IPA01-G-056

PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION Twenty-Eighth Annual Convention & Exhibition, October 2001 HYDROCARBON EXPRESSION ON LOW-IMPEDANCE AVO: A PHENOMENON OF AMPLITUDE REVERSAL
W. Waluyo*

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of AVO response is based on the theory of reflection magnitude as a function of incidence angle. In general, reflection magnitude decreases as offset increases. Zoeppritz first introduced AVO concepts in 1919, based on reflection coefficient. Further development with the algorithms for simplified computation has been applied by many authors. The three most significant parameters that control the AVO response are offset, acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio. This paper describes a specific phenomenon of the AVO response considering these three parameters. Amplitude reversal is defined as a local maximum or minimum value of amplitude, either in positive or negative reflections. This phenomenon occurs only when the directions of increase of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio are of opposite sense. Normally the changes of these two parameters (acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio) are in the same direction. Both might be greater or smaller when a seismic ray impinges an interface. This concordant relationship of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio can be distorted by the presence of gas. Gas in a sandstone reservoir tends to increase Poissons Ratio but tends to decrease the value of acoustic impedance; this discordant relationship might result in amplitude reversal as the angle of incidence increases. INTRODUCTION AVO is an acronym for Amplitude Variation with Offset and is a very popular method in gas detection
___________________________________________________________ * Pertamina

based on amplitude response. The amplitude phenomenon from AVO is controlled by the angle of incidence between the source and the receivers, which are spread along the surface of the seismic line. The angle of incidence is thus related to the amount of shot-to-receiver distance, or offset. In the common situation, reflection magnitude decreases as the degree of offset, or the angle of incidence, increases. The formulation of AVO itself is based on the reflectivity theorem which was introduced by Aki and Richards (1980) as a simplification of the P and S wave partitioning phenomena described by Zoeppritz (1919). When the propagation of a P wave impinges on an interface between two media that have a difference in acoustic impedance Z (the product of a mediums density and its velocity), it will result in partitioning into P and S reflected converted waves. Current AVO analysis is based only on the propagation of P-P wave with the assumption that the media are isotropic and homogeneous. In the case of normal incidence, there is no converted S-wave; therefore, the valid expression is shown in equation (1): Rp= (Z2-Z1)/Z2+Z1) Where: Z2: acoustic impedance of lower layer Z1: acoustic impedance of upper layer For non-normal incidence the expression was simplified by Shuey (1985) as shown in equation (2): Rpp( ) = Rp + (Ao Rp + ((1a)2 )sin2 () + 0.5 (Vp/ Vpa )(tan2 - sin2 ) (2) (1)

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Where: Rpp( ) : Coefficient reflection at incidence angle Rp : Coefficient reflection at normal incidence : Difference in Poissons Ratio between upper and lower layers. a : Average of Poissons Ratio between upper and lower layers. Vp : P-wave velocity difference between upper and lower layers. Vpa : Average velocity of upper and lower layers. Ao = Bo 2 (1+Bo)((1-2)(1-)) Where: Bo = (Vp/ Vpa)/((Vp/ Vpa)+( / a)) (3a) (3),

gas. An additional difficulty is that the value of P can be very small, which causes ambiguity in analyzing the product of P and G. A new technique, introduced in this paper, is to investigate the changes of both the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio between the two layers. This approach seems to be useful in AVO analysis particularly for examples having low impedance difference.

INFLUENCE OF ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE AND POISSONS RATIO ON AVO RESPONSE Changes in acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio between two layers will result in specific amplitude responses particularly the intercept P and the gradient G, at every value of offset or angle of incidence. In general, the change in value of both the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio occurs in the same direction. If the acoustic impedance value increases, Poissons Ratio also increases; however, if the acoustic impedance decreases, Poissons Ratio also decreases. In the particular case of a sandstone reservoir that contains gas, Poissons Ratio increases, however, the acoustic impedance decreases as the gas saturation increases. In this case it may result in a difference in the direction change of the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio. Acoustic impedance may increase while Poissons Ratio decreases and vice versa. Due to changes in opposite sense of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio, one of the specific features of amplitude response is called Amplitude Reversal. Amplitude Reversal is defined as a localized maximum or minimum amplitude magnitude of a particular reflector. It may have a positive or negative value of amplitude (peak or trough). A physical model was devised to simulate and investigate this phenomenon. The physical model consists of two layers, a solid layer overlying a very fine grained, quartz sandstone layer with a grain diameter of less than 100 microns. Different levels of water saturation were used to vary the physical properties of the sandstone layer during measurements. Laboratory measurements show the porosity of the sandstone to be 22%. Detailed physical properties of both layers are shown in Table 1.
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The first term in equation 2 represents the reflection coefficient for normal incidence (with sine function), whilst the second term (combination tangent and sine) expresses the compensation for moderate angle, while the third term compensates large angle influences. AVO ROLES AND PHENOMENA IN RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION Amplitude responses in AVO are controlled by the offset between source and receiver. Furthermore, the AVO effect is also influenced by the fluid content of the two layers involved, as noted by Rutherford and William (1989). Accordingly, amplitude responses in sandstone reservoirs can be separated into 3 classes i.e. Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3. The classification is based on two parameters - P (intercept amplitude) and - G (amplitude gradient). Sandstones in Class 1 have a high positive P and a high negative G and are associated with tight sandstones having low porosity, and sandstones in Class 2 have very low P (might be positive or negative) and a negative amplitude gradient. Sandstones in this class can have various types of fluid contents, which might be water, oil or gas. Further analysis is needed to distinguish the fluid content. Sandstones in Class 3 are commonly gas reservoirs. Class 3 has a high negative value for both P-wave reflection coefficient and G, the amplitude gradient. Sandstones in Class 2 are the focus of further discussion in this paper. The fluid content of these sandstones can vary, and may be either water, oil or

For this model we can compute the reflectivity responses based on the Shuey (1985) equation. The results are shown in Figures 2 through 5. Figure 2, representing Model 1 (sandstone saturated by gas), shows an amplitude reversal at a 35-degree angle of incidence. In this model acoustic impedance decreases from the upper to the lower layers, while Poissons Ratio increases. Model 2 (Figure 3) shows the reflectivity response for partly gas-saturated water in sandstone pores. In this model most of the pore volume was filled by water. Amplitude reversal still persists, however, at an angle of incidence of 30 degrees. As in the case of Model 1, acoustic impedance decreases, while Poissons Ratio increases, from the upper to the lower layers. The difference is that the contrast in acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio are smaller if compared with those of Model 1. This causes a shift of amplitude reversal position to the left on the figure corresponding to a move to a smaller offset or angle of incidence. The calculated reflectivity of Model 3 is shown in Figure 4. This model is similar to Model 2, however the concentration of water is higher than for Model 2. Amplitude reversal still exists at a nearer offset or about 25-degrees angle of incidence, continuing the trend established between Models 1 and 2. The same condition of changes in acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio exists as with the two previous models, however, the contrast of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio is smaller. A more detailed investigation of Model numbers 1 to 3 indicates that the magnitude of difference between the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio correlates linearly with the gradient of reflectivity; the greater the difference, then the higher the reflectivity gradient. The intercept of amplitude or reflectivity consequently also decreases in magnitude from a high negative polarity for a simulated gas-bearing sandstone to low negative polarity and close to zero for a saturated water sandstone. Finally, Model 4 in Figure 5 uses fresh water to fill in the pores of the sandstone layer. The reflectivity calculation shows that there is no amplitude reversal expected for this model. In this case, both the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio increase from the upper layer to the lower layer. The reflectivity gradient is negative for the whole offset or angle of incidence while the intercept of reflectivity, P, is positive and low. This is different from the previous three models, which show changes in the value of

