Anisotropy signatures in the Cooper Basin of Australia: Stress versus fractures

作者：Tyiasning Stephanie^*; Cooke Dennis

来源：Interpretation-A Journal of Subsurface Characterization, 2016, 4(2): SE51-SE61.

DOI：10.1190/INT-2015-0131.1

Theoretically, vertical fractures and stress can create horizontal transverse isotropy (HTI) anisotropy on 3D seismic data. Determining if seismic HTI anisotropy is caused by stress or fractures can be important for mapping and understanding reservoir quality, especially in unconventional reservoirs. Our study area was the Cooper Basin of Australia. The Cooper Basin is Australia's largest onshore oil and gas producing basin that consists of shale gas, basin-centered tight gas, and deep coal play. The Cooper Basin has unusually high tectonic stress, with most reservoirs in a strike-slip stress regime, but the deepest reservoirs are interpreted to be currently in a reverse-fault stress regime. The seismic data from the Cooper Basin exhibit HTI anisotropy. Our main objective was to determine if the HTI anisotropy was stress induced or fracture induced. We have compared migration velocity anisotropy and amplitude variation with offset anisotropy extracted from a high-quality 3D survey with a "ground truth" of dipole sonic logs, borehole breakout, and fractures interpreted from image logs. We came to the conclusion that the HTI seismic anisotropy in our study area is likely stress induced.

• 出版日期2016-5