Bruce Wrightson¹, Beata Olchowy²
(1) Gaia Resources Ltd, Calgary, Central African Republic
(2) Startech Energy Inc, Calgary, AB

Abstract: Analyzing structural play leads using dipmeter data

Dipmeter data has been an under utilized data set for developing and analyzing structural plays. Downhole orientation data has been collected for wells drilled from the 1950's to the present. Dipmeter and borehole image dips for recently drilled wells are available in digital form. Data from older wells must be digitized from tadpole logs or processed from raw log curves to be accessible as a digital data set.

Once in digital form the dip data is evaluated on a well by well basis to identify potential play leads. Numerical and graphical analyses are carried out to identify bed curvature trends and structural anomalies. From these trends and anomalies the cross-sectional and along plunge geometry can be determined. Evaluations of well data are combined with the surface information to build structural models which are then integrated with the seismic interpretation.

Large digital databases of dipmeter data have been constructed for wells drilled in the Rocky Mountain Foothills of Alberta and British Columbia and wells drilled in Wyoming. Examples of structural play leads and the analytical techniques used to develop the leads are drawn from these data sets.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90914©2000 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana