Saudi Arabian Oil Company

Schlumberger Technology Corporation

Gary Wayne Mcneice

Daniele Colombo

Diego Rovetta

Federico Miorelli

Nestor H Cuevas

Ping Zhang

Jiuping Chen

Michael Wilt

Ernesto Sandoval-Curiel

Mauro Pezzoli

Seismic data from seismic exploration surveys are mapped into a hypercube of bins or voxels in a four-dimensional space (X, Y, Offset, and Azimuth) according to Common Mid-Point (or CMP) between source and receivers. The mapped data from individual voxels or bins is then analyzed by multimodal statistics. Robust estimates of first break picks are obtained from the analysis. The first break picks are then used to as seed inputs for autopicking iteration, which proceeds to convergence. Estimates of confidence levels in the data are provided for re-picking to reduce computer processing time in successive autopicking iterations. Analysis is provided of different seismic attributes such as azimuthal velocity variations indicative of anisotropy, positioning errors of sources/receivers, geometry errors, and three dimensional distribution of inversion residuals. Analysis is also performed of standard deviation of the travel time data useful for estimating data errors in the inversion covariance matrix.

Automatic quality control of seismic travel time

A system and method of evaluating and correcting for the effects of a near-surface anomaly on surface-to-borehole (STB) measurement data in a geological halfspace includes transmitting electromagnetic radiation from an EM source located on a ground surface which is positioned over the near-surface anomaly, measuring EM fields at a plurality of remote EM receivers located on the surface at a far distance from the EM source, obtaining vertical STB measurement data downhole, determining an orientation and moment of a secondary source equivalent dipole associated with the near-surface anomaly excited by the radiation transmitted by the EM source based on measurements of the EM fields at the plurality of remote receivers, determining a correction factor for the secondary source equivalent dipole on the EM field measurements at the plurality of remote receivers, and removing the effects of the near surface anomaly on the vertical STB measurement data using the correction factor.

Method for removing the effect of near surface galvanic distortion in surface to borehole EM measurements

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more datasets including measured vertical electric and magnetic fields excited by one or more radial and azimuthal electric field antennas from a downtool into one or more processors, wherein each of the one or more datasets corresponds to a different position of the one or more radial azimuthal electric field antennas, simultaneously inverting the one or more datasets using the one or more processors, and as a result of the simultaneous inversion, generating by the one or more processors a three-dimensional (3D) image of a portion of the geological formation.

Hybrid electric and magnetic surface to borehole and borehole to surface method

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Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Gary Wayne Mcneice