About AASPI

Executive Summary

During the past two decades, seismic attributes have become a key component not only in mapping structure and stratigraphy but also in quantitative reservoir characterization. In addition to enhancing individual faults and discontinuities, geometric attributes help interpreters map axial planes for structural analysis, relate curvature to intensity and orientation of fractures, and map lateral changes in reflectivity to detect channels below seismic resolution. During the current AASPI Consortium research program, we will continue our focus on poststack and prestack data conditioning, calibration of attributes to geological and engineering control, and the use of λρ-μρ and AVAz analysis of unconventional reservoirs. Our research is driven by the data provided by our sponsors, such that our primary efforts will be on the application of these attributes over resource plays and mature fields of North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) that have a combination of proprietary 3D surveys, production data, well logs, microseismic data, image logs, production logs, and core, within a well-understood geologic framework. We believe that a better understanding of the impact of acquisition, processing, and imaging on seismic attributes is key to quantifying the errors in reservoir characterization and hydrocarbon estimation provided by modern attribute-driven geostatistics, neural nets, and clustering technology. In addition to research reports, we provide algorithm source code that runs on Windows and Linux to all our sponsors for their internal use, use with partners, and to provide services to clients.

Current Scope of Work

When properly calibrated to well-log and production data, broadband 3D seismic data play a key role in defining reservoir heterogeneity and compartmentalization. We have found that modern seismic attributes, including coherence, reflector curvature, aberrancy, reflector rotation, reflector convergence, coherent energy gradients, seismic textures, and spectral decomposition, greatly improve our ability to visualize stratigraphic and tectonic features that are at or below the classical limits of seismic resolution. Recently, we have observed that attribute images computed on offset- and azimuth-limited volumes from North and West Texas have higher lateral resolution than those computed on full offset and azimuth volumes. We have also observed that the illumination of stratigraphic features varies with offset and azimuth. The smearing of lateral discontinuities and subsequent loss of resolution is most problematic on land surveys that are rich in azimuths and subject to heterogeneous shallow surface effects including topography, weathering zones, and stress-induced anisotropy. Our research effort has four overlapping themes: (1) to enhance our ability to map reservoir compartments and delineate fractures, (2) to use attributes to drive seismic processing work flows that will improve lateral and vertical seismic resolution, (3) to calibrate features seen on seismic attributes in the context of tectonic deformation and seismic geomorphology, and (4) to develop prediction tools that can guide completion programs for unconventional reservoirs.

Target Sponsors

When properly calibrated to well-log and production data, broadband 3D seismic data play a key role in defining reservoir heterogeneity and compartmentalization. We have found that modern seismic attributes, including coherence, reflector curvature, aberrancy, reflector rotation, reflector convergence, coherent energy gradients, seismic textures, and spectral decomposition, greatly improve our ability to visualize stratigraphic and tectonic features that are at or below the classical limits of seismic resolution. Recently, we have observed that attribute images computed on offset- and azimuth-limited volumes from North and West Texas have higher lateral resolution than those computed on full offset and azimuth volumes. We have also observed that the illumination of stratigraphic features varies with offset and azimuth. The smearing of lateral discontinuities and subsequent loss of resolution is most problematic on land surveys that are rich in azimuths and subject to heterogeneous shallow surface effects including topography, weathering zones, and stress-induced anisotropy. Our research effort has four overlapping themes: (1) to enhance our ability to map reservoir compartments and delineate fractures, (2) to use attributes to drive seismic processing work flows that will improve lateral and vertical seismic resolution, (3) to calibrate features seen on seismic attributes in the context of tectonic deformation and seismic geomorphology, and (4) to develop prediction tools that can guide completion programs for unconventional reservoirs.

Deliverables

We believe that technology is best understood when it is applied to the sponsoring company's own data. Our deliverables will therefore include:

  • Source code, executables, scripts, and graphical user interfaces for all new and previously developed algorithms. Documentation of our current software can be found under mcee.ou.edu/aaspi and can also be invoked for each application by clicking the Help tab. Currently available algorithms including prestack and poststack structure-oriented filtering, nonstretch normal moveout, coherent energy gradients, various edge detectors, multispectral coherence, spectral decomposition, volumetric structural and amplitude curvature, volumetric aberrancy, volumetric generation of rose diagrams, composite attribute display, post-migration footprint suppression, volumetric GLCM texture analysis, and PCA, K-means, SOM, GTM, and PSVM multiattribute “machine learning” tools. Sponsors may use these codes in any way they wish except software resale (which requires a separate agreement), including providing services to others and using our algorithms as prototypes for their own internal implementation.
  • Copies of all AASPI thesis proposals, posters, preprints, expanded abstracts, and technical papers.
  • If requested, generation of geometric attributes or data analysis (having some geological or geophysical research component to comply with OU tax exempt status) on proprietary data at time and materials cost.
  • Assistance in installing and utilizing delivered software at time and materials cost.