Browsing by Subject "Inversion"
Now showing 1 - 17 of 17
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Arc-related Mesozoic basins of northern Mexico : their origin, tectonic inversion and influence on ore localization(2016-05) Lyons, James Irwin, 1948-; Kyle, J. Richard; Lawton, Timothy Frost; Cloos, Mark; Horton, Brian K; Elliott, BrentNew structural mapping and radiometric dating in northern Mexico integrated with previous studies indicate the need for revision of current regional tectonic models. The Mezcalera Marginal Basin, an autochthonous Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous basin exposed from southern Arizona to Guerrero replaces accreted terrane models. The lack of significant documentable offsets of this marginal basin provides evidence that contradict proposed major Mexican transform faults in northern Mexico. A left-lateral Cenomanian transpressional fault along which the Caborca and related terranes and offset Bisbee Group strata were displaced is documented by east-directed thrusting of the translated basement and supracrustal strata over the autochthonous Mezcalera Basin strata. Oxfordian (149 Ma) submarine volcanic domes at Batopilas, Chihuahua indicates the Nazas arc of central Mexico migrated across the Mezcalera Marginal Basin, and 124 to 138 Ma dates on Bisbee Group Morita Formation tuffs indicate Alisitos arc volcanism to the west. The well documented Late Cretaceous through Miocene arc migration can thus be projected to the Early Jurassic. Oceanic plate rollback toward the Pacific from the Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous explains the observed arc migration as well as the resulting extension of the Mexican continent. A previously unrecognized intracratonic basin, the Carrizal Basin, a probable northern extension of the Mexican Basin, is documented west of the Chihuahua Basin. The older usage Aldama Platform is divided into the Casas Grandes Platform to the west and the Florida-Aldama Ridge to the east of the Carrizal Basin. Basin inversion as defined by mapping of bivergent out-of-the-basin thrusting along both sides of both the Carrizal and Mexican Intracratonic Basins suggests inversion as the principal tectonic process that produced the Sierra Madre Oriental fold belts. Stratigraphic relationships document the inception of tectonic shortening as Late Cenomanian and a folded 43.7 Ma rhyolite flow at Division de Norte, Chihuahua documents continuing basin inversion well into the Eocene. Previous observations of spatial correlations between structurally complex basin margins and numerous major Cretaceous through Miocene mineral deposits are enhanced by the discovery of the large Cinco de Mayo polymetallic carbonate deposit hosted in stacked west-directed out-of-the-basin thrusting on the west margin of the Carrizal Basin.Item Estimation of static and dynamic petrophysical properties from well logs in multi-layer formations(2011-08) Heidari, Zoya; Torres-Verdín, Carlos; Sepehrnoori, Kamy; Peters, Ekwere J.; Preeg, William E.; Schneider, Erich A.Reliable assessment of static and dynamic petrophysical properties of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs is critical for estimating hydrocarbon reserves, identifying good production zones, and planning hydro-fracturing jobs. Conventional well-log interpretation methods are adequate to estimate static petrophysical properties (i.e., porosity and water saturation) in formations consisting of thick beds. However, they are not as reliable when estimating dynamic petrophysical properties such as absolute permeability, movable hydrocarbon saturation, and saturation-dependent capillary pressure and relative permeability. Additionally, conventional well-log interpretation methods do not take into account shoulder-bed effects, radial distribution of fluid saturations due to mud-filtrate invasion, and differences in the volume of investigation of the various measurements involved in the calculations. This dissertation introduces new quantitative methods for petrophysical and compositional evaluation of water- and hydrocarbon-bearing formations based on the combined numerical simulation and nonlinear joint inversion of conventional well logs. Specific interpretation problems considered are those associated with (a) complex mineral compositions, (b) mud-filtrate invasion, and (c) shoulder-bed effects. Conventional well logs considered in the study include density, photoelectric factor (PEF), neutron porosity, gamma-ray (GR), and electrical resistivity. Depending on the application, estimations yield static petrophysical properties, dynamic petrophysical properties, and volumetric/weight concentrations of mineral constituents. Assessment of total organic carbon (TOC) is also possible in the case of hydrocarbon-bearing shale. Interpretation methods introduced in this dissertation start with the detection of bed boundaries and population of multi-layer petrophysical properties with conventional petrophysical interpretation results or core/X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data. Differences between well logs and their numerical simulations are minimized to estimate final layer-by-layer formation properties. In doing so, the interpretation explicitly takes into account (a) differences in the volume of investigation of the various well logs involved, (b) the process of mud-filtrate invasion, and (c) the assumed rock-physics model. Synthetic examples verify the accuracy and reliability of the introduced interpretation methods and quantify the uncertainty of estimated properties due to noisy data and incorrect bed boundaries. Several field examples describe the successful application of the methods on (a) the assessment of residual hydrocarbon saturation in a tight-gas sand formation invaded with water-base mud (WBM) and a hydrocarbon-bearing siliciclastic formation invaded with oil-base mud (OBM), (b) estimation of dynamic petrophysical properties of water-bearing sands invaded with OBM, (c) estimation of porosity and volumetric concentrations of mineral and fluid constituents in carbonate formations, and (d) estimation of TOC, total porosity, total water saturation, and volumetric concentrations of mineral constituents in the Haynesville shale-gas formation. Comparison of results against those obtained with conventional petrophysical interpretation methods, commercial multi-mineral solvers, and core/XRD data confirm the advantages and flexibility of the new interpretation techniques introduced in this dissertation for the quantification of petrophysical and compositional properties in a variety of rock formations.Item Feasibility of isotropic inversion in orthorhombic media : the Barrett unconventional model(2016-05) Yanke, Andrew James; Spikes, Kyle; Sen, Mrinal K; Fomel, Sergey BGeophysicists often relegate shale reservoirs as having higher symmetries (e.g., transversely isotropic (TI) or isotropic) than what reality demonstrates. Routine application of TI (or even isotropic) algorithms to orthorhombic media neglects the associated errors because we never know the true model in practice. This thesis evaluates the viability of isotropic post-stack and pre-stack seismic inversion to orthorhombic media using the SEAM Barrett Unconventional Model, the most realistic depositional model to date. The Barrett Model contains buried topography, simulated stratigraphy, and designated reservoir zones with orthorhombic anisotropy. I inverted the Barrett data volume for isotropic elastic property cubes, which I compared to the model volume in each symmetry-plane of an orthorhombic medium. If the stacked seismic data contained only the near offsets, post-stack inversion resolved acoustic impedances that closely matched the true model both within and outside of the reservoir zones at all well locations. Anisotropy most affected the far offsets, so muting them predictably enhanced the post-stack inversion. I maintained all offsets for pre-stack inversion, but a parabolic radon filter eliminated nonhyperbolic behavior (rather than nonhyperbolic moveout analysis) at far offsets. The pre-stack impedance attributes adequately described the vertical heterogeneity of the true model at a cross-validation well, but the inverted values increasingly relied on the initial model with depth. The inverted density estimates experienced notable oscillations relative to the initial model, particularly where steep contrasts in elastic properties occurred. Mismatch of the inverted elastic properties at the well locations can be attributed to noise, thin layering effects, band limitation, steep contrasts in elastic properties, AVO behavior stacked into the data, an inaccurate starting model, and the effects of anisotropy. The most significant sources of error include small-scale reflectivity and comprehensive filtering of nonhyperbolic phenomena. Away from the well locations, the isotropic inversion gave no visual indication of reservoir geobodies, but it sufficiently described the elastic property variations near reservoir mid-sections. Moreover, I showed that the inverted elastic properties differ from their orthorhombic models by no more than 35%. The greatest misfits occurred near reservoir contacts and geobody locations. The computed impedance models in each symmetry-plane have distinctive differences, but isotropic inversion dismisses these variations entirely. I conclude that isotropic inversion should not be a surrogate for orthorhombic methods in data preconditioning and quantitative reservoir characterization.Item Fluid Characterization at the Cranfield CO₂ Injection Site : Quantitative Seismic Interpretation from Rock-Physics Modeling and Seismic Inversion(2014-12) Carter, Russell Wirkus; Spikes, KyleThis dissertation focuses on quantitatively interpreting the elastic properties of the Cranfield reservoir for CO₂ saturation. In this work, quantitative interpretation starts by examining the relationship between CO₂ saturation and the elastic properties of the reservoir. This relationship comes from a rock-physics model calibrated to measured well data. Seismic data can then be inverted using a model for CO₂ saturation and rock-property estimates. The location and saturation of injected CO₂ are important metrics for monitoring the long-term effectiveness of carbon capture utilization and storage. Non-uniform CO₂ saturation is a contributing factor to both lateral and time-lapse changes in the elastic properties of the Cranfield reservoir. In the Cranfield reservoir, CO₂ saturation and porosity can be estimated from the ratio of P-wave velocity (Vp) to S-wave velocity (Vs) and P-impedance (Ip), respectively. Lower values of Ip for a given rock matrix often correlate to higher porosity. Similarly, for a given area of the reservoir, lower Vp/Vs frequently can be associated with higher CO₂ saturation. If a constant porosity from the baseline to the time-lapse survey is assumed, changes in Ip over time can be attributed to changes in CO₂ saturation in lieu of using Vp/Vs. Decreases in Ip between the baseline and time-lapse survey can be attributed to increases in CO₂ saturation. With a rock-physics model calibrated to the reservoir, Ip and Is from a vertical seismic profile were correlated to statistical ranges of porosity and CO₂ saturations. To expand the lateral interpretation of reservoir porosity and CO₂ saturation, the time-variant changes in Ip between baseline and time-lapse surface seismic datasets were compared to changes in CO₂ saturation calculated from the rock-physics model. Characterizing the CO₂ saturation of the Tuscaloosa sandstones helped to establish a workflow for