Analysis of seismic dispersion and attenuation for gas-hydrate formations in the South China Sea

Existing studies indicate that gas hydrate-bearing formations exhibit notable seismic velocity dispersion and attenuation. The Shenhu area of the South China Sea hold significant gas hydrate resource potential; however, the relationship between seismic velocity dispersion, attenuation properties, and gas-hydrate saturation remains insufficiently understood. Furthermore, a significant mismatch exists between the real seismic angle gather near a well and the synthetic angle gather generated using the convolution method, and this discrepancy may arise from the seismic velocity dispersion and attenuation characteristics of the gas hydrate-bearing formations. In this paper, we develop a rock physics model that integrates White’s and Dvorkin’s models, accounting for varied types of gas-hydrate occurrence states, specifically tailored to the gas hydrate-bearing formations in the Shenhu area. This model is calibrated with well log data and employed to investigate how gas-hydrate saturation influences seismic velocity dispersion and attenuation. Numerical analysis reveals the coexistence of two types of gas-hydrate occurrence states in the region: high gas-hydrate saturation formations are dominated by load-bearing-type gas hydrate, and formations containing both gas hydrate and free gas may exhibit either load-bearing or pore-filling types. The seismic velocity dispersion and attenuation properties vary significantly depending on the gas-hydrate occurrence state. We further apply the proposed model to generate seismic velocity and attenuation logs at various frequencies. These logs are used in seismic forward employing both the convolution method and the propagator matrix method. Well tie analysis indicates that the synthetic angle gather incorporating attenuation via the propagator matrix method aligns more closely with the real seismic angle gather than the convolution method. This study provides valuable insights into frequency-dependent amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis and the seismic interpretation of gas hydrate-bearing formations in the South China Sea.