Front Matter

Downloaded 01/05/13 to 192.159.106.200. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.
org/
Downloaded 01/05/13 to 192.159.106.200. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/
Series: Investigations in Geophysics, Volume I Michael R. Cooper, Series Editor
SEISMIC DATA ANALYSIS

Processing, Inversion, and Interpretation of Seismic Data
YILMAZ OZ
Volume I
Stephen M. Doherty, Editor
Society of Exploration Geophysicists

Post Oce Box 702740, Tulsa, OK 74170-2740
To Mother In Memoriam
TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION PREFACE Volume I INTRODUCTION Processing of Seismic Data, 4 Inversion of Seismic Data, 10 Interpretation of Seismic Data, 18 From Seismic Exploration to Seismic Monitoring, 22 Chapter 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF SIGNAL PROCESSING 1.0 Introduction, 25 1.1 The 1-D Fourier Transform, 26 Analog versus Digital Signal, 28 Frequency Aliasing, 30 Phase Considerations, 34 Time-Domain Operations, 36 Convolution, 38 Crosscorrelation and Autocorrelation, 39 Vibroseis Correlation, 41 Frequency Filtering, 41 Practical Aspects of Frequency Filtering, 44 Bandwidth and Vertical Resolution, 46 Time-Variant Filtering, 48 1.2 The 2-D Fourier Transform, 48 Spatial Aliasing, 51 1.3 Worldwide Assortment of Shot Records, 67 Wave Types, 70 1.4 Gain Applications, 81 Geometric Spreading Correction, 81 Programmed Gain Control, 85 RMS Amplitude AGC, 85 Instantaneous AGC, 87 Relative Trace Balancing, 89 1.5 Basic Data Processing Sequence, 90 Preprocessing, 91 Deconvolution, 92 CMP Sorting, 93 Velocity Analysis, 93 Normal-Moveout Correction, 94 Multiple Attenuation, 94
viii
Seismic Data Analysis
Dip-Moveout Correction, 94 CMP Stacking, 95 Poststack Processing, 95 Migration, 95 Residual Statics Corrections, 122 Quality Control in Processing, 122 Parsimony in Processing, 124 Exercises, 150 Appendix A: A Mathematical Review of the Fourier Transform, 153 A.1 The 1-D Fourier Transform, 153 A.2 The z -Transform, 155 A.3 The 2-D Fourier Transform, 156 References, 156 Chapter 2 DECONVOLUTION 2.0 Introduction, 159 2.1 The Convolutional Model, 162 The Convolutional Model in the Time Domain, 167 The Convolutional Model in the Frequency Domain, 170 2.2 Inverse Filtering, 171 The Inverse of the Source Wavelet, 172 Least-Squares Inverse Filtering, 173 Minimum Phase, 175 2.3 Optimum Wiener Filters, 179 Spiking Deconvolution, 180 Prewhitening, 181 Wavelet Processing by Shaping Filters, 183 Predictive Deconvolution, 185 2.4 Predictive Deconvolution in Practice, 190 Operator Length, 190 Prediction Lag, 193 Percent Prewhitening, 203 Eect of Random Noise on Deconvolution, 207 Multiple Attenuation, 209 2.5 Field Data Examples, 211 Prestack Deconvolution, 213 Signature Deconvolution, 217 Vibroseis Deconvolution, 219 Poststack Deconvolution, 222 2.6 The Problem of Nonstationarity, 222 Time-Variant Deconvolution, 227 Time-Variant Spectral Whitening, 231 Frequency-Domain Deconvolution, 233 Inverse Q Filtering, 234 Deconvolution Strategies, 241 Exercises, 247 Appendix B: Mathematical Foundation of Deconvolution, 249 B.1 Synthetic Seismogram, 249 B.2 The Inverse of the Source Wavelet, 251 B.3 The Inverse Filter, 252 B.4 Frequency-Domain Deconvolution, 253
Contents B.5 Optimum Wiener Filters, 255 B.6 Spiking Deconvolution, 258 B.7 Predictive Deconvolution, 260 B.8 Surface-Consistent Deconvolution, 262 B.9 Inverse Q Filtering, 266 References, 270 Chapter 3 VELOCITY ANALYSIS AND STATICS CORRECTIONS 3.0 Introduction, 271 3.1 Normal Moveout, 274 NMO for a Flat Reector, 274 NMO in a Horizontally Stratied Earth, 280 Fourth-Order Moveout, 280 NMO Stretching, 283 NMO for a Dipping Reector, 285 NMO for Several Layers with Arbitrary Dips, 287 Moveout Velocity versus Stacking Velocity, 288 3.2 Velocity Analysis, 288 The Velocity Spectrum, 292 Measure of Coherency, 295 Factors Aecting Velocity Estimates, 302 Interactive Velocity Analysis, 311 Horizon Velocity Analysis, 312 Coherency Attribute Stacks, 318 3.3 Residual Statics Corrections, 324 Residual Statics Estimation by Traveltime Decomposition, 336 Residual Statics Estimation by Stack-Power Maximization, 344 Traveltime Decomposition in Practice, 345 Maximum Allowable Shift, 346 Correlation Window, 361 Other Considerations, 362 Stack-Power Maximization in Practice, 365 3.4 Refraction Statics Corrections, 370 First Breaks, 374 Field Statics Corrections, 375 Flat Refractor, 375 Dipping Refractor, 377 The Plus-Minus Method, 377 The Generalized Reciprocal Method, 379 The Least-Squares Method, 379 Processing Sequence for Statics Corrections, 381 Model Experiments, 382 Field Data Examples, 395 Exercises, 432 Appendix C: Topics in Moveout and Statics Corrections, 437 C.1 The Shifted Hyperbola, 437 C.2 Moveout Stretch, 439 C.3 Equations for a Dipping Reector, 441 C.4 Traveltime Decomposition for Residual Statics Estimation, 442 C.5 Depth Estimation from Refracted Arrivals, 444 C.6 Equations for a Dipping Refractor, 445
