Multiscale Fracture Characterization by Log Data Integration and Statistical Extraction of Tectonic Features

The characterization of subsurface fractured reservoir is a challenging task, requiring a multiscale approach. The micro-fractures (from cm to meter length) are usually studied, for characteristics and distribution, from oriented cores and well logs, whereas faults (macro-fractures, more than hundred meters length) are interpreted and mapped from seismic data.

The study of meso-fractures (tens to hundred meters length), also defined sub-seismic fractures, is still arduous to be performed with direct tools. Recent technological innovations, mainly in Wireline (WLL) and Logging While Drilling (LWD) areas, allow the mapping of features tens of meters far from the wellbore. However, it is not a conventional approach, that requires a dedicated planning and a significant cost increase. On the other hand, meso-fractures are hard to detect and properly describe in the seismic volumes, due to the spatial resolution of the dataset and to the capacity to detect these features using seismic waves. To fill the gap between well data and conventional seismic data, it has been developed a workflow named Tectonic Fractures Recognition and Characterization (T\Frac). The integration of borehole image logs, borehole data able to detect meso-scale features within the workflow can support a more reliable characterization.