At IITM, the researchers have designed a data analysis technique that can detect petroleum subterraneanly with the help of a statistical method. This system was put to work to analyze seismic surveys from North Assam which is known for its oil resources. Results from the study showed accurate details regarding the type of rocks and the hydrocarbon saturation levels 2.3 kilometers below the surface.
Rajesh R Nair, a faculty member at the Department of Ocean Engineering and Petroleum Engineering Programme at IITM, headed this research. The results of this study were printed in NATURE Scientific Reports, and additionally, M Nagendra Babu and D Venkatesh Ambati from IIT Madras also worked alongside Nair in the paper’s co-authorship.
The scientists included an attribute, known as ‘Poisson impedance’ (PI), in their study. PI was applied to spot the liquid content in the sandstone reservoir. It was also determined that ‘Poisson impedance’ (PI) was more successful in gauging the hydrocarbon zone than the traditional attributes.
Rajesh R Nair, faculty at the department of ocean engineering and petroleum engineering programme at IIT Madras, explained the importance of this kind of research, saying that accurately imaging underground structures is difficult due to the low resolution of seismic images and the difficulty in connecting the data from both well-log and seismic surveys. The team at IIT Madras have created a procedure for predicting possible hydrocarbon zones from complex well log and seismic data.
He further detailed the technical side of the research, saying that seismic inversion, a process used to turn seismic reflection data into a description of the reservoir’s rock properties, was employed. Specifically, they used ‘Simultaneous Prestack Seismic Inversion’ (SPSI). This analysis yielded the spatial distribution of petrophysical properties in the seismic image. Moreover, other data analytics such as target correlation coefficient analysis (TCCA), Poisson impedance inversion, and Bayesian classification were also used to gain insight into the underground rock and soil structure of the area.
