarity of a seismic reflection event associated with a rock interface. If a down-going peak is reflected as a peak, the reflection phase for the interface is positive. If the peak reflects as a trough, the reflection phase is negative.

reservoir compartmentalization model: a model that describes how individual depositional units of reservoir systems are distributed and connected in a 3-dimensional sense.

stratal time surface: a surface of fixed depostional time. A bedding plane.

VSP control data: seismic data recorded by a vertical array of seismic sensors in a well for the explicit purpose of establishing a correlation between geologic and engineering data, known only as a function of depth, and surface-recorded seismic reflection data, known only as a function of seismic image time. See Module 2 on vertical seismic profiling.

back to top of page