ix
C.7 The Plus-Minus Times, 447 C.8 Generalized Linear Inversion of Refracted Arrivals, 448 C.9 Refraction Traveltime Tomography, 453 C.10 L1 -Norm Refraction Statics, 456 References, 460 Chapter 4 MIGRATION 4.0 Introduction, 463 Exploding Reectors, 467 Migration Strategies, 470 Migration Algorithms, 471 Migration Parameters, 474 Aspects of Input data, 475 Migration Velocities, 475 4.1 Migration Principles, 476 Kirchho Migration, 481 Diraction Summation, 484 Amplitude and Phase Factors, 485 Kirchho Summation, 485 Finite-Dierence Migration, 486 Downward Continuation, 486 Dierencing Schemes, 488 Rational Approximations for Implicit Schemes, 489 Reverse Time Migration, 491 Frequency-Space Implicit Schemes, 492 Frequency-Space Explicit Schemes, 493 Frequency-Wavenumber Migration, 494 Phase-Shift Migration, 498 Stolt Migration, 500 Summary of Domains of Migration Algorithms, 501 4.2 Kirchho Migration in Practice, 502 Aperture Width, 502 Maximum Dip to Migrate, 509 Velocity Errors, 509 4.3 Finite-Dierence Migration in Practice, 520 Depth Step Size, 521 Velocity Errors, 525 Cascaded Migration, 525 Reverse Time Migration, 530 4.4 Frequency-Space Migration in Practice, 530 Steep-Dip Implicit Methods, 535 Depth Step Size, 537 Velocity Errors, 544 Steep-Dip Explicit Methods, 549 Dip Limits of Extrapolation Filters, 549 Velocity Errors, 552 4.5 Frequency-Wavenumber Migration in Practice, 559 Maximum Dip to Migrate, 559 Depth Step Size, 566 Velocity Errors, 567 Stolt Stretch Factor, 572
Contents Wraparound, 575 Residual Migration, 575 4.6 Further Aspects of Migration in Practice, 579 Migration and Spatial Aliasing, 581 Migration and Random Noise, 619 Migration and Line Length, 621 Migration from Topography, 626 Exercises, 626 Appendix D: Mathematical Foundation of Migration, 628 D.1 Waveeld Extrapolation and Migration, 628 D.2 Stationary Phase Approximations, 638 D.3 The Parabolic Approximation, 639 D.4 Frequency-Space Implicit Schemes, 641 D.5 Stable Explicit Extrapolation, 644 D.6 Optimum Depth Step, 646 D.7 Frequency-Wavenumber Migration, 649 D.8 Residual Migration, 651 References, 652 Chapter 5 DIP-MOVEOUT CORRECTION AND PRESTACK MIGRATION 5.0 Introduction, 655 Salt-Flank Reections, 657 Fault-Plane Reections, 657 DMO and Stacking Velocities, 657 Turning-Wave Reections, 665 5.1 Principles of Dip-Moveout Correction, 668 Prestack Partial Migration, 670 Frequency-Wavenumber DMO Correction, 672 Log-Stretch DMO Correction, 677 Integral DMO Correction, 679 Velocity Errors, 681 Variable Velocity, 684 Turning-Wave Migration, 685 5.2 Dip-Moveout Correction in Practice, 692 Salt Flanks, 692 Fault Planes, 693 DMO and Multiples, 705 DMO and Coherent Linear Noise, 716 Other Considerations, 716 Aspects of DMO Correction A Summary, 722 5.3 Prestack Time Migration, 725 DMO Correction and Common-Oset Migration, 728 Salt Flanks, 729 Fault Planes, 742 Common-Reection-Point versus Common-Reection-Surface Stacking, 769 5.4 Migration Velocity Analysis, 775 Prestack Stolt Migration, 776 Common-Oset Migration of DMO-Corrected Data, 777 Prestack Kirchho Migration, 788 Velocity Analysis Using Common-Reection-Point Gathers, 788 Focusing Analysis, 798 Fowlers Velocity-Independent Prestack Migration, 803
xi
xii
Exercises, 815 Appendix E: Topics in Dip-Moveout Correction and Prestack Time Migration, 817 E.1 Reection Point Dispersal, 817 E.2 Equations for DMO Correction, 820 E.3 Log-Stretch DMO Correction, 823 E.4 The DMO Ellipse, 826 E.5 Nonzero-Oset Traveltime Equation, 827 E.6 Prestack Frequency-Wavenumber Migration, 831 E.7 Velocity Analysis by Waveeld Extrapolation, 833 References, 834 Chapter 6 NOISE AND MULTIPLE ATTENUATION 6.0 Introduction, 837 Coherent Linear Noise, 838 Treatment of Coherent Linear Noise by Conventional Processing, 840 Reverberations and Multiples, 843 Treatment of Reverberations and Multiples by Conventional Processing, 857 Spatially Random Noise, 876 6.1 Multiple Attenuation in the CMP Domain, 877 Periodicity of Multiples, 877 Velocity Discrimination Between Primaries and Multiples, 887 Karhunen-Loeve Transform, 887 Modeling of Multiples, 896 6.2 Frequency-Wavenumber Filtering, 898 Random Noise and Frequency-Wavenumber Filtering, 904 Statics Corrections and Frequency-Wavenumber Filtering, 905 Dip Filtering of Coherent Linear Noise, 905 Frequency-Wavenumber Multiple Attenuation, 907 6.3 The Slant-Stack Transform, 920 Physical Aspects of Slant Stacking, 920 Slant-Stack Transformation, 923 Practical Aspects of Slant Stacking, 924 Slant-Stack