BHS

GEOP 501
Chapter 2
Borehole Seismology
Dr. Abdullatif Al-Shuhail (KFUPM)
Introduction
Borehole seismology involves the recording of

seismic energy using one or more wells.
The main benefits of borehole seismology are higher

resolution and less near-surface effects.
Drawbacks of this method:

Expensive because it requires drilling wells.
Only near-well area (0.1 100 m) is sampled.
Low spatial resolution because wells are usually drilled far
from each other.
Types of Borehole Seismic Surveys
Uphole surveys
Check shot surveys
Vertical seismic profiling
Acoustic logging
Crosshole surveys
Seismic while drilling
Uphole Surveys
It involves the recording of first arrivals along a

shallow well (50-100 m) that penetrates the
subweathering layer.
Objective is estimating the velocity and thickness of
the weathering layer for use in static corrections.
Two methods:
Uphole survey: Sources are placed in the borehole at
known depths and a receiver is placed near the well head.
Downhole survey: Receivers are placed in the borehole at
known depths and a source is placed near the well head.
Uphole Surveys
Uphole survey
R
Z3
Z2
Z1
S1
S2
S3
Weathering
layer
Subweathering
layer
Z
Uphole Surveys
Downhole survey
S
Z3
Z2
Z1
R1
R2
R3
Weathering
layer
Subweathering
layer
Z
Uphole Surveys
Interpretation
Interpretation of an uphole survey data includes the

following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Picking the first arrivals from each depth level

Applying any necessary corrections to these times
Plotting the data on a T-Z plot
Identification of various layers
Fitting lines to the T-Z dataset of each layer
Computing the velocity and thickness of each layer
Uphole Surveys
Interpretation
The following corrections are generally required:
Conversion to absolute time

Conversion to vertical time
Conversion to absolute time involves checking for

possible system delays as well as data
extrapolation.
Conversion to vertical time involves the

computation of vertical time from the measured
slant time.
Uphole Surveys
Interpretation
Picked times represent rays that traveled along
S X
slanted paths.
We need time along a vertical path.
The correction formula is:
ZTS
Z
TV
Z2 X 2
TV: vertical (corrected) time

TS: slanted (measured) time
Z: receiver depth, X: shot offset from well head
This formula is correct for a flat surface and a
surface shot.
Uphole Surveys
Interpretation
T
Layer 1
Layer 1
Layer 2
Thickness
of layer 1
T
T1 = Z / V1
Layer 2
T2 = T02 + Z / V2
Z
Plot T-Z data and
identify layers by
grouping points lying
along a common slope
Z
Fit lines to T-Z dataset
of each layer
Z
Estimate thickness
and velocity of layers
Uphole Surveys
Examples
Raw downhole survey traces with first-break picks
Uphole Surveys
Examples
The following is a T-Z table of an actual uphole

survey after corrections.
Z (ft)
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
T (ms)
3.8
7.3
13.1
15.3
17.3
18.5
20.1
21.1
22.1
23.4
Z (ft)
165
180
195
210
225
240
255
270
285
300
T (ms)
24.3
25.4
26.3
27.9
28.8
29.8
30.9
31.8
33.1
33.5
Z (ft)
315
330
345
360
375
390
405
420
435
T (ms)
34.8
35.7
37
38.2
38.9
39.5
41
42
42.9
Uphole Surveys
Example
The following is an interpretation of this uphole

survey: 50
45
40
35
y = 0.0703x + 12.65
30
T (ms)
V1 = 3,785 ft/s
V2 = 14,261 ft/s
H1 = 65 ft
R2 = 0.9985
Weathering-layer
thickness = 65 ft
25
20
15
y = 0.2642x
10
R = 0.9737
5
0
0
50
100
150
200
250
Z (ft)
300
350
400
450
500
Check Shot Surveys
It involves the recording of first arrivals along a well

that penetrates fairly deep target layers.
subsurface layers.
It is performed using receivers that are placed in the
borehole at known depths and a source that is placed
near the well head.
It is similar to a downhole survey but using a deeper
well and larger receiver spacing.
Check Shot Surveys

S
Z3
Z2
Interval Velocity
Z1
R1
R2
R3
Check Shot Surveys

Interpretation
Interpretation of a check-shot survey data includes

the following steps:
1. Picking the first arrivals from each depth level
2. Applying any necessary corrections to these times
3. Calculating the interval velocity between each successive
receivers
4. Computing the RMS velocity profile
Check Shot Surveys

Interpretation
Correction from slant to vertical times may be

neglected because depths are large compared to
shot offset.
The interval velocity between two successive
receivers (Ri, Ri+1) is calculated as:
DZ
Vi
DTvi
DZ: receiver spacing
DTvi: difference in vertical time from datum
to receivers (Ri, Ri+1)
Check Shot Surveys

