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(tel) 617.253.8027 (fax) 617.253.6385 |
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Peering
Into the Soul of the Earth:
Borehole Geophysics
The
extraction of petrochemical resources from the earth requires the drilling
of wells or "boreholes." These act as conduits to extract resources,
a means to access and image reservoirs (e.g., Vertical Seismic Profiling,
Cross Well Imaging) and perform a variety of procedures to enhance the recovery
of resources (e.g., hydro fracturing, steam or Carbon Dioxide flooding). Borehole
Geophysics is concerned with understanding the near-borehole environment by
measuring and interpreting a variety of measurements (acoustic, resistivity)
made in boreholes. Rock properties estimated from these measurements are then
collated by depth to obtain a map of rock layering and to locate oil/gas bearing
layers.
The acoustic tools used for this purpose consist of one or more acoustic sources
and linear array of receivers. ERL research is aimed at improving the understanding
of such measurements through modeling, ultrasonic scale experiments, and field
data analysis. We have built and tested three generations of acoustic tools
to test different transducer configurations. This is complemented by 3D finite
difference and finite element modeling, along with novel processing methods
in order to improve the interpretation of today’s data and to motivate
the next generation of measurements.
