Feasibility of seismic monitoring at a potential CO2 injection test site in the Paris Basin

Abstract

Seismic effects of the injection of CO2 into a partially depleted oil field have been evaluated. Seismic modelling yields small time-lapse effects, including 0.4 ms time-shifts and 4 to 6% amplitude variations at the top and bottom of the reservoir. Amplitude variations at the reservoir level should be slightly larger at large incidence angles, but wave equation modelling shows that picking these reflections will not be easy, because of the presence of shear waves generated at upper interfaces. In-situ fracturation generates azimuthal anisotropy with velocity and amplitude variations with the propagation direction. These variations bear some information about the crack density, about the relation between the fracture nets and the porous medium, and about the fluid content in the pores and fractures. All these effects are however weak and their measurement requires careful seismic data acquisition and processing. © 2009, Institut français du pétrole.