reflectivity gradient. For the near offset, the reflectivity gradient is positive up until a particular offset beyond which amplitude reversal exists and the reflectivity gradient changes to a negative value. Figure 6 shows the presentation of amplitude reversal for Models 1, 2, and 3 marked with an ellipse. The amplitude response of the near offset (350 meters) shows a decrease in amplitude, which reaches a minimum at an offset of 550 meters. For larger offsets the amplitudes increase as offset increases. This phenomenon is quite unique, and restricted to AVO responses for reservoirs exhibiting low acoustic impedance contrast.

DISCUSSION The amplitude responses of the four models shown for both numerical and physical results in the previous section indicate that amplitude reversal will only take place when the changes in acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio are in opposite senses, i.e. if the acoustic impedance increases while Poissons Ratio decreases, or conversely, if the acoustic impedance decreases and Poissons Ratio increases, from the upper layer to the lower layer, then an amplitude reversal will take place. The measured contrast between the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio of the two layers controls the intensity of r eflectivity gradient on both sides of the amplitude reversal position. Thus, the greater the contrast of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio, the larger the reflectivity gradient. The offset position of the amplitude reversal will occur at a shorter offset as the contrast between the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio becomes greater. This phenomenon will be very valuable for analyzing AVO response, particularly for cases of low impedance contrast. In the case of low impedance contrast, the PG product will not provide a conclusive result, this being because the value of P is so small (close to zero) that the value of the P-G product cannot be evaluated unequivocally. To solve this problem, AVO gradient analysis can show the gradient magnitude and the possibility of amplitude reversal can be detected easily. Since the existence of amplitude reversal for low impedance AVO can be determined from the gradient display, then more
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attention can be given to hydrocarbons in such cases. CONCLUSIONS

the

presence

of

REFERENCES Aki, K., and Richards, P.G., 1980. Quantitative Seismology: Theory and Method: W. H. Freeman and Co. Rutherford, S. R., and William, R. H., 1989. Amplitude Versus Offset Variation in Gas Sands: Geophysics, v. 54, p. 680-688. Shuey, R. T., 1985. A Simplification of Zoeppritz Equation: Geophysics, v. 50, p. 609-614.

Amplitude reversal, the expression of maximum or minimum amplitude, takes place when the changes of acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio are in opposite directions. The degree of contrast between the acoustic impedance and Poissons Ratio controls the magnitude of the gradient and the lateral offset position of the amplitude reversal. In the case of low impedance AVO, amplitude reversal recognition from the AVO gradient can predict the presence of hydrocarbons.

Zoeppritz, K., 1919. Uber Reflexion und Durchgang Sesimicher Wellen durch Unstetigkerlsflaschen: Math, Phys., K1, p. 57-84.

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TABLE 1 PHYSICAL PARAMETER FOR TWO-LAYERS PETROPHYSICS MODEL.

Vp (m/s) Upper layer Solid layer Lower layer Gas sat. sand Gas sand G-W sand Water sand 2958 1550 1850 1950 2300

(g/cc) 1.38 1.95 2.03 2.07 2.14

0.31 0.49 0.45 0.4 0.33

AI 4082 3022 3755 4036 4922

Remarks

Wet sand Gas-water sand Water-gas sand Saturated water

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FIGURE 1 - Conversion of P wave into four compartments, P and S reflected converted waves (Rpp, Rps) and P and S transmitted converted waves (Tpp, Tps).

FIGURE 2 - Reflection coefficient plot for Model 1.

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FIGURE 3 - Reflection coefficient plot for Model 2.

FIGURE 4 - Reflection coefficient plot for Model 3.

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FIGURE 5 - Reflection coefficient plot for Model 4.

Amplitude reversal

FIGURE 6 - Reflection amplitude of similar models 1, 2 and 3. Amplitude reversal occurs at a certain angle of incidence.
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