The Many Facets of Multicomponent

Seismic Data

In areas where conventional seismic techniques are inadequate, multicomponent

methods that use information from both compressional and shear waves are reducing
exploration risk and improving reservoir management.

Olav Barkved In the 75 years that the oil and gas industry has
BP been applying seismic technology, compressional
Stavanger, Norway waves, or P-waves, have dominated their shear-
wave counterparts. Countless reservoirs have
Bob Bartman been discovered, characterized and monitored by
Behtaz Compani
P-waves as the technology has advanced from
Devon Energy
two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D)
Houston, Texas, USA
methods to the time-lapse, or four-dimensional
Jim Gaiser (4D), methods available today.
Richard Van Dok Powerful though the conventional P-wave
Denver, Colorado, USA technique may be, it cannot solve every seismic-
imaging or reservoir-description problem.
Tony Johns In some situations, shear-wave, or S-wave,
Houston, Texas information is required in addition to P-wave
information to adequately image a reservoir or
Pl Kristiansen describe reservoir properties. With the addi-
Oslo, Norway
tional help of S-waves, oil and gas companies
have found new reserveshundreds of millions
Tony Probert
Gatwick, England of barrels of oil and tens of billions of cubic feet
of gasthat would not have been found with
Mark Thompson P-waves alone.1 Millions of dollars have been
Statoil saved by properly placing wells using shear-
Trondheim, Norway wave information.2
Shear-wave information can improve both
For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Jack seismic imaging and reservoir characterization.
Caldwell, Houston, Texas, USA; Jakob Haldorsen and Joan
Mead, Ridgeeld, Connecticut, USA; and Andreas Laake, Imaging problems occur when shallow gas dras-
Stephen McHugo and Alan Strudley, Gatwick, England. tically lowers the overburden P-wave velocity,
1. Gaiser JE: Acquisition and Application of Multicomponent disrupting P-wave transmission and obscuring
Vector Waveelds: Are They Practical? paper E036,
presented at the 66th EAGE Annual Conference and large volumes of the underlying subsurface. Also,
Exhibition, Paris, France, June 710, 2004. high-velocity layers, such as salt or hard volcanic
2. Embracing New Technology in Shell Malaysia,
PetroMin 29, no. 5 (July 2003): 2425.
rocks, can shield deeper targets from proper
illumination. This occurs because the high
impedance contrast bends seismic raypaths
signicantly, causing problems with illumination
and imaging of deeper reflectors. Some
reservoirs exhibit a low P-wave acoustic-
impedance contrast relative to surrounding
layers, generating only low-amplitude reections
and effectively hiding from P-waves.
Compressional waves may fail to determine
important reservoir properties. For example, a
reservoir limited by gradual pinchouts and
lithology changes may be too subtle for detec-
tion by P-waves. Even if compressional waves
indicate a lateral or time-lapse change in reser-
voir properties, interpretation of conventional
P-wave data may not be able to distinguish
changes in rock properties, such as lithology or
formation stress, from changes in fluid com-
position or pressure. Enhanced processing
and interpretation of specially acquired
compressional-wave data, such as amplitude-
variation-with-offset (AVO) analysis, may help
differentiate lithology changes from fluid
changes, but typically the results are more
qualitative than quantitative. Compressional
waves alone may fail to characterize the
presence, density and orientation of fractures in
the reservoir or in the overburden.

42 Oileld Review
Summer 2004 43
 Most of these difcult reservoir problems can
be solved or improved by the addition of S-wave
Incident Reflected
P-wave S-wave
information. In this article, we review how shear
Reflected waves contribute to enhanced understanding of
P-wave reservoirs and we describe the acquisition tech-
P-wave
particle nology that facilitates collection of high-quality
motion VP VS VP
shear-wave information. Examples from the
North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico demonstrate
the successful resolution of imaging and
reservoir-characterization problems by combin-
ing results from P- and S-waves.
S-wave
particle Transmitted Shear Waves
motion P-wave
Shear waves bring additional knowledge to a
seismic study because compressional and shear
Transmitted waves sample different rock properties. 3
S-wave
Compressional-wave velocity is a function of a
mediums density, shear modulus and bulk mod-
> Particle motion and propagation of compressional and shear waves. For ulus. Bulk modulus is sensitive to fluid
compressional, or P, waves, particle motion is parallel to the direction of compressibility, making P-waves highly sensitive
wave propagation. In shear, or S, waves, particle motion is perpendicular
to a rocks fluid content. The dual dependence
to the direction of wave propagation, and is constrained to the plane of
reection. In this case, S-wave particle motion is in the plane of the page. on fluid compressibility and shear modulus
allows P-waves to propagate in both solids
and liquids.
Shear-wave velocity is a function of the
density and the shear modulus of the medium; a
shear wave is almost insensitive to a rocks uid
content. In a given formation, shear-wave veloc-
ity and reflectivity remain unchanged whether
the formation contains gas, oil or water.
However, S-waves can travel only in media with
nonzero shear modulus, so they can originate
P-wave and propagate only in solids.
source
By combining information from both P- and
Recording vessel
S-waves, seismic interpreters can learn more
about the subsurface than from just one wave
P type. From P and S velocities (Vp and Vs), lithol-
Seabed multicomponent streamer
ogy can be determined more readily than with
P-wave data alone. Knowing both velocities,
P S P
interpreters can make use of the Vp/Vs ratio to
predict rock type. Comparison of P-wave with
S-wave behavior at a reflector can distinguish
lithology changes from fluid changes: a lateral
change in P-wave reflection amplitude along a
Z layer boundary may indicate either a lithology
change or a fluid change, but if the S-wave
Y reection amplitude at the same boundary also
changes, the variation more likely points to a
Hydrophone
lithology change. Consistent S-wave reflectivity
X at the same reector indicates a change in uid
Geophones
type is more probable.
In compressional waves, particle motion is
parallel to the direction of wave propagation
> Detecting converted waves by seabed sensors. At subsurface interfaces, incident P-waves reect
(top left). This is different from the shear-wave
and transmit as P-waves and also are partially converted to S-waves. Upgoing S-waves can be detected
by seabed receivers sensitive to multiple components of motion. The four receiver components consist of case, in which particle motion is perpendicular
one hydrophone and three orthogonally oriented geophones or accelerometersX, Y and Z (inset).

