Short Course 7
3D Seismic Attributes To Define Structure And Stratigraphy — A Hands-on Course
Instructor: Kurt J. Marfurt, Professor of Geophysics, University of Oklahoma
Date: Sunday, October 4, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Fee: $120 for professionals or $20 for students
Limit: 50 participants maximum (student spots are limited)
Includes: Lunch, refreshments, & course notes will be provided
Geometric attributes such as coherence and curvature are routinely used to rapidly visualize and quantify faults and folds in 3D volumes that may otherwise take weeks to manually interpret using traditional horizon and fault plane interpretation workflows. Curvature is a measure of shape and can thus be used to map carbonate buildups, collapse features, and differential compaction of thicker channels. Amplitude curvature maps more rapid lateral changes in reflectivity and often allows one to image joints and fractures that give rise to subtle amplitude lineaments. Reflector convergence quantifies the magnitude and orientation of onlap, erosional truncation, and channel fill. Spectral components are sensitive to thin bed tuning and can be used to map channels and lateral changes in thickness that fall at or near the limits of seismic resolution.
The purpose of this interactive course is to demonstrate a link between attributes and geology through their application to a specific data volume. In the past, most hands-on attribute courses have been sponsored and taught by a specific software vendor. The expense of software licenses usually precludes such a teaching venue in a professional society course. At The University of Oklahoma, we have developed our own state-of-the-art attribute algorithms that operate in Windows as well as Linux environments. Participants will be required to bring their own laptops containing either their own data volumes or if the participant’s data cannot be used in a classroom environment, we will provide small public domain volumes from the New Zealand Petroleum Ministry for use in the course.
Kurt J. Marfurt joined The University of Oklahoma in 2007 where he serves as the Frank and Henrietta Schultz Professor of Geophysics within the ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics. Marfurt’s primary research interest is in the development and calibration of new seismic attributes to aid in seismic processing/interpretation and reservoir characterization. Recent work has focused on applying coherence, spectral decomposition, structure-oriented filtering, and volumetric curvature to mapping fractures and karst with a particular focus on resource plays. Marfurt earned a Ph.D. in applied geophysics at Columbia University’s Henry Krumb School of Mines in New York in 1978 where he also taught as an Assistant Professor for four years. He worked 18 years in a wide range of research projects at Amoco’s Tulsa Research Center, after which he joined the University of Houston for eight years as a Professor of Geophysics and the Director of the Allied Geophysics Lab. He has received SEG best paper (for coherence), SEG best presentation (for seismic modeling) and as a coauthor with Satinder Chopra best SEG poster (for curvature) and best AAPG technical presentation. Marfurt also served as the EAGE/SEG Distinguished Short Course Instructor for 2006 (on seismic attributes).