Virtual Source Home

Virtual Source Home

Andrey Bakulin and Rodney Calvert developed Virtual Source Method at Bellaire Technology Center of Shell during 2001-2006 and Shell obtained an early patent on it. We have been influenced by impressive experimental work of Prof. Fink group that utilized time-reversal acoustics to various focusing applications. We figured out that after focusing at a receiver the time-reversed propagation repeats the forward propagation as if the wavefield was emitted from a Virtual Source at this point. It is nicely illustrated by de Rosny and Fink movie that came along in the right time.

Once time-reversal connection was in place – all applications became obvious: imaging below complex overburden, monitoring below changing near surface, Virtual Shear Source etc. etc. Virtual Source technology has received multiple awards:

· 2007 E&P Special Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation from Hart E & P. Here are few pictures and a little video from this event.

· Milestone article “The Virtual Source method: theory and case study” by Andrey Bakulin and Rodney Calvert received Honorable Mention in the category of Best paper in Geophysics in 2006.

· Presentation “Virtual Shear Checkshot with airguns” by Andrey Bakulin, Albena Mateeva, Rodney Calvert, and Patsy Jorgensen, received SEG award for Best Paper Presented at SEG 2006 meeting.

Milestone publications and presentations

2008

· Bakulin, A. and A. Mateeva, 2008, Estimating interval shear-wave splitting from multicomponent virtual shear check shots: Geophysics, 73, N 5, A39-A43 [paper]

· Bakulin, A. and R. Calvert , 2008, Virtual Source Method: overview of history and development: 77th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 2726-2729 [paper]

· Mehta, K., A. Bakulin, D. Kiyashchenko, and J. Lopez, 2008, Comparing virtual versus real crosswell surveys: 77th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 1372-1375 [paper]

· Mazumdar, P., A. Mateeva, and A. Bakulin, 2008, Azimuthal Anisotropy Characterization with Multicomponent Virtual Shear Sources at Rulison Field, Colorado: 77th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 1372-1375 [paper]

· van der Neut, J. and A. Bakulin, 2008, The effects of time-gating and radiation correction on Virtual Source data: 77th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 2922-2925 [paper]

· Korneev, V., A. Bakulin, and J. Lopez, 2008, Imaging and monitoring with Virtual Sources on a synthetic 3D dataset from the Middle East: 77th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 3204-3207 [paper]

2007

· Bakulin, A., Mateeva, A., Calvert, R., Jorgensen, P., and Lopez, J., 2007, Virtual Shear Source makes shear waves with airguns: Geophysics, 72, A7-A11 [paper]

· Mehta, K., Bakulin, A., Sheiman, J., Calvert, R., and Sneider, R., 2007, Improving the virtual source method by wave-field separation: Geophysics, 74, V79-V86 [paper]

· Bakulin, A., Mateeva, A., Mehta, K., Jorgensen, P., Sinha Herhold, I., and Lopez, J., 2007, Virtual Source applications to imaging and reservoir monitoring: The Leading Edge, N 6 [paper]

· Mateeva, A., Ferrandis, J., Bakulin, A., Jorgensen, P., Gentry, C., and Lopez, J., 2007, Steering Virtual Sources for salt and subsalt imaging: 76th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 3044-3048 [paper]

· Bakulin, A., J. Lopez, A. Mateeva, I. Sinha Herhold, 2007, Onshore monitoring with virtual-source seismic in horizontal wells: Challenges and solutions: 76th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 2893-2897 [paper]

2006

· Bakulin, A., and Calvert, R. , 2006, The Virtual Source method: theory and case study: Geophysics, 71, SI139-SI150. [paper]

· Korneev, V., and Bakulin, A., 2006, On the fundamentals of the Virtual Source method: Geophysics, 71, A13-A17. [paper]

· Bakulin, A., Mateeva, A., Calvert, R., Jorgensen, P., 2006, Virtual Shear Checkshot with airguns: 76th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 3437-3441. [paper] [presentation]

· Mateeva, A., Bakulin, A., Jorgensen, P., and Lopez, J., 2006, Accurate estimation of subsalt velocities using Virtual Checkshots, Offshore Technology Conference, OTC 17869 [paper]

2005

· Bakulin, A. and Calvert, R., 2005, Virtual Shear Source: a new method for shear-wave seismic surveys: 75th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 2633-2636. [paper] [presentation]

· Bakulin, A. and Calvert, R., 2005, Seismic imaging and monitoring with Virtual Sources: 75th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Workshop on Seismic Interferometry, Daylight Imaging and Time Reversal [Poster]

2004

· Bakulin, A. and Calvert, R., 2004, Virtual Source: new method for imaging and 4D below complex overburden: 74th Annual International Meeting, SEG, Expanded Abstracts, 2477-2480. [paper] [presentation]

2003

· Bakulin, A. and Calvert, R., 2003, The Virtual Source Method: Shell International E & P report EP2003-3015 (January 2003) [title page]

Updated: December 27, 2006

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Updated: May 30, 2007, Andrey Bakulin