Deyi Xie¹, James R. Wood¹, Wayne D. Pennington¹

(1) Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI

ABSTRACT: Advanced Thin-bed Reservoir Characterization Using Integrated 3-D Seismic And Well Data

Advanced reservoir characterization is generally focused on thick (in terms of seismic resolution) sandstone or carbonate reservoirs. One of the problems in advanced reservoir characterization is thin-bed reservoir prediction, where the reservoirs may be only a few feet or tens of feet thick. In certain areas, thin-bed carbonates and sandstones are developed in one sequence within a given area. If the two rock types are seismically similar, it becomes very difficult to distinguish one from the other through the interpretation of a seismic data set.

This study focuses on thin-bed reservoir characterization, and discrimination of thin-bed sandstone reservoirs from thin non-permeable carbonates embedded in a shale-rich sequence. Our study is conducted in the Caddo sequence in the Boonsville Field of the Fort Worth Basin, northern Texas. Our reservoir characterization concentrates primarily on two approaches. We develop depositional model based on lithology, well log trends, and seismic trace patterns. The other is seismic forward modeling and attribute analysis, which are explored to verify seismic reflection features, reservoir distribution, and to compute certain reservoir properties, such as pay thickness and water saturation. The study illustrates that extensive well log interpretation and calibration, careful 3-D seismic interpretation, seismic forward modeling and inversion, seismic trace classification, wavelet quantification, and seismic attribute analysis can achieve the goal.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90906©2001 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado