PET 409 LECTURE 1

COURSE CONTENT:
1. Seismic Methods:
- Introduction
- Geophysical instruments
- Field data processing
- Interpretation and application
2. Geophysical well logging methods
A. Seismic methods
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
If you want to find oil and gas accumulations, or produce them efficiently once found,
then you need to understand subsurface geology. At its simplest, this means mapping
subsurface structure to find structures where oil and gas may be trapped, or mapping
faults that may be barriers to oil flow in a producing field. It would be good to have a
map of the quality of the reservoir as well (e.g. its thickness and porosity), partly to
estimate the volume of oil that may be present in a given trap, and partly to plan how
best to get the oil or gas out of the ground. It would be better still to see where oil and
gas are actually present in the subsurface, reducing the risk of drilling an unsuccessful
exploration well, or even following the way that oil flows through the reservoir during
production to make sure we don't leave any more of it than we can help behind in the
ground. Ideally, we would like to get all this information cheaply, which in the offshore
case means using as few boreholes as possible. One traditional way of understanding
the subsurface is from geological mapping at the surface. In many areas, however,
structure and stratigraphy at depths of thousands of feet cannot be extrapolated from
geological observation at the surface. Geological knowledge then depends on boreholes.
They will give very detailed information at the points on the map where they are drilled.
Interpolating between these control points, or extrapolating away from them into
undrilled areas, is where geophysical methods can be most helpful.
Although some use has been made of gravity and magnetic observations, which
respond to changes in rock density and magnetisation respectively, it is the seismic
method that is by far the most widely used geophysical technique for subsurface
mapping.
Figure 1.1A shows a flat ground surface. By looking at the surface, there is no way that
someone can truly know the geologic structure and stratigraphy that lie beneath it. The
Grand Canyon (Fig. 1.1B) provides one rare example of being able to see the geology in
a vertical section to a depth of about 1.6 km beneath the ground’s surface. Seismic-
reflection acquisition, or “shooting”, provides an image of the subsurface that is not as
detailed as the true geology, but that is adequate for imaging large- to medium-scale
geologic structures and stratigraphy. Seismic-reflection analysis has become the
dominant tool used in hydrocarbon exploration, and with some resolution limitations, it
is becoming widely used for characterizing reservoirs.

Fig. 1.1 (A): A typical ground surface, with no indication of the geology that lies
beneath the surface

Figure 1.1 (B): The Grand Canyon, which shows the internal structure and stratigraphy
that is present beneath the ground surface at this location.

The basic idea is very simple. Low-frequency sound waves are generated at the surface
by a high-energy source (for example a small explosive charge). They travel down
though the earth, and are reflected back from the tops and bases of layers of rock
where there is a change in rock properties. The reflected sound travels back to the
surface and is recorded by receivers resembling microphones. The time taken for the
sound to travel from the source down to the reflecting interface and back to the surface
tells us about the depth of the reflector, and the strength of the reflected signal tells us
about the change of rock properties across the interface. This is similar to the way a
ship's echo sounder can tell us the depth of water and whether the seabed is soft mud
or hard rock.
Two-dimensional (2D) seismic
The seismic-reflection method is based on the principle that an energy source, such as
dynamite, generates sound waves that travel through the earth (Fig.1.2A). When the
sound waves reach an interface between two rocks that have different acoustic
properties, some of the waves’ energy will continue to penetrate through the rock
beneath that interface, but some of the energy will be reflected off of the interface and
will travel back toward the earth’s surface (Fig.1.2B). This reflected energy is recorded
at the earth’s surface by electronic receivers called “geophones” (Figs. 1.2 B, C). The
receivers are wired to a computer, inside a vehicle, that collects the reflected wave
energy (Fig. 1.2D). The large amount of data that is collected during a seismic shoot
can be processed either on site or at a facility that has more powerful computing
capabilities.

