Anisotropic correction of sonic logs in wells with large relative dip

Abstract

Seismic reservoir characterization and pore-pressure prediction projects rely heavily on the accuracy and consistency of sonic logs. Sonic data acquisition in wells with large relative dip is known to suffer from anisotropic effects related to microanisotropy of shales and thin-bed laminations of sand, silt, and shale. Nonetheless, if anisotropy parameters can be related to shale content [Formula: see text] in siliciclastic rocks, then I show that it is straightforward to compute the anisotropy correction to both compressional and shear logs using [Formula: see text] and the formation relative dip angle. The resulting rotated P-wave sonic logs can be used to enhance time-depth ties, velocity to effective stress transforms, and low-frequency models necessary for prestack seismic amplitude variation with offset (AVO) inversion.