Fault damage zone at subsurface: A case study using 3D seismic attributes and a clay model analog for the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma

Abstract

Using 3D seismic attributes and the support of a clay model that served as an analog, we mapped and analyzed a 32 km (20 mi) long, north–south-striking, right-lateral fault in the Woodford Shale, Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma, USA. Volumetric coherence, dip azimuth, and curvature delineated an approximately 1.5 km (approximately 5000 ft) wide damage zone with multiple secondary faults, folds, and flexures. The clay analog enabled us to identify these features as belonging to a complex transpressional Riedel structure. We also suggest that the damage zone contains dense subseismic fractures associated with multiscale faulting and secondary folding that may correspond to highly permeable features within the Woodford Shale.