Experimental capabilities of seismic emission tomography for solving the problems of searching and exploration of deep hydrocarbon accumulations

Abstract

The standard seismic prospecting has been designed to investigate thin layering at shallow depths. At depths more than 4 km the rocks are significantly compacted, change their properties and it is often impossible to trace clear horizons by reflected waves. In the crystalline basement and lower horizons of the sedimentary cover the block structure of rocks is clearly manifested. Taking this into account geological models should be developed and other predictive indicators should be used when searching for hydrocarbon accumulations. For the study of great depths more informative seismic methods are emission and transmission tomography which have been developed in detail in seismology. This article discusses prognostic indicators different from seismic prospecting and presents experimental results confirming the success of emission tomography in their detection using the example of field studies at developed hydrocarbon deposit and other geophysical objects. The range of working depths of research covers the entire crust of the Earth including the crust-mantle transition zone. Keywords: seismic emission; emission tomography; rocks; hydrocarbon deposits.