Automatic Picking and Attribute Mapping for a Quick Evaluation of the Potential of Turbiditic Sands and Stratigraphic Traps in Frontier Areas: An Example from the Deep Offshore of the Niger Delta

P. Montagnier, P., T. Rossi, B. Clergeat, M. Dall'Asta, and F. Weisgerber

Most interpretation teams involved in the exploration of Nigeria's deep offshore have been faced with a major challenge:

- how to scan through a large volume of 3D data in a drastically short time frame...

- with the objective of understanding the depositional pattern of slope fan and basin floor fan turbidites to identify mostly stratigraphic traps...

- in an environment almost devoid of reference wells and calibration.

A traditional approach was likely to miss both the deadlines and the sensitivity required for the sedimentological aspects of the study. Elf's answer was to rely extensively on the advanced functionalities of the SISMAGE (TM) workstation, in order to quickly generate time and seismic attribute maps which could then be interpreted in terms of structure and sedimentology.

Two critical aspects were particularly well handled by the workstation:

- the reliability of the extrapolation process from a loose grid of manually picked lines, and

- the generation of seismic attribute maps relative not only to surfaces (e.g. sequence boundaries), but also to whole intervals through statistical calculation.

In a second stage, the interpreters were able to focus on the most prospective areas and to move on to prospect generation, with the help of AVO studies.

This approach is illustrated through an example from the deep offshore of the Niger delta.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California