INTERPRETERS CORNER Coordinated by Rebecca Latimer

Seismic reservoir characterization of Indonesias

Southwest Betara Field
Sigit Sukmono, Institute of Technology Bandung
M. N. Alamsyah, Sihman Marmosuwito, Woro Sutjiningsih, and Lambok P. Marpaung, PetroChina International Jabung Limited

The onshore portion of Southwest

Betara (SWB) Field is in the Jabung
Block of the South
Sumatra Basin, approximately 250
km south of Singapore (Figure 1).
This field, discovered in 2005, is
currently operated by PetroChina
International Jabung in partnership
with Petronas Carigali and PT
Pertamina (Persero).
This article describes a study
whose main objective was seismic
reservoir characterization on the A-
sand within the Lower Talang Akar
Formation (LTAF, Figure 2). The
process qualitatively and quan-
titatively details the character of
the reservoir using primarily
seismic data with a primary focus
on defin-ing the net pay and
porosity within the A-sand.

Geology of SWB
The target A-Sand onlaps the crest
of the granitic basement and forms
a combination of structural and
stratigraphic traps. Intraformation
shales and claystones of the Lower Figure 1. Location of Southwest Betara Field in the Jabung Block, South Sumatra Basin, and
Upper Talang Akar formations Indonesia. The inset shows the depth structure map, displayed in more detail in Figure 3, of
the
serve as the seals. A-Sand.
The A-sand depth structure map
is shown in Figure 3, and the dip and strike seismic sections
are shown in Figure 4. At the beginning of the study, the field
had only three exploration wells. Wells SWB-1 and SWB-2
encountered oil while SWB-3 encountered wet sands. Figures
3 and 4 show the faulted anticlinal structure of the field, orig-
inally consisting of a half-graben and subsequently slightly
inverted during Plio-Pleistocene to its current condition. This
is a common play type in the western Jabung Block. The NW
dipping and NE-SW trending normal fault acts as the west-
ern structural boundary of the field.
Figure 5 is a cross-section view of the A-Sand through
the three wells, showing sand thickness and oil distribution.
The A-Sand is thickly developed in SWB-1 and SEB-2, and
very thinly deposited in SWB-3. The A-Sand has reservoir
pressure of approximately 2100-2300 psia, average net pay
of 26 ft, porosity of 22.1%, water saturation of 25.6%, and
permeability of 868 mD.
Seismic attributes analysis
Porosity and net pay were the main properties to be derived
from the analysis. In order to determine which attributes were
most applicable to SWB rock properties, a series of tests was
performed. A 10-ms window above and below the top of the
A-sand (the same window used to define net pay) was used to
compute the seismic-derived attributes. These attributes were
plotted against porosity and net pay derived from log data of
the three existing wells. The results indicated that the best
attributes were the sum of negative amplitude (SNA), instan-
taneous amplitude, instantaneous frequency, and sweetness
(Figure 6).
SNA outputs the sum of negative amplitudes within the
10-ms window. The A-sand has low acoustic impedance; thus
for normal-polarity, zero-phase data, the A-sand is predomi-
nantly represented by trough (Figure 7). Figure 6a shows that
low SNA is associated with large values of net pay and porosity.

260 THE LEADING EDGE DECEMBER 2008

 INTERPRETERS CORNER

Figure 2. Stratigraphic column of the Jabung Block. The approximate position of the target A-Sand in Lower Talang Akar
Formation (LTAF) is indicated by the red dashed box.

DECEMBER 2008 THE LEADING EDGE 261

 Figure 3. The A-Sand depth structure
map and locations of wells SWB 1, 2 and
3. Depth contours are in feet. The
structure in SWB field is a faulted
anticline with three-way dip closure. The
NW-SE and SW-NE seismic sections
indicated here are displayed in Figure 4.

Figure 4. NW-SE and SW-NE seismic sections across SWB, showing a faulted anticline structure indicating three-way dip closure.
The A-sand layer is shown as a pink horizon, B-sand as orange, and C-sand as green.

262 THE LEADING EDGE DECEMBER 2008

Figure 5. Cross-section through wells SWB-1, 2, and 3. The A-sand is thicker in wells SWB-1 and 2 than in SWB-3. SWB-3 is also water wet.

