Seismic Modeling of the Eagle Ford — How Do Changes of Geological Facies Affect the Seismic Response?

Abstract

This paper utilizes synthetic models of the Eagle Ford to identify how variation of lithological facies across the regional extent of the Eagle Ford affects its seismic response. I apply three different modeling methods at seven different locations across the Eagle Ford: 1) Linear regression of petrophysical cross-plots that extrapolate velocity and density log values through calculated brightness logs treated as gamma ray proxies, 2) synthetic seismograms convolved with 30Hz and 60Hz Ricker wavelets, and 3) simplified upscaled models derived by an automated log blocking code based on a Monte Carlo procedure. Results reveal acceptable synthetic seismograms representative of the geology can be created using unconventional methods. The regional seismic responses exhibit similar time duration and seismic characters, but the number of cycles within the Eagle Ford varies with respect to internal variation and the interpreted boundaries change with respect to the facies distribution.