Gang Cui
Gang Cui has a total of 10 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Handong Huang
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
3 shared publications - Hao Chen
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
2 shared publications - Jiahui Peng
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
2 shared publications - Yaning Wu
CNOOC China Limited, Tianjin Branch, Tianjin 100083, China
2 shared publications - Jing Zeng
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
1 shared publication - Jun Gao
Sinopec Exploration and Production Research Institute, Beijing 100083, China
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 21 June 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
- Vol. 14 (12) , 1138
Direct Prestack Inversion of the Formation Pressure Coefficient for Deepwater Overpressured Reservoirs
Accurate prediction of overpressured formations in deepwater is important for drilling safety and reservoir evaluation. However, conventional two-step inversion workflows are affected by cumulative errors and parameter crosstalk, which limits their ability to characterize the sharp pressure-transition interfaces at the top of overpressured zones. In this study, we propose a direct prestack nonlinear inversion method for the formation pressure coefficient (), a dimensionless and drilling-relevant indicator of overpressure intensity. Unlike previous exact-Zoeppritz direct inversions that target effective stress or elastic moduli, here a single formation pressure coefficient drives the pressure-sensitive rock-physics chain—linking pore pressure, effective stress, and pore-space stiffness to the seismic response—thereby reducing the number of free inversion variables. This single-parameter mapping is then coupled with the exact Zoeppritz equation to build a nonlinear prestack forward operator, helping to reduce the parameter coupling and error propagation associated with conventional multiparameter inversion workflows. To describe the typical blocky structural features of overpressured strata, a nonconvex Lp-norm (0 < p < 1) regularization is introduced as a structural prior, and a decoupled optimization strategy combining the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) is developed for a stable solution. In a single pseudo-well synthetic test, the proposed method achieved a higher correlation coefficient and lower root mean square error (RMSE) than the indirect workflow, indicating improved agreement with the reference formation-pressure-coefficient profile. Application to field seismic data from the Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea, shows that the method produces clearer pressure-transition boundaries and pressure-coefficient profiles more consistent with the available well constraints. These results suggest that, under the tested conditions, the proposed method can provide useful geophysical support for pressure prediction and the characterization of deepwater overpressured reservoirs.- 21 June 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
- Vol. 14 (12) , 1138
Open AccessDirect Prestack Inversion of the Formation Pressure Coefficient for Deepwater Overpressured Reservoirs
Accurate prediction of overpressured formations in deepwater is important for drilling safety and reservoir evaluation. However, conventional two-step inversion workflows are affected by cumulative errors and parameter crosstalk, which limits their ability to characterize the sharp pressure-transition interfaces at the top of overpressured zones. In this study, we propose a direct prestack nonlinear inversion method for the formation pressure coefficient (), a dimensionless and drilling-relevant indicator of overpressure intensity. Unlike previous exact-Zoeppritz direct inversions that target effective stress or elastic moduli, here a single formation pressure coefficient drives the pressure-sensitive rock-physics chain—linking pore pressure, effective stress, and pore-space stiffness to the seismic response—thereby reducing the number of free inversion variables. This single-parameter mapping is then coupled with the exact Zoeppritz equation to build a nonlinear prestack forward operator, helping to reduce the parameter coupling and error propagation associated with conventional multiparameter inversion workflows. To describe the typical blocky structural features of overpressured strata, a nonconvex Lp-norm (0 < p < 1) regularization is introduced as a structural prior, and a decoupled optimization strategy combining the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) is developed for a stable solution. In a single pseudo-well synthetic test, the proposed method achieved a higher correlation coefficient and lower root mean square error (RMSE) than the indirect workflow, indicating improved agreement with the reference formation-pressure-coefficient profile. Application to field seismic data from the Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea, shows that the method produces clearer pressure-transition boundaries and pressure-coefficient profiles more consistent with the available well constraints. These results suggest that, under the tested conditions, the proposed method can provide useful geophysical support for pressure prediction and the characterization of deepwater overpressured reservoirs. - Open Access
- 9 May 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in Applied Sciences
- Vol. 16 (10) , 4689
Structure-Guided Directional-Decomposition Lp–L2 Regularization for Prestack Multi-Parameter Seismic Inversion
In prestack seismic inversion for structurally complex areas, elastic parameters commonly show strong directional heterogeneity (layer-parallel continuity versus cross-layer discontinuities), so conventional structure-guided schemes based on isotropic regularization often struggle to achieve both numerical stability and sharp interface resolution. To address this issue, we develop a structure-oriented, direction-decomposed Lp-L2 regularization method for prestack multi-trace joint inversion of P-wave velocity (Vp), S-wave velocity (Vs), and density (ρ). Dip information extracted from poststack seismic data is used to construct a dip-guided directional operator that locally projects the Cartesian model-gradient field onto the tangential and normal directions of the structural field, corresponding to along-layer and cross-layer components, respectively. Different priors are then imposed: L2 smoothing along layers enhances lateral continuity and stabilizes the inversion, whereas a nonconvex Lp sparsity constraint across layers concentrates updates at a limited number of geological discontinuities and preserves sharp contrasts at faults and bed boundaries, thereby mitigating the over-smoothing typical of dip-guided L2 inversion. The resulting formulation is embedded in a linearized prestack Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) framework and solved efficiently using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. Synthetic tests and field-data applications demonstrate improved delineation of faults and thin-bed boundaries under noise, with reduced errors and higher correlation relative to a classical structure-guided L2 approach. These results indicate that the proposed method provides a practical and effective route for high-resolution prestack elastic-parameter characterization in complex tectonic settings.
