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Enhanced detection of faults using dip-steered multitrace


similarity-computation techniques: Example using offshore
Niger Delta 3D seismic data
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BABANGIDA JIBRIN, University of Birmingham

Abstract Al-Dossary and Marfurt, 2006; Chopra et al., 2011; Qayyum


Techniques for improved detection of faults have been and de Groot, 2012).
applied to 3D seismic data acquired over the central parts Faults are important in oil and gas exploration and pro-
of the deepwater Niger Delta. A volume containing the dips duction as conduits and/or barriers to hydrocarbon migration
and azimuths of the traces was rst computed directly from (Heggland, 2003). As the need to discover new hydrocarbon
the data. The data were enhanced by applying lters to com- reserves in complex structural settings is intensied, advanced
pute two structurally improved volumes containing localized techniques for computing attributes that highlight disconti-
and subregional dips and azimuths of the traces. Multitrace nuities in seismic data can play a key role in the accurate detec-
similarity was then computed using the seismic reectivity tion of faults with improved imaging of fault-zone structure.
and subregional dip data as input. The attributes highlighted In this study, techniques have been applied to improve the
an east-northeastwest-southwest-trending zone of high dips quality of 3D seismic data acquired over the central parts of
and low-similarity anomalies representing the location of the deepwater Niger Delta (Figure 1). Perspective time-slice
a major zone of strike-slip faulting separating a northwest- and cross-sectional views of the structurally enhanced data
southeast-trending zone of thrusting into two compartments. demonstrate that the contrast of fault imaging and the vis-
Faults in the northern compartment consist of forethrusts ibility of the zones next to faults have been improved by using
and backthrusts verging in opposite directions, whereas faults these techniques.
in the southern compartment verge basinward. If the quality
of data had not been improved by using these techniques, Methodology
the complex structural framework might not have been seen The poststack time-migrated 3D data have inline and
clearly. crossline spacing of 12.5 m. The recording interval is 9 s, with
a 4-ms sampling rate. Spectral analysis (Figure 2) shows that
Introduction the dominant frequency varies from 20 to 40 Hz between
One of the challenges of seismic interpretation is the abil- 3.5- and 6.0-s two-way traveltime. A frequency of 26 Hz that
ity to distinguish discontinuities related to faulting from ar- appears to be the strongest in the amplitude spectrum plot
tifacts caused by acquiring and processing seismic data. The was used to calculate the resolution of the data (Figure 2). The
introduction of the coherence cube (Bahorich and Farmer, maximum vertical resolution is approximately 18 m at shal-
1995) has had a positive impact as an invaluable tool for de- lower sections but deteriorates to more than 25 m in deeper
tecting structural and stratigraphic features in seismic data. sections of the data. The loss of seismic resolution usually is
Similar techniques for improving the quality of seismic attributed to loss of frequency with depth in addition to uid
data have been described previously (Marfurt et al., 1999; overpressures, especially in Tertiary deltaic environments

Figure 1. Map of the Gulf of Guinea showing the location of the Figure 2. Amplitude spectrum plot between 3.5-s and 6.0-s two-way
study area (red box). traveltime.

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(Maloney, 2011). Data are displayed with a reverse polarity The rst dip-steering volume was calculated directly from
and have been zero-phase-migrated with vertical scale in sec- the seismic data (Figure 4a) using a fast steering-lter algorithm
onds (s) of two-way traveltime (TWTT). based on analysis of the vertical and horizontal gradient of the
Multitrace similarity computation. An attribute that de- amplitude data (Tingdahl, 2003). Three samples one each
tects and highlights the waveform similarity of adjacent trace in the inline, crossline, and time directions were used for
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pairs and the time dierence between traces interpreted as the computation (i.e., stepout is 1, 1, 1). The ltering distance
vectors was computed to highlight faults in the data. Simi- is 37.5 m in the inline and crossline directions (bin spacing of
larity (S ) is mathematically the Euclidean distance in hyper- 12.5 m number of samples) and 12 ms in the time direction
space between vectors of the segments, normalized between (sampling rate of 4 ms number of samples). These data are
zero and one to the sum of the lengths of the vectors (equa- referred to as the raw dip-steering volume (Figure 4b).
tion 1). High similarity means the trace segments are similar The second dip-steering volume was computed by ap-
in waveshape and amplitude. Low similarity implies that the plying edge-preserving median lters to the raw dip-steering
traces are dissimilar, probably because of faulting (Tingdahl,
2003).

....(1)

Figure 3. Cross-sectional schematic illustration of dip-steering


techniques applied to the data. (a) Dip steering was applied to
compute multitrace similarity steered by seismic dips for improved
detection of faults and visibility of fault zones. (b) No steering was
, applied for the computation.

dt is the sampling interval, t1 and t2


are the limits of the time gate, (xv,
yv) and (xu, yu) are the two trace posi-
tions that are compared, and f is the
amplitude value.
Applying dip steering for multitrace
similarity computation. Similarity is
sensitive to amplitude dierences
between trace segments in addition
to waveshape (equation 1). The dif-
ference in response of the attribute
at the locations of faults is largely
dependent on the dip of the traces.
By applying dip-steering techniques,
similarity computation is guided
along trace to trace by the local dip
and azimuth at every position along
the track (Figure 3a). However,
without the application of dip steer-
ing, trace segments are aligned hori-
zontally (Figure 3b). For improved
detection of faults and fault zones,
the application of dip steering re-
duces the sensitivity of similarity to
Figure 4. Perspective views of time slices extracted at 3.9-s two-way traveltime from (a) seismic
dipping reectors with no apparent volume, (b) raw dip-steering volume, (c) detailed dip-steering volume, and (d) background dip-
link to faulting by aligning adjacent steering volume. Note the improved contrast of the discrete zones of dip anomalies in the steering-
trace segments with a lag time. data volumes (red and green arrows, parts [b] through [d]).

