Use of 3-D Seismic Attributes to Resolve Structural and Stratigraphic Uncertainties in Carbonate Reservoirs: Examples from North Kuwait, Kuwait

Carbonate depositional systems by virtue of their inherent complexities present many challenges when attempting to identify and delineate a carbonate reservoir from seismic data. Conventional 3-D seismic interpretation is often inadequate for mapping strati-structural features and complexities in carbonate systems that have a direct bearing on characterizing reservoir geometries. An example of this challenge is represented by the depositional sequences of the various carbonate reservoirs of northern Kuwait. To characterize these reservoirs more unconventional techniques and work-flows are required to accomplish the task.

The objective of this study is to demonstrate a unique interpretation workflow using multi-attribute analysis and visualization techniques that were applied to selected carbonate reservoirs to decipher their complex stratigraphic/structural details to minimize the uncertainties in fine tuning reservoir shape and geometries.

We targeted the problems in two steps. The first was to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the available 3-D seismic data using appropriate re-processing steps to better image the depositional geometries and structural features. The second step was to highlight and isolate those specific geological features in 3-D using various seismic attributes aided by 3D visualization process. By integrating these results with sub-surface data it was possible to speed-up the interpretation processes by resolving all possible structural and stratigraphic uncertainties.

The results showed that seismic data reprocessing efforts significantly improved the data quality. Both horizon based and window based structural attributes coupled with amplitude based 3D seismic attributes were used to attack the interpretation challenge. This helped resolve stratigraphic-structural uncertainties leading to a more accurate characterization of the reservoir geometries.
 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California