Poststack inversion of broadband seismic data from Alberta, Canada

Summary The Hussar experiment was carried out in September 2011 with the purpose of acquiring broadband seismic data, including low frequencies, to be used in inversion methods. Three wells located close to the seismic line and a dynamite-source dataset, acquired with three-component 10 Hz geophones, were used for a post-stack inversion test using commercial software. Several low-frequency cut-off filters applied to the data were tested with the 3-5 Hz model being selected as the optimum. The resultant impedance reflects lateral changes that were not present in the initial model and therefore are derived from the seismic reflections. Impedance changes in the target zone shows the general trend and relative variations, which would allow changes in the reservoir as variations in the rock properties occur. A final inversion was performed to simulate traditional approaches when the low-frequency component is absent in the seismic data. Filtered seismic-data (10-1560-85 Hz) and an initial model with a 10-15 Hz cut-off were used for this test. The results at the well locations show a good match but the lateral variation and character of the events resemble more the initial model character.