estimating reservoir properties and fluid saturation from multiple types of geophysical data. Additionally, this work helped establish an understanding for how CO₂ injected into a reservoir alters and changes the elastic properties of the reservoir and the degree to which those changes can be detected using geophysical methods.Item Improving resolution of NMO stack using shaping regularization(2016-05) Regimbal, Kelly Alaine; Fomel, Sergey B.; Zahm, Chris; Spikes, KyleCommon midpoint (CMP) stacking is one of the major steps in seismic data processing. Traditional CMP stacking sums a combination of normal moveout (NMO) corrected traces across a CMP gather to produce a single trace with a higher signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio than that of individual traces within the gather. Several problems arise with the assumptions and principles of conventional NMO and stack. NMO correction causes undesirable distortions of signals on a seismic trace known as "NMO stretch", which lowers the frequency content of the corrected reflection event at far offsets. This violates the assumption of a uniform distribution of phase and frequency of seismic reflections across the corrected gather. Common procedures to eliminate this stretching effect involve muting all of the samples with severe distortions. This causes a decrease in fold and can destroy useful far-offset information essential for amplitude variation with offset (AVO) analysis. Inaccuracy in stretch muting with residual "stretching" effects produces a lower amplitude and lower resolution stack. I present two methods that eliminate the effects of "NMO stretch" and restore a wider frequency band by replacing conventional NMO and stack with a regularized inversion to zero offset. The resulting stack is a model that best fits the data using additional constraints imposed by the method of shaping regularization. Shaping regularization implies a mapping of the input model to a space of acceptable models. The shaping operator is integrated in an iterative inversion algorithm and provides an explicit control on the estimated stack. I use shaping regularization to achieve a stack that has a denser time sampling and contains higher frequencies than the conventional stack. In the first approach, I define the backward operator of shaping regularization using the principles of conventional NMO correction and stack. In the second approach, I introduce a recursive stacking scheme using plane-wave construction in the backward operator of shaping regularization. The advantage of using recursive stacking along local slopes in the application to NMO and stack is that it avoids "stretching" effects caused by NMO correction and is insensitive to non-hyperbolic moveout in the data. Numerical tests demonstrate each algorithm's ability to attain a higher frequency stack with a denser temporal sampling interval compared to those of the conventional stack and to minimize stretching effects caused by NMO correction. I apply both methods to two 2-D marine datasets from the North Sea and achieve noticeable resolution improvements in the stacked sections compared with that of conventional NMO and stack. By treating NMO and stack as an iterative inversion using shaping regularization, resolution is enhanced by utilizing signal from different offsets and minimizing stretching effects to reconstruct a high resolution stack.Item Interpreting Horizontal Well Flow Profiles and Optimizing Well Performance by Downhole Temperature and Pressure Data(2011-02-22) Li, ZhuoyiHorizontal well temperature and pressure distributions can be measured by production logging or downhole permanent sensors, such as fiber optic distributed temperature sensors (DTS). Correct interpretation of temperature and pressure data can be used to obtain downhole flow conditions, which is key information to control and optimize horizontal well production. However, the fluid flow in the reservoir is often multiphase and complex, which makes temperature and pressure interpretation very difficult. In addition, the continuous measurement provides transient temperature behavior which increases the complexity of the problem. To interpret these measured data correctly, a comprehensive model is required. In this study, an interpretation model is developed to predict flow profile of a horizontal well from downhole temperature and pressure measurement. The model consists of a wellbore model and a reservoir model. The reservoir model can handle transient, multiphase flow and it includes a flow model and a thermal model. The calculation of the reservoir flow model is based on the streamline simulation and the calculation of reservoir thermal model is based on the finite difference method. The reservoir thermal model includes thermal expansion and viscous dissipation heating which can reflect small temperature changes caused by pressure difference. We combine the reservoir model with a horizontal well flow and temperature model as the forward model. Based on this forward model, by making the forward calculated temperature and pressure match the observed data, we can inverse temperature and pressure data to downhole flow rate profiles. Two commonly used inversion methods, Levenberg- Marquardt method and Marcov chain Monte Carlo method, are discussed in the study. Field applications illustrate the feasibility of using this model to interpret the field measured data and assist production optimization. The reservoir model also reveals the relationship between temperature behavior and reservoir permeability characteristic. The measured temperature information can help us to characterize a reservoir when the reservoir modeling is done only with limited information. The transient temperature information can be used in horizontal well optimization by controlling the flow rate until favorite temperature distribution is achieved. With temperature feedback and inflow control valves (ICVs), we developed a procedure of using DTS data to optimize horizontal well performance. The synthetic examples show that this method is useful at a certain level of temperature resolution and data noise.Item Invasion-consistent interpretation of multi-dimensional magnetic resonance measurements(2013-12) Lee, Hyung Joo, active 2013; Torres-Verdiń, CarlosThis thesis introduces a workflow to accomplish invasion-consistent Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurement interpretations. Magnetic resonance measurements are affected by mud-filtrate invasion because the radial depth of investigation (DOI) of NMR logging tools is very shallow (approximately 1 to 4 inches). This characteristic indicates that identification of in-situ fluid saturations from NMR measurements is uncertain. Calculation of fluid saturations from apparent electrical resistivities and nuclear logs does not guarantee a precise estimation of the fluid distributions. Free water in the reservoir displaced by oil based mud (OBM) poses more challenges in the estimation of in-situ fluid saturations. To mitigate this ambiguity, I construct layer-by-layer static and dynamic reservoir models. The common stratigraphic framework (CSF) proposed by Voss et al. (2009) was used to construct the earth model. Appraisal of static petrophysical properties is based on the iterative adjustments to minimize the discrepancy between available well logs and their numerical simulations. Evaluation of dynamic petrophysical properties can be achieved with the simulation of mud-filtrate invasion. This simulation can assess accurate fluid saturations at specific radial distances. In addition, numerically simulated apparent resistivity and nuclear logs are in agreement with measured logs. Algorithms are also developed to cross-validate NMR measurements based on the assumption of spherically shaped water-wet pores. The algorithms need all petrophysical parameters and fluid saturations yielded from the dynamic model as inputs. Various NMR parameter changes were tested to validate this algorithm. Examples of NMR responses include wettability change and kerogen contained in nano-scale pores. For the field case examples, two 15 meter-thick depth intervals in oil- and gas-bearing siliciclastic formations were selected. Two-dimensional (2D) NMR simulations were performed with petrophysical parameters provided from the numerical simulation of mud-filtrate invasion. The 2D NMR maps are more favorable in fluid typing than conventional NMR T₂ distributions because they contrast fluid diffusion coefficient. Comparisons of simulation results to inversion results confirm the validity of the workflow introduced in this thesis for the quantification of virgin reservoir fluids and mud-filtrate saturations. Finally, forward modeling and inversion processes are applied to 2D NMR data. The reconstructed echo decay sequences are more advantageous than raw measurements because of their higher signal to noise ratio (SNR). Linear inversion using these echo decay sequences provides proton density distribution functions of D-T₂ and T₁-T₂ maps. Application of inversion to the two field cases measured from two different radial depths verifies the validity of the NMR interpretations.Item Inversion-based petrophysical interpretation of logging-while-drilling nuclear and resistivity measurements(2013-08) Ijasan, Olabode; Torres-Verdín, CarlosUndulating well trajectories are often drilled to improve length exposure to rock formations, target desirable hydrocarbon-saturated zones, and enhance resolution of borehole measurements. Despite these merits, undulating wells can introduce adverse conditions to the interpretation of borehole measurements which are seldom observed in vertical wells penetrating horizontal layers. Common examples are polarization horns observed across formation bed boundaries in borehole resistivity measurements acquired in highly-deviated wells. Consequently, conventional interpretation practices developed for vertical wells can yield inaccurate results in HA/HZ wells. A reliable approach to account for well trajectory and bed-boundary effects in the petrophysical interpretation of well logs is the application of forward and inverse modeling techniques because of their explicit use of measurement response functions. The main objective of this dissertation is to develop inversion-based petrophysical interpretation methods that quantitatively integrate logging-while-drilling (LWD) multi-sector nuclear (i.e., density, neutron porosity, photoelectric factor, natural gamma ray) and multi-array propagation resistivity measurements. Under the assumption of a multi-layer formation model, the inversion approach estimates formation properties specific to a given measurement domain by numerically reproducing the available measurements. Subsequently, compositional multi-mineral analysis of inverted layer-by-layer properties is implemented for volumetric estimation of rock and fluid constituents. The most important prerequisite for efficient petrophysical inversion is fast and accurate forward models that incorporate specific measurement response functions for numerical simulation of LWD measurements. In the nuclear measurement domain, first-order perturbation theory and flux sensitivity functions (FSFs) are reliable and accurate for rapid numerical simulation. Albeit efficient, these first-order approximations can be inaccurate when modeling neutron porosity logs, especially in the presence of borehole environmental effects (tool standoff or/and invasion) and across highly contrasting beds and complex formation geometries. Accordingly, a secondary thrust of this dissertation is the introduction of two