Parameters, 928 Time-Variant Dip Filtering, 931 Slant-Stack Multiple Attenuation, 932 6.4 The Radon Transform, 938 Velocity-Stack Transformation, 942 The Discrete Radon Transform, 943 The Parabolic Radon Transform, 944 Practical Considerations, 945 Impulse Response of the Velocity-Stack Operator, 948 Field Data Examples, 948 Radon-Transform Multiple Attenuation, 953 6.5 Linear Uncorrelated Noise Attenuation, 960 Design of Spatial Prediction Filters, 966 Field Data Examples, 966 Exercises, 976 Appendix F: Multichannel Filtering Techniques for Noise and Multiple Attenuation, 977 F.1 Analysis of Guided Waves, 977 F.2 Waveeld Extrapolation in the p Domain, 980 F.3 Mathematical Foundation of the Discrete Radon Transform, 982
Contents F.4 Free-Surface Multiple Attenuation, 989 F.5 Water-Bottom Multiple Attenuation, 992 F.6 Spatial Prediction Filter, 995 References, 998 INDEX, xxv
xiii
Volume II Chapter 7 3-D SEISMIC EXPLORATION 7.0 Introduction, 1001 The Need for Imaging in Three Dimensions, 1003 7.1 3-D Survey Design and Acquisition, 1010 Migration Aperture, 1010 Spatial Sampling, 1017 Other Considerations, 1018 Marine Acquisition Geometry, 1018 Cable Feathering, 1019 3-D Binning, 1019 Crossline Smearing, 1020 Strike versus Dip Shooting, 1027 Land Acquisition Geometry, 1028 7.2 Processing of 3-D Seismic Data, 1030 3-D Refraction Statics Corrections, 1036 Azimuth Dependence of Moveout Velocities, 1036 3-D Dip-Moveout Correction, 1046 Inversion to Zero Oset, 1048 Aspects of 3-D DMO Correction A Summary, 1050 Velocity Analysis, 1050 3-D Residual Statics Corrections, 1050 3-D Migration, 1051 Trace Interpolation, 1065 7.3 3-D Poststack Migration, 1073 Separation versus Splitting, 1073 Impulse Response of the One-Pass Implicit Finite-Dierence 3-D Migration, 1074 Two-Pass versus One-Pass Implicit Finite-Dierence 3-D Migration in Practice, 1076 Explicit Schemes Combined with the McClellan Transform, 1082 The Phase-Shift-Plus-Correction Method, 1088 7.4 3-D Prestack Time Migration, 1099 3-D DMO Correction Combined with 3-D Common-Oset Migration, 1112 Crossline Migration, 1129 3-D Migration Velocity Analysis, 1131 Aspects of 3-D Prestack Time Migration A Summary, 1137 7.5 Interpretation of 3-D Seismic Data, 1156 Time Slices, 1156 3-D Visualization, 1156 Removal of Opacity, 1158 Seed Detection, 1159 Structural Interpretation, 1161 Stratigraphic Interpretation, 1171 Exercises, 1195
xiv
Appendix G: Mathematical Foundation of 3-D Migration, 1198 G.1 Implicit Methods, 1198 G.2 Explicit Methods, 1200 G.3 3-D Phase-Shift Migration, 1203 G.4 3-D Stolt Migration, 1204 G.5 Trace Interpolation, 1204 G.6 3-D Nonzero-Oset Traveltime Equation, 1208 References, 1209 Chapter 8 EARTH IMAGING IN DEPTH 8.0 Introduction, 1213 Lateral Velocity Variations, 1222 8.1 Layer Replacement, 1226 Wave-Equation Datuming, 1229 Poststack Layer Replacement, 1230 Prestack Layer Replacement, 1231 Field Data Example, 1237 8.2 2-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1238 Image Rays and Lateral Velocity Variations, 1238 Time versus Depth Migration, 1244 Iterative Depth Migration, 1247 Iteration with Zero-Oset Data, 1250 Iteration with CMP-Stacked Data, 1258 Iteration with Prestack Data, 1265 Iteration in Practice, 1265 8.3 2-D Prestack Depth Migration, 1273 Shot-Geophone Migration, 1274 Shot-Prole Migration, 1280 Sensitivity of Image Accuracy to Velocity Errors, 1280 Field Data Examples, 1295 8.4 3-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1304 3-D Poststack Time versus Depth Migration, 1304 Two-Pass versus One-Pass 3-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1313 Implicit versus Explicit 3-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1314 3-D Poststack Datuming, 1321 8.5 3-D Prestack Depth Migration, 1321 Kirchho Summation, 1324 Calculation of Traveltimes, 1324 The Eikonal Equation, 1325 Fermats Principle, 1331 Summation Strategies, 1331 Migration Aperture, 1333 Operator Antialiasing, 1333 3-D Common-Oset Depth Migration, 1335 Exercises, 1342 Appendix H: Diraction and Ray Theory for Wave Propagation, 1342 H.1 The Kirchho Integral, 1342 H.2 The Eikonal Equation, 1346 H.3 Finite-Dierence Solution to the Eikonal Equation, 1349 References, 1351
Contents Chapter 9 EARTH MODELING IN DEPTH
xv