Fig. 1.2: Seismic reflection analysis has become the dominant tool for characterizing
reservoirs as well as for exploring for subsurface hydrocarbon accumulations. It is
based upon the principle that (A) an energy source such as dynamite generates sound
waves that travel through the earth. When the sound waves reach a boundary in which
acoustic rock properties vary significantly (such as off the interface of two different
rock types), some of the wave energy will continue to penetrate rock beneath the
interface, but some of the energy will be reflected back toward the earth’s surface. This
reflected energy is recorded at the earth’s surface by electronic receivers called
“geophones” (B and C), which are wired to a (D) receiving truck.

The resulting image shows seismic reflections that mimic features in the subsurface
(Fig. 1.3A). The vertical axis is recorded not in depth beneath the ground surface, but
rather, as two-way travel time (TWT). Two-way travel time is the amount of time (in
seconds) that a sound wave takes to travel from its point of generation by the source at
the ground’s surface, to the subsurface interface that reflects it, and then back to the
ground’s surface where it is recorded by the geophones.

Fig. 1.3. (A) Cartoon showing the travel path of seismic energy down to rock
interfaces, then back to the ground surface. Fig 1.3(B) shows a 2D seismic line from
the Alberta Basin of western Canada.
Three-dimensional (3D) seismic
In the early 1980s, the technology for acquiring and processing seismic data had
improved enough that the costs were reduced and it became practical and economic to
shoot 3D, rather than 2D seismic surveys. The advantage of a 3D survey is obvious – a
three-dimensional image of the subsurface is much more useful for exploration and
field development than is one or more 2D vertical images. Three-dimensional seismic is
designed to image a large area of the subsurface, including up to and beyond the size of
a reservoir, both areally (horizontally) and stratigraphically (vertically) (Fig. 1.4).
Fig. 1.4: Graph showing the vertical resolution of a reservoir on the horizontal axis and
the horizontal coverage of the reservoir on the vertical axis
Note that cores can exhibit sedimentary features down to the scale of a millimeter or
less, but the areal coverage is very small (15 cm, or 6 in, diameter). At the other extreme,
3D surface seismic covers a large area of a reservoir, but the features must be on the
order of tens of meters to be fully resolved and imaged. Various other tools measure
properties between these two end members.
Shooting a 3D seismic survey on land or in the marine environment requires rigorous
planning, particularly in positioning the source and receivers. Generating the image
requires a significant number of “processing” steps to reduce the effects of noise,
topography, depth, and so forth. Color is now a common processing and display tool for
enhancing the 3D seismic image.

Four-dimensional (4D) seismic

Three-dimensional seismic data represent static reservoir properties, because the data
are collected during one instant in time. Four-dimensional, or “time lapse” seismic data,
offer the opportunity to monitor the movement of reservoir fluids while they are being
produced. Thus, 4D seismic measures dynamic reservoir properties. The underlying
principle of 4D seismic is that acoustic properties of reservoir strata will change as a
function of change in fluid content and type within the rock’s pore spaces

1.2 Types of seismic waves and their mode of propagation

Seismic waves are elastic waves that travel within the Earth; i.e. they spread out from a
source by elastic deformation of the rocks through which they travel. This propagation
depends on elastic properties that are described by the relationships between stress
and strain. The linear relationship between stress and strain in the elastic range is
specified for any material by its various elastic moduli (Young’s, bulk, shear and axial),
each of which expresses the ratio of a particular type of stress to the resultant strain,
Seismic wave velocities are determined by the type of seismic wave and by elastic
modulus and the density of the rocks they travel through. There are two groups of
seismic waves: surface waves and body waves
Surface waves
Surface waves travel along the boundary between different materials, most noticeably
at the surface of the Earth (the boundary between the solid Earth and the atmosphere)
and the outermost parts of the crust because they require a free surface to ripple in
order to exist. Their speed is slightly less than that of shear waves and hence they are
the last seismic waves to arrive at a recording station. The surface disturbance
produced by surface waves is termed ground roll. Although experimental surveys of
shallow structures have been carried out using surface waves, surface waves are of
limited significance in seismic prospecting.
Body waves
Body waves as their name implies, propagate through the Body of the Earth and move
radially away from the energy source. There are two main types: Compressional waves
(also known as longitudinal, primary, or P-waves) propagate by compressional and
dilatational unaxial strains in the direction of wave travel. Particle motion associated
with the passage of a compressional wave involves oscillation about a fixed point in the
same direction of wave propagation (fig.1.5a). Shear waves (also known as transverse,
secondary, or S-waves) propagate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of wave
travel. Particle motions involve oscillation about a fixed-point at right angles to the
direction of wave propagation (fig.1.5b). Unlike compressional waves, shear waves
cannot travel through liquids or gases (fluids).

