Are you getting the most out of your

Pre-stack Seismic Data?

John Norman Halliburton
ECIM 2009
 Agenda

Why Prestack?
Prospects
Data Quality
Data Volume
What is Prestack?
Landmarks Prestack Vision

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 Why Prestack? - Prospects

Prospects: Next set of prospects are small and

more difficult to find
All the obvious structures and anomalies have been found.
Pre-stack seismic contains additional information about reservoir
potential.
Today, most interpreters do not use pre-stack seismic data, or they
wait long periods to have this data examined by experts.
Near/Far stack analysis misrepresents a large portion of amplitude
anomalies.
Pre-stack allows direct prediction of lithology and fluid effects.
Changes in fluid and lithology have distinct signatures that can be
observed in prestack seismic data.
These signatures are smeared together and lost in poststack seismic
data.

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 Why Prestack? Data Quality

Data Quality: New seismic acquisition/processing

has improved signal
Less need for stack, allowing pre-stack analysis to be more of a
routine analysis.
Data and processing problems are hidden in the stack volume
pre-stack QC valuable.
Access to prestack allows the interpreter to quickly validate
interpretation quality and data integrity

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 Why Prestack? Data Volume

Data Volume: Pre-stack 50X data size of stacked

Recent advances in compression, computing power and low cost
of memory now allows users to see large pre-stack data sets
Storage solutions such as PetroBank, allow users to select and
download prospect areas, rather than large datasets.

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 What is Pre-Stack seismic?

Shot Gathers Grouped by Shot, as with Field data

CMP Gathers Grouped by a Common-Mid-Point
Bin Gathers CMP Gathers for 3D bin

Add traces together

Simplify, remove noise

Stack
Standard seismic
Pre-stack interpretation volumes
Gather

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 Prospects - All the obvious structures and
anomalies have been found
Structural Interpretation -> Geologic Framework

Dry holes
not because
of where
reservoir is.
Dry because
of what
reservoir is.

Amplitude Interpretation -> Composition of Framework

Thin Section

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 Prospects - All the obvious structures and
anomalies have been found
AVO examples
Anomalies on the stacked seismic are only part of the fingerprint
Stack is the same
Pre-stack different
Stack has little information
Pre-stack has more information

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 Prospects - Pre-stack allows direct prediction of
lithology and fluid effects

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 Chapter 0
Pre-stack amplitude change

Vertical Angle Change Fluid

Gas

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 Data Quality - Pre-stack seismic for quality control

Quality check the data for acquisition issues

Multiples (water bottom and interbed)
Anisotropy (long offset corrections hockey stick effect)
Boat noise (linear noise)
Random noise
Near surface statics
Array effects
Quality check the data for processing problems
Geometry busts
Velocity errors (too fast, too slow)
Too severe of mute
Too harsh of deconvolution
NMO stretch
Short window AGC
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Data Quality - Pre-stack seismic for quality control
Post-stack Pre-stack

Bad Processing
Good

Is there uncertainty in
the seismic interpretation?
Bad
Noise

Good
Bad
Noise

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 Data Volume - Pre-stack 50X data size of stacked
Field and Pre-stack Data Flow in PetroBank
SEG-D (field)
SEG-Y v0, v1(pre-stack)

Tape
Index SEG-D (field)
SEG-Y v0, v1
Pre-stack (pre-stack)
Disk Files PetroBank
(SEG-Y) MDS
File
Index

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 Data Volume - Pre-stack 50X data size of stacked
Download of Pre-stack Seismic
PowerExplorer is used to select and request data from
PetroBank MDS
GIS and table views to allow user to find and select the data which
they are interested
Methods are the same as for Post-stack Seismic
Data can be selected using various methods such as creating a buffer
around another object (such as a well) or drawing a polygon

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 Data Volume - Pre-stack 50X data size of stacked

Pre-Stack Seismic
Data Request
A user select parameters
for a seismic data request

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 Landmarks Pre-stack Vision
Bring pre-stack to the interpreters desktop
Make pre-stack seismic mainstream from data management to reservoir
characterization
Focus on the Interpreter The SeisWorks of Pre-Stack

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Thank you.
Questions?