From VSP Optimum Imaging to Reservoir Characterization

Summary The past twenty years have witnessed significant developments in the way that seismic data are used in oil and gas exploration and production. Arguably, the most important has been the use of surface seismic, not only to map structures in detail but also to infer reservoir properties from an analysis of seismic amplitude and other attributes. Improvement in seismic amplitude fidelity coupled with advances in the understanding and application of seismic inversion and rock physics have made quantitative description of the reservoir and risk evaluation not only a possibility but an expectation in certain geological contexts. To benefit from the superior quality of the VSP image over the surface seismic one, we extend the reservoir characterization workflow to borehole data and show its application to a 2D walkaway VSP data recorded in Saudi Arabia.