44 Oileld Review
to the direction of wave propagation. In conven-
tional surface seismic data acquisition, seismic
waves reflect at subsurface reflectors, then
arrive at the surface traveling nearly vertically.
This means that P-waves can be recorded by sin-
gle-component geophones that detect vertical
motion in the formation. Compressional waves
can also be detected by hydrophones, or
pressure sensors, surrounded by waterthe
typical recording arrangement in towed marine
seismic surveys.
Recording S-waves requires geophones that
detect more than just the vertical component, so
standard P-wave recording systems are inade-
quate. Shear waves are transverse waves, which
means that the particle motion is perpendicular
to the direction of propagation. Therefore, the
S-wave field is fully three-dimensional, and
three-component sensors are required to
characterize it. The most common form of
three-component sensor is a sensor comprising
three geophones in orthogonal orientation,
which allows detection of S-waves from all
possible directions. This use of more than one
receiver has given rise to the name multi-
component surveys.
The S-wave motion recorded on the
horizontal components is reconstructed by
mathematical rotation into a radial component
of motion in the plane of wave propagation, and
a transverse component out of the plane of
wave propagation.
The earliest practical attempts at using
S-waves in the exploration and production
industry date back to the 1950s, when geophysi-
cists conducted multicomponent experiments on
land.4 In those experiments, an oscillating, or
shear-wave, source generated direct shear waves
that reected at depth and were recorded on the
surface. Since these early attempts, many land-
based multicomponent surveys have been
technically successful, but they are difficult to
acquire. Each geophone must be oriented in the
same direction to allow coordinate rotation, and
must be planted firmly in the ground to
accurately measure ground motion. Land
multicomponent surveys feature three orthogo-
nal sensors, requiring three times the number of
recording channels and three times the data vol-
ume of a single-component survey. Processing of
land shear surveys is also problematic because
inhomogeneity of near-surface layers causes
large traveltime variations for the S-waves.
As in land seismic surveys, recording S-waves
in a marine seismic survey requires deployment
of multicomponent sensors on the ground, in
this case on the seafloor. The earliest marine-
Summer 2004
environment shear waves were recorded in the
early 1970s with ocean-bottom seismometers
(OBSs) thrown overboard. Later experiments
pressed OBSs into the seafloor by a remotely
operated vehicle (ROV).
While the analogy with land multicomponent
surveys works well to describe marine multi-
component receivers, it cannot be applied to
marine seismic-source technology: it is still
impractical to deploy a shear-wave source on the
seafloor. Fortunately, although typical marine
seismic sources used in towed-streamer surveys
do not directly generate S-waves, the P-waves
they do generate can in turn generate S-waves in
the subsurface. Compressional waves undergo
partial conversion to shear waves at subsurface
interfaces and can be detected as S-waves by
seabed sensors (previous page, bottom).
Recorded waves that start as P-waves and con-
vert to S-waves usually are called converted
waves, or PS-waves, but some recent literature
calls them C-waves, for converted. Their counter-
parts, those waves that start and reflect as
P-waves, are called PP-waves.
Converted waves reect at subsurface inter-
faces according to Snells law, which relates the
angles of incidence, reection and transmission
to the velocities of propagation of P- and
S-waves. For P-waves reecting at an interface,
the angle of reection equals the angle of inci-
dence. This symmetry simplies acquisition and
processing of P-wave surveys. However, for
PS-waves, the S-wave angle of reection does not
equal the P-wave angle of incidence. An
S-wave always reects more vertically than would
a P-wave, because the propagation velocity of an
S-wave is less than that of a P-wave. This asym-
metry complicates acquisition and processing of
converted-wave surveys. Compressional-wave
processing takes advantage of the fact that the
P-to-P reflection point is at the midpoint
between source and receiver. Processing for
shear waves must take into account the fact that
the conversion point is closer to the receiver.
Early techniques for recording PS-waves
grew out of connecting several OBSs with a
cable for power and communication, and drop-
ping the receiver spread into place.5 An ROV was
still needed to press each OBS, or node, into the
seabed. Another variety of marine shear-wave
recording system, called a cable system, is based
on well-logging technology and uses multicom-
ponent sensors packaged in steel cylinders
connected by high-strength conductive cable. A
different type of seabed-cable technology
evolved from two-component systems called bay
cables, which were designed to improve shallow-
water P-wave acquisition by recording with one
hydrophone and one geophone. A four-
component version, developed by WesternGeco
and first used commercially in 1996, relies on
seismic-streamer technology similar to the
streamers towed in todays marine seismic sur-
veys. The new systems are known as ocean-bottom
cables (OBCs).
The newest marine multicomponent acquisi-
tion systems developed by WesternGeco deploy a
version of the fluid-filled cable on the seafloor,
and have sensors with three geophone-
accelerometers (GACs) and one hydrophone.
The three orthogonal GACs, called X, Y and Z,
measure the full wavefields of arriving waves.
The orientations of each GAC are measured
independently so that the recorded data can be
rotated mathematically to yield three new
orthogonal components of dataone vertical
and two horizontal, with one horizontal
component aligned in the direction of wave
propagation. The hydrophone, sensitive to uid-
pressure changes, provides an additional
measurement of the P-wave motion. These
acquisition systems are known as marine
four-component (4C) technology, which is
synonymous with multicomponent technology.
The most advanced systems have extended
acquisition-depth capabilities to record surveys
in water depths reaching 2,500 m [8,200 ft],
addressing the need for better fluid and lithol-
ogy determination in new deepwater prospects.
Marine multicomponent surveys require sev-
eral steps for acquisition of high-quality data.6
Before each survey, a reconnaissance side-scan
sonar study examines the seaoor and inspects
potential seabed-cable locations. Next, a seismic
recording vessel with dynamic-positioning capa-
bility deploys the cables as it moves along
selected receiver-line positions. During cable
deployment, the vessel acquires position data
from transponders on the seabed cables to make
sure they are in the correct locations.
After the rst cable is in place, its end is con-
nected to a buoy while the vessel deploys a
second cable, usually parallel to the rst. Most
3D multicomponent surveys are acquired with
two to six active cables on the seabed. When all
3. Caldwell J, Christie P, Engelmark F, McHugo S, zdemir H,
Kristiansen P and MacLeod M: Shear Waves Shine
Brightly, Oileld Review 11, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 215.
4. Jolly RN: Investigation of Shear Waves, Geophysics 21,
no. 4 (October 1956): 905938.
5. Caldwell J: Marine Multicomponent Seismology, The
Leading Edge 18, no. 11 (November 1999): 12741288.
6. Rowson C: 4C Seismic Technology Makes Mark in
Caspian Sea, Offshore 63, no. 5 (May 2003): 50.
45
 PP Image through Lomond Gas Cloud The first acquisition of marine four-compo-
0 nent seismic data for reservoir mapping was in
1993 by Statoil in the Tommeliten eld.7 This 2D
seismic line was acquired with a node-based sys-
tem of connected OBS sensors deployed by ROV.
0.5
In 1994, Geco-Prakla acquired the rights to
develop this technology, and also introduced
four-component streamer-type cables. By 1996,
Amoco was testing various 2D systems at their
1.0
Valhall and Hod fields. 8 Western Geophysical
concurrently enhanced their two-component
equipmentone hydrophone and one
1.5 geophoneto handle four-component acquisi-
tion, and Petroleum Geo-Services Company
(PGS) developed a concept based on a heavy-
PP traveltime, ms

