Field Geophysics, A Bird-dog's

VSP quality control checks

:a) All sources )
Check that the downhole signal break is present on the (1 record. If the geophone break is not recorded, the data is unusable. Care should be taken while setting blanking times. A minimum of 150 ms between the end of blanking time and the break of the geophone is recommended. On the other hand, a too short blanking time may produce a long section of waveform .without signal before the geophone break Check that the signal is free of noise (Figure 5.19). If noise is (2 present, confirm that its frequency is outside the useful range (in general, 10 70 Hz for airgun and Vibroseis, 10 120 Hz for dynamite). In the case where the noise is outside these ranges, it will be possible to filter it out during processing without any noticeable loss of data quality. Otherwise, try to find the source of :noise and eliminate it. Common sources of noise are Electrical noise: 50 or 60 Hz or harmonics (Figure 5.19 (a)). If possible, request a shutdown of the rig generators during the

shooting. Turn off the electrical motors in sequence until the cause of the noise is discovered Borehole casing ringing: This noise, originating mostly from uncemented and/or concentric casings, occurs within the usable .frequency range of the signal. Shot stacking is of little help Data will not be usable for VSP, but if the break is detectable, it can still be used for checkshots. Wait until the cement is totally cured (often one or two days) before starting the seismic job and then run a CBL log to check cement quality. This is of particular importance when running a large offset (walkaway) VSP with an .array tool Casing arrivals: These are generally of high frequency and often .occur before the normal geophone break Poor tool-formation coupling (Figure 5.19 (b)): Refer to the caliper log to preselect shot levels. Avoid trying to clamp in caves or washouts. If the tool unwittingly enters one of these zones, move it up or down a few feet to locate a more solid clamping location. If a movement of a few feet doesnt work, keep trying further up or down or go on to the next preselected level as a shot .without proper coupling is generally unusable

Figure 5.19 (a) 60 Hz electrical noise

Figure 5.19 (b) Bad coupling to borehole wall

High-frequency bursts (Figure 5.19 (c): Analyze the frequency content of the noise and select a filter to eliminate it (a high-cut of 90 Hz is generally adequate). If the surface seismic target data is shallow and of a higher frequency than 90 Hz then the HF bursts should be investigated. If possible, monitor the activity, scanning the whole waveform, and wait it out, shooting during quiet periods. For checkshots, where only the first break is needed, the .HF burst occurring after the break may not matter

Figure 5.19 (c) High-frequency bursts Verify that enough shots are recorded for each level. For (3 checkshots, two shots are recommended for airgun and vibrator while for dynamite, one may suffice. For VSP, a minimum of five shots is recommended for airgun and Vibroseis and a minimum of three shots for dynamite. If the signal-to-noise ratio is low (Figure 5.19 (d)), more shots need to be taken. When there is no coherent noise on all shots, the signal-to-noise improvement is of the order of the square root of the number of shots stacked (see section 2.5). However, it may be more cost effective to modify the job .setup than to increase the number of shots

Figure 5.19 (d) S/N ratio too low Check for the presence of tube waves (Figure 5.19 (e). Tube (4 waves are coherent noise that spans all frequencies (typically, they can be observed with high amplitude traveling at about 5000 f/s, after the geophone break). As they are difficult to filter out, they .need to be avoided during recording by optimizing the job setup Lower the level of fluid in the borehole by a minimum of 50 ft. On jackup rigs, position the gun between the well and the rig to avoid direct transfer to the mud column. On land, create an impedance

barrier by digging a water-filled trench between the wellhead and the seismic source. The source pit could be placed behind an .existing drainage pit

Figure 5.19 (e) Tube wave Keep a large distance between the source and the well so that the ground roll is mostly reduced before reaching the wellhead. A toolarge distance (>100 m) is not recommended for a VSP, as the vertical ray-path assumption would no longer be met, especially in shallow wells. Section 5.12.3 argues the case of vertical ray path .vs. offset Spot viscous fluids in the borehole close to the surface. For example, in the top part of Figure 5.20 (a), no useful information is recorded. 10 bbls of viscous mud were spotted and 300 feet of borehole left empty. The resulting record (Figure 5.20 (b) was .dramatically improved Check that the stack transit time matches the individual shot (5 .transit times. Any difference should be less than 1 ms Check that the signal does not saturate. This can be verified (6 by checking the peak-to- peak value. It should not exceed 60,000 .bits. Saturation may be directly visible on the monitor

Figure 5.20 Viscous mud spotted near the surface 7) Check that the level separation is close enough to avoid energy aliasing. Referring to the integrated sonic time provided by the sonic log, a shot should be taken every 7 ms or less to give an alias frequency of at least 71 Hz. Important levels are the top and bottom of each sonic run in

the well, total depth, seismic reference datum (SRD), 5 m below major lithology changes, and below and above major washouts where the sonic may not be reliable. 8) Check for repeatability of source signature and transit time. For airgun source, the canon should be held at a constant depth and to a constant pressure; for dynamite, same charge size, depth and medium; for Vibroseis, vibrator accelerometer, timing, and wireline and radio similarity. For transit time repeatability of multiple shots at the same level, the difference should be less than 1 ms. Check a level at a given depth on the way down the borehole and also coming back up. The two transit times should agree within 1 to 2 milliseconds. In deeper wells, several tie points should taken. Between different surveys in the same hole under the same source conditions at the same depth, the times should agree within 2 ms. Also compare the well seismic transit times with integrated sonic transit times, they should closely match. 9) Select proper filtering. It should be noted that the maximum frequency for a bandpass filter high-cut is a function of the source, formation velocity and distance between levels. For constant depth spacing of levels, the maximum frequency for a high-cut filter is determined by the minimum formation velocity over the surveyed interval divided by twice the level spacing. For constant time spacing, this relation simplifies to the reciprocal of twice the oneway time spacing of the levels. These criteria should be used when selecting high-cut filters for the well site job setup.