Fig.1.5 elastic deformation and ground particle motion associated with the passage of
body waves. (a) Compressional or P-waves. (b) Shear or S-waves. Oscillation back and
forth about a fixed point in the direction of wave propagation

Body waves are non-dispersive; i.e. all frequency components in a wave train or pulse
travel through any material at the same velocity, determined only by the elastic moduli
and density of the material. The vast majority of seismic surveying utilises
compressional P-waves. However, shear waves have been used for shallow structural
surveying and for the detailed study of earthquake wave path (to determine the source
and magnitude). Shear waves are not usually detected/recorded in seismic exploration
work as they require horizontally oriented geophones for detection. The velocity of
propagation of a body wave in any material is given by the equation:

appropriate elastic modulus of material

v= 1.1
density of material

Theoretically, the velocity of a P-wave in a rock, vp, can be calculated from the equation:

Ψ
vp = = (k+4 3μ) ρ 1.2
ρ

Compressional waves always travel faster than shear waves in the same medium and
are therefore the first seismic waves (primary) to arrive at any point away from the
source of the waves. As rocks differ in their elastic moduli and densities due to
composition, porosity, depth of burial, pressure, compaction, age and pore fluids, so do
they also differ in their seismic velocities depending on the above parameters
Table 1. Seismic compressional wave (P-wave) velocities in Earth materials
The following general findings of velocity studies are significant and should be noted.
Firstly, compressional wave velocity increases with confining pressure. In a sedimentary
rock the main factors controlling seismic velocity are:
- Lithology: the mineral of the grains is the primary control. In general sandstone
and shale will have lower velocities than limestone, dolomite and anhydrite.
However, the physical state of the rock resulting from its burial history and
diagenesis is just as important. For example, shale and sandstone velocities
show a systematic increase with depth of burial and with age. This is due to a
combination of progressive compaction and cementation.
- Porosity is the single most important petrophysical property that determines
seismic velocity. The relationship for clean sandstones or limestones is given by
an empirical relationship linking the velocity of the pore fluid and matrix known
as Wyllie’s equation:
 1.3
Where, φ is the fractional porosity, vf is the velocity of the whole rock, vfl is the
velocity of the pore fluid and vm is the velocity of the matrix.

- Pore fluid. Gas in the pores reduces the elastic moduli. This means that the rock
is more compressible than if a liquid such as water or oil is present.
Consequently the velocity of the rock drops by as much as 19% and hence the
presence of gas is directly detectable in seismic surveys. Generally the presence
of oil cannot be distinguished from that of water unless the oil is light and gassy.
- Pore fluid pressure. Overpressuring tends to “blow up” the rock and so weakens
it. This will reduce the seismic velocity.
For many sedimentary rocks, the compressional wave velocity is related to density and
well established velocity-density curves are available. This means that the densities of
inaccessible subsurface layers can be predicted if their velocity is known from seismic
surveys.

