Seismic Exploration

2D/3D Seismic Surveys

Modern Seismic Data

Acquisition
Subsurface geologic structures containing hydrocarbons
are found beneath either land or sea. So there is a land
data-acquisition method and a marine data-acquisition
method.
The two methods have a common-goal, imaging the
earth. But because the environments differ, so each
required unique technology and terminology.

Land Data Acquisition

In land acquisition, a shot is fired (i.e., energy is
transmitted) and reflections from the boundaries of various
Lithological units within the subsurface are recorded at a
number of fixed receiver stations on the surface.
It could be 2D or 3D Acquisition
The majority of land survey effort is expended in moving
the line equipment along and / or across farm fields
or through populated communities.
land operations often are conducted only during daylight
thus making it a slow process.

Marine Data Acquisition

In a marine operation, a ship tows one or more
energy sources fastened parallel with one or more
towed seismic receiver lines. In this case, the receiver
lines take the form of cable called Steamer containing a
number of hydrophones.
2D or 3D Acquisition
More than one vessel may be employed to acquire
data on 24-hour basis

Transition Zone Recording

Because ships are limited by the water depth in which they safely can
conduct operations, and because land operations must terminate
when the source approaches the water edge, or shore lines,
transition-zone recording techniques have been developed to
provide a continuous seismic coverage required over the land
and then into the sea.
Techniques have been developed to use both Geophones and
hydrophones in the Transition zone. The combination of such
hydrophone / geophones is called a Dual Sensor.
The advantage of why this is to see that either of the receiver of Dual
Sensor pickups the surveyed from the slots recorded using a land or
marine source and data gaps all along the coast within the area of
prospect.

Field Equipment
1) Navigation/ Location identification
2) Seismic Sources
3) Seismic Receiver

1)Navigation/ Location
identification
Determining location:
Land:
Conventional survey instruments such as Thelodolite
Electromagnetic distance devices (EDM)
Global positioning system (GPS), which is commonly, used method.
Marine:
Radio positioning, Transit satellite positioning
Streamer locations by using Tail Buoy
Global positioning system

2. Seismic Sources
Seismic sources can be broadly divided into two
categories
A. land energy sources and
B. marine energy sources.

Land Energy sources

The choice of energy source is critical in land data acquisition
because resolution and signal-to-noise ratio quality are limited by the
source characteristics. A geophysicist should select a source based on the
following five criteria
i.

Penetration to the required depth: Knowing what the exploration

objectives are, the geophysicist should select a source that has adequate
energy to illuminate the target horizons. Past experience can help here.

ii. Bandwidth for the require resolution: If high resolution reflections

are required to delineate subtle geological features such as a
stratigraphic traps, the source must transmit a broad range of
frequencies, both high and low. For very shallow targets, a detonator
may possess adequate but for deeper heavy source required.

iii. Signal-to-noise- characteristics: Different areas have

different noise problems. They may dictate the source
selection.
iv. Environment: When working in populated areas, there
are special safety requirements to which geophysicists
must adhere.
V, Availability and Cost: The time of arrival of a crew can
be extremely important.
Land Energy Sources are of two types: Explosive
sources and Non Explosive sources

Explosive Sources
Explosive sources produce robust P-waves. The selection of explosives
as the sources of choice depends primarily on near-surface
conditions and the accessibility of other energy sources.
Explosives offer a reasonably cheap and highly efficient seismic source
with a wide frequency spectrum, but their use normally requires special
permission and presents logistical difficulties of storage and
transportation.
Charge Size: The choice of charge size depends largely on the
depth to the horizon of interest. Deeper targets usually require larger
charge sizes. Generally, larger charge sizes cause more ground roll
and air blast contamination of the record. Alternatively, smaller
charge sizes mean higher frequency content, but less energy going
into the ground.

 Charge Depth: The charge depth depends on the

depth of the weathering layer and the level of noise
interference one encounters when testing. Generally,
the shallower the source, the stronger the air-blast
and the ground-roll.

Non Explosive Sources

Vibroseis is the most common non-explosive source used for
reflection surveying. It uses truck-mounted vibrators to pass into the
ground 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 a few tens of
seconds and varies progressively in frequency between limits of
about 10 and 80Hz.
A particular advantage of vibrators is that they can be used in towns
since they cause no damage or significant disturbance to the
environment.
Vibrators are designed in two basic groups: Buggy-mounted and
truck-mounted units.

