Seismic attributes for description of reef growth and channel system evolution — Case study of Intisar E, Libya

A 3D seismic survey over the Intisar E field in the Ajdabiya Trough of the Sirte Basin, Libya, revealed a channel-like feature in Eocene carbonates that wraps around the pinnacle reef that contains the reservoir. We have used coherence, curvature, and spectral decomposition seismic attributes to determine the morphology and gray-level co-occurrence matrix attributes to define seismic facies within the feature. These indicated that the channel originated by submarine scouring caused by downslope movement of turbidity currents. Erosion was followed by the deposition of successive layers of carbonate debris in the channel. Stratigraphic correlations with the adjacent pinnacle reef revealed that the channel was cut during the late stage of reef growth, and a second channel formed after the Intisar E reef ceased to grow. Differences in seafloor elevation over the reef probably diverted turbidity currents so channels were not cut into the reef, breaching the reservoir. This interpreted geologic history may explain why some pinnacle reefs in the Intisar complex contained giant reservoirs, whereas others were barren.

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The marine record of the Russell Fiord outburst flood, Alaska, U.S.A.

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s026030550001541x ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 194-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ellen A. Cowan ◽

Paul R. Carlson ◽

Ross D. Powell

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Debris Flow ◽

Seismic Reflection ◽

Seismic Facies ◽

Turbidity Currents ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Gravity Core ◽

Channel System ◽

Seismic Reflection Profiles ◽

Long Channel

The advance of Hubbard Glacier, near Yakutat, Alaska, U.S.A., in spring 1986 blocked the entrance to Russell Fiord with an ice-and-sediment dam, behind which a lake formed. The water level in Russell Lake rose to 25.5 m a.s.l. The dam catastrophically failed in October 1986, releasing 5.4 km3of water into Disenchantment Bay. High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles show a 7.5 km long channel system cut into and buried by glacimarine sediment, represented by continuous, parallel reflections. The chaotic seismic facies filling the channel is interpreted to be debris flow deposits. A gravity core from channel-overbank deposits contained sandy diamicton with mud clasts. Above the channel a 1–2 m thick sediment drape extends across the bay. Laminated mud, fining-upward sand beds and diamicton were recovered from this unit. The sediment-drape deposits were produced by suspension settling from turbid plumes and non-channelized turbidity currents generated by the outburst flood.

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Characterization of mass transport deposits using seismic attributes: Upper Leonard Formation, Permian Basin

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2019-0036.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. SK19-SK32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paritosh Bhatnagar ◽

Sumit Verma ◽

Ron Bianco

Keyword(s):

Mass Transport ◽

Mass Movement ◽

Seismic Attributes ◽

Seismic Facies ◽

Seismic Survey ◽

High Resistivity ◽

Tectonic Deformation ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Midland Basin ◽

Basin Floor

The Permian Basin is a structurally complex sedimentary basin with an extensive history of tectonic deformation. As the basin evolved through time, sediments dispersed into the basin floor from surrounding carbonate platforms leading to various mass movements. One such mass movement is observed on a 3D seismic survey in the Upper Leonard interval (Lower Permian) of the Midland Basin that is characteristic of a mass transport deposit (MTD). The 350 ft thick MTD mapped in the study area is 5 mi wide, extends up to 14 mi basinward, and covers only the translational and compressional regime of the mass movement. A unique sedimentary feature, unlike those observed previously, is mapped and interpreted as gravity spreading. MTDs have been extensively studied in the Delaware Basin of Permian-aged strata; however, only a few works have been published on the geomorphological expression of MTDs using seismic and seismic attributes to delineate the shape, size, and anatomy of this subsurface feature. The MTD in the study area exhibits an array of features including slide, slump, basal shear surface, and MTD grooves. In cross section, the MTD is characterized as chaotic with semitransparent reflectors terminating laterally against a coherent package of seismic facies, or the lateral wall. Sobel filter-based coherence, structural curvature, dip magnitude, and dip azimuth attributes are used to map thrust faults within the discontinuous MTD. Kinematic evidence provided by the Upper Spraberry isopach suggests that this MTD was sourced north of the Midland Basin and deposited on the basin floor fairway. Slope strata are interpreted from well-log analysis showing MTD as a mixture of carbonates and siliciclastics with a moderate to high resistivity response.

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A statistical methodology for deriving reservoir properties from seismic data

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1443878 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 60 (5) ◽

pp. 1437-1450 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Frédérique Fournier ◽

Jean‐François Derain

Keyword(s):

Seismic Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

Seismic Attributes ◽

Seismic Facies ◽

Reservoir Properties ◽

Data Set ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

Seismic Facies Analysis ◽

Statistical Relationships

The use of seismic data to better constrain the reservoir model between wells has become an important goal for seismic interpretation. We propose a methodology for deriving soft geologic information from seismic data and discuss its application through a case study in offshore Congo. The methodology combines seismic facies analysis and statistical calibration techniques applied to seismic attributes characterizing the traces at the reservoir level. We built statistical relationships between seismic attributes and reservoir properties from a calibration population consisting of wells and their adjacent traces. The correlation studies are based on the canonical correlation analysis technique, while the statistical model comes from a multivariate regression between the canonical seismic variables and the reservoir properties, whenever they are predictable. In the case study, we predicted estimates and associated uncertainties on the lithofacies thicknesses cumulated over the reservoir interval from the seismic information. We carried out a seismic facies identification and compared the geological prediction results in the cases of a calibration on the whole data set and a calibration done independently on the traces (and wells) related to each seismic facies. The later approach produces a significant improvement in the geological estimation from the seismic information, mainly because the large scale geological variations (and associated seismic ones) over the field can be accounted for.

