May 5th-Microseismic SIG: A Statistical Approach to Characterizing Reservoir Deformation through the Collective* ...
Complete Title: A Statistical Approach to Characterizing Reservoir Deformation Through the Collective Behavior of Microseismicity. -
Sponsored by Apache Corporation
Event Location:
Apache Corporation
2000 Post Oak Blvd. #100
Houston, TX 77056
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Speaker: Dr. Ted Urbancic, Chief Technology Officer, ESG Solutions
Working with the premise that the spatiotemporal behavior of microseismic events can reveal variations in rock properties, we move beyond conventional static microseismic interpretations to identify processes that play important roles in the dynamic expansion of a fracture network during hydraulic fracture stimulations. We motivate our work through the understanding that many small microseismic events lead to finite and macroscopic deformation. Our investigation considers whether the macroscopic properties of the fracture system under local dynamic stress conditions and varying rock properties can be extracted through analyzing the collective spatial-temporal growth of events and their properties within different formations. This is achieved by considering that disturbances in the rock and reservoir trigger inelastic deformation as stress and fluid transfer through the rockmass, thereby suggesting that this deformation can be considered as flow. In other words, the characteristics of flow are mirrored in the seismicity and that large fluctuations in stress in the reservoir comprise turbulence in this flow.
Characterization of flow is achieved through the use of dynamic parameters, such as Diffusion Index (direction and rate of seismic activity and associated stress transfer), Fracability Index (susceptibility of a rock mass to fracturing), Stress Index (where seismic flow is hindered by fracture complexity), Plasticity Index (ease with which the reservoir deforms) and seismic efficiency which combines source parameters of microseismic events as a function of their timing and spatial distribution. We test these concepts for microseismicity associated with stimulations in shale plays throughout North America, tie our observations to supplementary field data and identify differences in dynamic parameters as related to the fracture and stress state, and the underlying rock properties. Our findings suggest that dynamic parameters provide for higher-level descriptions of the target formations, the frac growth process and in defining the resultant producing volume.
Speaker Biography: Dr. Ted Urbancic
Education
Ph.D. in Seismology, Queen’s University, Kingston Canada
M.Sc. in Borehole Geophysics and Statistics, University of Toronto, Canada
Hons. B.Sc. in Physics and Geology, University of Toronto, Canada
Experience and Qualifications
Dr. Ted Urbancic, a founder and current Chief Technology Officer at ESG Solutions, has over 30 years of experience examining and interpreting microseismicity associated with mining and petroleum applications. His is a pioneer in the development of microseismic monitoring in industrial applications, authoring over 150 publications ranging from understanding the fundamental aspects of microseismicity to characterizing rock and reservoir behavior by integrating microseismic data with numerical modeling, engineering and geomechanical data. Over the past 15 years, Ted has been integral in building ESG’s microseismic hydraulic fracture monitoring capabilities and in promoting microseismic tools for enhanced reservoir characterization. Ted holds a Ph.D. in Seismology from Queen’s University, Kingston Canada. He is a member of numerous professional societies, including SPE, SEG, AGU, SSA, and EAGE and was recently on the organizing committees for the 2014 and 2016 EAGE Passive Seismic Workshop.
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