Publications

Many researchers have been using passive seismic in several oil and gas industry applications due to its low cost, simple and quick deployment. This paper aims to demonstrate the applicability of the passive seismic analyses for hydrocarbon prospecting. This paper presents a case study of anomaly spectral density (ASD) in the North Sumatra Basin (NSB) Indonesia. A portable seismometer was deployed to 47 locations in the (NSB) areas for collecting the noise data. At each survey location, noise measurement was carried out for at least 40 minutes at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz. Then, the power spectrum of a time series analysis was carried out to describe the distribution of power into frequency components composing that signal, from which the anomaly spectral density is justified. Results are as follow: a) spectral calculated from the collected data over the measured fields are presented; b) spectral deduced from the acquired data of all measured locations suggests very weak to weak spectral anomaly of 1-6Hz, which suggests no oil field prospects in the study site; and c) microtremor attributes were mapped and compared with gravity anomaly and geological maps of the investigated site. A reasonable outcome is suggested by comparing the result of the anomaly spectral density map of the present study to the geological map of the investigated site. In conclusion, the passive seismic data analysis is a promising tool for optimizing well placement during exploration, appraisal, and development as no artificial seismic excitation sources are required.