Method of obtaining improved geophysical information about earth formations
First Claim
1. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
- (a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath, a portion of said survey wellbore in proximity to and substantially parallel to a producing reservoir and distant from the surface of the earth;
(b) placing a first plurality of spaced seismic receivers in the survey wellbore;
(c) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations;
(d) detecting by the plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by earth'"'"'s formations in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and
(e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about the subsurface formations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for forming wellbores. In one method, one or more wellbores are drilled along preplanned paths based in part upon seismic surveys performed from the surface. An acoustic transmitter conveyed in such wellbores transmits acoustic signals at a one or more frequencies within a range of frequencies at a plurality of spaced locations. A plurality of substantially serially spaced receivers in the wellbores and/or at surface receive signals reflected by the subsurface formations. The sensors may be permanently installed in the boreholes and could be fiber optic devices. The receiver signals are processed by conventional geophysical processing methods to obtain information about the subsurface formations. This information is utilized to update any prior seismographs to obtain higher resolution seismographs. The improved seismographs are then used to determine the profiles of the production wellbores to be drilled. Borehole seismic imaging may then be used to further improve the seismographs and to plan future wellbores. Cross-well tomography may be utilized to further update the seismographs to manage the reservoirs. The permanently installed sensors may also be used to monitor the progress of fracturing in nearby wells and thereby provide the necessary information for controlling fracturing operations.
184 Citations
59 Claims
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1. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath, a portion of said survey wellbore in proximity to and substantially parallel to a producing reservoir and distant from the surface of the earth; (b) placing a first plurality of spaced seismic receivers in the survey wellbore; (c) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations; (d) detecting by the plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by earth'"'"'s formations in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about the subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath proximate to a producing interval, said wellbore being proximate to and substantially parallel to a producing reservoir and distant from the surface of the earth; (b) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations at a plurality of spaced positions in the survey wellbore; (d) detecting by a plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by earth'"'"'s formations in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about the subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath; (b) placing a first plurality of spaced seismic receivers in a substantially horizontal portion of the survey wellbore distant from the surface of the earth; (c) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations; (d) detecting by the plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by subsurface formations outside a producing reservoir in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about said subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath; (b) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations at a plurality of spaced positions in a substantially horizontal portion of the survey wellbore and distant from the surface of the earth; (d) detecting by a plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by subsurface formations outside a producing reservoir in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about the subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
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47. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath formed as a sidebore from a production wellbore; (b) placing a first plurality of spaced seismic receivers in the survey wellbore; (c) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations; (d) detecting by the plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by said subsurface formations in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about said subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A method of obtaining geophysical information about subsurface formations, comprising:
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(a) forming a survey wellbore along a predetermined wellpath formed as a sidebore from a production wellbore; (b) generating seismic pulses into the earth'"'"'s subsurface formations at a plurality of spaced positions in the survey wellbore; (d) detecting by a plurality of seismic receivers seismic waves reflected by subsurface formations in response to the generated seismic pulses and generating signals responsive to such detected seismic waves; and (e) processing the generated signals to obtain geophysical information about the subsurface formations. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification