Estimating subsurface stress direction and intensity from surface full azimuth land data

Abstract

Having indicators of stress direction and intensity is a valuable exploration tool especially in unconventional plays. Observations using full azimuth land data will be presented here and also compared to field observations. We show that by splitting the data into azimuthal sectors, provided very moderate dip, alignment and amplitude of the reflections indicates azimuthal anisotropy. We will also show that phase and well ties improve with azimuthal processing. Observations can be made on velocities, but are limited by filtering and vertical resolution. Interval velocities indicate azimuthal variations, but these methods can only be used as a first order observation, and should be confirmed by AVOA. Wells have been drilled in our study area where anisotropic seismic attributes compare favorably with FMI scans.