Phillips Petroleum Company

Conocophillips Company

Conocophillips Company - I. P. Legal

Edgar L Butler

Dennis B Neff

Scott A Runnestrand

Michael E Vienot

William A Lucas

A system for predicting hydrocarbon production from a subterranean region of interest using reflection seismic data. The system sets a drainage area around reference traces and defines drainage pathways extending outwardly from the reference trace towards the perimeter of the drainage area. A mathematical combination of the trace-to-trace coherence factors and reservoir quality attributes along each drainage pathway is calculated for each reference trace, thereby providing an indication of both initial and sustained hydrocarbon production from that location.

Well planning using seismic coherence

Waveform data, such as reflection seismic data, is filtered by concurrently analyzing various phase angles of the data. The various phase angles of the data are compared to phase rotated background trends and the phase angle producing the maximum deviation from the equivalent background trend is selected as the optimum phase angle for predictive analysis or exclusion filtering.

Concurrent phase angle graphic analysis

A method for suppressing noise in a common depth point gather of seismic data traces is disclosed in which noisy data traces are detected and muted by a sequence of data processing steps prior to making a final stack of the data traces.

Coherency stack of seismic traces

A computer implemented method for mapping seismic attributes derived from analysis of isochron measurements is disclosed. According to the disclosed method planar surfaces, which model the upper and lower surface of a subterranean layer, are numerically inserted in a seismic data volume with the edges of the planar surfaces connecting reflection events of a three-by-three array of seismic traces. Using the model surfaces, isochron attributes are calculated including the amount of isochron thickening or thinning in the direction of dip, and the azimuth of maximum thickness change. The thus calculated attributes are written to data cubes, which can be displayed in a variety of ways.

Automated seismic isochron analysis

A computer implemented method for analyzing seismic data to discover a real trends of multi-attributes in a seismic data volume is disclosed. According to the disclosed method and apparatus the full waveforms of multiple traces are compared in a zone that extends above and below an interpreted horizon, and the comparisons are made using a correlation algorithm that considers both shape and absolute amplitude of the waveforms being compared. Based on the multiple comparisons, traces are classified according to waveform shape such that maps of common waveform classes show areas of similar lithology and/or hydrocarbon effects.

Multi-attribute seismic waveform classification

A method and apparatus for predicting barriers to fluid flow in a subterranean reservoir using well data and 3-D seismic data are disclosed, where a preferred first step in the method models petrophysical properties of the reservoir to provide model logs which are expressible as continuous curves of a reservoir property as a function of depth. The next step selects individual data points on the continuous curves, which traverse a subterranean layer, and assigns a flow or nonflow state to each data point based on comparing a threshold value of a reservoir property with the value predicted by the data point. The layer is divided into a multitude of subvolumes each containing a single data point, and then a connectivity factor, which considers multiple flow paths around each data point, is calculated for each subvolume. The subvolumes are then grouped into larger volumes called simulation cells, and directional flow numbers are assigned to the cells relative to three mutually perpendicular x, y and z coordinate axes, such that display of the directional flow numbers for a group of cells demonstrates flow barriers and flow paths in the reservoir.

Method for determining barriers to reservoir flow

A method and apparatus for predicting distribution of reservoir permeability or porosity and pseudo relative permeability using well data and 3-D seismic data are disclosed, where a preferred first step in the method models the reservoir property of interest to provide model logs which are expressible as continuous curves of a reservoir property as a function of depth. The next step selects individual data points on the continuous curves traversing a reservoir layer and determines permeable trends for a multitude of column-like subvolumes which each enclose a portion of the selected data points. The subvolumes are then divided into a desired number of horizontal slices, with each slice containing a number of the model data points. An average value for the property in each slice is calculated, and the average values are plotted versus depth for each subvolume, thus providing a derived curve of depth versus the reservoir property. The thus derived plots are compared with typical trend curves for layering in a reservoir, and the typical trend curve most nearly matching the derived plot is selected for representing the subvolume. A display of the subvolume trends demonstrates vertical distribution of the property in the reservoir, and can be used to direct the arrangement of pseudo relative permeability throughout a reservoir simulation model.

Method for determining distribution of reservoir permeability, porosity

A method of modeling subsurface reservoir conditions deals with non-uniqueness of seismic reflection signals with respect to reservoir conditions by proposing and then comparing both seismic and lithologic data for forward model sites to select the most likely model for each site. Forward modeling techniques are used to build a synthetic seismic trace catalog, which includes a range of corresponding pseudo-logs for reservoir characteristics that could reasonably exist within a defined region. Then each synthetic seismic trace in the catalog is compared against every real seismic trace, and a number (e.g., 10 to 50) of synthetic traces is selected for association with each real trace that best match the real trace. Finally, the pseudo-logs corresponding to the number of selected synthetic seismic traces for each forward model site are compared to the pseudo-logs selected for adjacent sites to select the most lithologically coherent pseudo-log at each site for use in generating a model display of reservoir characteristics.

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Bartlesville, OK, United States of America

Edgar L Butler