Patent ID: 7967069

Claim:
A method for managing a fracturing operation, comprising: positioning a seismic source and at least one seismic receiver near a hydrocarbon reservoir, wherein the at least one seismic receiver is positioned on a surface of the Earth above the hydrocarbon reservoir, and wherein the seismic source produces pressure waves, shear waves or combinations thereof; performing a baseline seismic survey; pumping a fracturing fluid into a well bore of the hydrocarbon reservoir; performing a seismic survey with the seismic source and the at least one seismic receiver during the fracturing operation to generate an image of the hydrocarbon reservoir; identifying locations of the fracturing fluid within subsurface formations in which the hydrocarbon reservoir is located; comparing the baseline seismic survey to the seismic survey performed during the fracturing operation; analyzing one or more differences between an image generated by the baseline seismic survey and the image generated by the seismic survey performed during the fracturing operation; and modifying the fracturing operation based on the differences.