Possibilities of seismic exploration for crystalline basement study

Abstract

Possibilities of seismic methods of reflected and refracted waves have been examined for the purposes of detailed study on crystalline basement structure. Investigation of depth and structure of the basement plays an important role in the exploration of various deposits. Sedimentary cover is usually associated with oil and gas reserves. Ore deposits are formed in the basement rocks, basement splits and structure of its surface have a genetic relation not only to ore minerals, but also to oil resources. Reflection seismology is one of the main seismic methods of investigating structural geometry of the sedimentation mass, forecasting its material composition and possible hydrocarbon reserves. However, its possibilities for investigating crystalline basement are limited. Basing on many years’ experience of reflection seismology and physical modeling it has been identified that actual roughness of basement surface limits the obtainable amount of waves reflected from it. Possibilities of reflection seismology for basement structure study are mostly related to investigation of discontinuous faults as diffraction objects using diffracted waves. Method of refracted waves combined with modern procedures and material processing aimed at getting dynamic seismic sections holds much significance for the basement study, especially in the process of surface mapping and, to a lesser extent, in investigating discontinuous faults. Combining seismic methods of reflected and refracted waves in basement study increases reliability of forecasting its geological structure: in particular, its surface can be well defined by means of refraction seismology, and zones of discontinuous faults are identified from diffraction objects using both reflection and refraction methods. As a result of applying both reflection and refraction seismology, an opportunity arises to carry out detailed analysis of basement structure and to predict its oil and gas content.