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Reef delineation by offset vertical seismic profiling and seismic diffractions
ALEXER KLOKOV1 ,
DAMIR IRKABAEV2 ,
TATIANA SHAROVA2 ,
NAIL MUNASYPOV3
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1
Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, University Station, Box X, Austin, TX 78713-8924, U.S.A.,
2
SPC Geotra, 3 Luganskaya St., Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, 450071, Russia.,
3
Bashneftegeofizika, 13 Lenina St., Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, 450000, Russia.,
JSE 2015, 24(2), 135–150;
Submitted: 9 June 2025 | Revised: 9 June 2025 | Accepted: 9 June 2025 | Published: 9 June 2025
© 2025 by the Authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract
Klokoy, A., Irkabaev, D., Sharova, T. and Munasypov, N., 2015. Reef delineation by offset vertical seismic profiling and seismic diffractions. Journal of Seismic Exploration, 24: 135-150. A reef is a geologic body that typically has irregular edges. The complex geometry of reef margins produces scattering of seismic energy that attenuates reflections and complicates reef characterization by conventional seismic attribute analysis. On the other hand, this scattering provides abundant diffraction waves that bring information about the reef. In this paper, we extract diffractions from offset vertical seismic profiling data and use these diffractions to delineate a reef deposited in the Volga Region of Russia. First, we construct diffraction images for each acquisition azimuth that allows detection of scattering objects. Then, we locate each scatterer around the borehole by performing polarization analysis of corresponding diffraction events. The located diffractors outline the reef body. The diffraction analysis is combined with conventional instantaneous amplitude analysis.
Keywords
diffraction imaging
borehole geophysics
VSP
multicomponent
shear waves
interpretation
carbonate
reef
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