Multiattribute framework analysis for the identification of carbonate mounds in the Brazilian presalt zone

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. T467-T476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Jesus ◽  
Maria Olho Azul ◽  
Wagner Moreira Lupinacci ◽  
Leandro Machado

Carbonate mounds, as described herein, often present seismic characteristics such as low amplitude and a high density of faults and fractures, which can easily be oversampled and blur other rock features in simple geobody extraction processes. We have developed a workflow for combining geometric attributes and hybrid spectral decomposition (HSD) to efficiently identify good-quality reservoirs in carbonate mounds within the complex environment of the Brazilian presalt zone. To better identify these reservoirs within the seismic volume of carbonate mounds, we divide our methodology into four stages: seismic data acquisition and processing overview, preconditioning of seismic data using structural-oriented filtering and imaging enhancement, calculation of seismic attributes, and classification of seismic facies. Although coherence and curvature attributes are often used to identify high-density fault and fracture zones, representing one of the most important features of carbonate mounds, HSD is necessary to discriminate low-amplitude carbonate mounds (good reservoir quality) from low-amplitude clay zones (nonreservoir). Finally, we use a multiattribute facies classification to generate a geologically significant outcome and to guide a final geobody extraction that is calibrated by well data and that can be used as a spatial indicator of the distribution of good reservoir quality for static modeling.

Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. O47-O58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingliang Liu ◽  
Michael Jervis ◽  
Weichang Li ◽  
Philippe Nivlet

Mapping of seismic and lithologic facies from 3D reflection seismic data plays a key role in depositional environment analysis and reservoir characterization during hydrocarbon exploration and development. Although a variety of machine-learning methods have been developed to speed up interpretation and improve prediction accuracy, there still exist significant challenges in 3D multiclass seismic facies classification in practice. Some of these limitations include complex data representation, limited training data with labels, imbalanced facies class distribution, and lack of rigorous performance evaluation metrics. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a supervised convolutional neural network (CNN) and a semisupervised generative adversarial network (GAN) for 3D seismic facies classification in situations with sufficient and limited well data, respectively. The proposed models can predict 3D facies distribution based on actual well log data and core analysis, or other prior geologic knowledge. Therefore, they provide a more consistent and meaningful implication to seismic interpretation than commonly used unsupervised approaches. The two deep neural networks have been tested successfully on a realistic synthetic case based on an existing reservoir and a real case study of the F3 seismic data from the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The prediction results show that, with relatively abundant well data, the supervised CNN-based learning method has a good ability in feature learning from seismic data and accurately recovering the 3D facies model, whereas the semisupervised GAN is effective in avoiding overfitting in the case of extremely limited well data. The latter seems, therefore, particularly adapted to exploration or early field development stages in which labeled data from wells are still very scarce.


Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. B87-B99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Yuan ◽  
Jingye Li ◽  
Xiaohong Chen ◽  
Ying Rao

Reservoir characterization in the early stage of oilfield exploration generally has enormous uncertainty because few geophysical and well data are typically available. The uncertainty when classifying the facies with seismic data propagates throughout the processes of seismic facies classification, causing errors in the final evaluation of geologic features in an area. To quantitatively evaluate the uncertainty in seismic facies classification, we have analyzed prestack seismic data and well observations in a tight reservoir from northeast China and calculated the uncertainties throughout the process. To achieve this, the facies probabilities conditioned on different properties in each step of seismic facies classification were first derived using a probabilistic multistep inversion. Second, the associated uncertainty and maximum a posterior (MAP) of facies probabilities were evaluated by means of entropy and reconstruction rate, which assessed the degree of similarity between MAP and facies sequence within the range [0, 1]. This enabled us to investigate the influence of the uncertainty propagation on seismic facies classification. The uncertainty of the inversion results for the target reservoir was finally characterized by the calculated entropy and its indicator transform. Additionally, parameter spaces of well-log and upscaled elastic properties were restricted according to the data distribution characteristics in the crossplot. Parameter vectors that were outside the restricted scopes were excluded, reducing the computational time and uncertainty. We determined that quantitative uncertainty evaluation by entropy with a probabilistic multistep approach enabled us to explore much more details of the uncertainty propagation in the processes of seismic reservoir characterization. It should be the method of choice for risk of management and decision making in reservoir assessment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (02) ◽  
pp. 68-69
Author(s):  
Chris Carpenter

