David H. Johnston, ExxonMobil Exploration Co., will give his American Association of Petroleum Geologists Distinguished Lecture, “4-D Seismic in the Deep Water – Challenges and Rewards,” at 12 p.m. April 8 in Room 281 of the Green Center at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo. This presentation will show how ExxonMobil uses 4-D seismic technology in deepwater reservoir management and discusses some of the challenges faced in its application.
Time-lapse or 4-D seismic data has proven value in reservoir management, increasing reserves and recovery by locating bypassed and undrained hydrocarbons and optimizing infill well locations and flood patterns. Four-D seismic can also decrease operating costs by reducing uncertainty in the reservoir geologic model and flow simulation, optimizing completions and minimizing the number of dry holes. Time-lapse is simply the use of multiple seismic surveys shot over a producing field. Changes in the seismic response typically occur because of production-induced changes in saturation and pressure. Successful 4-D projects have been carried out in a wide range of geographical areas, geological settings and depletion scenarios.
To maximize the value of a 4-D seismic project, planning for 4-D is a critical part of an overall field lifecycle strategy. In exploration, assets can be screened for potential 4-D application. Early in development planning, 4-D seismic models based on reservoir flow simulations and geologic models are used to estimate the magnitude and interpretability of the 4-D response, evaluate optimal survey repeat times, and assess potential business impact. Once the field is under production, effective 4-D project execution requires collaboration among asset team geoscientists, engineers and field operations with geophysical acquisition and processing specialists.
ExxonMobil’s experience in West Africa and the
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