Using 3-D Seismic Data to Find New Reserves in Quitman Field

WITTICK, THOMAS R.

A 3-D seismic survey was acquired over Quitman Field in Wood County, Texas to locate bypassed pay in the field where previously-used exploration and development methods (2-D seismic data and subsurface mapping) had improperly and incompletely imaged the compartmentalization of the reservoir into fault blocks. The 3-D data set provided a much more detailed picture of the structural complexity of the subsurface. In addition to the structural mapping several attributes of the 3-D seismic data were geostatistically analyzed and used to map the location and thickness of the Paluxy channel sands.

Seismic reservoir mapping techniques were utilized to identify the seismic attributes that statistically relate to specific reservoir properties. The seismic attributes were calibrated to reservoir properties, and used to map the reservoir. Three seismic attributes were used to map the channel sands over the field.

The initial drilling results from the analysis of the 3-D data were the identification and successful drilling of a structural prospect that came in structurally high to what was previously thought to be the highest well in the field.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91021©1997 AAPG Annual Convention, Dallas, Texas.