Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Masaferro, J. L. Articles by Jauffred, J.-C. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

3D visualization of carbonate reservoirs

Shell International E&P B.V., Rijswijk, The Netherlands

Corresponding author: JoseLuis.Massaferro@shell.com

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Conventional 2D and 3D seismic mapping is not ideal for characterizing carbonate reservoirs mainly because of the complexity and heterogeneity of carbonate systems. The unique depositional systems of carbonate environments means that a standard interpretation routine is often inadequate and more sophisticated techniques are needed.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an advanced method—the application of visualization techniques to 3D seismic data of some selected carbonate reservoirs and to particularly focus on certain techniques that successfully extracted seismic facies and geometries characteristic of carbonate systems.

We approached the data analysis in two ways. The first approach is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the seismic data. This may be accomplished, for example, by applying noise reduction techniques to improve the quality of the seismic data or by making depositional geometries explicit rather than implicit features. The second approach is to highlight specific geologic features that have a three-dimensional extent, and a geometry that may have little in common with the orientation of the 3D grid of seismic data. For example, in an environment of hydrocarbon-bearing shoal complexes, there is an immediate focus to the interpretation by initially isolating high-amplitude mounded-like structures within the data. By combining these approaches with well calibration, it is possible to speed up the interpretation (both in absolute and user time), limit the potential model-bias of an interpreter, and improve the quality of the interpretation. The results show that 3D visualization and processing dramatically improved the quality of the seismic data which in turn generated an essential predictive tool for carbonate reservoir characterization.

	Prograding shoal complex: Khuff Formation, Permian, Oman

 
The sediments of Khuff Formation in northwest Oman (Figure 1a) were deposited in a shallow, inner shelf restricted environment dominated by high-energy oolitic shoals and bars with protected lagoons. Main depositional cycles show the characteristics of trangressive-regressive carbonate-evaporite successions, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Farzadi and J. Hesthammer Diagnosis of the Upper Cretaceous palaeokarst and turbidite systems from the Iranian Persian Gulf using volume-based multiple seismic attribute analysis and pattern recognition Petroleum Geoscience, August 1, 2007; 13(3): 227 - 240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]