Regular Article

HF/HR VSP acquisition, processing, and interpretation in the deviated section of the high-angle geothermal borehole of Grigny GGR5, targeting intra-Dogger thin, porous beds

¹ IFPEN, 1 et 4, Avenue de Bois-Préau – BP311, 92852 Rueil Malmaison Cedex, France
² VSPROWESS Ltd, Greenways Greenway Lane, Wiveliscombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 2UX, UK
³ CDPconsulting, 7 Boulevard Chanzy, 41000 Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France
⁴ Avalon Sciences Ltd/ASL, Avalon House Somerton Business Park, Somerton TA11 6SB, UK

^* Corresponding author: charles.naville@ifpen.fr

Received: 10 April 2024
Accepted: 19 June 2024

Abstract

Defining 5 m thin, or even thinner, porous reservoir beds was the feasibility objective assigned to the High Frequency/High Resolution (HF/HR) look ahead VSP survey to be recorded in the deviated section of a geothermal production well drilled down to the top of the carbonate Dogger aquifer in the Paris basin, around 1500 m in vertical depth, with a landing angle of 65°. The idea was to predict the depth of the first porous bed(s) to be drilled at a high angle, and to determine the minimal DLS (Dog Leg Severity) to be applied by the driller after setting a production casing at the top Dogger level and changing the drilling fluid composition, to avoid directional drilling with sharp angles. A 50–100 m vertical depth range was targeted for the acoustic impedance to be predicted below the top Dogger carbonate aquifer. Besides, a Pilot Hole (PH) was drilled prior to the high-angle leg to assess with full reliability the depth of productive thin beds to be subsequently drilled at a high angle. These actions were undertaken within a global R&D project named “SISMOSUB” aiming reservoir characterization, conducted by the reservoir and drilling engineers of GEOFLUID/GPCIP, in partnership with IFPEN, and partially financed by ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition). High Frequency (HF) VSP still represents a frontier seismic domain to investigate, for which technical difficulties are piling up: First, the surface fix source needs to be extremely repeatable and preferably deliver an increased amount of HF energy to compensate somehow for the higher loss of seismic amplitudes with high frequency. Second, the downhole receiver tool or tool string may not present constant vector fidelity of 3 component reception over the whole recording frequency range, mainly in high frequency, due to mechanical coupling characteristics of the VSP tool hardware and the open borehole ruggedness; in cased hole, the mechanical coupling of the VSP tool to the formation is insured by a good cementing quality between casing and borehole wall. Third, the physics of the seismic attenuation is not fully understood and depends on several factors, mainly viscoelasticity and heterogeneity, potentially variable in depth and laterally to the wellbore. Additionally, the geometrical spreading represents the main factor of amplitude decay, independent from frequency, and can be estimated at the processing stage. Surprisingly, the VSP image produced underneath the deviated hole section evidenced a faulted structure. A remarkable abrupt amplitude loss of high frequencies above 120 Hz occurs where the direct P-wave ray crosses one of the confirmed minor faults before reaching Total Depth (TD); secondary downgoing arrivals appear locally in-depth, mainly in the high frequencies, which are not strictly parallel to the first P-wave arrival…