duty cable on runners.

2.0 Western Geophysical and Geco-Prakla were
the first to have 3D capability. In 1997, 3D
multicomponent surveys were acquired on the
Oseberg and Statfjord elds.9 The rst fully com-
2.5 mercial success was on the Valhall eld, a survey
acquired for Amoco by Geco-Prakla in 1997 and
1998. 10 The Alba and Lomond field surveys
followed soon after.
3.0

Seeing through Gas

3.5
4.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Trace number
> Imaging problem in the Lomond gas cloud. The gas cloud obscures this
PP image from a conventional 3D towed-streamer survey. Reections near
the crest of the Lomond structure are weakened by transmission through
the gas-charged zone. Some reections sag because gas reduces
seismic velocities.
cables have been set out, the cable ends are Several properties of the water layer and the
attached to the recording vessel so that data seabed can affect the quality of multicomponent
from all cables can be recorded. Additional surveys acquired by seabed sensors. Some fac-
cable allows the recording vessel to move out of tors affect multicomponent data quality more
the way of the source vessel without moving the than towed-streamer data quality, and some
seabed detectors. factors have less effect on multicomponent data.
The source vessel shoots along predeter- Currents can influence the ability to deploy
mined shot lines, creating a swath of data both towed and seabed cables accurately.
recorded by the seabed streamers in this first Depth-dependent variations in temperature and
location. Then, the recording vessel recovers the salinity can disrupt the transmission of acoustic
streamers and lays them out again to cover the waves used to locate seabed sensors, leading to
next swath. Multicomponent surveys can com- errors in sensor location. And while the ocean
prise tens of overlapping swaths so as not to oor is usually a quieter environment than the
leave any gaps in subsurface coverage. ocean surface for marine acquisition, the pres-
ence of deep currents, unconsolidated sediment
and bathymetric features may affect seabed data
quality and cable stability.
The combination of P- and S-waves has improved
development drilling in the Lomond eld, oper-
ated by BP in the UK sector of the North Sea.
This gas condensate eld, discovered in 1972, has
been producing since 1993. The reservoir struc-
ture is a fractured dome overlying a salt diapir.
The producing interval is a high-quality Forties
sandstone partitioned by a fault. Production from
one side of the fault is good, while wells pene-
trating the other side are poor producers.
Delineating the major fault is difficult,
because gas above the structural crestgas that
probably has migrated up along the numerous
faults that cut through the domedisturbs
P-wave propagation. An image from a conven-
tional 3D towed-streamer survey exhibits the
imaging problems typical of gas clouds (above
left). In gas-charged areas, reflections sag
because gas reduces P-wave velocities. Low
velocity through the gas layers increases travel-
time, which increases apparent thickness on
seismic images displayed with traveltime as the
vertical axis. In addition to reflection sagging,
gas causes faults at the structural crest to be
poorly imaged and obscures reflections inside
the dome.
Converted waves recorded by a 3D multi-
component survey acquired in 1998 helped
create a clear picture of the Lomond structure
(next page, top). Comparison of the PP image
with the PS image shows a significantly better

46 Oileld Review
 1,000 500
Tra Tra
900 cen 450 c en
um um
ber 400
ber
800
700 350
600 300
2,000
4,000

2,246
4,496
2,496

PS traveltime, ms
PP traveltime, ms
4,992
2,744

5,488
2,992

3,240 5,984

3,488 6,480

3,704 6,784
1,020 900 800 700 600 530 500 450 400 350 300 265
Trace number Trace number
> Comparison of 3D data from a towed-marine survey and a seabed survey. In the PP image from the towed-marine survey (left), reections at the crest of the
Lomond structure are obscured by shallow gas. The PS converted-wave image from the seabed survey (right) clearly resolves the large fault passing through
the structure at its crest, and fully illuminates the structure with high-amplitude reections.

result with the PS data. On the PS section, the

fault is clearly resolved, making it possible to Louisiana
Streamer
confidently locate development wells. A new West Cameron
Ocean-bottom cable
well that was drilled with the guidance of these
PS data landed on the correct side of the fault
and was a good producer.11
Seabed multicomponent surveys also have
been successful in imaging through gas in the
Gulf of Mexico (right). In multicomponent 3D
data from the West Cameron area, the converted
PS image clearly reveals improved fault
and stratigraphic resolution relative to the PP High
Island
East
7. Berg E, Svenning B and Martin J: SUMICA New West Cameron
Strategic Tool for Exploration and Reservoir Mapping, South
paper GO55, presented at the 56th EAEG Meeting and High Island
Technical Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, June 610, 1994. East So. Add. WCA2 El14

8. Kommedal JH, Barkved OI and Thomsen LA: Acquisition

of 4 Component OBS DataA Case Study from Valhall El15
Field, paper BO47, presented at the 59th EAGE Meeting
and Technical Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland,
May 2630, 1997.
9. Rogn H, Kristensen A and Amundsen L: The Statfjord
3-D, 4-C OBC Survey, The Leading Edge 18, no. 11
(November 1999): 13011305.
10. Brzostowski M, Altan S, Zhu X, Barkved O, Rosland B and
Thomsen L: 3-D Converted-Wave Processing over the
Valhall Field, Expanded Abstracts, 69th SEG Annual
International Meeting and Exposition, Houston, Texas, > Areas of the Gulf of Mexico covered by WesternGeco multicomponent surveys.
USA (October 31November 5, 1999): 695698.
11. Pope DA, Kommedal JH and Hansen JO: Using 3D 4C
Seismic to Drill Beneath the Lomond Gas Cloud, paper
L01, presented at the 62nd EAGE Annual Conference and
Exhibition, Glasgow, Scotland, May 29June 2, 2000.