(b) Dynamite source:

All of the previous quality control checks apply to dynamite as well as other sources with a few special additions. Prior to the well seismic survey, charge size and depth tests should be run to obtain an optimum in each case. Often, drilling deeper (preferably below the weathering layer) may place charges in a more favorable shot medium, producing higher amplitudes and wider bandwidth. The selection of charge size affects the pulse width and amplitude of the pulse. If M = charge size, the time duration of the pulse and its amplitude are both proportional to M1/3; the bandwidth of the pulse is inversely proportional to M1/3; and the amplitude of the spectrum is proportional to M2/3. For example, when a charge

size of 2 pounds of dynamite is compared with a charge of 16 pounds (8 times greater), the time duration of the pulse with the larger charge will be doubled, the amplitude of the pulse doubled, the bandwidth of the pulse of the larger charge halved, and the amplitude of the spectrum quadrupled. In other words, lowering the charge size decreases the pulse width and increases the frequency spectrum but at the cost of amplitude. One way to generate higher frequencies and higher amplitudes is to use a simultaneous array of 3 to 5 smaller charge shot holes instead of one with a large charge. However, this implies increased drilling costs. If the shot medium on one side of the well site is not favorable to optimum energy transfer, try moving the shot field to another side of the well. When shooting several shots at each depth level, the shot pattern (3 to 5 shotholes) should be drilled so that the individual shots are close enough not to change the shooting geometry yet far enough apart not to sympathetically detonate each other. In addition, the pattern should be in a uniform medium, .drilled to identical depths and the charges should be well tamped Extra shot holes should be drilled and loaded for initial testing and for replacement of the inevitable misfires. Time breaks and uphole times should be checked prior to shooting with uphole simulators and also monitored during the execution phase. During the VSP, activity in and around the shot field should be at a minimum both for noise reduction and for safety.

(c) Airgun:
Arguably the most cost-effective of the three main energy sources, airgun is the most widely used in checkshot surveys and utilized in many VSP surveys. The energy is the result of the pressure created by a sudden injection of air into the sleeved chambers of the canon barrels. This pressure produces air bubbles, which in turn produce acoustic waves in a water medium. The amplitude of the signal depends on the pressure and the pressure depends on the gun volume (V). Specifically, the pressure is proportional to V1/3. The effect of increased pressure or volume on the amplitude and frequency spectrum of the signal pulse is similar to that of dynamite. In general, the frequency range of airguns is much less than that of dynamite, which for checkshot

is not as significant as it would be for a surface seismic correlative VSP survey. Specific quality control checks for an airgun well velocity are: 1) Check that the hydrophone signal has a clear break. Data from a seismic job without a good break is virtually useless. Common problems to look for are (one): crosstalk between the gun fire and the hydrophone signal, the former being mistaken for the time break resulting in a corrupted signal and a bad first break detection and (two): during an offset survey, the radio TB signal may be recorded instead of the correct hydrophone break. In the latter case, a longer window may be used. 2) Use the hydrophone signal for VSP. The accelerometer signal may be acceptable for checkshot surveys where only the break time is required. Normal practice would imply the use of two hydrophone signals or one gun accelerometer hydrophone. Both the hydrophone and geophone should have the correct break detection. It is mandatory that the hydrophone detection be correct before stacking. The type of break-pick algorithm used depends on the source type and must be selected at the beginning of the survey. The bubble period can be estimated from the hydrophone signal and filtered out during processing. 3) As well as checking for signal saturation (paragraph (a6) above), check that the signal is not too weak. Peak to peak amplitude before filtering should be larger than 30,000 bits. If not, (a): use a larger gun or gun array, (b): check the air pressure (maximum is 140 bars or 2000 psi, (c): increase downhole gain for the channel, and/or (d): remove the debubbling kit from the gun (if installed). 4) Check that the hydrophone break is constant within a given level. Check that the break position on the operator unit is always occurring at the same place and that signal inputs are not changed within a level

(d) Vibroseis:
Check sweep quality. Cross correlation of the entire Vibroseis trace is not possible for every sweep unless an array processor is present. Without an array processor, the first break can be

checked by setting the WCL to 300 or 400. It is also recommended to check at least one sweep per level with a WCL of 1500 to 2000 to ensure a good signal-to-noise ratio and to check for tube waves. It should be noted that similar checks should be performed several times during the survey to confirm that the pilot sweep and base plate signals are correctly synchronized. Check coupling between the Vibroseis unit and the earth. This is done to avoid baseplate chatter. This can be monitored through direct observation of the baseplate when sweeping, manual scan of the uncorrelated base plate sensor on the Optical Monitor Unit of the Central Seismic Unit, or through the use of frequency spectra plots of raw and correlated data.