Frontiers in Earth Science (Jan 2023)

A new method for identifying micro fractures and characterizing fractures of different scales

  • Zheng Fu,
  • Shuangfang Lu,
  • Shuangfang Lu,
  • Shuangfang Lu,
  • Huijun Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.1018106
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Oil and gas exploration professionals have begun to focus more on unconventional oil and gas reserves in recent years as a result of their increased efforts. Fractures have a significant impact on the permeability and connectivity of reservoirs as a crucial component of rock mechanics and hydraulics, which directly affects the production of oil and gas. The identification of fracture development zones or micro faults, as well as how to adequately define the fracturing model, have thus become crucial and pressing issues in the forecast of oil and gas reservoirs. In this study, we decompose the three-dimensional seismic data volume in a site in order to obtain the single frequency data volume that can be calculated using the ant tracking technique. We do this by taking advantage of the synchronous extrusion improvement of short time Fourier transform in time-frequency focusing. Coupled with the advanced DFN model, the extracted data are calibrated in various rock attributes to restore the morphology and characteristics of fractures. The findings demonstrate that this method is capable of providing not only a precise outline of micro fractures but also a reflection of the characteristics of fractures at various scales, including structure and associated properties. The precision and applicability of this method are confirmed in this paper, which is significant as a reference for the oil and gas exploration industry.

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