Summer 2004 47
 West Cameron Area Imaging through Gas image (left). Faults, laterally continuous reec-
PP Section PS Section tions and changes in amplitude that are
ambiguous on the PP section are unmistakable
on the PS section.
In another example, Devon Energy used mul-
ticomponent seismic methods to identify
additional gas reserves in a producing area of
the Gulf of Mexico, where a large proportion of
gas production comes from shallow reservoirs.
PP traveltime

Often, the tapped zones are simply the shallow-

est of a series of stacked gas sands that could all
be produced by the same surface facilities if the
deeper sands could be discovered. However,
deeper gas-bearing zones are difcult to image
because the presence of shallow gas seismically
obscures them (below left).
In 2001, Devon Energy used multicomponent
data acquired by WesternGeco in the West
Cameron area offshore Louisiana, USA, to
> Conventional, towed-marine PP data and seabed multicomponent PS data from the West Cameron
reduce risk in the drilling of four gas wells. The
area, Gulf of Mexico. The converted PS section (right) clearly reveals faults, lateral continuity in
reection character and changes in amplitude that are ambiguous on the PP section (left).
flat-lying layers of the prospect area created
additional challenges in interpreting the con-
verted-wave images, because there were no
structural features to match from the P-wave
image. Converted-wave images are obtained in
PS time: that is, the vertical, or traveltime, axis
Gulf of Mexico Stacked Gas Sands, PP Image has units that correspond to the time required
300
for the wave to descend as a P-wave and reect
as an S-wave. Since S-waves are slower than
P-waves, PS times are larger than PP times, so
400 PS sections appear stretched relative to PP sec-
tions (next page, top).
500
Interpreting PS sections alongside conven-
tional towed-streamer images, which are
displayed in PP time, requires converting
PP traveltime, ms

600 PS time to PP time. Since there is no reliable

petrophysical function that relates shear veloc-
ity to compressional velocity at every depth, this
700
conversion is performed in an interpretive man-
ner. Seismic-processing interpreters unstretch
800 the PS section to nd a match with the PP sec-
tion, taking into account that the relative
stretch varies with depth and that individual
900
events may have different amplitude and polar-
ity on the PP and PS images (next page, bottom).
1,000 Interpreting multicomponent data in this
way, Devon Energy was able to correlate events
in the converted-wave section with P-wave
> Shallow gas obscuring deeper gas reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico. The
events at known drilling depths. All four wells
high-amplitude reection near the top of this PP section reveals the shallow
gas reservoir already in production. However, the shallow gas also prevents drilled with the aid of interpreted multicompo-
P-waves from imaging deeper reserves. nent sections were successful, and the company
developed a number of other prospects with
their 4C data. In total, nine wells were drilled
and seven were successful.

Rocks and Fluids from Multicomponent Data

One excellent example of using multicomponent
data to discriminate lithology is also an excel-

48 Oileld Review
 PP Data PS Data PP Data

1,000

1,200
PP traveltime, ms

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

> Matching PS images with PP images. In this area with at-lying reectors and no gas production, converted-wave reections recorded in PS time are
difcult to match uniquely with compressional-wave reections recorded in PP time. A PS image (center) converted to PP traveltime has been inserted into
a PP image (left and right), and shows good agreement in all but the shallowest reections.

PP Image PS Image on PP Time Scale

300 300

400 400

500 500
PP traveltime, ms

PP traveltime, ms
600 600
PS Image
700 700

800 800 800

900 900

1,000 1,000 1,000

1,200

1,400
PS traveltime, ms

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

> Relating converted-wave sections in PS traveltime to compressional-wave sections in PP traveltime. Since S-waves are slower than P-waves, PS times
(center) are later than PP times (left), so PS sections appear stretched relative to PP sections. Seismic-processing interpreters unstretch the PS section to
nd a match with the PP section, taking into account that the relative stretch varies with depth and that events that are strong on a PP image may be weak
on the PS image, and vice versa. The nal PS image displayed in PP time (right) shows several stacked gas sands with high amplitudes.

