Velocity anisotropy measurements in wells

Abstract Sedimentary rocks are generally anisotropic to the propagation of seismic waves. Anisotropy can be defined as the difference between propagation time predicted by the simple theory of Snell's Law and observed propagation time between two points in a layered medium that lie on a line oblique to the layers. This difference can be explained by the more complicated theory of wave propagation in transversely isotropic materials. In the zone about the vertical that is of interest in reflection seismology, the effect of anisotropy usually can be described geometrically by an anisotropy factor A. This simple description is not valid for propagation directions making large angles with the normal to the layers.The anisotropy factor as well as the vertical velocity can vary with depth. A method is given for determining the factor A as a function of depth from a continuous velocity log and a range of oblique shots into a well phone. The method is applied to two field examples. In one of the examples, it is shown by data obtained from the larger shooting distances that the simple A factor description is inadequate for higher angles of propagation direction.