2. Geophysical instruments
Figure 2.1: Geophones (B and C) and a receiving truck (D).

Figure 2.2: (A) Seismic energy being generated by hitting a metal plate with a
sledgehammer. Behind the person is a geophone attached to a cable. (B) The
reflected energy captured by the geophone is recorded on a laptop computer.
2.1 Seismic waves generating instruments
Apart from the natural uncontrollable earthquake sources, seismic waves are generated
by artificial sources at or near the Earth’s surface. A seismic source is an
instrumentation designed to achieve a sudden release of energy within a localised
region which leads to a rapid stressing of the surrounding medium. This rapid stress
generates strain in form of seismic waves. There are a wide variety of seismic sources
characterised by varying degree of energy levels and frequency spectrum. The various
seismic sources in common use can be classified into 2 categories: 1.Explosives
2. Non-explosives
Explosives
The traditional way of generating seismic waves is to use chemical explosives. This
was the only source of artificial seismic energy up to early 1950s and, although other
sources are increasingly being used, explosives are still dominantly used in land surveys
but rarely now at sea. The explosives are placed in a drilled shallow shot hole, which is
then filled with water, soil or rock to ensure that most of the energy is transmitted into
the subsurface and not dissipated into the air. The depth of the drilled hole depends on
the thickness of the weathered zone or depth to the water table as it is advisable to go
just below the water table or the weathered zone. Chemical explosives produce very
high-energy seismic waves but have some disadvantages that often limit their use:
1. Their use normally requires special permission
2. There are logistical difficulties concerning their storage and transport
3. They may damage buildings and roads
4. They are potentially dangerous to use
5. They do not provide repeatable source signature as detonations cannot be
repeated at same position.
For these reasons, other seismic sources have been developed. These newer
sources have less energy output than explosives, but fewer disadvantages.
1. Geoflex
This is an explosive detonating cord with blasting caps exploding at regular
intervals of the cord. It can be used for both land and marine surveys.
2. Dinoseis
This is a gas exploder which activates the mixture of propane and oxygen within an
expandable chamber for explosion. The explosion chamber is mounted under a
heavy truck and lowered to the ground when ready for explosion. The chamber’s
contact with the ground vibrates the ground. However, this is no longer in use as it
involves the use of massive equipment without comparable data quality.

Non-explosive sources
The most important non-explosive sources are mechanical wave generators, air guns
and sparkers, boomers and pingers.
1. Vibroseis
The most commonly used non-explosive seismic source on land is a mechanical
wave generator called vibroseis. This is a lorry/tractor-mounted vibrator that vibrates
a heavy plate on the ground surface, producing an extended vibration of low
amplitude and continuously varying frequency, known as a sweep signal. A typical
sweep signal lasts from several seconds up to tens of seconds and the frequency
varies between about 10 Hz to around 80 Hz.
Wave generators are quick and easy to use and cause no damage and little
disturbance. Hence they can be used in urban areas. They also produce precisely
known and repeatable signals. The vibrator needs firm ground, such as a road and
several vibrators are usually used simultaneously to increase the amount of seismic
energy generated. This also has the advantage of increasing the seismic signal
without increasing the seismic noise.

2. Air-Gun

Figure 2.3: Air gun

The most widely used seismic source in marine surveys is the air gun. This is a
pneumatic source consisting of a chamber, which is charged with high-pressure air
through side vents into the surrounding water. The release of the high-pressure air
bubble provides the first seismic wave. A wide range of chamber sizes is available,
producing different energy inputs and frequency characteristics. Air guns are used in
arrays mounted on a frame towed behind the survey vessel. In figure 8, an air gun
towed behind the survey ship transmits sound waves through the water column and
into the subsurface .Changes in rock type or fluid content reflect the sound waves
towards the surface. Receivers towed behind the vessel record how long it takes for
the sound waves to return to the surface. Sound waves reflected by different
boundaries arrive at different times. The same principles apply to onshore
 acquisition.

3. Water guns
Water guns are pneumatic sources in which compressed air is used to drive a piston
that ejects a water jet into the surrounding water. A vacuum cavity is created behind
the advancing water jet and this implodes under the influence of the ambient
hydrostatic pressure generating a strong acoustic pulse. Like air guns, water guns
are towed behind the survey vessel.

