While geophysical reservoir characterization has been an area of research for the last three decades, geophysical reservoir monitoring, time-lapse studies, have recently become an important geophysical application. Generally speaking, the main target is to detect, estimate, and discriminate the changes in subsurface rock properties due to production. This research develops various sensitivity and feasibility analyses to investigate the effects of production-induced time-lapse changes on geophysical measurements including seismic and controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) data. For doing so, a realistic reservoir model is numerically simulated based on a prograding near-shore sandstone reservoir. To account for the spatial distribution of petrophysical properties, an effective porosity model is first simulated by Gaussian geostatistics. Dispersed clay and dual water models are then efficiently combined with other well-known theoretical and experimental petrophysical correlations to consistently simulate reservoir model parameters. Next, the constructed reservoir model is subjected to numerical simulation of multi-phase fluid flow to replicate a waterflooding scenario of a black oil reservoir and to predict the spatial distributions of fluid pressure and saturation. A modified Archie’s equation for shaly sandstones is utilized to simulate rock resistivity. Finally, a geologically consistent stress-sensitive rock physics model, combined with the modified Gassmann theory for shaly sandstones, is utilized to simulate seismic elastic parameters. As a result, the comprehensive petro-electro-elastic model developed in this dissertation can be efficiently utilized in sensitivity and feasibility analyses of seismic/CSEM data with respect to petrophysical properties and, ultimately, applied to reservoir characterization and monitoring research. Using the resistivity models, a base and two monitor time-lapse CSEM surveys are simulated via accurate numerical algorithms. 2.5D CSEM modeling demonstrates that a detectable time-lapse signal after 5 years and a strong time-lapse signal after 10 years of waterflooding are attainable with the careful application of currently available CSEM technology. To simulate seismic waves, I employ different seismic modeling algorithms, one-dimensional (1D) acoustic and elastic ray tracing, 1D full elastic reflectivity, 2D split-step Fourier plane-wave (SFPW), and 2D stagger grid explicit finite difference (FD). My analyses demonstrate that acoustic modeling of an elastic medium is a good approximation up to ray parameter (p) equal to 0.2 sec/km. However, at p=0.3 sec/km, differences between elastic and acoustic wave propagation is the more dominant effect compared to internal multiples. Here, converted waves are also generated with significant amplitudes compared to primaries and internal multiples. I also show that time-lapse modeling of the reservoir using SFPW approach is very fast compared to FD, 100 times faster for my case here. It is capable of handling higher frequencies than FD. It provides an accurate image of the waterflooding process comparable to FD. Consequently, it is a powerful alternative for time-lapse seismic modeling. I conclude that both seismic and CSEM data have adequate but different sensitivities to changes in reservoir properties and therefore have the potential to quantitatively map production-induced time-lapse changes. / text

In this dissertation, the framework is being developed for a new method to predict the settlements of shallow foundations on granular soil based on field seismic and laboratory dynamic tests. The new method combines small-strain seismic measurements in the field with nonlinear measurements in the field and/or in the laboratory. The small-strain shear modulus (Gmax ) of granular soil and the stress dependency of Gmax is determined from the shear wave velocity measurements in the field. Normalized shear modulus (G/Gmax ) versus log shear strain(log [gamma]) curves are determined from field or laboratory measurements or from empirical relationships. The G/Gmax -- log [gamma] curves and Gmax values are combined to determine the shear stress-shear strain response of granular soil starting from strains of 0.0001% up to 0.2-0.5%. The shear stress-shear strain responses at strains beyond 1.0-2.0 % are evaluated by adjusting the normalized shear modulus curves to larger-strain triaxial test data. A user defined soil model (MoDaMP) combines these relationships and incorporates the effect of increasing confining pressure during foundation loading. The MoDaMP is implemented in a finite element program, PLAXIS, via a subroutine. Measured settlements from load-settlement tests at three different sites where field seismic and laboratory dynamic measurements are available, are compared with the predicted settlements using MoDaMP. Predictions with MoDaMP are also compared with predictions with two commonly used methods based on Standard Penetration and Cone Penetration tests. The comparison of the predicted settlements with the measured settlements show that the new method developed in this research works well in working stress ranges. The capability of the new method has significant benefits in hard-to-sample soils such as in large-grained soils with cobbles and cemented soils where conventional penetration test methods fail to capture the behavior of the soil. The new method is an effective-stress analysis which has applicability to slower-draining soils such as plastic silts and clays. / text