We have evaluated the existence of good paleo-carbonate reservoirs in fault damage zones with a burial depth exceeding 5800 m in the Central Paleo-Uplift, Sichuan Basin, China. The relationships between fault system and sedimentation, and the formation of the paleo-carbonate reservoirs have been explored, which have long been ignored by previous studies due to the low-quality seismic data and the prevalent assumption of weak tectonic movement. Data from different sources such as newly acquired and processed seismic data, cores, and well-logs are used to study the characteristics and origin of the fault system and their controls on the formation of paleo-carbonate reservoirs. The main findings are as follows: (1) The Sinian-Permian fault system in the study area mainly comprises strike-slip faults with different scales plus a small number of locally developed collapse-related concentric faults. (2) The Sinian-Permian fault system, which usually has normal throw, mainly developed in an extensional stress field and its evolution spanned five stages including the basement-fault formation stage in the Yangtze cycle, extensional dextral strike-slip faults formation stage in the Xingkai cycle, weakly compressional sinistral strike-slip faults formation stage in the Caledonian cycle, extensional faults formation stage in the Hercynian cycle, and compressional transformation stage in the Indosinian-Himalayan cycles. Most faults formed in the Xingkai and Caledonian cycles, whereas the Indosinian-Himalayan cycles had a weak effect on the Sinian-Permian fault system in the study area. (3) Different types of faults have different effects on the sedimentation, formation, and preservation of the paleo-carbonate reservoirs. The synsedimentary faults provide necessary tectonic background for the sedimentation of high-energy facies, whereas the successive faults and coalesced fractures determine the formation, distribution, and preservation of the porous karst carbonate reservoirs. The basement faults controlling the hydrothermal fluids only cause partial filling of the existing pore spaces; thus, most pore spaces in the karst carbonate reservoirs are able to be preserved. Therefore, the fault damage zones within the paleo-carbonate strata produce good reservoirs and important exploration targets.

The Marchenko method can retrieve Green’s functions among virtual sources in the subsurface and receivers at the surface from single-sided reflection data. This process, called Marchenko redatuming, allows the estimation of the full-wavefield information in the inhomogeneous subsurface. The retrieved Green’s functions form the input for creating the subsurface image free of artifacts caused by internal multiples. However, when using the crosscorrelation imaging condition in Marchenko imaging, the shallower regions of the obtained image suffer from reduced resolution due to unwanted interference, which occurs in the crosscorrelation gathers at far offsets. With a simple model, we have found that the image resolution obtained using the crosscorrelation Marchenko imaging (CCMI) method is influenced by image position and the integral range of the crosscorrelation function. To overcome this problem, we develop an optimal aperture-bounded crosscorrelation imaging condition using only the constructive wavefields during integration. The optimal aperture is defined as an intercept at which the time difference between the first arrivals of up- and downgoing Green’s functions equals one wavelet period. The integration of the crosscorrelation function is then performed over the determined optimal range that varies with the image position rather than a fixed aperture. As a result, we exclude the unwanted destructive interference from the crosscorrelation gather, resulting in a high-resolution image. The effectiveness of our method has been validated with its applications to synthetic and field data tests.

Multicomponent seismic exploration provides more valuable information for the prediction of underground structures, lithology, fluids, and fractures. Most studies on lithology estimation and fluid description using PP- and PS-wave seismic data mainly focus on relatively shallow targets with high porosity. Focusing on deep carbonate (dolomite) reservoirs with low porosity (generally less than 5%), we first analyze the characteristics of the seismic response difference between PP and PS waves, and then we combine logging data and seismic forward modeling to implement the identification of fluids using the amplitude difference between PP and PS waves. Data sets are acquired over grain beach dolomite reservoirs in the Cambrian Longwangmiao Formation, the central Sichuan Basin, Western China. The reservoirs are filled with different types of fluids (e.g., gas, water, bitumen, etc.). Based on comparisons between seismic responses of PP and PS waves, we observe that, at the location of the gas-bearing layer, PP-wave amplitude exhibits strong peaks and PS-wave amplitude finds relatively weak peaks, which is different from that obtained for the water-saturated layer. However, at the location of bitumen-filled reservoirs, PP- and PS-wave amplitudes exhibit strong peaks, and the reflection amplitude of PP waves is stronger than that of PS waves. Therefore, the amplitude difference of PP and PS waves provides valuable information and feasibility for fluid identification. We verify that the maximum peak amplitude attribute of PS waves may better characterize the distribution of porous dolomite reservoirs than that of PP waves, and using the attribute of maximum peak amplitude difference between PP and PS waves, we may distinguish gas-bearing and water-saturated layers. Comparing with actual drilling results, we conclude that our PP/PS interpretation technique is feasible for fluid identification in deep carbonate reservoirs.