Summer 2004 49
 Alba Field PP Amplitudes
> Lithology discrimination in the Alba eld, operated by ChevronTexaco in the UK sector of the North Sea. Because the reservoir and its surrounding
shales have similar acoustic impedances to P-waves, the reservoir does not show up clearly on a map of PP reection amplitudes (left). Scattered
brightness (yellow) signies zones of impedance contrast, indicating potential sand-rich lithology. The reservoir has high acoustic impedance to S-waves,
so the reection-amplitude map for PS-waves (right) clearly shows a sand-rich channel and some sand-rich lobes (green and yellow).
lent example of imaging a reservoir with low P-
wave impedance contrast. The Alba eld in the
UK sector of the North Sea consists of high-
porosity, unconsolidated turbidite channel sands
containing intrareservoir shales that contribute
to drilling, completion and production problems.
Because the P-wave acoustic impedance of
the sandstones is similar to that of the shale
caprock, the reservoir top is nearly invisible on
PP images. However, it becomes clearly illumi-
nated in PS sections.12
From 1993 to 1998, the field produced
130 million barrels [20.6 million m3] of oil from
15 horizontal wells. In 1998, several new wells
were planned to improve drainage by penetrat-
ing pay as close as possible to the top of the
reservoir. Illuminating the low impedance-con-
trast reservoir was difficult with P-waves, so a
seabed survey was designed to map the top of
the oil-rich sand. Since the new wells might be
drilled near existing producers and injectors, it
12. MacLeod MK, Hanson RA, Bell CR and McHugo S: The
Alba Field Ocean Bottom Cable Seismic Survey: Impact
on Development, paper SPE 56977, presented at the
SPE Offshore Europe Conference, Aberdeen, Scotland,
September 79, 1999; also in The Leading Edge 18, no. 11
(November 1999): 13061312.
13. Wilkinson D: Imaging the Alba Reservoir with PS-Waves
from OBC Data and AVO Processing of PZ and PP Data,
presented at the 73rd SEG Annual Meeting and
International Exposition, AVO Workshop, Dallas, Texas,
USA, October 31, 2003.
50
Alba Field PS Amplitudes
was also important to be able to predict fluid Analysis of the data cube from the seabed
saturation ahead of the bit. The new seabed survey gives a 3D mapping of lithology, whereas
survey would be compared with an earlier the PP data from the earlier towed-streamer
towed-streamer survey to reveal seismically survey present an ambiguous picture (above).
detectable saturation changes. These reflection-amplitude maps of the top of
Eugene Island Low P-Impedance Contrast
PP Section PS Section
1,500
1,750
2,000
2,250
2,500
PP traveltime, ms
2,750
3,000
3,250
3,500
3,750
4,000
4,250
> Low acoustic-impedance contrast and fault shadowing in the Eugene Island area of the Gulf of
Mexico. In the PP section (left), reections beneath the fault (green) are not clearly imaged, nor is the
fault itself resolved. In the PS section (right), converted waves illuminate the volume under the fault
(black oval). The blue rectangle highlights an area in the PP image that shows a high-amplitude
bright spot, sometimes indicative of hydrocarbon. However, the same area on the PS image is also
high-amplitude, suggesting that the reection could be a high-impedance lithology change. The
black rectangle highlights another bright spot in the PP image, but the dim response on the
corresponding PS section suggests that this bright spot could contain hydrocarbons.
Oileld Review
the reservoir show high amplitudes when
PS waves encounter sand-rich reservoir, and low
amplitudes when the reector is shale-rich. The
high amplitudes map out a sand-rich channel
and some sand-rich lobes. Some of the same fea-
tures can be seen only vaguely in the PP section.
With the help of the PS data cube, seismic
interpreters were able to distinguish reservoir
sand from the encasing shale. Well planners
were able to locate the new horizontal wells in
this channel just below the reservoir top to
reduce water inux. As a result, the Alba asset
team has executed a successful horizontal-well
program, placing numerous wells in the richest
interval of the reservoir and adding substantial
new reserves.13 The time-lapse comparison of
seabed and streamer surveys helped identify and
avoid regions of high water saturation.
Low impedance-contrast intervals also cause
imaging problems in other regions. In the
Eugene Island area of the Gulf of Mexico, for
example, such intervals can have the added
complication of lying in the imaging shadow
of a fault (previous page, bottom). Here, the
converted-wave section reveals several features
not visible in the PP section. The fault itself is
poorly resolved by the P-wave image, and the
region in the fault shadow, indicated by the
black oval, is much better resolved on the PS
section. The PP image shows a high-amplitude
bright spot that might be interpreted as a hydro-
carbon indicator on the right side of the section.
The corresponding reflection on the PS image,
however, is also high-amplitude. This would cau-
tion an interpreter about assuming a correlation
with hydrocarbon content, and would suggest
the need for further analysis. In the same sec-
tion, the PP image exhibits another bright
response near the top of the section. The dim
response on the PS section suggests that this
bright spot is a potential hydrocarbon interval.
Taking advantage of the difference in P- and
S-wave response to fluid content, interpreters
can examine subsurface volumes for bypassed
pay. An example from the Eugene Island area
multicomponent 3D survey shows how fluid
indicators may be obtained by subtracting PS
responses from PP responses (below). First,

Eugene Island Amplitude Extractions, Horizon at 3,000 ft

PP Section PS Section PP-PS Difference

> Using differences in PP and PS responses to map remaining uids. Reection amplitudes from the PP (top left) and PS (top center) seismic volumes are
extracted across a horizon corresponding to a depth of approximately 3,000 ft [915 m]. High amplitudes (orange) on the map of their difference (top right)
show where hydrocarbons may be trapped. Zones with the highest amplitudes (black outlines, bottom right) can be matched with high-amplitude areas on
the PP section (black outlines, bottom left) to show the bright spots that can be trusted as hydrocarbon indicators.

Summer 2004 51
 reflection amplitudes from the PP and PS
seismic volumes are extracted across a hori-
zon corresponding to a depth of approximately
Characterizing Fractures with S-Waves 3,000 ft [915 m]. Then, a map of their differ-
ence highlights potential trapped
hydrocarbon where the difference amplitude
is high.

