Numerical Modeling of Seismic Response from a Fractured Geological Formation

Summary Many traditional oil and gas deposits have been significantly depleted. At the same time, a lot of hard-to-recover reserves were found. Small thicknesses of productive formations, non-porous types of reservoirs - all this complicates the production of hydrocarbons and increases requirements for the accuracy of determining the internal structure of deposits. Seismic exploration today is a standard method, and it is successfully carried out by many service companies. Computer simulation is a prominent method to improve available engineering methods by using more complex mathematical models. In this work, the problem of the seismic response generation from fractured geological formations was investigated. The averaged anisotropic model was used to describe its dynamic behavior. Numerical solution of the system of partial differential equations was obtained using the grid-characteristic method with an explicit identification of contact boundaries between geological layers. The presence of the seismic response anisotropy at shear waves was detected, in comparison with the isotropic layer model.