Andrey Bakulin gained a Ph.D. in Geophysics from St. Petersburg State University of Russia. While in academia, he contributed to setting foundations for quantitative seismic fracture characterization using seismic anisotropy with the key Geophysics paper “Estimation of fracture parameters from reflection seismic data” cited more than 700 times. Andrey joined the industry in 1999 and worked at Schlumberger Cambridge Research, Shell Bellaire Technology Center, and WesternGeco. He co-developed the Virtual Source Method as the first industrial application of seismic interferometry. He deployed practical methods for estimating anisotropy from seismic and designed rock physics transforms to characterize fractures and 3D stresses from seismic anisotropy. He pioneered localized tomography with borehole data remains the primary method of deriving anisotropic parameters for velocity model building. Since 2010 he has worked at Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center in Dhahran. Currently, he leads the focus area for Data Acquisition and Robotization. His most recent achievements include solving near-surface scattering noise challenges, making 3D seismic survey design transparent to intrepreters, successful permanent seismic monitoring of land carbonates with buried receivers, and development of seismic and uphole acquisition with Distributed Acoustic Sensing. He served SEG in various roles, including the 2011 Spring Distinguished Lecturer on a Virtual Source. He is frequently recognized as a top presenter at SEG and won two Best Paper at SEG awards. He has numerous professional awards, with the latest including the 2019 Conrad Schlumberger Medal from EAGE for “solving problems that impact data quality and efficiency”.
We simulate a fault/fracture zone in a physical modeling experiment as array of thin, air‐filled,... more We simulate a fault/fracture zone in a physical modeling experiment as array of thin, air‐filled, densely packed rectangular cracks that have different sizes and shapes. For a fixed surface area of the fault occupied by cracks and for a constant fracture porosity, we ...
69th EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2007, 2007
P097 Tube-Wave Reflections in Cased Boreholes D. Alexandrov (St.-Petersburg State University) B.M... more P097 Tube-Wave Reflections in Cased Boreholes D. Alexandrov (St.-Petersburg State University) B.M. Kashtan (St.- Petersburg State University) A.V. Bakulin (Shell International Exploration and Production Inc) & S.R. Ziatdinov* (St.-Petersburg State University) SUMMARY At low frequencies tube or Stoneley waves represent a dominant arrival propagating along boreholes. They can be excited by the source in a well or by external source due to conversion from other wave types. Tube wave experiences reflection at the bed boundaries borehole diameter changes and fractures or permeable zones. It was proven in previous studies that 1D effective wavenumber approach provides simple and accurate low-frequency description
In 2015, Saudi Aramco started a CO2 Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) EOR pilot project in an onshore c... more In 2015, Saudi Aramco started a CO2 Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) EOR pilot project in an onshore carbonate reservoir. To monitor lateral expansion of the CO2 plume, the area was instrumented with a hybrid surface/downhole permanent seismic monitoring system. This system consists of over 1000 buried seismic sensors at a depth of around 70 m, below the the depth of expected weathering layer to mitigate the time-lapse noise. Despite receiver burial, seismic data still suffers from numerous challenges including: significant amounts of high-amplitude coherent noise such as guided waves, mode conversions, and scattered energy; amplitude variations over space and time caused by source and receiver coupling; variability of wavelet shape and arrival times due to seasonal near-surface variations; and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A novel processing workflow was designed for 4D processing of such data. The workflow involves five critical processes. First, the high-amplitude coherent noise is eliminated using FK-based techniques that are 4D compliant to preserve the reservoir changes between repeated seismic surveys. Second, a four-term joint surface-consistent amplitude-scaling algorithm resolves the amplitude variations. The algorithm allows both source and receiver terms to have different scalars for the same positions, but it restricts the other two terms to be position-invariant over different time-lapse surveys, as the window of analysis does not include the reservoir. This is to guarantee that the source and receiver terms are survey-dependent while the other two terms are survey-independent. Thus, the amplitude variability is linked to source and receiver positions over space and time. It also assures that the reservoir changes are not affected by changes in the overburden. Third, wavelet shape variations are addressed using a four-term joint surface-consistent spiking deconvolution algorithm that applies similar principle as the scaling algorithm. Fourth, the small variations in reflection times between different surveys (4D statics) caused by seasonal variations are corrected by a specialized surface-consistent residual statics algorithm using a common pilot derived from the base survey. Fifth, the pre-stack data is supergrouped to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and repeatability. The processing workflow has been applied to frequent land 3D seismic data acquired over a CO2 WAG EOR pilot project in Saudi Arabia. As a result, we obtained very repeatable seismic images that may successfully detect small CO2-related changes in a stiff carbonate reservoir.
SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2020, 2020
We thank Jan Walda from the University of Hamburg, mem-bers of the Seismic Modeling and Inversion... more We thank Jan Walda from the University of Hamburg, mem-bers of the Seismic Modeling and Inversion group (SMI) andthe Seismic Wave Analysis Group (SWAG) at KAUST for con-structive discussions. The research reported in this publica-tion was supported by funding from King Abdullah Universityof Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900,Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco.
