Monitoring Production Processes by 4D Multicomponent Seismic Surveys at Vacuum Field, New Mexico

P666 MONITORING PRODUCTION PROCESSES BY 4-D MULTICOMPONENT SEISMIC SURVEYS AT VACUUM FIELD NEW MEXICO Summary 1 Multicomponent time lapse seismology has great potential for monitoring production processes in reservoirs. The reason is simply the presence of fractures. Shear waves are much more sensitive than p waves to the presence of fractures or microfractures and the fluid content within the fracture network. Fractures introduce seismic anisotropy into a reservoir causing two shear modes to propagate with different velocities and therefore different arrival times. The arrival time difference is referred to as shear wave splitting or birefringence and is a critical parameter