Multi-component processing for seismic while drilling

1 . A method for providing stacked multi-component seismic while drilling (SWD) seismic waveforms, the method comprising:

obtaining, by at least one processor, multi-component SWD seismic waveforms associated with a planned well, wherein:

the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms include pressure waveform components and shear waveform components;

obtaining multi-component seismic SWD waveforms comprises:

obtaining the pressure waveform components from one or more hydrophones located downhole in the planned well; and

obtaining the shear waveform components from one or more geophones located downhole in the planned well;

the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms include sets of seismic traces;

each seismic trace is associated with the pressure waveform components received at one of the one or more hydrophones or the shear waveform components received at one of the one or more geophones during a time window; and

each set of seismic traces is associated with a shot;

pre-processing, at the at least one processor, the multi-component seismic SWD waveforms to generate an ordered subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein pre-processing the multi-component seismic SWD waveforms comprises:

detrending the seismic traces to zero mean;

filtering, with a first high pass filter, the seismic traces;

determining root mean squares of the seismic traces;

normalizing the root mean squares of the seismic traces;

filtering, with a second high pass filter, the seismic traces;

extracting seismic waveform signatures from the filtered seismic traces;

determining signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for the filtered seismic traces;

ordering the filtered seismic traces in order of the determined SNRs for the filtered seismic traces; and

selecting a subset of the filtered seismic traces based on the ordering of the filtered seismic traces;

determining, based on a maximum eigenvalue associated with a first maximum correlation matrix of the pressure waveform components and a second maximum correlation matrix of the shear waveform components, a number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack;

stacking the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein the stacking includes combing of the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms;

estimating a first arrival time (FAT) associated with the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms; and

sending the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to a surface equipment, wherein the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms are centered around the estimated FAT; and

automatically controlling a drilling operation of the planned well based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the subset of the filtered seismic traces is associated with a different shot.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, based on the maximum eigenvalue associated with the first maximum correlation matrix of the pressure waveform components and the second maximum correlation matrix of the shear waveform components, the number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack comprises:

correlating each component of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to determine correlation coefficients;

generating correlation coefficient matrices for each component of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients;

sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients;

generating, based on the correlation coefficient matrices, the first maximum correlation matrix for the pressure waveform components and the second maximum correlation matrix for the shear waveform components;

determining the maximum eigenvalue associated with the first and second maximum correlation matrices; and

determining, based on the determined maximum eigenvalue, the number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients comprises sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on a weighted average or a weighted median of summed correlation coefficients.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein correlating each component of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to determine correlation coefficients comprises correlating each combination of the components of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising compressing the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein sending the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to the surface equipment comprises sending the compressed stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to the surface equipment via mud pulse telemetry.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms on a display.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling the drilling operation of the planned well based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms comprises at least one of:

(i) identifying one or more hazards based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms; and

adjusting a trajectory of the planned well based on the one or more identified hazards; or

(ii) determining an enhanced trajectory to a drilling target based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms; and

adjusting the trajectory of the planned well based on the enhanced trajectory.

9 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable code for providing stacked multi-component seismic while drilling (SWD) seismic waveforms, the computer executable code comprising:

code for obtaining, by at least one processor, multi-component SWD seismic waveforms associated with a planned well, wherein:

the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms include pressure waveform components and shear waveform components;

the code for obtaining multi-component seismic SWD waveforms comprises:

code for obtaining the pressure waveform components from one or more hydrophones located downhole in the planned well; and

code obtaining the shear waveform components from one or more geophones located downhole in the planned well;

the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms include sets of seismic traces;

each seismic trace is associated with the pressure waveform components received at one of the one or more hydrophones or the shear waveform components received at one of the one or more geophones during a time window; and

each set of seismic traces is associated with a shot;

code for pre-processing, at the at least one processor, the multi-component seismic SWD waveforms to generate an ordered subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein the code for pre-processing the multi-component seismic SWD waveforms comprises:

code for detrending the seismic traces to zero mean;

code for filtering, with a first high pass filter, the seismic traces;

code for determining root mean squares of the seismic traces;

code for normalizing the root mean squares of the seismic traces;

code for filtering, with a second high pass filter, the seismic traces;

code for extracting seismic waveform signatures from the filtered seismic traces;

code for determining signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for the filtered seismic traces;

code for ordering the filtered seismic traces in order of the determined SNRs for the filtered seismic traces; and

code for selecting a subset of the filtered seismic traces based on the ordering of the filtered seismic traces;

code for determining, based on a maximum eigenvalue associated with a first maximum correlation matrix of the pressure waveform components and a second maximum correlation matrix of the shear waveform components, a number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack;

code for stacking the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein the stacking includes combing of the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms;

code for estimating a first arrival time (FAT) associated with the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms;

code for sending the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to a surface equipment, wherein the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms are centered around the estimated FAT; and

code for automatically controlling a drilling operation of the planned well based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms.

10 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , wherein each of the subset of the filtered seismic traces is associated with a different shot.

11 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the code for determining, based on the maximum eigenvalue associated with the first maximum correlation matrix of the pressure waveform components and the second maximum correlation matrix of the shear waveform components, the number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack comprises:

code for correlating each component of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to determine correlation coefficients;

code for generating correlation coefficient matrices for each component of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients;

code for sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients;

code for generating, based on the correlation coefficient matrices, the first maximum correlation matrix for the pressure waveform components and the second maximum correlation matrix for the shear waveform components;

code for determining the maximum eigenvalue associated with the first and second maximum correlation matrices; and

code for determining, based on the determined maximum eigenvalue, the number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack.

12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the code for sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on the correlation coefficients comprises code for sorting the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms based on a weighted average or a weighted median of summed correlation coefficients.

13 . A drilling system comprising:

drilling equipment for drilling a planned well;

a seismic while drilling (SWD) system comprising:

one or more processors at a surface of the planned well;

one or more processors located downhole in the planned well;

a seismic tool configured to generate a plurality of seismic shots at different times;

a plurality of seismic sensors in the planned well, the plurality of seismic sensors configured to obtain multi-component seismic SWD waveforms, wherein:

the plurality of seismic sensors comprises one or more hydrophones configured to detect pressure waveform components generated by the plurality of seismic shots over a time window and one or more geophones configured to detect shear waveform components generated by the plurality of seismic shots over the time window;

the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms include sets of seismic traces;

each seismic trace is associated with the pressure waveform components received at one of the one or more hydrophones or the shear waveform components received at one of the one or more geophones during a time window; and

each set of seismic traces is associated with a shot;

wherein the SWD system is configured to:

pre-process the pressure waveform components and the shear waveform components to generate an ordered subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein to pre-process the multi-component seismic SWD waveforms the SWD system is configured to:

detrend the seismic traces to zero mean;

filter, with a first high pass filter, the seismic traces;

determine root mean squares of the seismic traces;

normalize the root mean squares of the seismic traces;

filter, with a second high pass filter, the seismic traces;

extract seismic waveform signatures from the filtered seismic traces;

determine signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for the filtered seismic traces;

order the filtered seismic traces in order of the determined SNRs for the filtered seismic traces; and

select a subset of the filtered seismic traces based on the ordering of the filtered seismic traces;

determine, based on a maximum eigenvalue associated with a first maximum correlation matrix of the pressure waveform components and a second maximum correlation matrix of the shear waveform components, a number of the subset of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to stack;

stack the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms, wherein the stacking includes combing of the number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms;

estimate a first arrival time (FAT) associated with the multi-component SWD seismic waveforms; and

send the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms to the one or more surface processors, wherein the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms are centered around the estimated FAT; and

a controller configured automatically control the drilling equipment for drilling the planned well based on the stacked number of filtered SWD seismic waveforms.