American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2017 - 73

SpecialReport: Seismic & Geophysics
The state of the art in seismic interpretation is being redefined partly by the
volume and richness of high-density, fullazimuth 3-D surveying methods and processing techniques such as reverse time
migration and anisotropic tomography.
Combined, these solutions bring new resolution and clarity to processed subsurface
images that simply are unachievable using
conventional imaging methods. In data
interpretation, analytical tools such as
machine learning, pattern recognition,
multiattribute analysis and self-organizing
maps are enhancing the interpreter's
ability to classify, model and manipulate
data in multidimensional space.
As crucial as the technological advancements are, however, it is clear that
the future of petroleum geophysics is
being shaped largely by the demands of
North American unconventional resource
plays. Optimizing the economic performance of tight oil and shale gas projects is
not only impacting the development of
geophysical technology, but also dictating
the skill sets that the next generation of
successful interpreters must possess.
Resource plays shift the focus of geophysics to reservoir development, challenging the relevance of seismic-based
methods in an engineering-dominated
business environment. Engineering holds
the purse strings in resource plays, and
the problems geoscientists are asked to
solve with 3-D seismic are very different
than in conventional exploration geophysics. Identifying shallow drilling hazards overlying a targeted source rock,
mapping the orientation of natural fractures
or faults, and characterizing changes in
stress profiles or rock properties is related
as much to engineering as to geophysics.

at a certain reservoir depth. To be of
consequence to engineering workflows,
porosity predictions must be reliably delivered within a range of a few percentage
points at depths estimated on a scale of
plus or minus a specific number of feet.
Given the requirements in unconventional plays, there are four practical steps
to creating value with seismic analysis
methods. The first and obvious step is for
oil and gas companies to acquire 3-D
seismic and incorporate the data into their
digital databases. Some operators active

in unconventional plays fully embrace 3D technology, while others only apply it
selectively. If interpreters do not have
access to high-quality data and the tools to
evaluate that information, they cannot possibly add value to company's bottom line.
The second step is to break the conventional resolution barrier on the seismic
reflection wavelet, the so-called quarterwave length limit. This barrier is based
on the overlapping reflections of seismic
energy from the top and bottom of a layer,
and depends on layer velocity, thickness,

Delivering Value

Consequently, seismic data interpreters
need to make the estimates they derive
from geophysical data more quantitative
and more relatable for the petroleum engineer. Whether it is impedance inversion
or anisotropic velocity modeling, the predicted results must add some measure of
accuracy and risk estimation. It is not
enough to simply predict a higher porosity

A self-organizing map (SOM) is a neural network-based, machine learning process that is
simultaneously applied to multiple seismic attribute volumes. This example shows a class
II amplitude-variation-with-offset response from the top of gas sands, representing the
specific conventional geological settings where most direct hydrocarbon indicator characteristics are found. From the top of the producing reservoir, the top image shows a contoured time structure map overlain by amplitudes in color. The bottom image is an SOM
classification with low probability (less than 1 percent) denoted by white areas. The yellow
line is the downdip edge of the high-amplitude zone designated in the top image.

JULY 2017 73



American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2017

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