--> Application of Seismic Forward Modeling of Detailed Outcrop Data in Improving Sub-Surface Interpretation, by Mark Tomasso, Florence L. Bonnaffé, David R. Pyles, Xavier Janson, Renaud Bouroullec, David C. Jennette, Jerome A. Bellian, and Charles Kerans; #90052 (2006)
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Application of Previous HitSeismicNext Hit Previous HitForwardNext Hit Previous HitModelingNext Hit of Detailed Outcrop Previous HitDataNext Hit in Improving Sub-Surface Interpretation

Mark Tomasso, Florence L. Bonnaffé, David R. Pyles, Xavier Janson, Renaud Bouroullec, David C. Jennette, Jerome A. Bellian, and Charles Kerans
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

The ability to directly compare outcrops with Previous HitseismicNext Hit objects has the potential to aid the training of Previous HitseismicNext Hit interpreters, where the scales involved can often lead to misinterpretation. One of the first steps to delineating a reservoir is the interpretation of sub-surface stratigraphy and depositional elements using Previous HitseismicNext Hit Previous HitdataNext Hit. Exploration Previous HitseismicNext Hit Previous HitdataNext Hit is typically acquired with a peak frequencies varying from 30 to 60 Hz, giving average vertical stratigraphic resolution of between ~23 m (30 Hz) and 11 m (60 Hz) in siliciclastics and ~60 m (30 Hz) and 30 m (60 Hz) in carbonates.

Many stratigraphic architectural elements are typically at higher resolution, and their interpretability on Previous HitseismicNext Hit profiles is limited. Previous HitSeismicNext Hit Previous HitforwardNext Hit Previous HitmodelingNext Hit of outcrops helps to address this problem, enabling the examination of known stratigraphy and depositional elements at various scales. We present results from six deep-water clastic and carbonate outcrops from the Brushy Canyon and Victorio Peak Formations of West Texas. High-resolution 3-D outcrop profiles were acquired using a LiDAR scanner. Stratigraphic surfaces and architectural elements investigated using traditional methods were interpreted directly onto the digital Previous HitdataNext Hit, similar to Previous HitseismicNext Hit interpretation, providing a truly 3-D outcrop interpretation. These outcrop-constrained stratigraphic Previous HitdataNext Hit were used to construct reservoir models. Petrophysical properties for producing analog reservoirs of similar depositional geometry were assigned to lithofacies zones. Previous HitSeismicNext Hit Previous HitforwardNext Hit Previous HitmodelingNext Hit of each reservoir model was carried out at several peak frequencies; the results, draped back onto the outcrop profile, allow an immediate comparison between outcrop architecture and its Previous HitseismicNext Hit image. This comparison can not only improve our Previous HitseismicNext Hit interpretation skills but also enable us to quantify the loss of resolution inherent within the Previous HitseismicTop method.