Passive Seismic Tomography Resolution Improvement and Its Contribution to Hydrocarbon Exploration & Production

Passive Seismic Tomography (PST) has already been established as a preliminary reconnaissance tool for hydrocarbon exploration. Recent advances concerning the method’s implementation (acquisition techniques), as well as the development of sophisticated software tools, have resulted in improving its resolution, leading to more detailed earth models and permitting the extraction of more precise smaller-scale information. Consequently, PST results can be used, not only during the preliminary recognition stage, but also at a later stage, aiming in minimizing well-placement risk. Besides, this is verified in the case of the Delvina Gas Field PST project, which clearly illustrates the difference between a coarser and a more detailed model of the same area. The final refined PST model is used in order to estimate the extent of the productive structure, as well as the location of zones of interest in the broader area, indicating the method’s E&P potential.