Schlumberger’s microseismic system doubles signal-to-noise ratio in shale completion

Schlumberger has introduced the MS Recon high-fidelity microseismic surface acquisition system. The microseismic system for surface and shallow grid microseismic surveys provides improved imaging of the hydraulic fracture geometry by optimizing the microseismic signal quality.

In field trials conducted at an operator wellsite in Texas, the MS Recon system and a conventional system were deployed to monitor hydraulic fracture treatments in a horizontal shale completion. The field data analysis concluded the microseismic system improved the sensitivity to smaller microseismic events by boosting the signal-to-noise ratio more than two-fold compared to the conventional system.

“The new microseismic surface acquisition system addresses the challenges of detecting small microseismic signals emitted during hydraulic fracturing at the surface and near-surface locations,” said Joseph Elkhoury, vice president and general manager, microseismic services, Schlumberger. “The MS Recon system improves signal-to-noise ratio during acquisition, enabling the detection of many more microseismic events than conventional systems. This provides our customers with a better understanding of their stimulation operations, allowing them to optimize completion design and potentially increase production.”

The microseismic system features a proprietary geophone accelerometer and ultra-low noise electronics to produce a range of signal detectability. The nodal-based wireless acquisition system also provides customers increased flexibility in designing and deploying the surface and near-surface arrays. GPS-synchronized data are acquired continuously and transmitted to a real-time operations support center, providing customers with data processing and expert interpretation.

MS Recon is a mark of Schlumberger.