CHAPTER 3

APPLIED GEOPHYSICS

Introduction
The petroleum geoscientist uses a wide range
of tools to help explore for and produce
petroleum.
The petroleum geoscientist needs to describe
the distribution, at basin to pore scale, of rock,
fluid, and void in the Earth's subsurface.
To do this, the geoscientist uses a large array of
data types and methods.

Data used in petroleum exploration

& production
Data type and source
Satellite images
Seismic data, including:
2D
3D

4D
4C (shear wave signal)
Wireline log data
Cuttings and cores from well
Outcrop data
Seepage of Petroleum

Use
Largely in frontier exploration
Frontier exploration and exploitation
Exploitation, appraisal, development
& production
Production
Exploration to production
Exploration to production
Exploration to production
Frontier exploration
Frontier exploration & exploitation

Data used in petroleum exploration

& production

A Landsat satellite image of the Zagros

Mountains, Iran. The center of the image shows a
near-circular anticline above a salt dome.

Gravity Surveying
Gravity data can be used to help define the
regional tectonic regime, prioritize areas for
seismic work, and identify the causes of
seismic structure (e.g., reefs, salt, and
basement uplift).
Gravimetric data can be obtained at much
lower cost than seismic data.
However, the resolution of gravimetric data is
lower than that of seismic data.

Gravity Surveying
Gravitational prospecting uses Newton's Law,
which links the force of mutual attraction
between particles in terms of their masses and
separation.
The law states that two particles of mass m1
and m2 respectively, and of small dimension
compared with the distance r that separates
their centers of mass, will be attracted to one
another by a force F as follows:
F = G(m1.m2)/r2

Gravity Surveying
The acceleration (a) of a mass m2 due to the
attraction of mass m1 at distance r can be
calculated by dividing the attractive force by the
mass m2, thus:
a = F/m2 = G m1/r2
If m1 is considered to be the mass of the earth
and r its radius, then a is the gravitational
acceleration on the earths surface.
g = GM/R2
G = universal gravitational constant

Gravity Surveying
The value of a varies from place to place. This
variation is due to the effect of latitude, altitude,
and topography, as well as geology.
These variations must be removed before the
last residual one can be detected.
The acceleration due to gravity is measured in
Gals. The commonly used unit is the milliGal
(where 1000 milliGaIs=I GaI).

Gravity Surveying
Variations in g:

Gravity Surveying
Salt dome, g

Dense rock (anticline), g

Gravity Measurement & Equipment

Relative gravity:
Mass on spring measurements. Two types:
1. Stable Gravimeter. Ex: Askania, Gulf dan
Norgaard
Change in g --> change in spring length.
g = -k L/m

Gravity Measurement & Equipment

2. Unstable gravimeter or astatic.
Suitable choice of mass, spring constant and geometry
makes the system unstable and very sensitive to
changes in g.
Ex: LaCoste-Romberg and Worden gravity meter.

Density Variations of Earth Materials

Consider the variation in gravitational
acceleration that would be observed
over a simple model.
Assume due to the presence of a
small ore body.
Let the ore body have a spherical
shape.
The gravity anomaly produced by a
buried sphere is symmetric about the
center of the sphere.

Gravity Surveying
When corrections have been made for the
readings at each station, they may be plotted
on a map and contoured in milligals.
Gravity maps are more useful for showing the
broad architecture of a sedimentary basin.
However, in some cases gravity maps may
indicate drillable prospects by locating salt
domes and reefs.
Gravity surveys can be carried out on land, at
sea, and by air.

Gravity Surveying
Example: Mapping basin depth

Gravity Surveying
Example: Mapping basin depth

Gravity Surveying
Example: Mapping basin depth

Magnetic surveying
The Earth's magnetic field may be divided into
three components, the external field, the main
field, and variations in the main field.
At any point above the earth, the measured
geomagnetic field will be the sum of these
components.
The main field is generated by the Earths
metallic core.
Variations in the main field are commonly much
smaller than the main field signal.

Magnetic surveying
They are produced by local magnetic
anomalies in the near-surface crust.
The intensity of magnetization of a magnetic
mineral will normally be related to the regional
field strength:
J=kH
Where J is the intensity of magnetization
k is the magnetic susceptibility
H is the intensity of the magnetic field

Magnetic Surveying
Rock magnetism has two components, induced and
remanent.
The induced component is proportional to the Earth's
magnetic field and the proportionality constant is called
the "magnetic susceptibility.
Magnetic susceptibility measures the degree to which an
element or mineral can be magnetized.
The magnetic susceptibility is very variable, ranging from
<10-4 emu/cm3 for sedimentary rocks to between 10-3 and
10-2 emu/cm3 for iron-rich basic igneous rocks.

