Application of Volume Interpretation Techniques to Deepwater Reservoirs: Examples from Nigeria

Olugbenga Famurewa¹ and Isaiah Okunlola^2
1 Geoscience Technical Development, ExxonMobilExploration Company, 233 Benmar Drive, Houston, TX 77060
Phone: 281-654-3519, [email protected]
² Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, 1, Lekki Expressway, Victoria Island, Lagos
Phone: 262-1640, [email protected]

ExxonMobil advances in interactive volume interpretation and collaborative visualization technologies have been and continue to be of immense benefit to the exploitation and production of hydrocarbons in the deepwater basins of Nigeria.

In-house, proprietary volume interpretation technologies have been developed as extensions to existing vendor software (e.g. attribute volumes, multiple forms of sculpting, automated and interactive seed detection). These technologies have been applied by work-groups company-wide, and over time their experiences have led to a variety of customized workflows and work processes that enable the geoscientist to perform or enhance operations such as seismic volume reconnaissance, rapid structural interpretation, geologic feature extraction and interpretation, pressure prediction, reserves assessment and interactive well path planning and monitoring.

Using examples from NNPC/MPN Joint Venture fields, this paper shows how workflow combinations of complex sculpting, seed detection techniques, and advanced fault interpretation technologies, have allowed us to gain greater insights into deepwater Nigerian reservoirs.