Prospectivity insights from automated pre-interpretation processing of open-file 3D seismic data: characterising the Late Triassic Mungaroo Formation of the Carnarvon Basin, North West Shelf of Australia
Cliff C. Ford A , James K. Dirstein B and Alistair John Stanley BA Bio Energy Resources Pty Ltd
B Total Depth Pty Ltd
The APPEA Journal 55(1) 15-34 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ14002
Published: 2015
Abstract
Waveform data from pre-interpretation processing is used in nine Late Triassic interpretation case studies from an area extending more than 30,000 km2 across the Exmouth Plateau, Kangaroo Trough and Rankin Trend on the North West Shelf of Australia. Events selected from a database of automatically generated surfaces extracted from six large open-file 3D marine surveys (~16,000 km2) are used to analyse reservoirs, seals, and pore fluid within the Brigadier and Mungaroo formations in this peer-reviewed paper.
Today, geoscience teams are challenged with vast data sets such as the archived versions of more than 125 Carnarvon Basin 3D seismic surveys. Pre-interpretation processing delivers a database of numerous seismic events that cannot be effectively managed using traditional interpretation workstations. With, however, a 3D viewer to query, edit and merge the results, geoscience teams are able to review many large surveys and the surfaces in their interpretation workflows.
At the 2013 WABS Conference in Perth, WA, two papers offered models for the Late Triassic gas reservoirs. These models represent many years of synthesis and integration of data by teams of geoscientists from two of the major operators on the North West Shelf. Validation and corroboration of the proposed models was gained by using selected pre-interpretation surfaces. Stacking patterns, waveform fitness, amplitude and two-way time surfaces from these spatial databases revealed geological insights about the formations, such as their complexity of structure, extent of reservoirs, and continuity of seals, along with a better understanding about the trapping and charge systems of the fields.
Cliff C. Ford studied geology at the University of Western Australia, gaining his BSc (Hons) in 1980, and geophysics at the Western Australian Institute of Technology. He worked for West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET), Santos Ltd and WMC Petroleum until 1997, as a geologist, geophysicist and explorationist. Since then Cliff has consulted as an Interpretation Geophysicist to the exploration industry. Member: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA). |
Jim K. Dirstein studied geology and geophysics at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1980. With more than thirty years of international experience in the oil industry, including the past twenty years as the founder/director of Total Depth Pty Ltd, Jim has developed a diverse set of skills, working in a wide range of geological and corporate settings. Aside from his activities with Total Depth, Jim has helped with the commercialisation and application of many new technologies. Recently, this has included the refinement of a patent for a new airborne geophysical technique, a Seisnetics-patented processing algorithm, and establishing Geoproxima Pty Ltd. Jim is a member and past WA branch president of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysics (ASEG). Member: Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), PESA, AAPG, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (SEPM) and European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE). |
Alistair J. Stanley received his BSc from Durham University in 2009, studying natural sciences, where he majored in geology. Alistair is experienced in the oil industry having worked with both Pinemont Technologies on airborne exploration projects, and with Total Depth. His work with Total Depth has included the processing and interpretation of seismic data from a variety of sedimentary basins throughout Australia for both petroleum and coal exploration projects. Alistair spends most of his time developing the pre-interpretation processing technology Seisnetics™ and GeoProxima™, having actively contributed to its application in both academic research projects and corporate workflows. |