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Integration of well log-derived facies and 3D seismic attributes for seismic facies mapping: A case study from mansuri oil field, SW Iran

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.petrol.2021.108563 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 202 ◽

pp. 108563

Author(s):

Iman Zahmatkesh ◽

Ali Kadkhodaie ◽

Bahman Soleimani ◽

Moslem Azarpour

Keyword(s):

Seismic Attributes ◽

Oil Field ◽

Seismic Facies ◽

Well Log ◽

3D Seismic ◽

Sw Iran

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Mass Transport Deposit (MTD) or Complex Channel System? A case study of the 3D Nimitz Seismic Survey, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2020-0034.1 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Roberto Clairmont ◽

Heather Bedle

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Mass Transport ◽

Large Scale ◽

Seismic Survey ◽

Mass Wasting ◽

Channel System ◽

System A ◽

Stratigraphic Architecture ◽

Complex Channel

The Taranaki Basin is well known for studies examining the seismic stratigraphy, depositional and erosional features, and tectonic frameworks linked to the New Zealand (NZ) continent. This particular study examines a “funny looking thing” (FLT) which we associate to be consistent with that of a braided channelized system. We observe this feature within the 3D Nimitz Survey (See Figure 1), located in the Northern Taranaki Basin (NTB) off the western continental coast of North Island, NZ. The FLT occurs within Quaternary deposits of the Whenuakura Formation which are interpreted to reflect shelfal topset sediments (O’Leary et al., 2010). It is underlain by the Giant Foresets Formation (GFF) of Pliocene to Pleistocene age, which are described as large-scale progradational and aggradational continental successions that migrated west to northwest in basinward direction (Anell and Midtkandal, 2017; Clairmont et al., 2020; Hansen and Kamp, 2002; Shumaker et al., 2017) (Figure 2). It comprises a shelf-to-slope succession of claystone to siltstone with argillaceous sandstone intervals defining an overall coarsening upward succession (O’Leary et al., 2010). The FLT within the Whenuakura Formation is characterized by chaotic facies in cross section, which shares characteristics with potential mass wasting events (Figure 3a). However, further analysis using seismic attributes improved the spatial and stratigraphic architecture of the FLT, which favored a complex channelized system interpretation over a mass transport deposit complex.

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Interpretation of fractured zones using seismic attributes — Case study from Teapot Dome, Wyoming, USA

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2015-0210.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. T249-T260 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sarah Schneider ◽

Christoph Georg Eichkitz ◽

Marcellus Gregor Schreilechner ◽

John C. Davis

Keyword(s):

Fracture Network ◽

Seismic Attributes ◽

Seismic Attribute ◽

Teapot Dome ◽

Attribute Analysis ◽

Discrete Fracture ◽

Textural Attributes ◽

Occurrence Matrix

We have used poststack seismic attributes to describe the fracture network of the naturally fractured Tensleep Formation at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, USA. The attributes include coherence, coherence based on spectral decomposed seismic data, attributes based on curvature, and textural attributes based on the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Results were compared with image log interpretations of four wells. Seismic attribute analysis allowed determination of strikes and dips as well as the intensity of fractures. The GLCM-based attributes proved especially valuable for building a discrete fracture network.

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The marine record of the Russell Fiord outburst flood, Alaska, U.S.A.

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/1996aog22-1-194-199 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 194-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ellen A. Cowan ◽

Paul R. Carlson ◽

Ross D. Powell

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Debris Flow ◽

Seismic Reflection ◽

Seismic Facies ◽

Turbidity Currents ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Gravity Core ◽

Channel System ◽

Seismic Reflection Profiles ◽

Long Channel

The advance of Hubbard Glacier, near Yakutat, Alaska, U.S.A., in spring 1986 blocked the entrance to Russell Fiord with an ice-and-sediment dam, behind which a lake formed. The water level in Russell Lake rose to 25.5 m a.s.l. The dam catastrophically failed in October 1986, releasing 5.4 km3 of water into Disenchantment Bay. High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles show a 7.5 km long channel system cut into and buried by glacimarine sediment, represented by continuous, parallel reflections. The chaotic seismic facies filling the channel is interpreted to be debris flow deposits. A gravity core from channel-overbank deposits contained sandy diamicton with mud clasts. Above the channel a 1–2 m thick sediment drape extends across the bay. Laminated mud, fining-upward sand beds and diamicton were recovered from this unit. The sediment-drape deposits were produced by suspension settling from turbid plumes and non-channelized turbidity currents generated by the outburst flood.

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