Seafloor Monitoring Reservoir Changes

Multicomponent surveys can provide impor-
tant information about reservoir changes
caused by movement of uid as a result of pro-
Form duction or enhanced-recovery efforts. One
fast atio
on axis n type of change is reservoir compaction. Com-
a ti s
o rm axi paction, caused by uid extraction, can act as
F lo w
s the drive mechanism to maintain production,
Slow shear
but it also can cause instability in overlying
layers. In extreme cases, reservoir compaction
Fast shear
can lead to collapse of overburden and even to
seaoor subsidence.
Since shear waves are sensitive to a rocks
shear modulus, they respond to changes in
rock stiffness and strength. When stiffness
and strength changes have preferential
orientations, shear waves undergo
birefringenceas they do in the presence
of aligned fractures (see Characterizing
Fractures with S-Waves, left).
The Valhall multicomponent survey in the
Norwegian North Sea was primarily designed
to illuminate the crest of the Valhall structure,
where gas causes conventional towed-
streamer images to be obscured. WesternGeco
> A shear wave splitting into fast and slow waves after reection at or acquired the 3D multicomponent survey dur-
transmission through a fractured or anisotropic medium. Fast S-wave ing the winter of 1997 to 1998.
particle motion (blue) is polarized in the average direction of fracture strike, A few years after the survey was acquired,
and the slow S-wave (yellow) has particle motion polarized perpendicular to WesternGeco began to reprocess the data for
fracture strike. The difference in traveltime between the fast and slow waves
is related to fracture density. BP, the operator. The primary objective of the
reprocessing effort was to improve the seismic
velocity model of the overburden, with the
Understanding fracture systems in reservoirs with different velocities, one fast and one slow. expectation that a better overburden-velocity
is important for inll-drilling programs, hori- The fast S-wave particle motion is polarized in model would improve imaging at the level of
zontal well design and enhanced oil-recovery the average direction of fracture strike, and the reservoir.14
projects. Stresses in the Earth cause most the slow S-wave has particle motion polarized Because shear-wave splitting had been
fractures to be vertical and aligned with each perpendicular to fracture strike (above). The observed during earlier data processing, pro-
other. Individual fractures that are smaller difference in traveltime between the fast cessing specialists included anisotropy in the
than the seismic wavelength may not be S-wave and the slow S-wave is related to fracture seismic-velocity model. The Valhall reservoir is
detected by seismic waves, but seismic density. Analyzing land-based multicomponent fractured at the crest, so anisotropy was
wavesespecially shear wavescan sense data with this method has been used in car- expected in the reservoir layers. Also, reports
average fracture properties within a large bonate reservoirs to identify zones of high from earlier processing indicated significant
volume to help determine average fracture fracture density that have subsequently been anisotropy effects in the overburden. During
orientation and density. validated by drilling and production.1 reprocessing, WesternGeco geophysicists found
Shear waves traveling through or reecting that even shear waves converted from the shal-
at such a fractured medium undergo shear- 1. Li X-Y and Mueller M: Case Studies of Multicompo- lowest layer showed the effects of shear-wave
nent Seismic Data for Fracture Characterization: Austin
wave birefringence, or splitting. Birefringence Chalk Examples, in Pala I and Marfurt KJ (eds): Car- splitting, and to an extent not yet seen in other
causes a shear wave to split into two waves bonate Seismology. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: Society of North Sea 3D multicomponent surveys.
Exploration Geophysicists (1997): 337372.
Plotting the direction of the fast shear
wave and the difference between fast and

52 Oileld Review
 hundred meters below the seaoor, show a ring
pattern that matches the shape of seafloor
subsidence that has occurred since the onset of
oil production.
The actual mechanism causing the shallow
shear-wave splitting is not known. Azimuthal
Seafloor subsidence, m
anisotropy is usually associated with fracturing,
4.0
stress or lithology. In this case, the amount of
3.5 anisotropy is small at the center of the field
3.0 where the subsidence is largest, but the
anisotropy is large on the anks and small again
2.5
farther from the center. This strongly points to
2.0 shear-wave splitting being sensitive to changes
1.5 in stress or strain. It is believed that this small
1.0
amount of seabed subsidence is linked to
changes at the reservoir levelthe result of
0.5
fluid production, weakening of the chalk
0 reservoir by water injection, and subsequent
compaction of the reservoir layer.
Detecting reservoir changes with time is the
purpose of 3D time-lapse P-wave surveys, also
known as 4D surveys (see Time Will Tell: New
Insights from Time-Lapse Seismic Data, page 6).
> Shallow-level shear-wave splitting correlating with subsidence over the However, in areas where P-waves cannot
Valhall eld, North Sea. Angled line segments depict the direction of the fast adequately image the reservoir, geophysicists may
shear wave in the layers just below the seaoor. The length of each line be able to use time-lapse multicomponent data
segment is proportional to the difference between fast and slow shear-wave
to detect changes that could affect reservoir-
speed. Thin lines are receiver lines. Blue shading corresponds to subsidence
of the seaoor over the Valhall Field. development decisions. The rst such survey was
recently performed in the Ekosk eld.
The seaoor overlying the Ekosk eld in the
North Sea has experienced at least 8 m [26 ft] of
266,500
subsidence, requiring operator ConocoPhillips
10 to modify platforms and undertake efforts to sta-
azimuthal
bin bilize the effects of future production. Since
production began in 1971, the high-porosity
266,000 chalk formation has produced 1.9 billion bbl
[302 million m 3 ] of the 6.7 billion bbl
[1.1 billion m3] of oil originally in place. Produc-
tion is expected to continue until 2050.
265,500 Monitoring and mitigating the effects of
production are key to achieving long-term
project viability.
1 km Monitoring production seismically requires
265,000 time-lapse multicomponent technology: approxi-
mately one-third of the Ekofisk structure is
obscured on existing P-wave images by free gas
and overpressured shales in the overburden. For
264,500 the worlds first time-lapse marine multi-
510,000 511,000 512,000 513,000 514,000 515,000 516,000 component study, an initial multicomponent
survey performed in September 2002 formed the
> Multicomponent survey design and azimuthal binning for the Ekosk 2003 seabed survey. Red dots
baseline. This was compared with the monitor
represent shotpoints, and blue triangles in a blue box in a line near the center of the survey represent
receivers in the seabed streamer. To study azimuthal effects and quantify shear-wave splitting, traces survey acquired in December 2003.15 In each sur-
from each receiver location were binned into 10-degree sectors and then stacked. Azimuthal bins are vey, a seabed cable was used to acquire data
shown for only the rst receiver on the left end of the seabed streamer. with a wide range of azimuths (left).

slow shear velocities, geophysicists discovered
a surprising correlation between the shear-
velocity properties of the shallowest layer and
Summer 2004
the amount of seaoor subsidence over the crest
of the Valhall field (top). The results from the
shallowest layer, which extends only a few
14. Olofsson B, Probert T, Kommedal JH and Barkved OI:
Azimuthal Anisotropy from the Valhall 4C 3D Survey,
The Leading Edge 22, no. 12 (December 2003): 12281235.
15. Van Dok R, Gaiser J and Probert T: Time-Lapse Shear
Wave Splitting Analysis at Ekosk Field, paper G046,
presented at the 66th EAGE Annual Conference and
Exhibition, Paris, France, June 710, 2004.
53
 Radial Component Transverse Component For each survey, converted waves were ana-
0 lyzed to determine the principal directions of
fast and slow S-waves. At every sensor location,
recorded traces were collected, or binned, into
10 sectors according to azimuth from the shot
location, then stacked. This produces a set of
0.5
36 traces for each component at every received
location. Principal directions show up as varia-
tions in arrival times on the radial component,
Two-way traveltime, s