4. Weight Dropping Sources

Weight Dropping Sources here comprise of weights, which are dropped from heights
(some metres) above the surface on to a steel plate, which is well-coupled to the ground.
The mechanical impact on the steel plate vibrates the ground stressfully and the
resultant strain is propagated as seismic waves. In this category, we have:
1. The thumper
3000kg dropped from about 3-5m (rarely used now)

2. Sledge Hammer
10-12kg sledge hammer is manually lifted and forcefully hit on a steel plate well
coupled to the ground.

The above generates minimal energy and have limited penetration and hence
used ONLY for shallow surveys

There are other seismic sources that convert electrical energy into acoustic
energy. These are called Sparkers, Boomers or Pingers depending on the method
by which the acoustic pulse is generated. These offer better resolution but have
very limited penetration. The Hammer type is however very frequently used for
engineering and groundwater studies. Some of the seismic sources discussed
above which are usually used for land surveys can be used (after design
modification) for marine and well surveys such as:
1. Explosives
2. Air-Gun
3. Geoflex
4. Sparkers/Boomers

2.2 Seismic Wave Detectors (Seismometres)

Two types of detectors are used in seismic surveying: Geophones on land and
Hydrophones at sea. They record the returning seismic waves and convert the
movements into an electrical signal. The electrical output from the detector is a
measure of the vertical ground motion (on land) or pressure variation (at sea) in the
vicinity of the detector a short interval of time after the triggering of the seismic source.
At each layer boundary in the subsurface, a proportion of the incident energy of the
seismic pulse is reflected and/or refracted back towards the detector. The detector
therefore receives a series of reflected and refracted pulses, scaled in amplitude
according to the distance travelled and the reflection coefficients/headwave production
capability of the various layer boundaries. The pulse arrives at times determined by the
depths to the boundaries and the velocities of propagation between them.

Geophones

Figure 2.4: Geophones arrayed in a line behind the truck record the returning seismic
signal

Geophones measure motion (velocity) of a seismic wave in the ground and convert it
into an electric current. The most commonly used geophone measures only vertically or
near vertically travelling seismic waves. This has the advantage that only P-wave
reflections from depth are recorded, but not horizontally travelling surface wave or
reflected shear waves. There are however horizontal geophones designed to detect
shear waves in earthquake studies and engineering applications. The individual detector
outputs may be fed along a multicore cable to a recording system and may even be
multiplexed at detector locations before transmitting to recording systems. Most
modern geophones for land surveys are of the moving-coil electromagnetic (EM) type.
The moving coil EM geophone consists of a permanent magnet attached to the main
frame of the geophone casing. The coil is centrally suspended with an inertial mass
using leaf springs. The main frame of the geophone which has the permanent magnet
attached to it moves in harmony with the ground motion while the coil will be relatively
steady. The relative motion between the coil and the magnetic field of the magnet
generates a voltage between the terminals of the coil. This is transmitted to the
recording systems. The analog types are called Seismographs. The output for
horizontal motion in the above situation is essentially zero. Geophone response
characteristics are very important in the design considerations. It is necessary that the
response be above its natural period or resonant frequency in order to avoid ringing.

Hydrophones
Figure 2.5: In bodies of water, a seismic boat tows a cable that pulls a sound source,
which may be an electrical charge from what is called a “sparker” or an air bubble from
a pressure gun. Another cable, which contains “hydrophones”, trails behind the boat at a
set distance from the sound source and captures the waves that are reflected off the
seafloor and subsea interfaces.

Hydrophones otherwise called water-pressure phones are used for marsh and marine
surveys and sometimes for velocity surveys in boreholes. They are of the piezoelectric
types. Synthetic piezoelectric materials such as barium zirconate and titanate are used
as detectors which are sensitive to variations in pressure and are usually placed below
several centimeters of water in marine or marsh work or below water level in well
surveys. Electrical connections are made so that if the two circular plates of a disc
hydrophone are made to bend inward under pressure, the induced voltages will add up.
For cylindrical types, closed at both ends by brass caps, a change in pressure outside
the cylinder induces stresses and hence voltage difference between the inside and the
outside and these signals are transmitted after adequate amplification to the recording
systems through the streamer. Streamers are constructions of neoprene tubing
containing hydrophones and other sensors in groups and sections and towed behind a
seismic ship. A section is a channel which many comprise groups of about 35 uniformly
spaced hydrophones.

