Practical Seismic Interpretation for Exploration and Development

Course Duration: 40 contact hours, including lecture-based modules and hands-on exercises.

Specific Client Customization: In-house versions of this course can be customized to fit specific client needs, including course duration, in-person or online, topics coverage, and workshop component using in-house data if available.

Who Should Attend: Geophysicists, Geologists, Exploration/Production Managers, and Reservoir Engineers.

Course Summary: Seismic geophysics represents a fundamental tool for both the exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources. This course highlights via an exercise-intensive format aspects of interpretation including uncertainty/risk, and in understanding structure, stratigraphy and fluid/rock discrimination. Course is designed from an applied standpoint, with numerous exercises and case studies serving to provide critical insight into the use of seismic data in early exploration efforts through later development and reservoir characterization phases. Aspects of 2D versus 3D versus 4D (time-lapse) seismic surveys, as well as microseismic and passive seismic monitoring will be addressed. Because of the inherent need to integrate well log data, borehole seismology will be discussed, including acoustic logging tools and imagers, vertical (and reverse vertical) seismic profiles, and crosswell seismology.

Course Objectives:

• Achieve a better understanding of uncertainty in seismic interpretation,
• Achieve a better understanding of structural aspects of seismic interpretation,
• Achieve a better understanding of stratigraphic aspects of seismic interpretation, and
• Achieve a better understanding of rock/fluid aspects of seismic interpretation.
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Course Content:

• Review of the Seismic Process
  • The “need” for seismic interpretation and reservoir analysis, with worldwide case examples illustrating their importance to hydrocarbon production and development.

• Seismic Interpretation Principles
  • Discussion and application of various interpretation techniques and principles as applied to exploration and reservoir characterization, including concepts of structural interpretation (lines/cross-lines, arbitration [user-defined] lines, time slices, visualization techniques, user-tracking versus auto-tracking, etc.), and stratigraphic interpretation (sequence stratigraphy, appearance of key stratigraphic features, texture mapping, etc.); 2D/3D/4D and multicomponent seismic. A detailed discussion of display concepts and interpretation procedures/options will be discussed.
• Seismic Attribute Analysis including AVO/AVA
  • The fundamental concepts of seismic attributes, including amplitude, phase, and frequency derived attributes, as well as AVO/AVA (amplitude versus offset/angle); additional emphasis on specific attributes as related to structure (e.g., coherence, dip displays, derivative, etc.), stratigraphy (horizon slices and windows, amplitude and other attribute extractions, etc.), and reservoir (see below); and shear-wave anisotropy.
• Seismic Inversion and Interpretation
  • Reservoir Identification and Evaluation—fundamental concepts of reservoir characterization, including attribute analysis and hydrocarbon indicators, fluid analysis, defining reservoir limits, porosity evaluation, net pay, etc.
  • Seismic Petrophysics and Data Integration—concepts including extraction of petrophysical information from seismic data, and the integration of well log (including well bore geophysics) and geological analyses to develop coherent reservoir models.  

• Hands-On Exercises
  • Numerous practical exercises are incorporated throughout the course to give the participant real hands-on experience of key tasks performed by the petroleum geologist.
  • Exercises include numerous seismic examples, including from Nigeria, to emphasize structural, stratigraphic, and rock/fluid aspects of oil and gas exploration and development.