and low amplitudes on the transverse compo-

nent (left). The fast direction corresponds to
1.0
earlier arrivals on the radial component, and the
slow direction corresponds to later arrivals on
the radial component. These principal direc-
tions are associated with a polarity reversal on
the transverse component resulting from the
1.5
destructive interference of the two S-waves in
these orientations.
Comparison of data from the two multicom-
ponent surveys after a years worth of production
indicates some small changes in the direction of
2.0
50 140 230 320 50 140 230 320 the fast shear wave and in the difference
Azimuth, deg between fast and slow shear velocities. The dif-
> Azimuth-limited stacked traces from one receiver in the Ekosk 2003 seabed survey. Each of the ferences are not consistent across the eld, and
two panels contains 36 traces, one trace for each 10 bin. On the radial component (left), reections have yet to be understood, but are still being
appear to undulate as the bin azimuth turns around 360. For each undulating reection, the earlier evaluated. The currently observed subsidence is
arrivals correspond to fast shear waves and later arrivals correspond to slow shear waves. The fast
shear-wave direction, therefore, is 140. The principal directions of fast and slow shear waves show a result of more than 30 years of production, and
up as low amplitudes on the transverse component (right). it is not clear if the effects of one year will be
observable. However, it is likely that a greater
subsidence effect will be seen over a longer
Geological or geophysical problem Proven Possible Improbable Abstain
production interval.
Imaging below gas clouds 100 In another time-lapse multicomponent pro-
Imaging targets of poor PP reflectivity 86 14 ject, BP has installed a seabed arraythis time
Lithology delineation: clastics 56 44 permanentlyin the Valhall field offshore
Increase shallow resolution (<1,000-m depth) 56 40 4 Norway to monitor reservoir changes. The deci-
Fracture characterization (orientation and density) 46 54 sion to install this array and to acquire repeat
Fluid discrimination 33 67 3D multicomponent seismic surveys at regular
Detection of shallow gas 17 83 intervals was based on the business need to use
Imaging faults 15 85 time-lapse seismic technology to help determine
Imaging below salt 14 85 1 the reservoir-drainage strategy, improve well
Density estimation 12 88 planning through the selection of optimal drilling
Pore-pressure prediction 8 92 trajectories and to identify increased reserves as
Stress characterization 8 91 1 a result of improved reservoir description.
Reservoir monitoring 4 96 When Valhall production started in 1982, the
Detection of shallow water flows 100 eld contained 39 million m3 [245 million bbl] of
Lithology delineation: carbonates, evaporites 100 recoverable oil reserves. Improvements in
Imaging below basalt 97 3 reservoir characterization have raised oil
Imaging below chalk 97 3 reserves by a factor of four, to 167 million m3
Increase deep resolution (>1,000-m depth) 90 10 [1.05 billion bbl], of which 88 million m 3
Imaging with multiples 13 65 22 [554 million bbl], or half, have been produced.
Gas hydrates 89 11 BP expects continued growth in Valhall reserves
Imaging complex structures (overthrust) 80 20 to accompany further improvements available
Formation strength (drilling hazard) 64 4 32 through reservoir monitoring.
Permeability estimation 55 20 25 The monitoring project will allow repeat
Coalbed methane 4 48 48 multicomponent seismic surveys to image below
the shallow gas that prevents adequate P-wave
> Results of a poll of shear-wave specialists at a workshop held by the Society of Exploration
imaging. Permanent installation of the seabed
Geophysicists in 2000. Attendees were asked to quantify how well proven they believe multicomponent
seismic methods are for addressing 24 different geological or geophysical problems. For solving almost sensors will allow time-lapse surveys to acquire
all the proposed problems, multicomponent methods are considered proven or possible.