9.0 Introduction, 1353 Inversion Methods for Data Modeling, 1355 Inversion Procedures for Earth Modeling, 1356 Velocity-Depth Ambiguity, 1357 Model Representation and Visualization, 1360 9.1 Models with Horizontal Layers, 1365 Dix Conversion, 1365 Coherency Inversion, 1369 Near-Surface Layer with Laterally Varying Velocities, 1382 9.2 Model with Low-Relief Structure, 1387 Stacking Velocity Inversion, 1392 Coherency Inversion, 1404 Velocity Resolution, 1404 9.3 Model with Complex Overburden Structure, 1404 Image-Gathers, 1406 Constant Half-Space Velocity Analysis, 1415 9.4 Model Building, 1415 Time-to-Depth Conversion, 1416 Time Structure Maps, 1416 Interval Velocity Maps, 1417 Depth Structure Maps, 1425 Calibration to Well Tops, 1426 Layer-by-Layer Inversion, 1433 Structure-Independent Inversion, 1450 9.5 Model Updating, 1450 Residual Moveout Analysis, 1462 Reection Traveltime Tomography, 1469 Limitations in Resolving Velocity-Depth Ambiguity by Tomography, 1479 Turning-Ray Tomography, 1512 Exercises, 1524 Appendix J: Data Modeling by Inversion, 1525 J.1 The Generalized Linear Inversion, 1525 J.2 The GLI Formalism of Deconvolution, 1526 J.3 Applications of the GLI Technique, 1530 J.4 Dix Conversion, 1534 J.5 Map Processing, 1539 J.6 Reection Traveltime Tomography, 1545 J.7 Threshold for Velocity-Depth Ambiguity, 1553 References, 1554 Chapter 10 STRUCTURAL INVERSION 10.0 Introduction, 1557 10.1 Subsalt Imaging in the North Sea, 1558 Estimation of the Overburden Model, 1562 Estimation of the Substratum Model, 1562 Model Verication, 1563 10.2 Subsalt Imaging in the Gulf of Mexico, 1574 Layered Earth Model Estimation, 1574
xvi
Sructure-Independent Model Estimation, 1577 10.3 Imaging Beneath Irregular Water Bottom in the Northwest Shelf of Australia, 1597 Earth Modeling and Imaging in Depth, 1597 10.4 Imaging Beneath Volcanics in the West of Shetlands of the Atlantic Margin, 1597 Earth Modeling and Imaging in Depth, 1607 10.5 Imaging Beneath Shallow Gas Anomalies in the Gulf of Thailand, 1620 Earth Modeling and Imaging in Depth, 1620 10.6 3-D Structural Inversion Applied to Seismic Data from the Southern North Sea, 1626 Estimation of the Overburden Model, 1626 Model Representation by Tessellation, 1630 3-D Coherency Inversion, 1630 3-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1637 Estimation of the Substratum Model, 1638 10.7 3-D Structural Inversion Applied to Seismic Data from the Central North Sea, 1651 3-D Coherency Inversion Combined with 3-D Poststack Depth Migration, 1665 3-D Stacking Velocity Inversion Combined with 3-D Image-Ray Depth Conversion, 1674 10.8 3-D Structural Inversion Applied to Seismic Data from Oshore Indonesia, 1674 Model Building, 1678 Model Updating, 1678 Imaging in Depth, 1690 Volume-Based Interpretation, 1690 10.9 3-D Structural Inversion Applied to Seismic Data from the Northeast China, 1703 3-D DMO Processing, 1720 3-D Prestack Time Migration, 1720 From RMS to Interval Velocities, 1742 Structural Inversion, 1742 Structural and Stratigraphic Interpretation, 1744 Exercises, 1778 Appendix K: Seismic Modeling, 1779 K.1 Zero-Oset Traveltime Modeling, 1779 K.2 Zero-Oset Waveeld Modeling, 1781 K.3 Nonzero-Oset Waveeld Modeling, 1781 K.4 Elastic Waveeld Modeling, 1790 References, 1792 Chapter 11 RESERVOIR GEOPHYSICS 11.0 Introduction, 1793 Elastic Waves and Rock Properties, 1794 11.1 Seismic Resolution, 1801 Vertical Resolution, 1801 Lateral Resolution, 1803 11.2 Analysis of Amplitude Variation with Oset, 1807 Reection and Refraction, 1808 Reector Curvature, 1813 AVO Equations, 1816 Processing Sequence for AVO Analysis, 1839 Derivation of AVO Attributes by Prestack Amplitude Inversion, 1851 Interpretation of AVO Attributes, 1862 3-D AVO Analysis, 1863 11.3 Acoustic Impedance Estimation, 1863 Synthetic Sonic Logs, 1864
Contents Processing Sequence for Acoustic Impedance Estimation, 1865 Derivation of Acoustic Impedance Attribute, 1866 3-D Acoustic Impedance Estimation, 1872 Instantaneous Attributes, 1896 11.4 Vertical Seismic Proling, 1907 VSP Acquisition Geometry, 1907 Processing of VSP Data, 1907 VSP-CDP Transform, 1908 11.5 4-D Seismic Method, 1911 Processing of 4-D Seismic Data, 1912 Seismic Reservoir Monitoring, 1913 11.6 4-C Seismic Method, 1915 Recording of 4-C Seismic Data, 1919 Gaisers Coupling Analysis of Geophone Data, 1922 Processing of P P Data, 1926 Rotation of Horizontal Geophone Components, 1926 Common-Conversion-Point Binning, 1933 Velocity Analysis of P S Data, 1946 Dip-Moveout Correction of P S Data, 1959 Migration of P S Data, 1961 11.7 Seismic Anisotropy, 1961 Anisotropic Velocity Analysis, 1965 Anisotropic Dip-Moveout Correction, 1968 Anisotropic Migration, 1980 Eect of Anisotropy on AVO, 1998 Shear-Wave Splitting in Anisotropic Media, 1999 Exercises, 2000 Appendix L: Mathematical Foundation of Elastic Wave Propagation, 2001 L.1 Stress-Strain Relation, 2001 L.2 Elastic Wave Equation, 2007 L.3 Seismic Wave Types Body Waves and Surface Waves, 2008 L.4 Wave Propagation Phenomena Diraction, Reection, and Refraction, 2012 L.5 The Zoeppritz Equations, 2014 L.6 Prestack Amplitude Inversion, 2019 References, 2024 INDEX, xvii
xvii
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
