Quantitative interpretation using facies-based seismic inversion

Abstract

Quantitative interpretation (QI) is an important part of successful exploration, appraisal, and development activities. Seismic amplitude variation with offset (AVO) provides the primary signal for the vast majority of QI studies allowing the determination of elastic properties from which facies can be determined. Unfortunately, many established AVO-based seismic inversion algorithms are hindered by not fully accounting for inherent subsurface facies variations and also by requiring the addition of a preconceived low-frequency model to supplement the limited bandwidth of the input seismic. We apply a novel joint impedance and facies inversion applied to a North Sea prospect using broadband seismic data. The focus was to demonstrate the significant advantages of inverting for each facies individually and iteratively determine an optimized low-frequency model from facies-derived depth trends. The results generated several scenarios for potential facies distributions thereby providing guidance to future appraisal and development decisions.