Q factor estimation from surface and VSP seismic data: A numerical modeling study

Abstract

Seismic acquisition is used by the petroleum industry to identify subsurface structures that meet pre-established requirements for hydrocarbon accumulation. In mature fields, such surveys are important to monitor the reserves, the producing wells and to aid the development of projects for new wells location. This work proposes a processing workflow that seeks to improve the high frequency content of the seismic signal, which is the most attenuated part of the frequency spectrum of such kind of signal, especially in surface seismic data. The method is based on the calculation ofQ factor from VSP data which allows defining an inverse Qef filter to be applied in surface seismic data. This processing flow was tested in two datasets derived from numerical models: one with plain-parallel layers and another representing the wedge type reservoir. Such numerical modeling aimed to simulate the attenuation of the seismic signal concerning the geometry and saturation effects in those two reservoir models, which allows testing the efficiency of the inverse Qef filter that was designed to mitigate energy loss effects in seismic waves used for reservoir characterization. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Geofísica.