new methods for improving the accuracy of rapid numerical simulation of LWD neutron porosity measurements. The two methods include: (1) a neutron-density petrophysical parameterization approach for describing formation macroscopic cross section, and (2) a one-group neutron diffusion flux-difference method for estimating perturbed spatial neutron porosity fluxes. Both methods are validated with full Monte Carlo (MC) calculations of spatial neutron detector FSFs and subsequent simulations of neutron porosity logs in the presence of LWD azimuthal standoff, invasion, and highly dipping beds. Analysis of field and synthetic verification examples with the combined resistivity-nuclear inversion method confirms that inversion-based estimation of hydrocarbon pore volume in HA/HZ wells is more accurate than conventional well-log analysis. Estimated hydrocarbon pore volume from conventional analysis can give rise to errors as high as 15% in undulating HA/HZ intervals.Item Issues related to site property variability and shear strength in site response analysis(2015-08) Griffiths, Shawn Curtis; Cox, Brady Ray, 1976-; Rathje, Ellen M.; Stokoe, Kenneth; Ghannoum, Wassim; Wilson, ClarkNonlinear site response analyses are generally preferred over equivalent linear analyses for soft soil sites subjected to high-intensity input ground motions. However, both nonlinear and equivalent linear analyses often result in large induced shear strains (3-10%) at soft sites, and these large strains may generate unusual characteristics in the predicted surface ground motions. One source of the overestimated shear strains may be attributed to unrealistically low shear strengths implied by commonly used modulus reduction curves. Therefore, modulus reduction and damping curves can be modified at shear strains greater than 0.1% to provide a more realistic soil model for site response. However, even after these modifications, nonlinear and equivalent linear site response analyses still may generate unusual surface acceleration time histories and Fourier amplitude spectra at soft soil sites when subjected to high-intensity input ground motions. As part of this work, equivalent linear and nonlinear 1D site response analyses for the well-known Treasure Island site demonstrate the challenges associated with accurately modeling large shear strains, and subsequent surface response, at soft soil sites. Accounting for the uncertainties associated with the shear wave velocity profile is an important part of a properly executed site response analyses. Surface wave data from Grenoble, France and Mirandola, Italy have been used to determine shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles from inversion of surface wave data. Furthermore, Vs profiles from inversion have been used to determine boundary, median and statistically-based randomly generated profiles. The theoretical dispersion curves from the inversion analyses as well as the boundary, median and randomly generated Vs profiles are compared with experimentally measured surface wave data. It is found that the median theoretical dispersion curve provides a satisfactory fit to the experimental data, but the boundary type theoretical dispersion curves do not. Randomly generated profiles result in some theoretical dispersion curves that fit the experimental data, and many that do not. Site response analyses revealed that the greater variability in the response spectra and amplification factors were determined from the randomly generated Vs profiles than the inversion or boundary Vs profiles.Item Mesozoic tectonic inversion in the Neuquen Basin of west-central Argentina(Texas A&M University, 2007-04-25) Grimaldi Castro, Gabriel OrlandoMesozoic tectonic inversion in the Neuquen Basin of west-central Argentina produced two main fault systems: (1) deep faults that affected basement and syn-rift strata where preexisting faults were selectively reactivated during inversion based on their length and (2) shallow faults that affected post-rift and syn-inversion strata. Normal faults formed at high angle to the reactivated half-graben bounding fault as a result of hangingwall expansion and internal deformation as it accommodated to the shape of the curved footwall during oblique inversion. Contraction during inversion was initially accommodated by folding and internal deformation of syn-rift sedimentary wedges, followed by displacement along half-graben bounding faults. We suspect that late during inversion the weight of the overburden inhibited additional fault displacement and folding became the shortening-accommodating mechanism. A Middle Jurassic inversion event produced synchronous uplift of inversion structures across the central Neuquen Basin. Later inversion events (during Late Jurassic, Early Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous time) produced an "inversion front" that advanced north of the Huincul Arch. Synchroneity of fault reactivation during the Callovian inversion event may be related to efficient stress transmission north of the Huincul Arch, probably due to easy reactivation of low-dip listric fault segments. This required little strain accumulation along "proximal" inversion structures before shortening was transferred to more distal structures. Later inversion events found harderto- reactivate fault segments, resulting in proximal structures undergoing significant inversion before transferring shortening. The time between the end of rifting and the different inversion events may have affected inversion. Lithosphere was probably thermally weakened at the onset of the initial Callovian inversion phase, allowing stress transmission over a large distance from the Huincul Arch and causing synchronous inversion across the basin. Later inversion affected a colder and more viscous lithosphere. Significant strain