The added value of joint PP–PS inversion for reservoir characterization: A case study using Jubarte PRM seismic data (offshore Brazil)

ABSTRACT The added value of the joint pre‐stack inversion of PP (incident P‐wave and reflected P‐wave) and PS (incident P‐wave and reflected S‐wave) seismic data for the time‐lapse application is shown. We focus on the application of this technique to the time‐lapse (four‐dimensional) multicomponent Jubarte field permanent reservoir monitoring seismic data. The joint inversion results are less sensitive to noise in the input data and show a better match with the rock physics models calibrated for the field. Further, joint inversion improves S‐impedance estimates and provides a more robust quantitative interpretation, allowing enhanced differentiation between pore pressure and fluid saturation changes, which will be extremely useful for reservoir management. Small changes in reservoir properties are expected in the short time between the time‐lapse seismic acquisitions used in the Jubarte project (only 1 year apart). The attempt to recover subtle fourth‐dimensional effects via elastic inversion is recurrent in reservoir characterization projects, either due to the small sensitivity of the reservoirs to fluid and pressure changes or the short interval between the acquisitions. Therefore, looking for methodologies that minimize the uncertainty of fourth‐dimensional inversion outputs is of fundamental importance. Here, we also show the differences between PP only and joint PP–PS inversion workflows and parameterizations that can be applied in other projects. We show the impact of using multicomponent data as input for elastic seismic inversions in the analysis of the time‐lapse differences of the elastic properties. The larger investment in the acquisition and processing of multicomponent seismic data is shown to be justified by the improved results from the fourth‐dimensional joint inversion.