Other sources: Although dynamite and Vibroseis are

used in majority of surveys, other sources can be and are
used in the field 3D surveys, such as:
Shotgun (Betsy)
Mini-Seis (Thumper)
Land air gun
Dinoseis
Elastic wave generator (EWG)
Mini-vibes
Weight drops and hammers

Marine sources
Air guns are pneumatic sources in which a chamber is charged with
very high-pressure (typically 1015MPa) compressed air fed through a
hose from a shipboard compressor. The air is released, by electrical
triggering, through vents into the water in the form of a high-pressure
bubble.
Several air guns with different sizes are fired to enhance their initial
pulses & reduce their bubble effects.
For deep penetration surveys the total energy transmitted may be
increased by the use of multiple arrays of air guns mounted on a
frame that is towed behind the survey vessel. Air guns are
mechanically simple and can operate with great reliability and
repeatability. They have become the standard marine seismic source.

 Water guns are an adaptation of air gunsto avoid the

bubble pulse problem.The compressed air, rather than
being released into the water layer, is used to drive a
piston that ejects a water jet into the surrounding water.
Sparkers are devices for converting electrical energy
into acoustic energy. The sparker pulse is generated by
the discharge of a large capacitor bank directly into the
sea water through an array of electrodes towed in a
frame behind the survey vessel.
Others
Boomers
Pingers
Chirp

The seismic/acoustic spectrum

3. Seismic detectors
Land detectors (Geophone): It is a device is used to detect the
sound waves. It consists of coil of wire suspended from spring &
surrounded by (W) shaped magnet. Upward energy from seismic
source is recorded as electrical current generated by movement of
coil
Sensitivity: Geophones are available with a wide range of
sensitivities. For example, at one end of the sensitivity scale, a
geophone can produce 0.1Voutput for a 2.5cm/sec velocity, while
another geophone can produce as much as 0.4mV output for a tiny
movement of 2.5 X 10 m/sec.
Tolerances: Geophones have typical tolerances. That are as follows:
o Natural frequency within + 0.5Hz. of the manufacturer stated value
o Natural frequency distortion with a maximum 20 tilt, +0.1Hz.
o Sensitivity within +5% of the manufacturer stated value.

 In normal land operations, geophones have a resonant

frequency of 10 or 14Hz., but in some parts of the world it is
still normal practice to use 6 to 8Hz phones. However,
geophones with resonant frequencies up to 40Hz are being
manufactured.
Ocean Hydrophones: The hydrophone is an electro acoustic
transducer that converts a pressure pulse into an electrical
signal by means of the piezoelectric effect. If
mechanical stress is applied on tow opposite faces of a
piezoelectric crystal, then electrical charges appear on
some other pair of faces. If such a crystal is placed in an
environment experiencing changes in pressure, it will
produce a voltage proportional to that variations in pressure.

 Dual Sensors: For ocean bottom cable (OBC) applications,

combining the output of geophones and a hydrophone is
now widely accepted technique for reducing the ghosting
effect caused by the water/air interface. To overcome the
disadvantage of using two separate sensors, both
geophone and hydrophone are available in a single unit
known as dual sensors or the 4-component (4C) receivers
consist of a hydrophone, two horizontal geophones and a
vertical geophone installed in a single water proof
enclosure for recording P, SV and SH waves.
Marsh Geophone Special designed for marsh land,
swamp, lake and water environments

2D Survey Design Basics

The guiding principle should be to design a seismic
survey that will image the selected target in the most
economical way for costs and time.
Resolution parameters, such as the frequency required
to image the target, are starting design factors.
Shallow horizon of interest and deeper horizons may
be interpretational needs; thus, the definition of the
representative horizons is the beginning of the design.

 Seismic data or a group of seismic lines acquired

individually such that there typically are significant gaps
(commonly 1 km or more) between adjacent lines. A 2D
survey typically contains numerous lines acquired
orthogonally to the strike of geological structures (such
as faults and folds) with a minimum of lines acquired
parallel to geological structures to allow linetoline
tying of the seismic data and interpretation and
mapping of structures.
The seismic data recorded by 2D survey is seismic line.