The seismic method plays a prominent role in the search for hydrocarbons. Seismic exploration consists of three main stages: data acquisition, processing, and interpretation. This book is intended to help the seismic analyst understand the fundamentals of the techniques used in processing seismic data. In particular, emphasis is given to the practical aspects of data analysis. Topics in this book are treated in two phases. First, each process is described from a physical viewpoint, with less emphasis on mathematical development. In doing so, geometric means are used extensively to help the reader gain the physical insight into the dierent processes. Second, the geophysical parameters that affect the delity of the resulting output from each process are critically examined via an extensive series of synthetic and real data examples. For the student of reection seismology and new entrants to the seismic industry, this book tries to provide insights into the practical aspects of the application of the theory of time series and waves. For experienced seismic explorationists, this book should serve as a refresher and handy reference. However, it is not just meant for the seismic analyst. Explorationists who would like to gain a practical background in seismic data processing without any mathematical burden also should benet from it. Nevertheless, for the more theoretically inclined, a mathematical treatise on the main subjects is provided in the appendixes. The seismic analyst is confronted daily with the important tasks of: (1) selecting a proper sequence of processing steps appropriate for the eld data under consideration, (2) selecting an appropriate set of parameters for each processing step, and (3) evaluating the resulting output from each processing step, then diagnosing any problems caused by improper parameter selection.
There is a well-established sequence for standard seismic data processing. The three principal processes deconvolution, stacking, and migration make up the foundation of routine processing. There also are some auxiliary processes that help improve the eectiveness of the principle processes. Questions often arise as to the kind of auxiliary processes that should be used and when they should be applied. For example, if shot records contain an abundance of source-generated coherent noise, then dip ltering may be valuable before deconvolution. Beam steering may be necessary to improve the signal-to-noise ratio while reducing the number of channels in processing by a factor of as much as four. Residual statics corrections often are required for improving velocity estimation and stacking. In a daily production environment, many questions arise concerning the optimal parameter selection for each process. Some of the most repeatedly asked questions are: What is a good length for the deconvolution operator? What should the prediction lag be? What should the design gate for the operator be? How should the correlation window be chosen in residual statics computations? What kind of aperture width should one select in Kirchho migration? What is the optimum depth step size in nite-dierence migration? Many more questions could be included in this list of questions. To help answer these questions, a large number of examples using both eld and synthetic data and describing a wide range of processing parameters are provided. Since the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words is especially apt in a discussion of seismic data processing, gures make up the major portion of this textbook. In preparing some of the gures, I received great assistance from my colleagues at Western Geophysical Company. Thanks are due to Darran Lucas, Mike Cox, Greg Godkin, Dave Nichols, Tania Bachus, Tomaso Gabrieli, Dave Hill, and Raphael Tortosa. xix
xx
Seismic Data Analysis Alam, Bruce Cassell, Karl Millahn, Tony Kudrna, Dave Brown, Darko Tufekcic, Pete Bibby, John Ferguson, Mark Doyle, Wendell Wiggins, Je Resnick, Walt Lynn, Bill Dragoset, Mai Yang, Patrick Ng, Steve Cole, Larry Scott, Ken Larner, and Helmut Jakubowicz. Special thanks are due to Diane Parker, who did an outstanding job of editing for style, proofreading, and preparing the camera-ready copy of the book. Thanks to Lynn Grifn for helping to bring the text up to the SEG standards of publication. Special thanks also are due to my editor, Steve Doherty, for his excellent and comprehensive review. I also appreciate his valuable recommendations in revising the text and the help he provided in bringing clarity to the text. I extend my deepest and wholehearted appreciation to my wife, Hulya, for her everlasting encouragement. And nally, thanks are due to Western Geophysical Company of America for the support provided to me in writing this textbook. Yilmaz Oz London, July, 1987.
