Near-Borehole Imaging Using Full-Waveform Sonic Data

Abstract

This work presents a full waveform sonic (FWS) dataset processing to generate high-resolution images of the near-borehole area. The dataset was acquired in a nearly horizontal well over a distance of 5400 feet. Multiple formation boundaries can be identified on the final image and tracked at up to 200 feet deep, along the wellbore's trajectory. We first present a new preprocessing sequence to prepare the sonic data for imaging. This sequence leverages denoising algorithms used in conventional surface seismic data processing to remove unwanted components of the recorded data that could harm the imaging results. We then apply a reverse time migration algorithm to the data at different processing stages to assess the impact of the main processing steps on the final image.