The Start of Acquisition

Usually the seismic crew receives the program in the form of
lines on a map that indicate where data are to be acquired.
Objective of the Survey: The objective of the survey done
by the GP X, GP Y and GP Z is to map strati-structural
features within the specified formation at an area
Reasons for the Survey: Out of the wells drilled in
the area some have proved the presence of gaseous
hydrocarbons from the formation and some have been dry.
There by the area assumed important for exploration from
these targets

 Geology of the Area

Permitting: Once the seismic program has been
decided o n, it is usually necessary to secure
permission to enter the land to be traversed.
Layout of Line The survey crew lays out the lines to be
shot, usually by using GPS that determines the
positions and elevations of both the source points and
the centers of geophone groups. Usually the survey
crew is given a few GPS stations beforehand in the area
of operation.

The following acquisition parameter values

must be determined before an acquisition
program can start
Line parameters

Number and orientation of lines

Line spacing
Line lengths
Source parameters
For explosives
Size (e.g., pounds of dynamite)
Number of holes
Hole depth
Pattern
For vibrators
Number and layout of source positions

Number of units
Sweep type
Number of sweeps
Sweep length
Initial and final frequencies
For airguns
Number and sizes of guns
Array design
Number of arrays
Depth at which array is towed

The following acquisition parameter values

must be determined before an acquisition
program can start
Spread parameters
Spread types
Off-end
Source pulling or pushing spread
Split-spread
Gap
Symmetric or asymmetric
Number of groups
Group Interval
Maximum and Minimum Offsets

Fold
Fold is defined as the
number of times a
particular sub-surface
sampling point (CMP) is
covered by different sources
receiver locations.

 Near Surface layer: The velocity of the surface

layer is used as a factor in computing offsets and
determining the effect of ground roll. Usually the
weathered layer is very low velocity because of
exposure and erosion, but it may be quite complex and
have several layers of variant velocity.
The velocity and maximum dip of each layer are
initial parameters. This information can be obtained in
approximate form from existing well logs or seismic
data in the area.
If the area is frontier area, then noise tests, experience,
or geologic theory can be the source of this information.

 Shallow Layer: While the target layer is most important

for imaging, a shallow layer may be necessary for
processing or interpretation. Good data in the shallow
part is needed to use the velocity analysis with
confidence.
Target Layer: The layer is the horizon of primary interest
for the survey. When parameters conflicts arise during
the design, the requirements for the target layer
should prevail. For imaging the target horizon, geologic
knowledge of the expected thickness and reflectivity is
needed to estimate the frequency range

 Group Interval: Group Interval is the basic sampling on the

earths surface by the survey. It is the distance on the ground
between receiver stations. Group interval represents which largest
spatial sampling shall prevent aliasing during migration.
The group interval possible with a particular recording equipment given
by

where, Hmax = far offset,

Hmin= near offset, and
NC = the number of channels available for recording.

Fresnel Zone: Fresnel zone is the smallest part of the

reflector making an unambiguous image of the individual
event and is circular at zero offset but elliptical with offset.

 Far Offset: Far offset is a function of the depth modified by

the velocity field. The far offset required should be
computed first for the target horizon and then for the
deep horizon. The velocity of the surface layer is involved
because of the initial angular influence on the down going
seismic waveform at the depth of the horizon.
The well-founded rule of thumb says that the spread length should
be equal to or a little greater than the depth of the reflection
being imaged.

Record Length: Part of the survey design is to determine the

required sampling rate in time and the record length is a
function of depth and velocity of the deepest horizon.
Sample Rate: The sampling rate in time is more or less
standard, ranging from 2 to 4 ms depending on the resolution
needed.

 Fold Coverage: Foldage is defined as the number of times

a particular sub-surface sampling point (CMP) is covered
by different sources receiver locations. The maximum fold of
coverage is given by F=N.C/2S
Source Interval: The source interval in the distance
between source positions. The source interval is function of
the desired fold coverage and the number of channels
available.
Noise Test: At the start of the survey, a noise spread shot
performed to measure the level of the noise.
Source Power: There is a decision to be made in some cases
on the source power.
For dynamite, the charge size in kilograms if the unit.
For vibratory sources, the available power (in pounds per square
inch) is specified by equipment model. Sweep length and frequency.

Line Location and Orientation

The geometry of the survey is not independent of the target. The
location, direction, and length of the lines are important
considerations in the survey design.
Dip lines for instance, are favored over strike lines.
Some of basic concepts generally accepted for lines locations/orientations
are:
i.

The lines should, when possible, be perpendicular to fault planes.

Since definition of the fault plane is best on the seismogram when
the lines are perpendicular to the plane.

ii. Line ties are important to interpretation. When there is existing seismic
data nearby, new lines are planned in such a manner that they can be
ties with the existing data. One very helpful ties is to a well. The
closer the line can approach the well, the more useful the tie of the
seismic data to the well log.