Interpretation
The RMS velocity to the bottom of the Nth layer is

calculated as:
N
VRMS N
2
V
i DTvi
i 1
N
DT
i 1
vi
Vi: interval velocity within the ith interval

DTvi: vertical time within the ith interval
This RMS profile is comparable to the RMS profile

found by velocity analysis of surface seismic data.
Check Shot Surveys

Interpretation
Interval Velocity
Calculate interval velocity
RMS Velocity
Calculate RMS velocity
Check Shot Surveys

Examples
Raw traces of a check-shot survey
Check Shot Surveys

Examples
The following is a T-Z plot of an actual check-shot
survey after necessary corrections.
T (ms)
0
0
3000
Z (ft)
6000
9000
12000
15000
250
500
750
1000
1250
Check Shot Surveys

Example
The following is a plot of Vi-Z:
Vi (ft/s)
5000
0
3000
Z (ft)
6000
9000
12000
15000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
Check Shot Surveys

Example
The following is a plot of VRMS-Z:
VRMS (ft/s)
5000
0
3000
Z (ft)
6000
9000
12000
15000
7000
9000
11000
13000
15000
Check Shot
Surveys
VRMS (ft/s)
The following is a plot of

VRMS-TWTT:
TWTT (s)
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
15000
0.75
13000
0.50
11000
0.25
9000
Example
7000
5000
0.00
Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP)
It involves the recording and analysis of several

arrivals along a well that penetrates target layers.

subsurface layers.
It is performed using receivers that are placed in the

borehole at known depths and sources that are placed
on the ground surface.
Vertical Seismic Profile

Geometry
S
Z=H
T=D/V
Downgoing
wave
TZ/V
TH/V
Z
R
Upgoing wave
V
Layer 1
TT0-Z/V
T=T0 =2H/V
Layer 2

The Direct Wave
The direct wave arrives at the receiver as a

downgoing wave with the following T-Z curve:
Td
D2 Z 2
V
This is the equation of a hyperbola that approximates

a line (TZ/V) as D2/Z2 << 1, which is typical in
exploration VSP surveys.

The Reflected Wave
The reflected wave arrives at the receiver as an

upgoing wave with the following T-Z curve:
Tr
D 2 (2 H Z ) 2
V
This is the equation of a hyperbola that approximates

a line (T2H/V-Z/V) as D2/Z2 << 1, which is typical
in exploration VSP surveys.
The depth at which the T-Z curves of the direct and
reflected waves intersect is the layer thickness.

Processing
Processing steps specific to VSP include:

1.
2.
3.
4.
Correction for tool rotation and well deviation

Deconvolution of upgoing wave by downgoing wave
Separation of the downgoing and upgoing waves
Moveout correction of the primary upgoing event by:
1.
2.
Adding the downgoing wave time to the same depth if the source
offset is small compared to the depth
Using ray tracing if the source offset is comparable to the depth
The product will be a seismic section that is readily

comparable with stacked surface seismic sections.

Processing
Transformation to surface-seismic two-way time

Processing
Separation of upgoing and downgoing waves and

transformation of upgoing wave from VSP to
surface-seismic display

Processing
Deconvolution of upgoing wave after

transformation from VSP to surface-seismic display

Advantages and Disadvantages
The main advantages of VSP are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
High resolution (usable frequency up to 250 Hz)

Better control on multiples
Better control on attenuation effects
Ability to study converted waves
Ability to study areas closely below and above an
interface
The main disadvantages of VSP are:

1. Need a fairly deep borehole
2. Samples only rocks near the borehole (10-100 m)

Zero-offset VSP

VSP types

More VSP types

Examples
A typical seismic section of a zero-offset VSP

Examples
A typical seismic section of a walkaway VSP

Examples
3-C VSP survey

Examples
VSP section
dominated by tube
wave
Tube wave is a wave
that travels along the
borehole axis with a
speed that is lower
than the P-wave in
rocks surrounding
the borehole.
Acoustic Well Logging
It involves recording the acoustic characteristics of

subsurface formations.
This is done by measuring the time required for a
sound wave to travel a specific distance through the
formation.
The travel time of the wave in a formation depends
on the following properties of the formation:
Porosity
Composition
Fluid content

Operation
The main instrument used is called the sonde.

A basic sonde consists of a source and two
receivers one-foot apart.
The sonde is lowered down the borehole and waves
are generated and recorded continuously.
The sonde is usually positioned in the borehole
center using centralizing springs.
Frequencies used are in the range of 2 - 35 kHz.
Typical investigation radius is 0.2 1.2 m.

