Model based seismic interpretation for hydrocarbon exploration

Abstract EN

The goal of seismic interpretation is to estimate the properties of the subsurface.

These properties not only include structural information, but also lithologic information about the individual strata.

The most important subsurface property in hydrocarbon exploration is the relative depth along key horizons.

We obtain these depths by analyzing travel times of sound waves generated at the surface and reflected by these horizons back to the surface.

This is called tomographic analysis.

Picking travel times from seismograms for depthing purposes is a time consuming process that can be difficult or even impossible when the signal-to-noise ratio is low.

Saudi Aramco has developed a system for picking these times efficiently, and has also developed transformations to the data that make the picking easier when the speed of sound changes laterally in a layer.

The transformation is subsequently removed after the picking is completed.

Knowing the speed of sound in the subsurface materials also helps us define the lithology of those materials, and convert the seismic time section to a depth section.

The depth section con- tains not only the structural picture obtained from tomography, but also the stratigraphic de- tails shown on the time section.