Time-lapse characterization of the Niobrara reservoir from multi-component seismic data, Wattenberg Field, Colorado

Multi-component time-lapse data were acquired by RCP and Anadarko Petroleum Corp over a section of land within the Wattenberg Field to monitor hydraulic stimulation of 11 horizontal wells drilled in mid-2013, targeting the Niobrara and Codell Formations (Figure 1). Multiple methodologies were utilized to extract azimuthal anisotropy signatures from pure mode seismic volumes in order to characterize the in-situ and induced fractures within the reservoir. The amplitude and traveltime analysis of poststack fast and slow shear wave data provided an estimated volume which is believed to relate to the stimulated rock volume; the azimuthal amplitude analysis of prestack fast and slow shear wave data proved to be a higher resolution fracture characterization tool providing measures of fracture orientation and density; and the azimuthal traveltime analysis of prestack compressional wave data is believed to provide measures of the reservoir stress state.