Sonde types

Transit time

Interpretation
The output log is a plot of transit time (Dt) versus

tool depth.
The reciprocal of Dt gives the formation velocity
(Vr) at that depth.
The total formation (sonic) porosity () is
calculated as:
1 / Vr 1 / Vs
1 / V f 1 / Vs
Vr: formation velocity

Vf: pore-fluid velocity (tabulated)
Vs: rock-matrix velocity (tabulated)
Acoustic Well
Logging
Typical logs
Acoustic Well
Logging
Example
Seismic While Drilling
The noise from the drill bit is used as a source,

while geophones on the surface are recording.
Drill-bit waves are reflected off deeper interfaces
and recorded at the surface.
These reflections are used to predict the rock
structure ahead of the drill bit.
It is possibly the only seismic method that can be
used for real-time decisions about the drilling
operation.

Operation
The noise from the drill bit is used as a source of a

continuous random signal.
A geophone at the top end of the drill string
recording the drill-bit signal is used as a pilot.
Several surface geophones around the well head are
recording the drill-bit signal.
The surface geophone signal is auto-correlated with
the pilot signal in order to compress the drill-bit
signal into a zero-phase wavelet.

Interpretation
After auto-correlation, the direct arrival from the

drill-bit-rock interface will have zero delay time.
A reflection from a deeper rock boundary will have
a delay equal to the two-way travel time between
the drill bit and the boundary.
Knowing the formation velocity, the distance from
the drill bit to the boundary can be estimated.
As the drill bit approaches the rock boundary, the
delay time decreases and the reflection becomes a
linear event.

Geometry

Example of pilot and geophone data

Geometry of reflections in the pilot section

Example of reflections in the pilot section

Comparing VSP and SWD sections
Crosshole Survey
It involves two nearby wells (< 1 km), one is used

for sources and the other for receivers.
It gives a detailed model of the rocks between the
wells, especially if tomography is used.
Advantages include:
It bypasses the problems of the near surface because the

source and receivers are below the weathering layer.
It delivers high frequency data (~ kHz) leading to very
high spatial resolution of the derived model.
Availability of shear and converted waves.
Crosshole Survey
Operation
The source is fired at the lowest depth and the

receivers are allowed to record.
The process is repeated after lowering the source
while holding the receivers depths constant.
The receivers depths may be changed in order to
have better subsurface coverage.
Crosshole Survey
Processing and Interpretation
Data processing of reflected P-waves involves:
Removal of direct waves

Separation of downgoing and upgoing reflected P-wave
CDP mapping using ray tracing
Interpretation of crosshole data involves:
Construction of detailed S- and P-wave velocity structure

between wells using all arrival types and/or tomography
Construction of depth-offset seismic section from all shot
records
Crosshole Survey
Velocity computation
Crosshole Survey
Application
Crosshole Survey
Example
Crosshole Survey
Processing raw receiver
gather (at depth 1392 m)
Crosshole Survey
Processing after directwaves removal
Crosshole Survey
Processing Separation to downgoing and upgoing
reflected P-wave sections
Upgoing
Downgoing
Crosshole
Survey
Processing CDP
mapping
Crosshole Survey
Interpretation construction of depth-offset
seismic section
Crosshole Survey
Interpretation end result of crosshole
tomography

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GEOP 501

Borehole seismology involves the recording of

The main benefits of borehole seismology are higher

Drawbacks of this method:

Types of Borehole Seismic Surveys

Check shot surveys

Vertical seismic profiling

Seismic while drilling

It involves the recording of first arrivals along a

Interpretation of an uphole survey data includes the

Picking the first arrivals from each depth level

The following corrections are generally required:

Conversion to absolute time

Conversion to absolute time involves checking for

Conversion to vertical time involves the

TV: vertical (corrected) time

Raw downhole survey traces with first-break picks

The following is a T-Z table of an actual uphole

The following is an interpretation of this uphole

Check Shot Surveys

It involves the recording of first arrivals along a well

Check Shot Surveys

Check Shot Surveys

Interpretation of a check-shot survey data includes

Check Shot Surveys

Correction from slant to vertical times may be

Check Shot Surveys

The RMS velocity to the bottom of the Nth layer is

Vi: interval velocity within the ith interval

This RMS profile is comparable to the RMS profile

Check Shot Surveys

Calculate interval velocity

Calculate RMS velocity

Check Shot Surveys

Raw traces of a check-shot survey

Check Shot Surveys

Check Shot Surveys

Check Shot Surveys

The following is a plot of

Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP)

It involves the recording and analysis of several

Objective is estimating the velocity and thickness of

It is performed using receivers that are placed in the

Vertical Seismic Profile

Vertical Seismic Profile

The direct wave arrives at the receiver as a

This is the equation of a hyperbola that approximates

Vertical Seismic Profile

The reflected wave arrives at the receiver as an

This is the equation of a hyperbola that approximates

Vertical Seismic Profile

Processing steps specific to VSP include:

Correction for tool rotation and well deviation

The product will be a seismic section that is readily

Vertical Seismic Profile

Transformation to surface-seismic two-way time

Vertical Seismic Profile

Separation of upgoing and downgoing waves and

Vertical Seismic Profile