needed to accumulate along proximal inversion structures before shortening was transferred to more distal parts of the basin. Timing of inversion events along the central Neuquen Basin suggest a megaregional control by right-lateral displacement motion along the Gastre Fault Zone, an intracontinental megashear zone thought to have been active prior to and during the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean.Item Pre-injection reservoir evaluation at Dickman Field, Kansas(2011-08) Phan, Son Dang Thai; Sen, Mrinal K.; Srinivasan, Sanjay; Grand, StephenI present results from quantitative evaluation of the capability of hosting and trapping CO₂ of a carbonate brine reservoir from Dickman Field, Kansas. The analysis includes estimation of some reservoir parameters such as porosity and permeability of this formation using pre-stack seismic inversion followed by simulating flow of injected CO₂ using a simple injection technique. Liner et at (2009) carried out a feasibility study to seismically monitor CO₂ sequestration at Dickman Field. Their approach is based on examining changes of seismic amplitudes at different production time intervals to show the effects of injected gas within the host formation. They employ Gassmann's fluid substitution model to calculate the required parameters for the seismic amplitude estimation. In contrast, I employ pre-stack seismic inversion to successfully estimate some important reservoir parameters (P- impedance, S- impedance and density), which can be related to the changes in subsurface rocks due to injected gas. These are then used to estimate reservoir porosity using multi-attribute analysis. The estimated porosity falls within a reported range of 8-25%, with an average of 19%. The permeability is obtained from porosity assuming a simple mathematical relationship between porosity and permeability and classifying the rocks into different classes by using Winland R35 rock classification method. I finally perform flow simulation for a simple injection technique that involves direct injection of CO₂ gas into the target formation within a small region of Dickman Field. The simulator takes into account three trapping mechanisms: residual trapping, solubility trapping and mineral trapping. The flow simulation predicts unnoticeable changes in porosity and permeability values of the target formation. The injected gas is predicted to migrate upward quickly, while it migrates slowly in lateral directions. A large amount of gas is concentrated around the injection well bore. Thus my flow simulation results suggest low trapping capability of the original target formation unless a more advanced injection technique is employed. My results suggest further that a formation below our original target reservoir, with high and continuously distributed porosity, is perhaps a better candidate for CO₂ storage.Item Quantitative interpretation of pulsed neutron capture logs : fast numerical simulation and inversion in thinly-bedded formations(2010-08) Mimoun, Jordan Gilles Attia; Torres-Verdín, Carlos; Preeg, William E.Pulsed neutron capture (PNC) logs are commonly used for formation evaluation behind casing and to assess time-lapse variations of hydrocarbon pore volume. Because conventional interpretation methods for sigma logs assume homogeneous formations, errors may arise, especially in thinly-bedded formations, when appraising petrophysical properties of hydrocarbon-bearing beds. There exist no quantitative interpretation methods to account for shoulder-bed effects on sigma logs acquired in sand-shale laminated reservoirs. Because of diffusion effects between dissimilar beds, sigma logs acquired in such formations do not obey mixing laws between the sigma responses of pure-sand and pure-shale end members of the sedimentary sequence. We introduce a new numerical method to simulate rapidly and accurately PNC logs. The method makes use of late-time, thermal-neutron flux sensitivity functions (FSFs) to describe the contribution of multi-layer formations toward the measured capture cross section. It includes a correction procedure based on 1D neutron diffusion theory that adapts the transport-equation-derived, base-case FSF of a homogeneous formation to simulate the response of vertically heterogeneous formations. Benchmarking exercises indicate that our simulation method yields average differences smaller than 2 c.u. within seconds of CPU time with respect to PNC logs simulated with rigorous Monte Carlo methods for a wide range of geometrical, petrophysical, and fluid properties. We develop an inversion method to reduce shoulder-bed effects on pulsed neutron capture (PNC) logs in the estimation of layer-by-layer capture cross sections, Σ. The method is based on the previously developed rapid approximation of PNC logs. Tests performed on synthetic examples that include a variety of lithology, saturating-fluid, and bed-thickness configurations confirm the efficiency, reliability, and stability of the inversion procedure. Inversion consistently improves the vertical resolution and Σ definition of PNC logs across beds thinner than 45 cm. Our fast, iterative algorithm inverts sigma logs in seconds of CPU time, and is therefore suitable for joint petrophysical interpretation with other open- and cased-hole logs.Item Shear velocity structure and mineralogy of the transition zone beneath the East Pacific Rise(2013-05) Wang, Yang, M.S. in Geological Sciences; Grand, Stephen P.; Lin, Jung-Fu; Lavier, LucModels of seismic velocity as a function of depth through the upper mantle provide some of the strongest constraints on the mineralogy and composition of the mantle. Although receiver function studies have provided new information on the depths of upper mantle discontinuities they do not provide as much information on seismic gradients