- 9 May 2026
- Published by MDPI AG in Applied Sciences
- Vol. 16 (10) , 4689
Open AccessStructure-Guided Directional-Decomposition Lp–L2 Regularization for Prestack Multi-Parameter Seismic Inversion
In prestack seismic inversion for structurally complex areas, elastic parameters commonly show strong directional heterogeneity (layer-parallel continuity versus cross-layer discontinuities), so conventional structure-guided schemes based on isotropic regularization often struggle to achieve both numerical stability and sharp interface resolution. To address this issue, we develop a structure-oriented, direction-decomposed Lp-L2 regularization method for prestack multi-trace joint inversion of P-wave velocity (Vp), S-wave velocity (Vs), and density (ρ). Dip information extracted from poststack seismic data is used to construct a dip-guided directional operator that locally projects the Cartesian model-gradient field onto the tangential and normal directions of the structural field, corresponding to along-layer and cross-layer components, respectively. Different priors are then imposed: L2 smoothing along layers enhances lateral continuity and stabilizes the inversion, whereas a nonconvex Lp sparsity constraint across layers concentrates updates at a limited number of geological discontinuities and preserves sharp contrasts at faults and bed boundaries, thereby mitigating the over-smoothing typical of dip-guided L2 inversion. The resulting formulation is embedded in a linearized prestack Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) framework and solved efficiently using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. Synthetic tests and field-data applications demonstrate improved delineation of faults and thin-bed boundaries under noise, with reduced errors and higher correlation relative to a classical structure-guided L2 approach. These results indicate that the proposed method provides a practical and effective route for high-resolution prestack elastic-parameter characterization in complex tectonic settings.
- Open Access
Pre-Stack Seismic Data-Driven Pre-Salt Carbonate Reef Reservoirs Characterization Methods and Application
Carbonate reservoirs have significant reserves globally, but the substantial heterogeneity brings intractable difficulties to exploration. In the work area, the thick salt rock reduces the resolution of pre-salt seismic signals and increases the difficulty of reservoir characterization. Therefore, this paper proposes to utilize wavelet frequency decomposition technology to depict the seismic blank reflection area’s signal and improve the pre-salt signal’s resolution. The high-precision pre-stack inversion based on Bayesian theory makes full use of information from various angles and simultaneously inverts multiple elastic parameters, effectively depicting reservoirs with substantial heterogeneity. Integrating the high-precision inversion results and the Kuster-Toksöz model, a porosity prediction method is proposed. The inversion results are consistent with the drilling rock samples and well-logging porosity results. Moreover, the reef’s accumulation and growth, which conform to the geological information, proves the accuracy of the above methods. This paper also discusses the seismic reflection characteristics of reefs and the influence of different lithological reservoirs on the seismic waveform response characteristics through forward modeling, which better proves the rationality of porosity inversion results. It provides a new set of ideas for future pre-salt carbonate reef reservoirs’ prediction and characterization methods.
Open AccessPre-Stack Seismic Data-Driven Pre-Salt Carbonate Reef Reservoirs Characterization Methods and Application
Carbonate reservoirs have significant reserves globally, but the substantial heterogeneity brings intractable difficulties to exploration. In the work area, the thick salt rock reduces the resolution of pre-salt seismic signals and increases the difficulty of reservoir characterization. Therefore, this paper proposes to utilize wavelet frequency decomposition technology to depict the seismic blank reflection area’s signal and improve the pre-salt signal’s resolution. The high-precision pre-stack inversion based on Bayesian theory makes full use of information from various angles and simultaneously inverts multiple elastic parameters, effectively depicting reservoirs with substantial heterogeneity. Integrating the high-precision inversion results and the Kuster-Toksöz model, a porosity prediction method is proposed. The inversion results are consistent with the drilling rock samples and well-logging porosity results. Moreover, the reef’s accumulation and growth, which conform to the geological information, proves the accuracy of the above methods. This paper also discusses the seismic reflection characteristics of reefs and the influence of different lithological reservoirs on the seismic waveform response characteristics through forward modeling, which better proves the rationality of porosity inversion results. It provides a new set of ideas for future pre-salt carbonate reef reservoirs’ prediction and characterization methods.