Volumetric Curvature Attributes for Fault/Fractures Characterization - A Case History

Malleswar R. Yenugu, Amit K. Ray, Samir Biswal, and Arindam Dutta
Reliance Industries Limited, Navi Mumbai, India

Natural fractures or faults present in the subsurface have an important role in fluid flow and accumulation. Identifying the fractures and mapping their distribution is necessary to understand their geological significance and hydrodynamic control. Several seismic attributes help to characterize the faults/fractures within the strata, which are below the seismic resolution. While attributes are sensitive to lateral changes in geology, they are also sensitive to lateral changes in noise. It is difficult to characterize the nature of fractures whether they are open or closed. This paper illustrates how volumetric curvature attributes like coherence, most positive and negative curvatures helped in recognizing the open fractures that created problems during the drilling of a horizontal well in the East coast off India. Volumetric curvature attributes are better than surface based curvature attributes, which require the seismic data quality be good, and the horizon picked should have prominent impedance contrast.

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