and velocities. The waveforms and travel times of upper mantle turning waves provide the strongest constraints on vertical variations in upper mantle velocity although in the past they suffered from the lack of dense profiles of data sampling a single part of the upper mantle that would minimize effects of 3D variations in velocity. Here we model three dense profiles of triplicated upper mantle broadband S and SS waves recorded by US-Array, Canadian and NARS-Baja stations located in western North America. Earthquakes along the East Pacific Rise were recorded along profiles within 5°back azimuth windows and with stations at a maximum of .5°separation. The distance range covered is from 30° to 60° and thus the waves sample the mantle from the lithosphere to depths near 1000 km. The data were inverted using a conjugate gradient algorithm that utilizes the reflectivity synthetic technique. The results show a much smaller gradient within the transition zone than the PREM model with larger jumps in velocity at the 410 km and 660 km depth discontinuities. These results are consistent with velocities predicted for a pyrolite composition mantle transition zone. Compositional models with lower olivine content, such as piclogite, are not consistent with our seismic model.Item Streamline-based modeling and interpretation of formation-tester measurements(2013-12) Hadibeik Nishaboori, Abdolhamid; Torres-Verdín, Carlos; Sepehrnoori, Kamy, 1951-Formation testing is a critical component of modern petrophysical analysis for determining pore pressure, pressure gradients, and reservoir connectivity, and for estimating static and dynamic formation properties. However, petrophysicists tend to avoid the analysis of transient formation-tester measurements because of the physical and mathematical complexities involved, including time-consuming numerical simulations, rock heterogeneity, anisotropy, presence of mud-filtrate invasion, and saturation-dependent properties. Additional technical challenges arise when modeling formation-tester measurements in heterogeneous reservoirs penetrated by high-angle wells. A new method is developed in this dissertation to efficiently simulate formation-tester measurements acquired in heterogeneous reservoirs penetrated by vertical and deviated wells. The method is based on tracing flow streamlines from the reservoir into the formation tester’s probe. Before tracing streamlines, an initial reservoir condition is imposed due to the pressure-saturation field resulting from mud-filtrate invasion. Subsequently, the spatial distribution of pressure is calculated via finite differences to account for the negative flow-rate source originating from the tester’s probe. Streamlines are retraced at various time intervals upon updating the pressure distribution resulting from dynamic fluid flow toward the source. The streamline-based simulation method is efficient and flexible in accounting for various probe configurations, including dual packers and point focused-sampling probes. Streamlines are also used to trace reservoir fluid and contamination into sample probes. In addition, graphical rendering of streamlines permits rapid assessment of flow regimes as a function of time. Simulation results obtained with finite-difference and streamline methods agree well, although the streamline-based method is computationally more efficient. However, the streamline method is not well suited for complicated fluid displacement, such as that arising in the presence of highly compressible flow, strong capillary-pressure effects, and variable phase behavior. Furthermore, criteria for enforcing pressure updates with finite differences raise additional difficulties in accurately modeling formation-tester measurements. Despite these limitations, forward simulation results indicate that both faster computation time and reduced computer-memory requirements resulting from use of the streamline-based method are ideal for inversion of formation-tester measurements used in estimating static and dynamic petrophysical properties. Synthetic and field examples of streamline-based inversion are considered to estimate petrophysical properties from transient data acquired with packer and probe-type formation testers. The method is applied to measurements acquired in two offshore field reservoirs penetrated by vertical and deviated wells to estimate permeability, anisotropy, and relative permeability. In the documented examples, each streamline-based simulation used to calculate the Jacobian matrix is up to 8.7 times faster than that obtained by using the finite-difference method. Inversion results also indicate that streamline trajectories are valuable in ascertaining the sensitivity of estimated formation properties in the presence of variable pressure/fluid sampling locations, variable wellbore orientations with respect to formation bedding, and reservoir heterogeneity in deviated and horizontal well models.Item Structural fabric of the Palisades Monocline: a study of positive inversion, Grand Canyon, Arizona(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Orofino, James CoryA field study of positive inversion is conducted to describe associated structural fabrics and to infer kinematic development of the Palisades Monocline, Grand Canyon, Arizona. These features are then compared to sand, clay and solid rock models of positive inversion to test model results and improve understanding of inversion processes. The N40W 90 oriented Palisades fault underlying the monocline has experienced northeast-southwest Precambrian extension and subsequent northeastsouthwest Laramide contraction. The magnitude of inversion is estimated to be 25% based on vertical offset across the fault, although this does not account for flexure or horizontal shortening. The preferred N50W 90 joint and