Figure 6. (a) SNA,

(b) instantaneous
amplitude, (c)
instantaneous
frequency, and (d)
sweetness in the A-
Sand interval
plotted against
porosity (blue lines)
and net pay (red
lines) derived from
wells SWB-1, SWB-
2 and SWB-3 over
the same target
zone. Corr refers
to correlation.

DECEMBER 2008 THE LEADING EDGE 263

Figure 7. Flattened seismic section on top of LTAF (see cross-section on Figure 5) showing shading of the sands from attribute analysis. The A-sand
is deposited in the channel lows of the LTAF interval. These channels are predominately troughs on the seismic (normal polarity).

Figure 8. Horizon slice at the top

A-sand, showing SNA overlain on
the depth contour map. The blue
contour line represents the oil-
water contact.

264 THE LEADING EDGE DECEMBER 2008

 Figure 9. Horizon slice from the
Top A-sand showing
instantaneous amplitude overlain
on the depth contour map. The
blue contour line represents the
oil-water contact.

Figure 10. Horizon slice from top

A-sand showing the instantaneous
frequency overlain on the depth
contour structure map. The blue
contour line represents the oil-
water contact.

DECEMBER 2008 THE LEADING EDGE 265

 Figure 11. Horizon slice from top
A-sand showing sweetness
overlain on the depth contour
structure map. The pink circles
represent eight new development
wells. The blue contour line
represents the oil-water contact.
The correlation between low
values of sweetness and high
porosity is .85 (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Net pay and porosity plotted against SNA (left axis) and sweetness (right axis) for wells SWB-1 to SWB-10.

266 THE LEADING EDGE DECEMBER 2008

 Instantaneous amplitude or reflection strength is a com-
plex attribute that measures the total energy of the seismic
signal at a specific instant of time. It can therefore be seen as
amplitude that is independent of phase. It serves as the en-
velope of the seismic trace for every time sample. The values
of instantaneous amplitude are always positive with magni-
tudes close to that of the real data. Sharp changes in instanta-
neous amplitude are often associated with a sharp change in
lithology. This can occur at an unconformity boundary or at a
sharp change in depositional environment. Figure 6b shows
that large instantaneous amplitudes are associated with large
values of net pay and porosity.
Instantaneous frequency, another complex attribute,
mea-sures the time rate of phase changes and provides
information on the frequency of reflector packages. In this
case, high po-rosity and thicker deposits are associated
with lower instanta-neous frequency (Figure 6c).
The sweetness attribute (instantaneous amplitude divided
by the square root of instantaneous frequency) enhances the
contrast between areas having subtly different net pay and
po-rosity values when mapped using other attributes. High
values of net pay and porosity are shown to be associated
with lower sweetness values (Figure 6d).
Horizon slices of SNA, instantaneous amplitude, instan-
taneous frequency and sweetness (Figures 8-11) give similar
patterns. The distribution of high net pay and porosity is
constrained to the middle part of the study area and oriented
NW-SE. As expected, the sweetness map shows the sharpest
contrast between the high and low values of porosity and
net pay.
Validation and conclusions
Eight development wells (SWB 3ST to SWB 10) were based
on low SNA and sweetness and on being above the oil-water
contact (Figure 11), and all eight hit oil or gas. The net pay
and porosity values for the A-sand in these wells and the
three existing wells were plotted against the SNA and
sweetness at-tributes and the correlation was high (Figure
12), confirming the applicability of SNA and sweetness in
mapping net-pay and porosity of the A-sand in SWB.
Suggested reading. Integrating seismic attributes for reservoir
characterization in Melandong Field, Indonesia by Sukmono et
al. (TLE, 2006). Application of amplitude, frequency and other
attributes to stratigraphic and hydrocarbon determina-tion by
Taner and Sheriff (in AAPG Memoir 26, 1977).
Acknowledgments: The authors thank BP MIGAS and Petro-
China International, and our partners, Petronas Carigali and
PT. Pertamina (Persero), for permission to publish this paper.
We thank Lu Xiaoguang, I Nyoman Suta, Bambang Wisnu
Handono, Brad Sincock, Budi Tyas Utomo, Fauzy AM, Tedy
Satria, Yeni Dasrul, and Asnovifardi for their support.
Corresponding author: sigit@bdg.centrin.net.id and
ssukmono@ pqsc.or.id
DECEMBER 2008 THE LEADING EDGE 267