A novel integrated land seismic imaging system that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in a ... more A novel integrated land seismic imaging system that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in a grid of shallow upholes is proposed. This system allows simultaneous land near-surface characterization and subsurface imaging in a cost-efficient manner. Using this fiber-optic system, uphole velocity surveys can be acquired at any time with a single shot, since all depth levels are recorded simultaneously. Dense grids of smart DAS upholes accurately characterize long-wavelength statics and reduce uncertainty in exploration for low-relief structures. In addition, connecting multiple upholes with a single fiber enables efficient acquisition of seismic surveys with buried vertical arrays, which can provide superior images of the deeper subsurface than surface seismic, but with improved accuracy, since they bypass most of the near-surface complexities. The smart DAS upholes can deliver on-demand surveys that simultaneously characterize the near surface and perform deep reflection imaging o...
We simulate a fault/fracture zone in a physical modeling experiment as array of thin, air‐filled,... more We simulate a fault/fracture zone in a physical modeling experiment as array of thin, air‐filled, densely packed rectangular cracks that have different sizes and shapes. For a fixed surface area of the fault occupied by cracks and for a constant fracture porosity, we ...
69th EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2007, 2007
P097 Tube-Wave Reflections in Cased Boreholes D. Alexandrov (St.-Petersburg State University) B.M... more P097 Tube-Wave Reflections in Cased Boreholes D. Alexandrov (St.-Petersburg State University) B.M. Kashtan (St.- Petersburg State University) A.V. Bakulin (Shell International Exploration and Production Inc) & S.R. Ziatdinov* (St.-Petersburg State University) SUMMARY At low frequencies tube or Stoneley waves represent a dominant arrival propagating along boreholes. They can be excited by the source in a well or by external source due to conversion from other wave types. Tube wave experiences reflection at the bed boundaries borehole diameter changes and fractures or permeable zones. It was proven in previous studies that 1D effective wavenumber approach provides simple and accurate low-frequency description
In 2015, Saudi Aramco started a CO2 Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) EOR pilot project in an onshore c... more In 2015, Saudi Aramco started a CO2 Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) EOR pilot project in an onshore carbonate reservoir. To monitor lateral expansion of the CO2 plume, the area was instrumented with a hybrid surface/downhole permanent seismic monitoring system. This system consists of over 1000 buried seismic sensors at a depth of around 70 m, below the the depth of expected weathering layer to mitigate the time-lapse noise. Despite receiver burial, seismic data still suffers from numerous challenges including: significant amounts of high-amplitude coherent noise such as guided waves, mode conversions, and scattered energy; amplitude variations over space and time caused by source and receiver coupling; variability of wavelet shape and arrival times due to seasonal near-surface variations; and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A novel processing workflow was designed for 4D processing of such data. The workflow involves five critical processes. First, the high-amplitude coherent noise is eliminated using FK-based techniques that are 4D compliant to preserve the reservoir changes between repeated seismic surveys. Second, a four-term joint surface-consistent amplitude-scaling algorithm resolves the amplitude variations. The algorithm allows both source and receiver terms to have different scalars for the same positions, but it restricts the other two terms to be position-invariant over different time-lapse surveys, as the window of analysis does not include the reservoir. This is to guarantee that the source and receiver terms are survey-dependent while the other two terms are survey-independent. Thus, the amplitude variability is linked to source and receiver positions over space and time. It also assures that the reservoir changes are not affected by changes in the overburden. Third, wavelet shape variations are addressed using a four-term joint surface-consistent spiking deconvolution algorithm that applies similar principle as the scaling algorithm. Fourth, the small variations in reflection times between different surveys (4D statics) caused by seasonal variations are corrected by a specialized surface-consistent residual statics algorithm using a common pilot derived from the base survey. Fifth, the pre-stack data is supergrouped to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and repeatability. The processing workflow has been applied to frequent land 3D seismic data acquired over a CO2 WAG EOR pilot project in Saudi Arabia. As a result, we obtained very repeatable seismic images that may successfully detect small CO2-related changes in a stiff carbonate reservoir.
SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2020, 2020
We thank Jan Walda from the University of Hamburg, mem-bers of the Seismic Modeling and Inversion... more We thank Jan Walda from the University of Hamburg, mem-bers of the Seismic Modeling and Inversion group (SMI) andthe Seismic Wave Analysis Group (SWAG) at KAUST for con-structive discussions. The research reported in this publica-tion was supported by funding from King Abdullah Universityof Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900,Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco.
A novel integrated land seismic imaging system that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in a ... more A novel integrated land seismic imaging system that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in a grid of shallow upholes is proposed. This system allows simultaneous land near-surface characterization and subsurface imaging in a cost-efficient manner. Using this fiber-optic system, uphole velocity surveys can be acquired at any time with a single shot, since all depth levels are recorded simultaneously. Dense grids of smart DAS upholes accurately characterize long-wavelength statics and reduce uncertainty in exploration for low-relief structures. In addition, connecting multiple upholes with a single fiber enables efficient acquisition of seismic surveys with buried vertical arrays, which can provide superior images of the deeper subsurface than surface seismic, but with improved accuracy, since they bypass most of the near-surface complexities. The smart DAS upholes can deliver on-demand surveys that simultaneously characterize the near surface and perform deep reflection imaging o...
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