vein orientation and N50W 68 NE and SW conjugate normal faults are consistent with the Palisades fault and northeastsouthwest extension. The N45E 90 joint orientation and approximately N40W 28 NE and SW conjugate thrust faults are consistent with northeast-southwest contraction. The deformation is characterized by three domains across the fault zone: 1) the hanging wall, 2) the footwall, and 3) an interior, fault-bounded zone between the hanging wall and footwall. Extensional features are preserved and dominate the hanging wall, contractional features define footwall deformation, and the interior, fault-bounded zone is marked by the co-existence of extensional and contractional features. Extension caused a master normal fault and hanging wall roll-over with distributed joints, veinsand normal faults. During inversion, contraction induced reverse reactivation of existing hanging wall faults, footwall folding and footwall thrust-faulting. Precambrian normal slip along the master normal fault and subsequent Laramide reverse slip along the new footwall bounding fault created an uplifted domain of relatively oldest strata between the hanging wall and footwall. Physical models of co-axial inversion suggest consistent development of the three domains of deformation described at the Palisades fault, however the models often require magnitudes of inversion greater than 50%. Although vertical block motion during horizontal compression is not predicted directly by the Mohr-Coulomb criterion, physical models and analytical solutions (incorporating Mohr- Coulomb criterion) suggest maximum stress trajectories and near vertical failure above high angle basement faults that compare favorably with the Palisades fault zone.Item Three-dimensional geoacoustic perturbative inverse technique for the shallow ocean water column(2012-12) Bender, Christopher Matthew; Wilson, Preston S.; Ballard, Megan S.This work focuses on developing an inversion scheme to estimate water-column sound-speed fields in three dimensions. The inversion scheme is based on a linearized perturbative technique which utilizes estimates of modal travel times. The technique is appropriate in the littoral ocean where measurements are made across range and cross-range distances greater than 10 km to ensure sufficient modal dispersion. Previous applications of then inversion technique has been limited to one or two dimensions and/or focused primarily on the seabed. Compared to past applications, the accuracy and uncertainty of the solution is improved by employing approximate equality constraints within the context of \textit{a priori} estimates of model and data covariances. The effectiveness of the constrained technique is explored through a one-dimensional example. The robustness of the technique is illustrated by introducing different types of errors into the inversion and considering the accuracy. A further examination of the technique is given by exploring a three-dimensional example. Several case studies are presented to investigate the effects of different levels of environmental variability and spatial sampling.Item Time reversal and plane-wave decomposition in seismic interferometry, inversion and imaging(2012-12) Tao, Yi, active 2012; Sen, Mrinal K.This thesis concerns the study of time reversal and plane-wave decomposition in various geophysical applications. Time reversal is a key step in seismic interferometry, reverse time migration and full waveform inversion. The plane-wave transform, also known as the tau-p transform or slant-stack, can separate waves based on their ray parameters or their emergence angles at the surface. I propose a new approach to retrieve virtual full-wave seismic responses from crosscorrelating recorded seismic data in the plane-wave domain. Unlike a traditional approach where the correlogram is obtained from crosscorrelating recorded data, which contains the full range of ray parameters, this method directly chooses common ray parameters to cancel overlapping ray paths. Thus, it can sometime avoid spurious arrivals when the acquisition requirement of seismic interferometry is not strictly met. I demonstrate the method with synthetic examples and an ocean bottom seismometer data example. I show a multi-scale application of plane-wave based full waveform inversion (FWI) with the aid of frequency domain forward modeling. FWI uses the two-way wave-equation to produce high-resolution velocity models for seismic imaging. This technique is implemented by an adjoint-state approach, which viii involves a time-reversal propagation of the residual wavefield at receivers, similar to seismic interferometry. With a plane-wave transformed gather, we can decompose the data by ray parameters and iteratively update the velocity model with selected ray parameters. This encoding approach can significantly reduce the number of shots and receivers required in gradient and Hessian calculations. Borrowing the idea of minimizing different data residual norms in FWI, I study the effect of different scaling methods to the receiver wavefield in the reverse time migration. I show that this type of scaling is able to significantly suppress outliers compared to conventional algorithms. I also show that scaling by its absolute norm generally produces better results than other approaches. I propose a robust stochastic time-lapse seismic inversion strategy with an application of monitoring Cranfield CO2 injection site. This workflow involves two steps. The first step is the baseline inversion using a hybrid starting model that combines a fractal prior and the low-frequency prior from well log data. The second step is to use a double-difference inversion scheme to focus on the local areas where time-lapse changes have occurred. Synthetic data and field data show the effectiveness of this method.