innovative imaging method gives clearer picture of subsurface

An innovative technological advancement is giving Chevron a clearer picture of what lies beneath.

And in the world of exploration, more accurate imaging has a positive ripple effect.

Chevron is using this new technology so it can image the subsurface, both onshore and offshore, to identify and evaluate exploration prospects and better characterize discovered resources. For example, the technology was used to characterize the recently developed Anchor Field in the Gulf of America. It provided a clearer picture of the subsurface, which aided development planning and well placement in the challenging deep-sea environment.

Pairing tools from Chevron’s partnership with Microsoft and proprietary code that Chevron researchers have developed has produced an industry-leading, cloud-native way to visualize the subsurface.

It’s a new take on full waveform inversion (FWI), an existing imaging method. This data-driven, “extended FWI” generates a more accurate picture of the subsurface in a fraction of the time. That matters when teams are trying to map reservoirs.

Chevron’s proprietary extended FWI is an industry-leading seismic imaging technology. It’s designed to be suitable for challenging geological settings, flexible enough to take all kinds of input seismic data, and capable of producing ever-higher-quality reservoir seismic images.

By teaming up with Microsoft and leveraging the dynamic high-performance computing resources in Azure, this highly optimized, cloud-native code performs at an exceptionally efficient level and can be easily scaled up for large data sizes. This allows Chevron to build exploration portfolios and asset development plans in less time than ever before.

Generated sound waves spread through the layers of the earth and reflect back to the surface to generate a 3D image of subsurface. This imaging is similar to a medical ultrasound, but on a vast scale that can extend several miles below the earth’s surface. The resulting seismic images are then mapped in 3D to identify exploration prospects and inform field development plans.

Extended FWI breaks the seismic wave field—the ambient noise or motion of the subsurface—down into a series of mathematical instructions, or algorithms. These algorithms are trying to match the wave field data to what is known about the geology of the subsurface in a specific area. Researchers can use this data to get a clearer picture or to reconfigure the information if something doesn’t line up with what is already known about the expanse.

With a clearer picture of the subsurface, researchers can characterize the subsurface more accurately. Davenport predicts that in the future, FWI will be assisted by artificial intelligence, resulting in improved 3D images of the subsurface and additional time savings.