Thanks also are due to the oil companies and contractors for supplying data and some gures for which specic acknowledgment is made in the gure captions. I express my deep appreciation to: Soraya Brombacher, Mark Wilson, Wayne Johnson, Mike Jungnickel, and Pam Jakubowicz for the artwork on most of the gures. I also extend my appreciation to Meg LaVergne, who put the nal touches on many gures and computerdrafted the ow diagrams. Thanks also to the members of the playback group at Westerns London Digital Center: Stephen Blick, John Byrne, Mike Byrne, Chris Godsave, Steven Grace, and Tony Leventis. Sally Humphreys, Jan Mitchell, and Vivian Millson helped key the text into the word processor. I acknowledge with great appreciation the review work done by Jon Claerbout, Sven Treitel, John Sherwood, Fred Hilterman, and Greg Godkin. I also thank the following individuals who participated in reviewing parts of the earlier drafts: Ron Chambers, Aftab
PREFACE
The rst edition, entitled Seismic Data Processing, was published in 1987 by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Thereafter, I began to work on the second edition almost immediately. My objective was to capture continuously the new developments that were taking place in the seismic industry. The second edition is the culmination of this continuous update over the past ten years. The updating process was based on exhaustive model- and real-data experiments with the results of the research and development work of my own and many others. I have also drawn an extensive and demonstrative set of real-data examples from the numerous case studies that I conducted during the course of the update. Another source of update was of course the prolic literature on exploration seismology. This second edition embodies the broad scope of seismic data analysis processing, inversion, and interpretation of seismic data. I shall give a brief summary of the most important new developments in seismic data analysis during the past 15 years. To begin with, the 3-D seismic method took a centrally dominant position in the exploration and development of oil and gas elds. Algorithms for 3-D seismic data processing, including 3-D dip-moveout correction, 3-D refraction and residual statics corrections, and 3-D migration have now become an integral part of the applications library of the seismic data processing systems in use today. Additionally, noise attenuation based on prediction ltering is now applied routinely to seismic data. Techniques for multiple attenuation based on the Radon transform and wave extrapolation have been successfully demonstrated on eld data. Shortly after 3-D migration, we also began to image the subsurface before stacking. Ecient workows for 3-D prestack time migration are in use today not only to image the subsurface more accurately in the presence of conicting dips with dierent stacking velocities but also to generate common-reection-point gathers that can be used to perform prestack amplitude inversion
and thus obtain attributes associated with amplitude variations with oset. 3-D prestack time migration also paves the way for estimating a 3-D rms velocity eld that can be used to perform Dix conversion and thus obtain a 3-D interval velocity eld. Concurrent with prestack imaging, we began to image the subsurface also in depth to account for strong lateral velocity variations. During the last decade, years of eort in research and development conducted in previous decades have led to practical inversion methods for earth modeling and imaging in depth. Using appropriate inversion methods, we derive a seismic representation of an earth model in depth, described by two sets of parameters layer velocities and reector geometries, for low-relief, complex, and complex overburden structures. The power of 3-D visualization has given us the ability to create an earth model in depth with the accuracy needed to image in depth, and that within an ecient work schedule. Additionally, the rapid growth in computer power has enabled us to generate an earth image in depth from 3-D prestack depth migration of large data volumes, again within acceptable work schedules. To get the most out of the image volumes derived from 3-D prestack time and depth migrations, we now make extensive use of 3-D visualization in seismic interpretation. Using a volume-based interpretation strategy, not only do we pick time or depth horizons to delineate the structural model of the subsurface, but we also make use of the seismic amplitudes to infer the depositional model of the subsurface. The road ahead for exploration seismology includes three main topics 4-D seismic method, 4-C seismic method, and anisotropy, all aimed at seismic characterization of oil and gas reservoirs and eventually monitoring their depletions. By recording 3-D seismic data over the eld that is being developed and produced at appropriate time intervals, we may detect changes in the reservoir conditions, such as uid saturation and xxi
xxii
Seismic Data Analysis I is devoted to 2-D conventional processing based on the three principle processes deconvolution, stacking, and migration. Volume I is devoted to topics beyond 2-D conventional processing 3-D seismic exploration, seismic inversion for earth modeling and imaging in depth, 4-D seismic method, 4-C seismic method, and anisotropy. Each chapter is accompanied by an appendix that includes a mathematical treatise of selected topics from the chapter itself. As such, practical aspects of seismic data analysis are treated within the chapters themselves without the burden of the theoretical details. When used as a textbook in a university, I recommend Volume I for a rst-semester senior-level course and Volume II for a second-semester senior-level course or a rst-year graduate course. Optionally, you may consider an additional one-semester senior- or graduatelevel course on the applied theory of exploration seismology based on primarily the appendixes. If you are a seismic analyst using this book as a reference, you can study the practical aspects of seismic data analysis in relation to the projects you are conducting to get helpful hints on the algorithms and workows. If you are a research geophysicist using this book as a reference, you can study the practical aspects of a specic application of interest to get helpful hints on what assumptions can be made in relation to that application. Also, you can study the appendixes to initiate yourself into the basic theory on the subject of your interest. I have a passion for the seismic method that I have maintained throughout my career. While the source of this passion is indisputably my teacher and life-long friend, Jon Claerbout, I have been very fortunate to have worked with some of the most talented individuals who have fueled my enthusiasm for exploration seismology. Most appropriately, I wish to express here my heartful gratitudes to each of these individuals. To begin with, I am deeply grateful to Steve Doherty, my technical editor and life-long friend, for his incisive, meticulous, and prompt editing of this entire work. Steves editing brought clarity and precision to the text. He was also the editor of the rst edition; on that occasion and now, he gracefully shared the experience with me. Thank you, Steve, for your dedication and eort. As part of the technical editing, I also received great assistance from Zhiming Li, who edited Appendices A through J, Joe Stefani who edited Appendix L, and John Toldi who edited Chapter 11. I thank all of you wholeheartedly for your careful editing of the text, debugging the equations, and introducing clarity to derivations. Next, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Judy Hastings, my technical copy editor, for her impressively consistent editing of the entire manuscript
pore pressure. Such changes may be related to changes in the seismic amplitudes from one 3-D survey to the next. Time-lapse 3-D seismic monitoring of reservoirs is referred to as the 4-D seismic method. The fourth dimension represents the calendar time over which the reservoir is being monitored. Potential applications of the 4-D seismic method include monitoring the spatial extent of the steam front following in-situ combustion or steam injection used for thermal recovery, monitoring the spatial extent of the injected water front used for secondary recovery, imaging bypassed oil, determining ow properties of sealing or leaking faults, and detecting changes in oil-water contact. Some reservoirs can be identied and monitored better by using shear-wave data. For instance, acoustic impedance contrast at the top-reservoir boundary may be too small to detect, whereas shear-wave impedance contrast may be suciently large to detect. By recording multicomponent data at the ocean bottom, P -wave and S -wave images can be derived. Commonly, four data components are recorded the pressure wave-eld and inline, crossline, and vertical components of particle velocity. Thus, the multicomponent seismic data recording and analysis is often referred to as the 4C seismic method. Potential applications of the 4-C seismic method include imaging beneath gas plumes, salt domes, and basalts, delineating reservoir boundaries with a higher S -wave impedance contrast than P -wave impedance contrast, dierentiating sand from shale, detection of uid phase change from oil-bearing to water-bearing sands, detection of vertical fracture orientation, mapping hydrocarbon saturation, and mapping oil-water contact. Until recently, exploration seismology at large has been based on the assumption of an isotropic medium, albeit we have been cognizant of anisotropic behavior of reservoir rocks. Seismic anisotropy often is associated with directional variations in velocities. For instance, in a vertically fractured limestone reservoir, velocity in the fracture direction is lower than velocity in the direction perpendicular to the plane of fracturing, giving rise to azimuthal anisotropy. Another directional variation of velocities involves horizontal layering and fracturing of rocks parallel to the layering. In this case, velocity in the horizontal direction is higher than the vertical direction, giving rise to transverse isotropy. In addition to a continuing eort to improve the existing 3-D time- and depth-domain applications, current research and development in seismic data analysis is focused on time- and depth-domain analysis of 4-D and 4-C seismic data while accounting for anisotropy. Topics in this book are organized to reect the increasing degree of complexity in the data analysis and the progress made in exploration seismology. Volume
Preface and her diligence in keeping me on schedule. Thank you, Judy, also for your graceful handling of my frustrations with the s and a s. I wish to extend my thanks to Ted Bakamjian, Publications Manager of SEG, for his support and excellent coordination of the tasks involved in the publication process. Now I wish to extend my special thanks to Cyril Gregory, Irfan Tanritanir, Ferudun Kilic, Orhan Yilmaz, Fugen Zhou, Ma Xae Ling, and Huseyin Ozdemir, who helped me with several of the case studies, and model- and real-data experiments. Specically, Cyril helped me create the case studies for my 1996 SEG Distinguished Lecture Tour; these case studies are included in Chapter 10. Cyril has been involved in many of the projects over the past ten years associated with this work. Irfan, Ferudun, and Fugen all worked with me on several case studies which are also included in Chapter 10. Orhan did the processing of the 4-C data presented in Chapter 11. I feel very fortunate to have had such exceptionally talented individuals helping me to bear the burden. I wish to extend my special thanks to David Lumley, 4th Wave Imaging, and Chevron for contributing examples to the section on 4-D seismic method. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Moshe Reshef for creating some of the synthetic data sets I used in my experiments described in Chapters 3 and 8. Likewise, I extend my sincere gratitude to Evgeny Landa for cre-
xxiii
ating the synthetic data sets I used in my experiments described in Chapter 9. Extending the list, I express my thanks to Ed Crase, Chris Taylor, Dave Nichols, Duane Dopkin, Gerald Kidd, Rob Bond, Cerys Biancardi, Davud Babayev, and Lee Bell for providing examples or helping me create them. I am sure that I am unable to recall many of the names associated with the update going back ten years; I thank all of you most sincerely. I am very grateful to Chevron, Mobil, Britannia, Talisman, Husky Oil, BP-Amoco, Shell, AGIP, Total, BHP, Gulf Canada, ONGC, Shengli Oil Field of CNPC, Saudi Aramco, and many other companies who may or may not have preferred to be anonymous for providing eld data that enabled me to conduct my experiments. I wish to sincerely thank Damir Skerl and Western Geophysical, Rutt Bridges and Landmark, Schlumberger Geco-Prakla, Walt Lynn and PGS, and especially Eldad Weiss and Paradigm Geophysical for their most invaluable support and encouragement in my quest to complete this work. And now the last word, but a special tribute to my wife, Hulya, and my son, Esen. I am wholeheartedly grateful to you both for your enduring love and support. This work undoubtedly demanded sacrice; and it was denitely a sacrice on your part. You demanded very little of me, and you gave the whole of your love to me. I shall cherish it all my life. Yilmaz Oz London, May, 2000.

Front Matter

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Front Matter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Downloaded 01/05/13 to 192.159.106.200. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.

Series: Investigations in Geophysics, Volume I Michael R. Cooper, Series Editor

SEISMIC DATA ANALYSIS

Stephen M. Doherty, Editor

Society of Exploration Geophysicists

Seismic Data Analysis

Seismic Data Analysis

Seismic Data Analysis

Seismic Data Analysis

Contents Chapter 9 EARTH MODELING IN DEPTH

Seismic Data Analysis

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

You might also like