The Sinian Dengying Fm in the Sichuan Basin is a set of fractured-vuggy reservoirs mainly dominated by sedimentation and karstification, and characterized by small fractures and vugs, complex stratigraphy and lithology, and strong vertical and lateral reservoir heterogeneity. As a result, the drilling rates are lower and single-well gas productivity varies greatly there. And the reservoir identification results based on seismic data in this area are ambiguous. In view of this, the Deng 4 Member in the Gaoshiti buried structure on the southern flank of the Leshan–Longnüsi palaeohigh was precisely divided in stratigraphy. Then, the types of reservoir assemblages were determined based on gas well logging and test data, and the seismic response characteristics of typical wells with different types of reservoir assemblages and the seismic modes of high productivity wells were studied by using high-resolution seismic data. It is indicated that the Deng 4 Member in this area is divided into three types of reservoir assemblages, which correspond to three seismic modes. Seismic mode I: It presents the seismic response characteristics of “wide wave troughs + double highlights” or “wide wave troughs + complex waves”, indicating that fractures and vugs are developed. It is the preferred seismic mode of high productivity wells in the stage of development. In this mode, the technology of highly deviated wells or horizontal wells can be implemented. Seismic mode II: It presents the seismic response characteristics of “wide wave troughs”, indicating that fractures and vugs are relatively developed. It is the mode of moderate productivity wells. In this mode, the technology of highly deviated wells can be implemented. Seismic mode III: It presents the seismic response characteristics of “wide wave troughs + highlights”, indicating that fractures and vugs are underdeveloped. It is mode of low productivity wells, in which the technology of horizontal wells can be implemented. The new understandings on seismic modes were applied on site. It is shown that the reservoir drilling rate is over 60% and the average gas production rate during the production test of 8 wells is up to 75.34 × 10⁴ m³/d. It is concluded that the seismic mode of high productivity wells based on seismic facies, fracture and vug prediction and integrated target design provides a support for the well arrangement and drilling trajectory adjustment in natural gas exploration and development in the Gaoshiti area and good results have been achieved.

The Shaximiao (SXM) Formation of the Middle Triassic in the central Sichuan Basin is a river-lake sedimentary system with an average burial depth of 2800 m. The channel sand bodies of the SXM Formation in the Qiulin area are developed with large lateral variation and high- and medium-porosity sand. This leads to great differences in the seismic response and difficulty in predicting the sand bodies and reservoirs using P-wave data. We carry out well-log analysis for different types of sand bodies. The no. 8 sand body of high porosity can be effectively identified using P-wave impedance (PI). Whereas for the no. 7 sand body of relatively lower porosity (mainly due to the higher shale content in the no. 7 sand compared with the no. 8 sand), sandstone and mudstone can be distinguished using S-wave impedance (SI), and reservoirs can be recognized by the P- to S-wave velocity ratio (VP/VS). Based on the PP wave and the P-to-S converted wave (PS wave) (after matching) angle-stacked data, a prestack inversion of multicomponent data is performed. Multiwave joint inversion results (SI and VP/VS) have better accuracy and stronger stability than the PP-wave inversion in practical application. In addition, the PI of the joint inversion more clearly describes the distribution and boundaries of the channel sand and better matches the prediction and drilling data in sand 8. The SI of the joint inversion can identify subtle sand bodies (weak PI contrast) that are difficult to be detected by PP-wave inversion. The distribution of the reservoir predicted by the VP/VS of the joint inversion is clearer (the no. 7 sand body) and better than that by the PP-wave inversion. This study demonstrates the advantage of the multiwave joint inversion technology in tight sand identification.