Ultimate use of prestack seismic data: Integration of rock physics, amplitude-preserved processing, and elastic inversion

Abstract

Elastic information carries important data about subsurface lithology and fluid. It is highly valued by the seismic exploration industry. Compared with other methodologies (e.g., 9C VSP and 3D 3C), prestack P-wave methods are used extensively to address reservoir and fluid prediction because of their wide availability of data. However, many traditional technologies can hardly extract accurate P-wave and S-wave information from conventional prestack PP data because of lacking systematic studies on how to properly handle prestack amplitudes. A new concept, prestack elastic integration (PEI), emphasizes comprehensive interactions among rock physics, amplitude-preserved processing, and inversion algorithm. The influences of the three aspects are examined and discussed with real examples. Moreover, achievements of PEI are demonstrated through its application on a complex lithologic reservoir in eastern China, in which PEI characterizes target reservoir properties much better than traditional methods do.