Field Layouts
1 End-on
2. Split spread

 Figure Below shows desired 2-D line geometry. Sets of

receiver groups (the spread) are laid out along the lines
and sources shot into them. After one is shot into, the
spread and source are moved along the line to provide
the desired subsurface coverage.

The geometrical relationship usually desired is called the off end

spread, shown in Fig. Here all receiver groups are on one side of
the source.
If the source is at the end of the receiver groups that is in the
direction of progression along the line, the source is said to be
pulling the spread.
If the source is opposite to the direction in which the shooting
the line progresses, the source is said to be pushing the
spread.

Figure shows a split

spread. Since there are
an equal number of
receivers
on each side of the
spread it is a symmetric
split spread.
The split spread shown in
Fig. 4.31 is an
asymmetric split spread
because there are more
receivers on one side
of the source than the
other.

3-D Seismic survey

High Density Better

Long Offset
Focus
Wide Azimuth Positioning

3-D Seismic survey

Nearly all seismic surveys are now 3-D. Very little 2-D shooting is
done today because of the shortcomings of 2-D such as:
a)
b)

Distortion of the image of geologic structure

Inadequate subsurface sampling to define small-scale geologic features

In 3-D geometry lines are much more closely spaced than in 2-D.
Receiver lines are usually laid out only in the direction of maximum
target dip. Source lines are usually perpendicular to receiver lines
and spaced farther apart. Reflection points on the subsurface are
spaced at half the group interval in the direction of the receiver
lines (the inline direction) and half the line interval in the direction
of the source lines (the cross-line direction). This provides much
greater spatial sampling and far less interpretational ambiguity.

Designing a survey!
When designing a 3D survey the most important factors to
consider are the geologic requirements of the project. To obtain the
most useful data you must consider spatial resolution requirements
(bin size) and vertical resolution requirements (frequency).
Bin size will determine the how often you sample the subsurface. If
you need to see smaller features in a structure you need smaller
bins.
Vertical resolution is controlled both by bin size and by the
frequencies contained in the final data.
Higher frequencies have shorter wave lengths and provide more
information. The frequency content will also be controlled by the
general data quality.
Before moving forward lets look at some 3D terminology

3-D Terminology

Source Line A line (perhaps a road) along which

source points (e.g., dynamite or vibrator points) are
taken at regular intervals. The distance between
successive source lines is usually called the source
line interval (or SLI). SLI and SI determine the source
point density (or SD, source points per square
kilometer).

Receiver Line A line (perhaps a road or a cut-line through bush) along

which receivers are laid out at regular intervals. The distance between
successive receiver lines is commonly referred to as the receiver line
interval (or RLI).
In-line Direction
The direction that is parallel to receiver lines.
Cross-line Direction
The direction that is orthogonal
to receiver lines.

Swath The term swath, has been used with different

meanings in the industry. Most commonly, a swath
equals the width of the area over which source
stations are recorded without any cross-line rolls.
Second, when the template moves in one direction
and reaches the edge of survey area, it will generate
a swath. Usually the first move occurs in the inline
direction.

Patch A patch refers to all live receiver stations that record data
from a given source point in the 3-D survey. The patch usually
forms a rectangle of several parallel receiver lines. The patch
moves around the survey and occupies different template
positions as the survey moves to different source stations.
Template A particular receiver patch into which a number of
source points are recorded. These source points may be inside or
outside the patch. In equation form,
Template = Patch + associated source points.
Salvo A salvo is the number of the fired shots before the template
moves up along the survey.

Box (sometimes called Unit Cell) In orthogonal 3-D

surveys, this term applies to the area bounded by two
adjacent source lines and two adjacent receiver lines.
In an orthogonal survey, the midpoint bin located at the
exact center of the box has contributions from many
source-receiver pairs.
If receiver space in Rx
and source space is Sy
then box area is = Rx* Sy.

Midpoint The point located exactly halfway between a source

and a receiver location. If a 480-channel receiver patch is laid out,
each source point will create 480 midpoints. Midpoints will often
be scattered and may not necessarily form a regular grid.

CMP Bin (or Bin) A small rectangular area that usually has
the dimensions (SI / 2) * (RI / 2). All mid points that lie inside
this area, or bin, are assumed to belong to the same
common midpoint.
In other words, all traces that lie in the same bin will be CMP
On occasion,
one may to
choose
theofarea
stacked
and contribute
the fold
that bin.
over which traces are stacked to be
different from the bin size in order to
increase stacking fold. This introduces
some data smoothing and should be
performed with caution because it
affects spatial resolution.