Magnetic Surveying
In exploration geophysics, anomalies are
measured in gamma unitsequivalent to the
nanotesla (nT) in SI unitswhere 1 gamma
=0.00001 Oe.
Magnetic data may be collected on land and
with shipborne or airborne magnetometers.
By this method an aeromagnetic map, which
contours anomalies in the earths magnetic field
in gamma units, may be constructed.

Magnetic Surveying
Like gravity maps, magnetic maps are more
useful for showing the broad-basin architecture,
but can seldom be used to locate drillable
petroleum prospects.

Magnetic Surveying
Magnetic field anomaly.

Bouger anomaly.

Magnetic Anomaly
Let's now qualitatively
construct what the
magnetic anomaly of a
metallic sphere located
beneath the north pole
would look like.

Magnetic Anomaly
Finally, let's examine the
shape of the anomalous
magnetic field for a
metallic sphere buried
somewhere in the
northern hemisphere

Magnetic Anomaly
Suppose we have a buried dyke
with a susceptibility of 0.001
surrounded by sedimentary
rocks with no magnetic
susceptibility. The dyke in this
example is 3 meters wide, is
buried 5 meters deep, and
trends to the northeast. Thus,
we could determine the location
of the dyke and possibly its
dimensions by measuring the
spatial variation in the strength
of the magnetic field.

Seismic Surveying
Reflection surveying:

Seismic Surveying

Before Seismic Existed

Seismic Surveying
The most important of the three main types of geological
prospecting.
They are the only widely used data that give a complete
picture of the whole area of study, be it basin, play
fairway, prospect, trap or reservoir.
Seismic imaging of the Earth's shallow structure uses
energy waves created at a sound source and collected
some distance away.
The seismic method relies upon changes in acoustic
properties of rock to alter the properties of sound waves
transmitted through the rock.

www.dme.qld.gov.au/zone_files/geoscience_images/seismic3.jpg pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-304/htmldocs/chap01/images/seismic.gif

Seismic Surveying
Seismic surveying is largely concerned with the
primary P waves.
When a wave emanating from the surface
reaches a boundary between two media that
have different acoustic impedance, some of the
energy is reflected back into the upper
medium, and some may be refracted into the
lower medium.

Seismic Surveying
Reflection and refraction

Seismic Surveying
The acoustic velocity of a rock varies
according to its elastic constants and density.
The velocity of a P wave:

4
v P ( k n) /
3

k is the bulk modulus

n is the shear modulus
is the density

Vs = (n/)

Seismic Surveying
Factor affecting Velocity:
Density velocity typically increases with density
(k and n are dependant on and increase more
rapidly than ):

Porosity and fluid saturation Increasing porosity reduces velocity.

Filling the porosity with fluid increases the velocity.

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Seismic Surveying
The acoustic impedance is the product of the rocks
density and the velocity ( x ), and is characterized by
the reflection coefficient, R:

v 2 2 v1 1
R
v 2 2 v1 1
Where is the density, and v is the P wave velocity.
The greater the R the stronger the reflection.
The quality of reflectors and hence the ability to define
successions of rocks and their characteristics depends
initially on the natural variations in the rock.

Seismic Surveying
Reflection seismic
survey:

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Seismic Surveying
The reflections generated
from many sources delivering
signals to many layers in the
subsurface, and collected at
many receivers, are compiled
to yield seismic crosssections in 2D and seismic
volumes in 3D.

Seismic Surveying
3D surveys: collect data on a grid.

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Seismic Surveying
2D seismic cross-sections and 3D seismic
volumes are most commonly displayed by
linear x and y coordinates as measured on the
Earth's surface and z measured in time
beneath the Earth's surface.
If the average acoustic velocity of the rock is
known, then it is possible to calculate the depth
(D) to the interface.
D = vt/2
v is the acoustic velocity
t is the two-way travel time

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Seismic Surveying
Seismic acquisition:
Land: Dynamite and Vibroseis are the most
common sources of energy for land-based
seismic surveys.
Vibroseis comprises a heavy all-terrain vehicle
that can lower a steel plate onto the ground
surface.
Other energy sources such as weight dropper
and Dinoseis (explosion of a propane/air
mixture in a chamber mounted below a truck).

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Seismic Surveying
Guns, Weight dropper and Vibroseis

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Seismic Surveying
The returning acoustic waves
are recorded on Geophones.
The signals are transmitted
from the geophones along
cables to the recording truck
and records on magnetic tapes.