2.3 Seismic Recording Instruments

A seismic recording instrument is designed to record a long range of signal amplitudes.

It is necessary to be able to record both weak and strong signals sometimes ranging
from a lower limit of about 2 mv to as high as about 400 mV. This implies that the
recording instrument must then have a dynamic range of about 126 dB.
Modern seismic recorders have dynamic range of up to 140 dB as stacking of geophone
outputs increases the signals upper limit. There are 2 categories of recording
instruments:
1. Analog
2. Digital
All seismic recording instruments make use of amplifiers (to enhance the signals)
and filters (to cut-off or reduce unwanted signals (noise)) before recording data.
With very low dynamic ranges of 20 to 26 dB. Automatic Gain Control (AGC) units
were used to compress the signal range. These were Analog units. The advent of
reproducible recording expanded dynamic range up to 100 dB. 100dB implies that an
input of 10 mV amplitude will appear as 1.0 V output. Magnetic tape recording
began in early 1950s and has remained useful till date due to the ability to reproduce
(playback) the data after field acquisition. Recording instruments are usually carried
in a recording truck or other vehicle but they are now very compact, rugged and light
enough to be hand-carried when necessary. These recorders are usually called
seismographs. Today, most recording instruments output the data in digital fotmat.
Whereas Analog devices represent the signal by a voltage (or other quantity) that
varies continously with time, digital recording represents the signal by a series of
numbers that denote values at regular intervals usually 2 or 4 ms. Digital recoding is
capable of higher fidelity than analog recording and permits numerical processing of
the data without distortion. It also has a larger dynamic range.

3. Field data processing

The objective of most data processing is enhancing the signal with respect to the
noise. In small scale surveys, the minimal processing (enhancement of S/N ratio)
carried out by recording systems is usually sufficient for further data management.
In this case, times of arrival of reflected events are picked and T2 – X2 plots are done
such that velocities and depths of reflectors are calculated. Before going deeper into
processing technicalities, it is important that we understand our data through
appropriate definitions and illustrations.

3.1 Understanding the data

Figure 3.1 :Cross-well seismic provides an energy source that generates sound waves
within a borehole. Receivers arranged in a series are placed down another well to detect
the sound waves. Behavior of the waves from source to receiver can be related back to
rock and fluid properties, such as lateral and vertical variations in porosity, at much
higher resolutions than can be acquired from conventional surface seismic reflection.

Seismic horizons represent changes in density and allow the subsurface geology to be
interpreted.

Figure 3.2: Seismic horizons

What is a reflector?
A seismic reflector is a boundary between beds with different properties. There may be
a change of lithology or fluid fill from Bed 1 to Bed 2. These property changes cause
some sound waves to be reflected towards the surface. There are many reflectors on a
seismic section. Major changes in properties usually produce strong, continuous
reflectors as shown by the arrow.

Figure 3.3: Seismic reflector

In almost all cases the direct wave arrives first at the nearest offset detector while the
headwave (from the critically refracted wave) arrives next and the reflected signals
usually come in last. As shown in the figure below, the direct ray travels along a straight
line through the top layer from source to detector with velocity V1. The refracted ray
travels at velocity V1 and is critically incident on the interface and then along a segment
of the interface (due to critical refraction) at higher velocity V2 and then back up as
headwave (generated at the higher velocity interface) through the upper layer to the
detector D. The reflected ray is obliquely incident on the interface and is reflected back
through the top layer to the detector, travelling its entire entire path in the top layer at
velocity V1. By suitable analysis of the travel times for refracted and/or the reflected
paths, it is possible to compute the depth to subsurface layers.
Figure 3.4: (a) Direct, reflected and refracted ray paths from a near surface source to a
surface detector in the case of a simple two-layer model.
Common Depth Points (CDPs)
CDPs are defined as ‘the common reflecting point at depth on a reflector or the halfway
point when a wave travels from a source to a reflector to a receiver’. A synonym for CDP
is known as common midpoint (CMP). The common Midpoint gather is a collection of
traces having different source-receiver offsets but the same midpoint location between
source and receiver (See Figure 3.5).
Figure 3.5: Illustration of CDP

