Enhancing Seismic Survey Interpretation With Data Integration

Abstract representation of audio waves.

Improved interpretations of seismic surveys are achieved when additional, relevant subsurface data are integrated with seismic data to provide better context for the analysis. However, the challenge of integrating the volume and variety of available seismic, geologic, petrophysical, wellbore, and production data into a single environment for analysis is often the greatest barrier to obtaining the maximum benefit from a seismic survey interpretation.

The Benefit of Data Integration

To address the need for integrating a wide range of relevant subsurface data with seismic surveys and analyzing the combined data to achieve the best seismic survey interpretation, Dynamic Graphics, Inc. offers CoViz 4D, an opens in a new windowindustry-leading visualization and analytics tool. CoViz 4D enables multi-disciplinary users to simultaneously view and interrogate datasets such as seismic volumes and attributes, reservoir simulations, fluid production, well logs, and microseismic and monitoring data, regardless of the original data source.
CoViz 4D provides a powerful set of features and functions for quantitative analysis and statistical comparison of 3D and 4D (time series) datasets. These include synthetic 4D seismic volume generation from petrophysical inputs, calculation of displacement, strain and seismic time-shifts, and quantitative analysis of 4D seismic data.

Leveraging Technological Features, Functions, and Algorithms

CoViz 4D enables individual members of a reservoir team to opens in a new windoweasily integrate their discipline-specific datasets into the analysis via simple drag-and-drop from the source to the software. The data ingestion is further facilitated by the CoViz 4D Data Registry. Once loaded, reservoir engineers can apply a rich set of features, functions, and algorithms to help interpret seismic surveys in the context of other relevant reservoir data. These operations are completed interactively on-the-fly for maximum impact, and include:

  • time-to-depth and depth-to-time dataset conversions
  • time-step arithmetic operations that calculate differences among successive seismic surveys
  • property averages calculations in seismic space and cellular space
  • property value back-interpolations between spatially and temporally overlapping data
  • visual comparisons of multiple spatially aligned datasets, such as 4D seismic vs. reservoir simulation grid
  • qualitative and quantitative comparisons of synthetic volumes with the field-measured seismic and reservoir simulations

With these and dozens of other statistical and quantitative functions and visualization techniques, reservoir management teams can:

  • Apply depth-to-time conversions to any in-depth datasets such as well tops or logs, fault picks in wells, drilling hazards, and cellular grids and bring that data back to their interpretation package to correlate data with reflectors seen in the seismic.
  • Apply time-to-depth conversions to bring the interpretation into real-world depths to examine correlations with existing reservoir models.
  • Provide a regional context for better seismic survey interpretation, comparing a specific area of a seismic survey to other areas in a field to see how faults have been interpreted in those areas.
  • Analytically compare 4D seismic data and reservoir simulation, then resample the seismic as a reservoir simulation property, create an interactive scatter plot, and probe areas of interest, for example, determining where high porosity and high seismic amplitude occur together.
The ability to incorporate time-varying data enhances the value of seismic surveys. CoViz 4D enables reservoir teams to use date/time stamps associated with seismic data, reservoir simulation grids, or production data files to opens in a new windowvisualize and animate reservoir evolution.

The ability to incorporate time-varying data enhances the value of seismic surveys.

Time series data supports the exploration of events and resulting changes in the reservoir. In one recent example, when a series of seismic surveys taken over a 14-year span was combined with seismic amplitude differences for reservoir sands and well event information in CoViz 4D, discrepancies between predicted response from a reservoir model and the actual seismic response were discovered. In this way, temporal seismic and simulation data can be easily compared to obtain a more detailed understanding of historic 4D seismic response and how proposed development decisions may affect reservoir performance.

Data Integration and Visualization Enhance Seismic Survey Interpretation

Seismic survey interpretation is both science (data and analytic tools) and art (petroleum professionals’ real-world experience). Integrating seismic data with relevant reservoir data for in-depth, multi-disciplinary analysis enhances the opens in a new windowunderstanding of reservoir characteristics and performance over time. Software tools such as CoViz 4D allow reservoir management teams to apply powerful analytic and visualization techniques to collaboratively interpret seismic surveys, confirm or correct their interpretations, and achieve greater confidence in planning and operational decisions.

CoViz 4D, a data visualization analytics software from Dynamic Graphics, Inc., enables drilling engineers to use the insights provided by real-time drilling data analysis to visualize and monitor drill bit and wellbore location and reduce targeting risks. To learn more about CoViz 4D contact our team.

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