Crosswell imaging provides detail for optimizing reservoir development

Mark McCallum, Z-Seis Corporation, Calgary, Canada provides some case studies to highlight the benefits of crosswell seismic in making exploration and development decisions. New challenges are being faced by oil and gas producers as conventional hydrocarbon resources continue to dwindle. The focus in the industry is shifting from developing new conventional reserves to maximizing the potential of existing reserves. Exploration is now shifting to either unconventional reserves such as oil sands, tight gas, and coal bed methane or remote locations such as the arctic and deep water offshore. In both cases, development of new resources and redevelopment of mature fields, crosswell seismic can deliver unprecedented resolution to solve reservoir issues in the interwell space. At critical junctures in the life of a reservoir, development decisions are made that can dramatically increase value, if they are based on a precise understanding of reservoir architecture. During the last decade, 3D surface seismic has supplied information about the reservoir that has driven exploration and development decisions. However, today crosswell seismic technology is emerging as an effective new tool in characterizing the unconventional resource reservoir and in optimizing the development of mature fields.