Abstract

Presence of natural fractures in hydrocarbon reservoirs results in directional variation of permeability. As the natural fractures have apertures much smaller than the wavelength of seismic waves used in exploration, the observable seismic attributes are velocity anisotropy, shear wave splitting and variation of reflection amplitudes with offset and azimuth (AVOA). Fracture attributes, viz. Fracture orientation, fracture density and fracture infill can be estimated from the analysis of AVOA data. Knowledge of fracture attributes serves as key parameters for drilling operation in a fractured reservoir for enhanced recovery of oil and gas.