Super Bin This term (and others like macro bin or maxi bin)
applies to a group of neighboring CMP bins. Grouping of bins
is sometimes used for velocity determination, residual static
solutions, multiple attenuation, and some noise attenuation
algorithms.

Migration Apron The width of the fringe area that

needs to be added to the 3-D survey to allow
proper
of any
distancemigration
rather than
an dipping event. This width
does
be the same on all sides of the
angle,notitneed
hasto been
survey.
Although this parameter is a
commonly
referred to as the
migration
aperture. The quality of
images achieved by 3D
migration is the single
most
important advantage of
3-D
versus 2-D imaging.

Fold The number of midpoints that are stacked

within a CMP bin. Although one usually gives one
average fold number for any survey, the fold varies
from bin to bin and for different offsets.
Fold
Taperto
The
width
be added
the
3-Dof the additional fringe area
that
needs
to to build
surface
area
up full fold. Often there
is
some
overlap
between the fold taper
and
the
migration
apron because one can
tolerate reduced fold
on the outer edges of
the migration apron.

Fold Here, fold is defined as the number of

midpoints which are stacked within a CMP bin.
Although one usually gives an average fold for a 3D
survey, the fold varies from bin to bin as the offsets
and azimuths change. Fold is depth-varying, because,
as the offset distance increases deeper reflectors are
included in the stack.
What is the basic fold equation? Well, there are many
ways to calculate fold, but we always come back to
the basic fact that one source point creates as many
midpoints as there are channels recording data. If all
offsets are within the acceptable recording range then
one can easily determine the fold with the following
formula :
Fold = NS * NC * b2

Fold = NS * NC * b2
where NS is the number of source points per unit
area
NC is the number of channels
b is the bin dimension
(Here, we are assuming square bins)
e.g. lets assume that NS is 80 source points per
square kilometer
the number of channels NC is 600
and the bin dimension b is 25m
then Fold = 80 * 600 * 25 * 25 m2/km2 = 30
This is a quick way to figure out whether on the
average the fold is adequate. In order to
determine the fold adequacy in a more detailed
manner, lets look into the different components of
fold. For the purposes of today's examples we will
assume that the chosen bin size is small enough to
satisfy the aliasing criteria.

In-line fold For an orthogonal straight-line survey,

in-line fold is defined similarly to the fold on 2-D
data. The formula is as follows:
In line fold = ( no. of receivers x receiver
interval )/2 x Source interval along the receiver
line.

Cross-line fold Similar to the calculation of in-line

fold, the cross-line fold is:
Cross line fold = source line length /2 x receiver
line interval

Total Fold The total 3D nominal fold is the produce

of in-line fold and cross-linefold:
Total nominal fold = ( in-line fold ) x ( cross-line
fold)

Xmax The maximum recorded offset, which

depends on shooting strategy and patch size. Xmax
is usually the half-diagonal distance of the patch.
Patches with external source points have a different
geometry. A large Xmax is necessary to record
deeper events.

Xmin The largest minimum offset in a survey

(sometimes referred to as LMOS, largest minimum
offset) as described under Box. A small Xmin is
necessary to record shallow events.
Xmute The mute distance for a particular reflector.
beyond
this distance
Any traces
do not contribute to
the stack at the
reflector depth. Xmute
varies with twoway
traveltime.

Field Parameter and their

selection
Some are same as 2D

Offset
Fold
Frequency
Migration Aperture:When the beds are dipping, the extent of
the survey must be increased by: D = Z tan

There are many ways to begin and complete a survey

design. The specific sequence of steps that follow are
general guide lines. Some design templates will
dictate a different sequence of other parameters.
Below are some parameters need consideration

 Bin size: For 3-D data the bin is the basic building block
for the rest ofthe survey. Bin size depends on target
size, spatial resolution needed, and economics.
The traces when their subsurface reflection point falls
with in the bin, are treated as a CDP, and corrected and
summed to represent that bin position by a point. A bin
can be any size but rectangles and squares are the
popular.

 Source line spacing: The bin size will, however, allow

more design calculations if the fold and number of
channels on the equipment are known.
Receiver line spacing: The new information required is
the minimum offset and the offset ranges needed. The
controlling parameter will be the largest minimum offset
within a bin.
Number and length of the receiver lines : The
problem is to be determine the number of receiver lines
possible with the template. The number of lines is
constrained by the required maximum offset which sets
the length of the lines. The maximum offset found is a
function of deepest horizon to be imaged.

