CGG has released HRS-9/R2, an upgrade to its intuitive and interactive Hampson-Russell HRS-9 reservoir characterization software suite. It builds on HRS-9, launched in 2012, by offering geoscientists new capabilities focusing on unconventional resources. 

Azimuthal AVO for fracture identification

A completely new module named ProAZ will increase the effectiveness of well planning in fractured reservoirs and unconventional resource plays by helping interpreters map fractures and other forms of anisotropy. ProAZ can generate common-offset/common-azimuth and common-angle/common-azimuth gathers. It also analyzes azimuthal variations in AVO amplitudes to infer the intensity and orientation of natural fracture swarms.

Fast and accurate multicomponent interpretation 

Multi-component interpretation involves identifying key geologic markers on the PP wave and PS wave datasets; but deciding which PS horizons match individual PP horizons can be challenging. ProMC now includes an interactive graph of Vp/Vs ratios which is displayed while picking horizons on PS volumes so that the interpreter receives instant interactive feedback on whether or not the PS horizon picking is correct for faster and more accurate interpretation. 

Further refinement to the joint inversion of PP and PS volumes is provided through a new option for an automatically computed, variable Vs/Vp ratio (Gamma). 

Horizontal well plotting on seismic sections

Any well log attribute for horizontal wells can now be overlaid on seismic volumes and displayed as a log curve or colour infill. This functionality is vital for the many horizontal wells that are typical of shale and steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) projects. In a subsequent release later in 2014, Hampson-Russell will add the ability to extract sampled attributes from seismic volumes along horizontal well paths.

Geomechanical properties through the entire seismic volume

HRS-9 now includes ready-made tools for computing volumes of geomechanical properties, of particular benefit for well and completion planning in resource plays. Embedded in the seismic utilities module, these tools calculate volumes of properties such as Young’s Modulus, Brittleness and Closure Stress Ratio from pre-stack inversion results.  These properties are increasingly supplied as an end-product to reservoir engineers for optimizing well placement in shale plays. 

Addition of new seismic attributes 

The Attributes package is a collection of advanced, multi-trace (spatial) attributes that can be derived from seismic volumes. Widely used to look for fractures and discontinuities, and thus useful in any resource play, attributes including curvature, phase congruency and energy ratio can be computed from stacked seismic volumes. New in HRS-9/R2 are volume curvature based on instantaneous temporal and spatial attributes, the Karhunen-Loeve transform for energy ratio computation, and new frequency attributes based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD).

More efficient crossplotting with area selection on a seismic display

HRS-9 has long included the ability to display the seismic data within crossplot zones throughout a volume. Now, by drawing directly on a seismic section, the crossplot points within the defined area will be highlighted in the crossplot. Multiple zones can be defined and each zone is interactive and moveable. The previous options, which allow zone definition on the crossplot itself, are still available and can be combined with this new option.

Sophie Zurquiyah, Senior Executive Vice President of CGG’s Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir Division (GGR), said: “CGG is committed to making increasingly sophisticated, yet easy-to-use geophysical software available to the working geophysicist. This HRS-9/R2 release will be of special interest to geoscientists involved in azimuthal fracture analysis and those using joint PP/PS inversion for rock properties, enabling them to extract ever more value from their azimuthal and multicomponent seismic data. In particular HRS-9/R2 addresses the challenges they are facing in unconventional resource development around the world.”