System and method for remaining resource mapping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9739902-B2
Application number	US-201313929190-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2013
Priority date	Jun 27, 2013
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A method for mapping remaining hydrocarbon resources in a subsurface reservoir, includes obtaining a map of seismic amplitude difference over a time period based on a survey of the subsurface reservoir, generating an expected trend dataset for the reservoir based on one or more non-water saturation effects detected over the time period by one or more wellbore surveillance techniques at one or more locations in the reservoir, correcting the map of seismic amplitude difference, at least in part, on the expected trend dataset to generate a corrected seismic amplitude map, and using the corrected seismic amplitude difference map to generate a map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the reservoir. Embodiments include a system for performing the method and a medium containing computer executable software instructions for performing the method.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for mapping remaining hydrocarbon resources in a subsurface reservoir, comprising:
(a) obtaining a map of four dimensional (4D) seismic amplitude difference over a time period based on a survey of the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference represents changes in seismic response as a result of production of reservoir fluids from the subsurface reservoir over the time period, and wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference is based on seismic data from seismic waves generated by one or more sources of energy and measured by one or more receivers;
(b) generating, with a processor, expected cross plot trends to correlate the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference versus oil cut in the subsurface reservoir based on one or more non-water saturation effects detected over the time period by one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements from at least one sensor of various reservoir properties at one or more locations in the subsurface reservoir;
(c) correcting, with a processor, the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference based, at least in part, on the expected cross plot trends to generate a corrected 4D seismic amplitude map; and
(d) using the corrected 4D seismic amplitude difference map to generate, with a processor, a map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir will allow exploration and development of the subsurface reservoir.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more non-water saturation effects detected by the one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements are selected from the group consisting of: pressure, net-to-gross, gas saturation, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the expected cross plot trends comprise a range of expected trends, and the correcting the map comprises generating an ensemble of water saturation change maps based on the range of expected trends.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining one or more regions likely to represent high levels of water encroachment in the corrected map.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining one or more regions likely to represent bypassed hydrocarbon resources.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying one or more regions of low connectivity in the subsurface reservoir.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the pressure comprises well bore pressure logging measurements.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the expected cross plot trends are further generated on the basis of additional surveillance data for the subsurface reservoir.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using structural and geologic trend data for contouring corrections used in the correcting.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the corrected map to determine an incremental value of a recovery value for a region of the subsurface reservoir for applying a selected reservoir management technique to obtain an improved ultimate recovery over a baseline recovery case.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying a location within the subsurface reservoir for applying a selected reservoir management technique.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reservoir management technique is selected from the group consisting of: adding pressure by injection, sidetracking to break a compartment, and drilling a new production well.

13. A system for mapping remaining hydrocarbon resources in a subsurface reservoir, comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one associated memory storing executable code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the processor to perform:
obtaining a map of four dimensional (4D) seismic amplitude difference over a time period based on a survey of the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference represents changes in seismic response as a result of production of reservoir fluids from the subsurface reservoir over the time period, and wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference is based on seismic data from seismic waves generated by one or more sources of energy and measured by one or more receivers;
generating expected cross plot trends to correlate the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference versus oil cut in the subsurface reservoir based on one or more non-water saturation effects detected over the time period by one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements from at least one sensor of various reservoir properties at one or more locations in the subsurface reservoir;
correcting the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference based, at least in part, on the expected cross plot trends to generate a corrected 4D seismic amplitude map; and
using the corrected 4D seismic amplitude difference map to generate a map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir will allow exploration and development of the subsurface reservoir.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more non-water saturation effects detected by the one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements are selected from the group consisting of: pressure, net-to-gross, gas saturation, and combinations thereof.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the expected cross plot trends comprise a range of expected trends, and the correcting the map comprises generating an ensemble of water saturation change maps based on the range of expected trends.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the corrected map is used to determine an incremental value of a recovery value for a region of the subsurface reservoir for applying a selected reservoir management technique to obtain an improved ultimate recovery over a baseline recovery case.

17. A non-transitory processor readable medium containing computer readable software instructions for performing a method comprising:
obtaining a map of four dimensional (4D) seismic amplitude difference over a time period based on a survey of the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference represents changes in seismic response as a result of production of reservoir fluids from the subsurface reservoir over the time period, and wherein the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference is based on seismic data from seismic waves generated by one or more sources of energy and measured by one or more receivers;
generating expected cross plot trends to correlate the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference versus oil cut in the subsurface reservoir based on one or more non-water saturation effects detected over the time period by one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements from at least one sensor of various reservoir properties at one or more locations in the subsurface reservoir;
correcting the map of 4D seismic amplitude difference based, at least in part, on the expected cross plot trends to generate a corrected 4D seismic amplitude map; and
using the corrected 4D seismic amplitude difference map to generate a map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir, wherein the map representative of remaining hydrocarbon resources in the subsurface reservoir will allow exploration and development of the subsurface reservoir.

18. A medium as in claim 17 , wherein the one or more non-water saturation effects detected by the one or more wellbore surveillance direct measurements

Assignees

• Chevron Usa Inc

Inventors

• Mcauliffe James
• Neel Jowanna S

Classifications

• G01V1/308 Primary

  Time lapse or 4D effects, e.g. production related effects to the formation (fluid flow per se E21B47/00) · CPC title

• G01V2210/6122

  Tracking reservoir changes over time, e.g. due to production · CPC title