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Seismic Surveying
Marine: The energy source for such surveys is
almost exclusively the air gun. An air gun
discharges a high-pressure pulse of air into the
water.
The air guns can emit energy sufficient to
generate signals at between 5 and 6 s two-way
travel time.
Depending on interval velocities, these signals
may penetrate to over 5 km.

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Seismic Surveying

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Seismic Surveying
The reflected signals are recorded by
hydrophones on a cable towed behind the ship.
The cable (streamer) runs several meters
below sea level and may be between 2 and 5
km in length.
The reflected signals are transmitted
electronically from groups of hydrophones
along the cable to the recording unit on the
survey ship.

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Seismic Surveying

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Seismic Surveying
Seismic ship and air gun.

A seismic ship shooting a 3D marine survey. The four streamers under tow create the wake patterns seen
at the edges of the photo. Immediately to either side of the ship's wake is an air-gun array. Each array contains four
strings of air guns. With the two sources firing in an alternating pattern, eight lines of seismic data were acquired at
once (Western Geophysical). The Leading Edge 2005; v. 24; no. Supplement; p. S46-S71;

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Seismic Surveying
Seismic processing:
The aims are to enhance
the interpretable (useful)
seismic information relative
to the noise in the signal
and place the seismic
reflectors in their correct x,
y, z space.

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Seismic Surveying
Here is a brief description of
some of the processing steps:
Editing and Muting: Manually
cleaning up the data.
Remove dead traces
Remove noisy traces
Switch polarity on reversed traces
Cut out unwanted signal e.g.
pre-arrival noise, direct arrival,
ground roll.

Reflected Ray Paths Geometry

If t1 & t2 are travel time and x1 & x2 are offset,
so:
t = t2 t1 ~ (x22 x12 )/ 2V2to
(3)
If one geophone at shotpoint (or at x1=0),
t known as
normal moveout (NMO), tn
then,
tn ~ x2 / 2V2to
(4)
The importance of NMO:
Having determined the layer velocity, we can use the predicted quadratic
shape to identify reflectors

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Seismic Surveying
Convolution/deconvolution
processes, which are designed
to allow determination of the
effect of the Earth on the seismic
signal.
The seismogram recorded at the
surface (S) is the convolution of
the two

S=W*R

W: source wavelet, R: reflectivity series

Deconvolution: undoing the

convolution to get back to the
reflectivity series.

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Seismic Surveying
Common depth/mid point (CMP)
stacking, which involves the
arrangement of component data
for a single depth point side by
side.

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Seismic Surveying

Single horizontal reflector

QuickT ime?and a
TI FF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

NMO Correction
Before and after NMO

www.ocean.slb.com/docs/seabed/Public_Webreport_2010_1

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Seismic Surveying
Migration: The process of trying to move reflections
back to their point of origin. When beds dip steeply, the
wave returns from the reflector from a point not
immediately beneath the surface location midway
between the shotpoint and each individual geophone but
from a point up-dip from this position. The data must be
migrated to correct this effect.
In consequence, migration is designed to restore
seismic reflectors to their proper xy position

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Seismic Surveying

Pre-migration

Migrated stack

Note improvement of data/image quality

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Seismic Surveying
Amplitude Variation with Offset (AVO)
Variation in seismic reflection amplitude with change in
distance between shotpoint and receiver that indicates
differences in lithology and fluid content in rocks above
and below the reflector.
AVO is a seismic technique that uses pre-stack seismic
data, to detect the presence of hydrocarbons in the
reservoir.
In reservoir rock, AVO response is dependent on the
velocities of P- and S-waves and on density to define
the pore space and fluids within the rock matrix.

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Seismic Surveying
AVO analysis is a technique by which geophysicists
attempt to determine thickness, porosity, density,
velocity, lithology and fluid content of rocks.
A gas-filled sandstone might show increasing amplitude
with offset, whereas a coal might show decreasing
amplitude with offset.

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Seismic Surveying

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Seismic Surveying
Seismic interpretation:
Objective - to generate a coherent geologic story from
an array of seismic reflections.
Involves tracing continuous reflectors across 2D grids
of seismic lines or throughout 3D data volumes.
Three-dimensional seismic datasets are usually
interpreted on a workstation.
The computer files contain the whole seismic volume,
which can be viewed or sliced in any direction.

Seismic Workstation

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Seismic Surveying
Salt dome

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Seismic Surveying

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Seismic Surveying

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Seismic Surveying