Cost Effective Integrated Geophysical Approach for Exploration of Unconventional Shallow Target

Seismic imaging of shallow unconventional reservoirs of heavy oil requires data with focussed acquisition and processing parameters and entails huge investment. Keeping in view the cost factor, the existing 2D regional seismic data has been reinterpreted for shallow objective and integrated with the gravity data. Reinterpretation of seismic data unravel atleast three sand sequences within Lower Fars Formation overlain by a shale cap rock. The seismic data shows an erosional truncation of these sand sequences where the blocks are uplifted due to the Late Miocene to Pliocene tectonics in the Arabian Plate. Correlation with second derivative of gravity data indicates that 70-80% wet wells are located on local gravity highs where pay sands show Toplap relationship with cap rock. The shallow heavy oil plays are a combination of structural and stratigraphic traps. Inexpensive and fast unconventional surface geochemical, high resolution airborne magnetic and electromagnetic techniques can be employed for delineation of prospective areas.