Geoscience Interpretation Visualization Consortium (GIVC)

Introduction

Research and Development

Computer-aided structural interpretation has been embodied in tools in interactive interpretation systems for a number of years. Since the early 1980s, horizon autotracking tools have been available to help increase the speed and consistency of horizon interpretation in 3-D seismic surveys. More recently, techniques have been developed to provide computer-aided interpretation of faults and automatic fault interpretation. Computer tools to aid in stratigraphic interpretation of seismic volumes have developed much more slowly. Horizon slicing has provided better images of depositional systems since the mid-to-late 1980s. Proportional slicing or stratal slicing (mid 1990s) provides even better imaging of depositional systems, and better discrimination between stacked channel systems in the seismic data because these surfaces typically are a better approximation of paleo-depositional surfaces than horizon slices or time slices.

• Data Conditioning
• Automatic Fault Extraction
• Stratal-slice Transformation of the seismic volume
• Imaging Depositional Systems
• Extraction and Analysis of Depositional Systems
• Geobody Bounding Surface creation
• Inverse Stratal-slice Transformation of the bounding surface

Data Conditioning:

• Filtering to remove random noise while preserving edges in the data.
• "Tunable" continuity calculations to selectively maximize imaging of faults, channels, reefs, etc.

Automatic Fault Extraction (AFE):

• Patented process using 2-D and 3-D algorithms to automatically extract 3-D fault surfaces from continuity volumes
• Creates two new attribute volumes:
• Lineament Enhanced Volume - probability estimate that voxel is part of a lineament
• Fault Enhanced Volume - probability estimate that voxel is part of a fault surface
• Extracts 3-D fault surfaces as named linked sets of polylines

  

Stratal-slice Transformation:

• Perform a coordinate transformation from (x,y,t) to (x,y, stratal slice) on the seismic volume
• Transformation honors interpreted horizons, faults, and a variety of geological intervals (e.g., growth interval, carbonate platform, …)

Growth interval with dipping normal fault

Stratal-sliced transformed data honoring vertical component of fault displacement

Imaging Depositional Systems:

• Calculate attributes designed to image stratigraphic features and depositional systems using the stratal-sliced volume as input, including continuity "tuned" to image stratigraphic features/depositional systems.

Continuity tuned for channels

Continuity tuned for faults

Extraction and Analysis of Depositional Systems:

• Morphological Segmentation
  • Use a modified form of AFE to extract depositional features as linked sets of polylines
• Growing Neural Gas (GNG) for Seismic Facies Analysis and Segmentation
  • Apply GNG to combinations of attribute volumes for seismic facies analysis in 3-D
  • Segment 3-D geobodies by selecting clusters of nodes/data in state space with GNG

Geobody Bounding Surface Creation:

• Create the bounding surface for the extracted geobody

Interpreter defined starting surface around the geobody

"Shrink-wrapped" geobody bounding surface

Inverse Stratal-slice Transformation:

• Apply the inverse of the stratal-slice transformation to the extracted geobody bounding surfaces.
• Integrated these transformed bounding surfaces into the display of the seismic volume in (x,y,t).
• Inverse transformation honors interpreted horizons, faults, and a variety of geological intervals (e.g., growth interval, carbonate platform, …)

Consortium Costs and Benefits

• Input on research directions and focus of GIVC.
• GIVC research results (reports, algorithms, open source code).
• Evaluation copies of current software for fault extraction.
• Company affiliation with rights to participate in the Advisory Committee
  meetings, transfer technology through the Visiting Scientist program, and
  otherwise interact with the company's staff and facilities.

Meetings

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