Figure 3.5b: Illustration of CDP

Figure 3.5b (a) shows a set of rays from different shots to detectors all reflected off a
common point on a horizontal reflector while in Figure 3.5 (b) the common depth point
is not achieved in the case of a dipping reflector.

Figure 3.5c: Illustration of CDP in 3D survey

Figure 3.5c shows reflected ray paths defining a common depth point from an areal
distribution of shot points and detector locations in a threedimensional survey.
Floating datum:The floating datum line represents travel time between the recording
surface and the zero line (generally sea level). This travel time depends on rock type,
how weathered the rock is, and other factors.

Figure 3.6: Floating datum

The topographic elevation is the height above sea level of the surface along which the seismic
data were acquired.
Figure 3.7: Topographic datum

Two way time (TWT)

Two way time (TWT) indicates the time required for the seismic wave to travel from a
source to some point below the surface and back up to a receiver. In this example the
TWT is 0.5 seconds

Figure 3.8: Two way time (TWT)

Time versus depth

Two way time (TWT) does not equate directly to depth. Depth of a specific reflector can
be determined using boreholes. For example, 926 m depth = 0.58 sec. TWT
Figure 3.9: Time versus depth example

3.3 Geometry of reflection ray-path

Figure 3.10:(a) Geometry of reflected ray paths and (b) time-distance curve for reflected
rays from a horizontal reflector.
 Figure 3.11: T2- X2 Plot

Consider figure. 3.10. The total time it takes a wave (signal) to travel down to a reflector
and back to the detector (offset distance X from source) at the surface with velocity V1
is given by

3.1
 3.2

The above is the equation of a hyperbola and a t – X plot gives the following graph.
When X = 0, we have source and receiver (detector) positions coincident and eqn 3.3
represents the intercept on the time axis,. to is the 2-way travel time for vertical
incidence and reflection.
From eqn 3.2Type equation here.

3.4
 1
A graph of T2 – X2 gives a straight line graph with as slope and intercept on t2 –
V21
axis at ti = t2o

3.5

The velocity of the sequence between the surface and the reflector is given by:
1

V1 = ( 1
gradient ) 2
3.6

The depth to reflecting horizon is given by:

Z = V1t0 2 3.7

t0 = travel time for vertically reflected ray (2-way travel time).

For a multi-layered sequence, it is to be noted that for multiple reflectors (say n), the
thickness and the velocity values obtained are usually averaged value for the sequence
of layers between the surface and the reflector.

3.2 Simplified seismic processing sequence

Step1. Wiggle trace to CDP gather
- Prior to this step, any bad or noisy traces must be deleted. Also we must note that
seismic amplitudes recorded decrease with increasing travel-time because the
reflectors are further away, hence the weaker amplitudes must be boosted. The
direct waves are usually removed. Then the traces are resorted so that all traces
with an identical source receiver midpoint are gathered together. Finally, graphs of
intensity of sound as received by the recorders are plotted as shown known as
wiggle trace.
Figure 3.10: Wiggle traces
- Next, graphs of intensity for one location are collected into groups and shown in a
sequence (See Figure 3.11).