 Determining the template movement: Usually the

field people prefer to roll along the direction of receiver
lines. The increment is at the source line spacing. At the
end of the coverage in in-line direction the next
swath would be done in same manner incremented in
the source direction and continued until the coverage was
completed.
Estimation of nominal fold: Stacking fold is the
number of field traces that contribute one stack trace.
Fold controls the signal to noise ratio. Fold should be
decided by looking at previous 2-D and 3-D surveys in the
area.
In-line fold: For an orthogonal straight-line survey, in-line
fold is defined similarly to the fold on 2-D data.
Cross-line fold: Similar to the calculation of in-line fold

3D Layouts
Full fold 3-D: A full fold 3D survey is one where source
points and receiver stations are distributed on an even twodimensional grid with station spacing's equal to the line
spacing's. The grids are offset by one bin size. A full fold
3D survey has outstanding offset and azimuth distributions as
long as one can afford to record with a large number of
channels.
Swath: The swath acquisition method was used in the earliest
3D designs. In this geometry Source and receiver lines are
parallel and usually coincident. While source points are taken
on one line, receivers are recording not only along the source
line but also along neighboring parallel receiver lines, creating
swath lines halfway between pairs of source and receiver lines.

Full-fold 3-D survey; layoutfull scale,

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Swath

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 Orthogonal: Generally, source and receiver lines are

laid out orthogonal to each other. Because the receivers
cover a large area, this methodis sometimes referred to
as the patch method. This geometry is particularly easy
for the survey crew and recording crew, and keeping
track of station numbering is straightforward. In an
orthogonal design, the active receiver lines form a
rectangular patch surrounding each source point
location creating a series of cross spreads that overlap
each other. This technique allows more surface area to
layoutzoomed
be acquired prior to receiver stations moves.

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Brick acquisition
method

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Zig-zag method

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Star Method

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Three component (3C) seismic reflection surveys

Mostly seismic recording is done using vertical geophones.
These only record one component of the total seismic wave
motion. Vertical geophones are chosen in reference since
they are most sensitive to vertically travelling P-waves.
The actual ground motion consists of movement in all
directions. This can be measured fully by having three
geophones at each location, oriented mutually at right
angles, and each recording one component.
Components are:i. P
ii. SV
iii. SH

There are three, four

and nine component
system.
Mode converges also
occur like P-SV and
others

 Knowledge of the behaviour of both body waves provides

important additional information.
In a lithified rock formation, such as an oil reservoir, the P-wave is
transmitted through both the rock matrix and the fluids in the
pore spaces. The behaviour of the P-wave is thus determined by
the average of the rock matrix and pore fluid properties,
weighted with respect to the porosity of the rock.
The S-wave on the other hand is only transmitted through the
rock matrix, since the shear wave cannot propagate through a
fluid. Comparison of the P-wave and S-wave velocities of the
same formation thus can give information about the porosity of
the formation and the nature of the fluids filling the pore spaces.
The relationships can be complex, but the presence of
hydrocarbons, especially if accompanied by gas, can be identified
directly from the seismic data in favourable circumstances.

4D or Time lapse seismic

surveys

Three-dimensional (3D)seismicdata acquired at different times

over the same area to assess changes in a
producinghydrocarbonreservoirwith time. Changes may be
observed in fluid location andsaturation,pressure and
temperature. 4D seismic data is one of several forms oftime-lapse
seismic data. Such data can be acquired on the surface or in
aborehole.
It is apparent that if the location of such features as the oilwater
contact and gas accumulations can be mapped with a seismic
survey, then repeated surveys at time intervals during the
production of the field offer the prospect of monitoring the
extraction of hydrocarbons, and contribute to the management of
the production phase of the field operation.

 With 4D seismic surveys, examining the difference

between time-lapse 3D seismic images allows the nontime-varying geologic contributions to cancel, resulting
in a direct image of the time-varying changes caused by
reservoir fluid flow. For example, an oil-water contact
may move with time in a series of time-lapse seismic
images, whereas a depositional boundary should not. In
this way, the 4D seismic technique has the potential to
image, in a large volume encompassing many
wellbores, changes in fluid saturation, pore pressure
and temperature during production.

4D seismic technology can thus be used to monitor variations caused by

production and/or the injection of fluids and gas to improve recovery.