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 200577, “Applications of Artificial Neural Networks for Seismic Facies Classification: A Case Study From the Mid-Cretaceous Reservoir in a Supergiant Oil Field,” by Ali Al-Ali, Karl Stephen, SPE, and Asghar Shams, Heriot-Watt University, prepared for the 2020 SPE Europec featured at the 82nd EAGE Conference and Exhibition, originally scheduled to be held in Amsterdam, 1-3 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Facies classification using data from sources such as wells and outcrops cannot capture all reservoir characterization in the interwell region. Therefore, as an alternative approach, seismic facies classification schemes are applied to reduce the uncertainties in the reservoir model. In this study, a machine-learning neural network was introduced to predict the lithology required for building a full-field Earth model for carbonate reservoirs in southern Iraq. The work and the methodology provide a significant improvement in facies classification and reveal the capability of a probabilistic neural network technique. Introduction The use of machine learning in seismic facies classification has increased gradually during the past decade in the interpretation of 3D and 4D seismic volumes and reservoir characterization work flows. The complete paper provides a literature review regarding this topic. Previously, seismic reservoir characterization has revealed the heterogeneity of the Mishrif reservoir and its distribution in terms of the pore system and the structural model. However, the main objective of this work is to classify and predict the heterogeneous facies of the carbonate Mishrif reservoir in a giant oil field using a multilayer feed-forward network (MLFN) and a probabilistic neural network (PNN) in nonlinear facies classification techniques. A related objective was to find any domain-specific causal relationships among input and output variables. These two methods have been applied to classify and predict the presence of different facies in Mishrif reservoir rock types. Case Study Reservoir and Data Set Description. The West Qurna field is a giant, multibillion-barrel oil field in the southern Mesopotamian Basin with multiple carbonate and clastic reservoirs. The overall structure of the field is a north/south trending anticline steep on the western flank and gentle on the eastern flank. Many producing reservoirs developed in this oil field; however, the Mid- Cretaceous Mishrif reservoir is the main producing reservoir. The reservoir consists of thick carbonate strata (roughly 250 m) deposited on a shallow water platform adjacent to more-distal, deeper-water nonreservoir carbonate facies developing into three stratigraphic sequence units in the second order. Mishrif facies are characterized by a porosity greater than 20% and large permeability contrast from grainstones to microporosity (10-1000 md). The first full-field 3D seismic data set was achieved over 500 km2 during 2012 and 2013 in order to plan the development of all field reservoirs. A de-tailed description of the reservoir has been determined from well logs and core and seismic data. This study is mainly based on facies log (22 wells) and high-resolution 3D seismic volume to generate seismic attributes as the input data for the training of the neural network model. The model is used to evaluate lithofacies in wells without core data but with appropriate facies logs. Also, testing was carried out in parallel with the core data to verify the results of facies classification.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. SAE29-SAE58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhao ◽  
Vikram Jayaram ◽  
Atish Roy ◽  
Kurt J. Marfurt

During the past decade, the size of 3D seismic data volumes and the number of seismic attributes have increased to the extent that it is difficult, if not impossible, for interpreters to examine every seismic line and time slice. To address this problem, several seismic facies classification algorithms including [Formula: see text]-means, self-organizing maps, generative topographic mapping, support vector machines, Gaussian mixture models, and artificial neural networks have been successfully used to extract features of geologic interest from multiple volumes. Although well documented in the literature, the terminology and complexity of these algorithms may bewilder the average seismic interpreter, and few papers have applied these competing methods to the same data volume. We have reviewed six commonly used algorithms and applied them to a single 3D seismic data volume acquired over the Canterbury Basin, offshore New Zealand, where one of the main objectives was to differentiate the architectural elements of a turbidite system. Not surprisingly, the most important parameter in this analysis was the choice of the correct input attributes, which in turn depended on careful pattern recognition by the interpreter. We found that supervised learning methods provided accurate estimates of the desired seismic facies, whereas unsupervised learning methods also highlighted features that might otherwise be overlooked.


Geophysics ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1357-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Mathisen ◽  
M. Budny

Recent improvements in land seismic data quality have made it possible to initiate lithostratigraphic interpretations of deep (4000–5500 m; 2.2–2.8 s) subsalt Permo‐Carboniferous gas reservoirs in the Northwest German Basin. The first modeling and interpretation results indicate that the reflection character of Permian reservoir dolomites and sandstones can be interpreted to predict lithology and porosity variations using reflection character analysis. These formations are commonly thick enough to be resolved (>20 m) and typically have velocities 1000 to 2000 m/s slower than overlying and underlying nonreservoir rocks. Deeper Upper Carboniferous reservoir sandstones occur within a discontinuous low‐amplitude seismic facies which can be clearly differentiated from a continuous high‐amplitude facies formed by the less prospective Upper Carboniferous coal measures. The accuracy of Permian reflection character interpretations is dependent on the availability of high‐frequency, zero‐phase, relative amplitude seismic data. New 3-D data are appropriate but of limited availability. To provide suitable 2-D data, wavelet processing of selected variable vintage lines was completed. More routine use of wavelet processing and lithostratigraphic interpretation methods should help to better define reservoir facies and stratigraphic traps, lower prospect risk, and increase success ratios.


Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. IM87-IM97
Author(s):  
Yanting Duan ◽  
Xiaodong Zheng ◽  
Lianlian Hu ◽  
Luping Sun

Seismic facies classification takes a two-step approach: attribute extraction and seismic facies analysis by using clustering algorithms, sequentially. In general, it is clear that the choice of feature extraction is critical for successful seismic facies analysis. However, the choice of features is customarily determined by the seismic interpreters, and so the clustering result is affected by the difference in the seismic interpreters’ experience levels. It becomes challenging to extract features and identify seismic facies simultaneously. We have introduced deep convolutional embedded clustering (DCEC), which aims to simultaneously learn feature representations and cluster assignments by using deep neural networks. Our method learns mapping from the data space to a lower dimensional feature space in which it iteratively optimizes a clustering objective by building a specific loss function. We apply the method to the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) data, geophysical model data, and field seismic data. In the MNIST data, the DCEC method shows better latent space of clustering results than traditional clustering methods. In the geophysical model data, the accuracy of waveform classification based on DCEC method is higher than traditional clustering methods. The results from the seismic data demonstrate that selection of input data and method has an important effect on the clustering result. In addition, our method is helpful for improving the resolution of seismic facies edges and offers the richer depositional information than the traditional clustering methods.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. SAC91-SAC98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Pelham

Interpreters need to screen and select the most geologically robust inversion products from increasingly larger data volumes, particularly in the absence of significant well control. Seismic processing and inversion routines are devised to provide reliable elastic parameters ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) from which the interpreter can predict the fluid and lithology properties. Seismic data modeling, for example, the Shuey approximations and the convolution inversion models, greatly assist in the parameterization of the processing flows within acceptable uncertainty limits and in establishing a measure of the reliability of the processing. Joint impedance facies inversion (Ji-Fi®) is a new inversion methodology that jointly inverts for acoustic impedance and seismic facies. Seismic facies are separately defined in elastic space ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), and a dedicated low-frequency model per facies is used. Because Ji-Fi does not need well data from within the area to define the facies or depth trends, wells from outside the area or theoretical constraints may be used. More accurate analyses of the reliability of the inversion products are a key advance because the results of the Ji-Fi lithology prediction may then be quantitatively and independently assessed at well locations. We used a novel visual representation of a confusion matrix to quantitatively assess the sensitivity and uncertainty in the results when compared with facies predicted from the depth trends and well-elastic parameters and the well-log lithologies observed. Thus, using simple models and the Ji-Fi inversion technique, we had an improved, quantified understanding of our data, the processes that had been applied, the parameterization, and the inversion results. Rock physics could further transform the elastic properties to more reservoir-focused parameters: volume of shale and porosity, volumes of facies, reservoir property uncertainties — all information required for interpretation and reservoir modeling.


Geophysics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1984-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Saggaf ◽  
M. Nafi Toksöz ◽  
M. I. Marhoon

We present an approach based on competitive neural networks for the classification and identification of reservoir facies from seismic data. This approach can be adapted to perform either classification of the seismic facies based entirely on the characteristics of the seismic response, without requiring the use of any well information, or automatic identification and labeling of the facies where well information is available. The former is of prime use for oil prospecting in new regions, where few or no wells have been drilled, whereas the latter is most useful in development fields, where the information gained at the wells can be conveniently extended to the interwell regions. Cross‐validation tests on synthetic and real seismic data demonstrated that the method can be an effective means of mapping the reservoir heterogeneity. For synthetic data, the output of the method showed considerable agreement with the actual geologic model used to generate the seismic data; for the real data application, the predicted facies accurately matched those observed at the wells. Moreover, the resulting map corroborates our existing understanding of the reservoir and shows substantial similarity to the low‐frequency geologic model constructed by interpolating the well information, while adding significant detail and enhanced resolution to that model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-313
Author(s):  
Mariusz Łukaszewski

There are numerous conventional fields of natural gas in the Carpathian Foredeep, and there is also evidence to suggest that unconventional gas accumulations may occur in this region. The different seismic sig-natures of these geological forms, the small scale of amplitude variation, and the large amount of data make the process of geological interpretation extremely time-consuming. Moreover, the dispersed nature of information in a large block of seismic data increasingly requires automatic, self-learning cognitive processes. Recent developments with Machine Learning have added new capabilities to seismic interpretation, especially to multi-attribute seismic analysis. Each case requires a proper selection of attributes. In this paper, the Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix method is presented and its two texture attributes Energy and Entropy. Haralick’s two texture parameters were applied to an advanced interpretation of the interval of Miocene deposits in order to discover the subtle geological features hidden between the seismic traces. As a result, a submarine-slope channel system was delineated leading to the discovery of unknown earlier relationships between gas boreholes and the geological environment. The Miocene deposits filling the Carpathian Foredeep, due to their lithological and facies diversity, provide excellent conditions for testing and implementing Machine Learning techniques. The presented texture attributes are the desired input components for self-learning systems for seismic facies classification.


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