Figure 3.11: CDP gather

Step 2: Normal move out (NMO) correction

Figure 3.12: Seismic reflectors showing the fastest and slowest waves reflected
In NMO correction, data for one point from different signals to different receivers are
gathered. Usually, more time is needed to reach distant receivers so the data look
like a curve. Correcting for normal move out restores the curve to a near horizontal
display. (See Figure 3.13)

Figure 3.13: NMO correction: before and after corrections

Step 3: Deconvolution
Deconvolution step comes before the stacking process. The seismic trace can be
thought of as the result of convolving the earth reflectivity with a wavelet. Ideally, we
would like to have a seismic source which gave out a single sharp spike signal, and
record a reflected signal which was simply a series of spikes. Unfortunately, any real
source will emit a signal of finite length. Furthermore, the source signal will be
modified as it passes through the earth, because of absorption, scattering, and other
causes. The rcsult is that our recorded signal will be the sum of the reflections of a
wavelet from the series of subsurface reflectors. Mathematically, this process is
represented by the convolution of the wavelet with the earth reflectivity.
Deconvolution is a signal processing step that attempts to undo this convolution, to
leave us with the earth reflectivity series, thus improving the resolution of the
seismic data ( see Figure 3.14).
 Figure 3.14: Convolution and deconvolution models

Step 4: Stacking

Figure 3.15: The stacking process

Migration
Suppose we make a set of seismic records across an area by keeping the source and
receiver together and moving the combined source-receiver point around on a regular
grid. We could then plot the recorded seismic traces vertically downwards at the proper
position on a map of the grid, creating a 3-D volume of seismic traces. This would not
give us a correct picture of subsurface reflector geometry, because the reflection points
are not in reality vertically below the source-receiver point. If we traced rays from a
source position, propagating in all directions into the subsurface, we could find the one
that hits a given reflector at right angles. This ray will be reflected back, exactly
retracing its path, until it arrives at the receiver. We could also determine the time that
the ray would take along this path. Now, what we would like to do is to rearrange the
traces in our 3 D volume so that the reflected signal at this travel-time, on the as-
recorded trace plotted below the receiver location, is moved laterally and vertically to
the real location in space of the reflection point. Migration is this process of moving the
as-recorded data to the correct location in space. In reality, of course, seismic data are
recorded with a range of source receiver separations. Ideally, each one should be
migrated separately, although it is common to cut down on the computation effort by
stacking data before migration, which transforms them to the travel-time that they
would have for zero separation between source and receiver and then sums them.

SUMMARY OF SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING

In summary, before the T2 –X 2 plots, corrections of reflection times are carried out to
reflect both STATIC (elevation differences between shot and detectors and weathered
slow layer) and DYNAMIC (normal movement (NMO)) CORRECTIONS. The velocity and
depth values calculated from the plots can then be used to infer lithologies and their
thicknesses. It is to be noted that the above process is used ONLY for small scale
shallow surveys. For relatively large and very large scale surveys such as for the
exploration of oil and gas and their related structures, large volumes of data are
obtained and must be processed into a format. The seismic records obtained from the
field survey inevitably contain reflected events (signals) from subsurface rocks and also
contains several types of unwanted noise. During data processing, many unwanted
effects are removed or reduced to a barest minimum. There are various processing
steps required to produce a final seismic section ready for interpretation. The 3 main
processes are DECONVOLUTION, STACKING and MIGRATION. While there are pre-and
postprocessing steps aimed at organising, filtering and, fine – tuning the data,
deconvolution which is an inverse filtering process attempts to recover the original form
of the input wavelet. To whatever extent this is achieved, the output traces are then
NMO corrected, and stacked to obtain a presentable seismic section. However, due to
dips and faults and other structures of the subsurface that are usually not horizontal but
dipping and undulating, the seismic section at this stage must be migrated to correct
for masked positions of dipping reflectors. Migration plots their correct positions and
the seismic section would then be ready for interpretation. Reflection events can then
be tracked across the seismic sections by correlating pulses from trace to trace and
hence identify the distribution of subsurface reflectors beneath the survey lines.

LECTURE 2

4. Interpretation and application

5.Geophysical well logging methods