54 Oileld Review
 PP Prestack Time-Migration Stack
0 signal-to-noise ratio and reduced cross-feed
1.0
2.0
PP traveltime, s
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
> Comparison of PP and PS sections in the Volve eld, Norwegian North Sea. The PS section (right),
processed in a conventional manner, with poststack time migration, is of lower quality than the
PP section (left). The PP section comes from the multicomponent survey, and combines hydrophone
and geophone information, called PZ data.
data from an array of receivers at the same
locations, generating repeatable surveys. The
seaoor cables cover a 45-km2 [18-sq mile] area
and are permanently connected to a platform-
based recording system.
For implementation of the permanent-moni-
toring project on the Valhall field, the Valhall
Unit and BP won the Norwegian Petroleum
Directorates 2003 Improved Oil Recovery
award.16 The award acknowledges creativity and
the willingness to take risks in applying methods
that can improve recovery beyond what can nor-
mally be expected. The Norwegian Petroleum
Directorate believes that the time-lapse multi-
component method could have potential for
many other elds in Norway and elsewhere.
Improving Multicomponent Methods
Marine multicomponent surveys have been avail-
able commercially since 1996, and have been
shown to be successful in solving several
seismic-imaging and reservoir-characterization
problems. Some oil and gas companies are con-
vinced of the benefits of the multicomponent
approach, while others remain to be persuaded.
To understand the extent to which users
have accepted multicomponent applications,
shear-wave specialists examined the question at
a workshop held by the Society of Exploration
Geophysicists (SEG) in 2000. A poll of attendees
revealed how well they believe multicomponent
seismic methods can solve any one of 24 possible
Summer 2004
PS Isotropic Poststack Time-Migration Stack
geological or geophysical problems (previous
page, bottom).
As the top-ranking application, imaging
below gas was seen by 100% of attendees as a
proven use of multicomponent technology. Imag-
ing targets with low P-wave impedance contrast
ranked second, selected as proven by 86% of
respondents. A clear majority of specialists per-
ceive that these top two applications are proven.
The other 22 problems received divided scores,
but nearly all are considered possible to solve
with multicomponent technology.
To increase the level of acceptance of multi-
component methods, geophysicists are working
to improve all aspects of the technology, from
signal quality and acquisition efciency to data
processing and interpretation. On the acquisi-
tion side, signicant advances have been made
in newly developed systems. These improve-
ments include increasing the water-depth
capabilities of surveys from a few hundred
meters to 2,500 m. Node-based, as opposed to
streamer-based systems, are also able to acquire
high-quality shear-wave data at these depths.
However, node-based systems are operationally
inefcient compared with OBC systems.
New sensor developments include microelec-
tromechanical systems (MEMS). MEMS sensors
are based on miniaturized accelerometers,
which are produced in a manner like that of
microchips. As with geophone accelerometers,
these sensors aim to improve the quality of the
recorded seismic signal through improved
between the three sensor components.
Other improvements to signal quality are
enhancing delity and increasing bandwidth in
recording the full wavefield of seabed data.
Improving coupling between multicomponent
sensor packages and the seaoor also improves
data quality. These data-quality objectives need
to be achieved while also improving operational
efciency. While recording on the seaoor typi-
cally increases survey cost by several times
compared with towed-streamer surveys, the
value of information can easily outweigh the
additional cost.
The results of processing converted-wave
data have sometimes been disappointing in
comparison with P-wave results in the same
area. Processing of multicomponent data
has always been challenging because of the
asymmetry in the raypaths caused by the
velocity difference between P- and S-waves.
WesternGeco geophysicists are developing
enhanced imaging algorithms tailored to multi-
component data. Using Kirchhoff prestack time
migration, in which traveltimes are calculated
accurately using anisotropic curved rays,
WesternGeco processing specialists have been
able to improve resolution of converted-wave
images at any target depth. The rst 3D example
using this technology is from the Volve eld.
The Volve eld in the North Sea, operated by
Statoil, contains a structurally complex subchalk
reservoir. Statoil geophysicists believed that by
utilizing the full-azimuth sampling inherent in
seaoor survey geometries, a superior image of
the subsurface could be obtained to aid in
reservoir description.
Compressional-wave (PZ) results from the
hydrophones and vertical geophones showed
significant improvement over images obtained
from earlier towed-streamer surveys. Expecta-
tions of the PS data were not high, but Statoil
decided to test new prestack time-migration pro-
cessing techniques on one swath of PS-wave
data. Prestack time migration was expected to
produce better results than conventional
PS-wave imaging, which includes common con-
version-point (CCP) binning and poststack
migration. Conventional processing of the Volve
PS-wave data performed for comparison
purposes yields a converted-wave image that
compares poorly with the PZ image from the
same seabed survey (above).
16. yvind M: IOR Award 2003: The NPDs Award for
Improved Oil Recovery Goes to Valhall,
http://www.npd.no/English/Emner/Ressursforvaltning/
Utbygging_og_drift/IORprisen_2003_pm.htm (posted
January 13, 2004).
55
 PP Prestack Time-Migration Stack
3.5
4.0
4.5
PP traveltime, s
5.0
5.5
6.0
> Comparing Volve reservoir close-up images obtained from a PP survey with those from a multicomponent survey processed using two different methods.
Careful prestack time imaging with an anisotropic S-wave velocity model (right) claries reection discontinuities in the reservoir section better than the
PP image (left) or the PS section with conventional processing (middle).
The converted-wave processing tests began
with isotropic prestack time migration. However,
the results were disappointing. The next test
included anisotropy in the shear-wave velocity
model for prestack time migration, and yielded a
much better image than the conventionally
processed PS data (above).
According to Statoil processing philosophy,
prestack depth migration will produce optimal
images from multicomponent data, so, in a third
test, prestack depth migration was performed on
one swath of data. The prestack depth migration
included anisotropy in the shear-wave velocity
model and yielded a superior image. The new
converted-wave image contains high-resolution
reections down to and beyond the target level.
The good results obtained from the prestack
depth migration encouraged Statoil to have the
entire PS volume processed with 3D prestack
depth migrationa new project that is ongoing.
Other reservoirs with complex structures and
rapidly varying velocity models stand to benet
from the new PS prestack depth-migration tech-
nique. Companies that have already acquired
converted-wave data may profit from having
17. Amundsen L, Ikelle LT and Berg LE: Multidimensional
Signature Deconvolution and Free-Surface Multiple
Elimination of Marine Multicomponent Ocean-Bottom
Seismic Data, Geophysics 66, no. 5 (September
October 2001): 15941604.
18. Rogn et al, reference 9.
56
PS Isotropic Poststack Time-Migration Stack
these surveys reprocessed to improve resolution
and image quality.
Advances in processing techniques will also
make land multicomponent surveys more feasi-
ble. In particular, reservoirs lying below strong
reectors, such as basalt, are difcult to image
because high P-wave reflectivity above the
reservoir allows little signal to penetrate to the
reservoir level. However, basalt causes
significant P-to-S conversion, creating opportu-
nities for converted-wave surveys. With better
processing algorithms, land surveys will gain
from the same combination of P- and S-wave
data that benet their marine counterparts.
The examples in this article show how multi-
component seismic methods can be used to
detect and characterize reservoirs when conven-
tional P-wave surveys fail. As with many seismic
techniques, their acceptance and widespread
application will take time. Past barriers to
adopting multicomponent methodsunfamiliar-
ity with shear waves, lack of proof of value, PS
processing methods lagging PP imaging tech-
niques, inadequate interpretation workoware
being overcome. Accuracy of seabed measure-
ments is increasing, and advances in processing
have led to dramatic data-quality improvements.
Improved data quality is stimulating new
emphasis on developing interpretation products.
PS Anisotropic Prestack Time-Migration Stack
Other new applications of multicomponent
technology show promise in extracting
more information not only from S-waves, but
also from P-waves. Recently, the use of two
measurementsthe hydrophone and the
vertical-component geophonehas been shown
to improve P-wave imaging in areas where
water-bottom multiples, or reverberations within
the water column, are difficult to remove from
the desired signal.17 Multicomponent systems
also aid in the acquisition of P- and S-wave data
with wide azimuthal coverage.18
Enthusiasts of multicomponent technology
believe it is an emerging breakthrough in the
seismic industry that should have an impact on
oil and gas exploitation equivalent to that of 3D
seismic technology. Shear waves were once
considered just noise in compressional-wave
surveys, and had to be filtered out. As has
happened often before with seismic technology,
what was once noise can become signal.
Now, with proper recording, S-waves can be
captured and made to deliver the important
information they contain about rock and
uid properties. LS
Oileld Review