Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Fine 3D Seismic Processing and Quantitative Interpretation of Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs—A Case Study of the Shaximiao Formation in the Yingshan Area, Sichuan Basin
View through CrossRef
Targeting the thinly bedded and strongly heterogeneous tight sandstone gas reservoirs of the Shaximiao Formation in the Yingshan area of the Sichuan Basin, this study establishes an integrated workflow that combines high-fidelity 3D seismic processing with quantitative interpretation to address key challenges such as insufficient resolution of conventional seismic data under complex near-surface conditions and difficulty in depicting sand-body geometries. On the processing side, a 2D-3D integrated amplitude-preserving high-resolution strategy is applied. In contrast to conventional workflows that treat 2D and 3D datasets independently and often sacrifice true-amplitude characteristics during static correction and noise suppression, the proposed approach unifies first-break picking and static-correction parameters across 2D and 3D data while preserving relative amplitude fidelity. Techniques such as true-surface velocity modeling, coherent-noise suppression, and wavelet compression are introduced. As a result, the effective frequency bandwidth of the newly processed data is broadened by approximately 10–16 Hz relative to the legacy dataset, and the imaging of small faults and narrow river-channel boundaries is significantly enhanced. On the interpretation side, ten sublayers within the first member of the Shaximiao Formation are correlated with high precision, yielding the identification of 41 fourth-order local structural units and 122 stratigraphic traps. Through seismic forward modeling and attribute optimization, a set of sensitive attributes suitable for thin-sandstone detection is established. These attributes enable fine-scale characterization of sand-body distributions within the shallow-water delta system, where fluvial control is pronounced, leading to the identification of 364 multi-phase superimposed channels. Based on attribute fusion, rock-physics-constrained inversion, and integrated hydrocarbon-indicator analysis, 147 favorable “sweet spots” are predicted, and six well locations are proposed. The study builds a reservoir-forming model of “deep hydrocarbon generation–upward migration, fault-controlled charging, structural trapping, and microfacies-controlled enrichment,” achieving high-fidelity imaging and quantitative prediction of tight sandstone reservoirs in the Shaximiao Formation. The results provide robust technical support for favorable-zone evaluation and subsequent exploration deployment in the Yingshan area.
Title: Fine 3D Seismic Processing and Quantitative Interpretation of Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs—A Case Study of the Shaximiao Formation in the Yingshan Area, Sichuan Basin
Description:
Targeting the thinly bedded and strongly heterogeneous tight sandstone gas reservoirs of the Shaximiao Formation in the Yingshan area of the Sichuan Basin, this study establishes an integrated workflow that combines high-fidelity 3D seismic processing with quantitative interpretation to address key challenges such as insufficient resolution of conventional seismic data under complex near-surface conditions and difficulty in depicting sand-body geometries.
On the processing side, a 2D-3D integrated amplitude-preserving high-resolution strategy is applied.
In contrast to conventional workflows that treat 2D and 3D datasets independently and often sacrifice true-amplitude characteristics during static correction and noise suppression, the proposed approach unifies first-break picking and static-correction parameters across 2D and 3D data while preserving relative amplitude fidelity.
Techniques such as true-surface velocity modeling, coherent-noise suppression, and wavelet compression are introduced.
As a result, the effective frequency bandwidth of the newly processed data is broadened by approximately 10–16 Hz relative to the legacy dataset, and the imaging of small faults and narrow river-channel boundaries is significantly enhanced.
On the interpretation side, ten sublayers within the first member of the Shaximiao Formation are correlated with high precision, yielding the identification of 41 fourth-order local structural units and 122 stratigraphic traps.
Through seismic forward modeling and attribute optimization, a set of sensitive attributes suitable for thin-sandstone detection is established.
These attributes enable fine-scale characterization of sand-body distributions within the shallow-water delta system, where fluvial control is pronounced, leading to the identification of 364 multi-phase superimposed channels.
Based on attribute fusion, rock-physics-constrained inversion, and integrated hydrocarbon-indicator analysis, 147 favorable “sweet spots” are predicted, and six well locations are proposed.
The study builds a reservoir-forming model of “deep hydrocarbon generation–upward migration, fault-controlled charging, structural trapping, and microfacies-controlled enrichment,” achieving high-fidelity imaging and quantitative prediction of tight sandstone reservoirs in the Shaximiao Formation.
The results provide robust technical support for favorable-zone evaluation and subsequent exploration deployment in the Yingshan area.
Related Results
Development characteristics and main controlling factors of tight sandstone reservoirs in the Shaximiao Formation in Zitong area, Sichuan Basin, China
Development characteristics and main controlling factors of tight sandstone reservoirs in the Shaximiao Formation in Zitong area, Sichuan Basin, China
The shallow water delta sand bodies within the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in the Sichuan Basin play a crucial role in tight gas exploration. The efficient exploration of these ar...
Comparisons of Pore Structure for Unconventional Tight Gas, Coalbed Methane and Shale Gas Reservoirs
Comparisons of Pore Structure for Unconventional Tight Gas, Coalbed Methane and Shale Gas Reservoirs
Extended abstract
Tight sands gas, coalbed methane and shale gas are three kinds of typical unconventional natural gas. With the decrease of conventional oil and gas...
Characterization and Spatial Distribution of Sand Group Architecture and Channel Types in Tight Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study From the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of the Jinqiu Gas Field in the Central Sichuan Basin of China
Characterization and Spatial Distribution of Sand Group Architecture and Channel Types in Tight Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study From the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of the Jinqiu Gas Field in the Central Sichuan Basin of China
There is an abundance of tight gas resources in narrow channel sand‐bodies from the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of the Jinqiu gas field in the central Sichuan Basin of China. The ...
The Reservoir Characteristics Study on Yingshan Formation of the Ancient City-Lowuplift in Tarim Basin
The Reservoir Characteristics Study on Yingshan Formation of the Ancient City-Lowuplift in Tarim Basin
Abstract
The oil and gas exploration has been broken through in ordovician-Yingshan formation of the lower Paleozoic in ancient city-low uplift, in Tarim Basin. The ...
Application of vertical seismic profile multi-component data to tight sandstone gas reservoirs
Application of vertical seismic profile multi-component data to tight sandstone gas reservoirs
Abstract
Given the complex geological characteristics of the tight gas sandstone in the Shaximiao Formation of the Jurassic in the central Sichuan Basin, including i...
Understanding Unconventional Gas Reservoir Damages
Understanding Unconventional Gas Reservoir Damages
Abstract
It is estimated that there are large reserves of unconventional gas located throughout the world, including coalbed methane, shale gas and tight gas sand...
Formation Damage in Tight Gas Reservoirs
Formation Damage in Tight Gas Reservoirs
Abstract
The increased demand for more sources of clean energy such as natural gas from unconventional reservoirs has forced the industry to explore the more challen...
Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Formation Water From the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Tight Sandstone in the Xiaoquan-Fenggu Structural Belt, Western Sichuan Depression, China
Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Formation Water From the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Tight Sandstone in the Xiaoquan-Fenggu Structural Belt, Western Sichuan Depression, China
Formation water represents an important driving force and carrier for the migration and accumulation of oil and gas; thus, research on its origin is a hot spot in petroleum geology...