April 2014 The Leading Edge 429


O f f s h o r e / O T C

volume to attenuate localized noise along structural dips in All trace pairs dened by inline and crossline directions
the vertical (time) direction. The ltering distance is 20 ms and time position were computed using full-block extension.
in the temporal direction. These data contain localized dip The position of the minimum similarity was selected as the
and azimuth of the traces and are the detailed dip-steering output statistical operator so that dissimilarity values close to
volume (Figure 4c). zero are highlighted at the locations of faults. Similarity data
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The third steering volume was computed by applying are displayed in gray scale so that darker shades indicate dis-
edge-preserving smoothing lters to the detailed dip-steering similar seismic traces (indicating faults and discontinuities)
volume to smoothen localized noise using 10 samples. The and lighter shades represent similar seismic traces.
ltering distance is 125 m in the inline and crossline direc- Table 2 is a summary of the parameter settings used in
tions (i.e., bin spacing is 12.5 m number of samples). No computing the attributes. Comprehensive description of the
ltering was applied in the temporal direction. These data are mathematics of similarity computation applied to the data is
the background dip-steering volume (Figure 4d). described in Tingdahl (2003), Tingdahl and de Groot (2003),
All data were computed on the y and were analyzed and Tingdahl and de Rooij (2005).
using parameter settings, summa-
rized in Table 1, prior to volume
processing. A detailed description Input data Calculation Filter Number of Filter type Output data
stepout stepout samples
of the mathematics of dip and azi-
muth processing applied to the data Seismic (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) Three (one each in Median Raw steering
is given in Tingdahl (2003) and in reection inline, crossline,
Tingdahl and de Groot (2003). and time direc-
The input data for multitrace sim- tions)
ilarity computation are the seismic re- Raw steer- (0, 0, 5) Five (all in time Median Detailed steering
ection and background dip-steering ing direction only)
volumes. Previous work (Brouwer and Detailed (5, 5, 0) 10 (ve in inline Median Background
Huck, 2011) has shown that similar- steering and ve in cross- steering
ity computed along subregional dip line directions
(background steering data) provides only)
the best measure of multitrace simi-
larity for detecting faults. Table 1. Multitrace dip-extraction parameter settings applied to the data.
For this study, a time gate of +24
ms and 24 ms, equivalent to the
average seismic wavelength within
the window of investigation, and a
stepout of 1, 1 (i.e., two samples,
one each in the inline and crossline
directions) only were used in com-
puting multitrace similarity. This
implies that the attribute-computa-
tion distance in both the inline and
crossline directions is 25 m. Tempo-
ral ltering was not applied for the
computation because similarity mea-
sures made along time slices (rather
than along structural dip) generates
Figure 5. Perspective views of time slices extracted at 3.9-s two-way traveltime from (a) seismic
artifacts that can mask structural volume and (b) similarity computed without dip steering. Red arrows indicate discontinuities
features of interest (K. Marfurt, per- clearly detected by multitrace similarity computation. The cross sections in part (a) are shown in
sonal communications, 2013). Figure 7 and Figure 8.

Input data Time Extension Trace Number of samples Dip steering Statistical Output data
gate (ms) stepout output operator
Seismic reection (24, 24) Full block (1, 1) One each in inline and None Minimum Similarity with-
crossline directions only out dip steering
Seismic reection plus (24, 24) Full block (1, 1) One each in inline and Full steering Minimum Similarity with
background steering crossline directions only dip steering
Table 2. Multitrace similarity-extraction parameter settings applied to the data.

430 The Leading Edge April 2014


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Results
Figure 4 shows the input seismic
data (Figure 4a) and the output dip-
steering volumes (Figure 4b through
4d). Steering data are displayed in gray
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scale (Figure 4b through 4d), with


low dips represented by white (posi-
tive dips) and high dips represented by
black (negative dips). The green arrows
in Figure 4 highlight discrete zones of
negative dip and low-reectivity anom-
alies bounded by broad positive-dip
anomalies trending northwest-south-
east. Red arrows show a linear east-
northeastwest-southwest-trending
Figure 6. Perspective views of time-slice extracted at 3.9-s two-way traveltime from (a) similarity
negative-dip anomaly cutting across computed directly from seismic data and (b) similarity computed with dip steering. Note the
the former and forming two compart- improved contrast of faults (red arrows) and visibility of fault zones (green arrows) in the latter.
ments (Figure 4b through 4d). The cross sections are shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.

Figure 7. Vertical cross-sectional views of (a) seismic data, (b) Figure 8. Vertical cross-sectional views of (a) seismic data, (b)
similarity data computed without dip steering, and (c) similarity data similarity data computed without dip steering, and (c) similarity data
computed with dip steering. The cross sections are located north of computed with dip steering. The cross sections are located south of
the zone of strike-slip faulting shown in Figure 6. The red line is the the zone of strike-slip faulting shown in Figure 6. The red line is the
location of time slices extracted at 3.9-s two-way traveltime from the location of time slices extracted at 3.9-s two-way traveltime from the
data volumes. Vertical scale is in seconds (two-way traveltime), and data volumes. Vertical scale is in seconds (two-way traveltime), and
horizontal scale is in kilometers. Vertical exaggeration is ~ 2 the horizontal scale is in kilometers. Vertical exaggeration is ~ 2 the
horizontal scale. horizontal scale.

432 The Leading Edge April 2014


O f f s h o r e / O T C

In Figure 5, a comparison is made between seismic-re- and folding into two subdomains with contrasting pattern
ectivity patterns with multitrace similarity calculated di- of thrust vergence. These observations would have been dif-
rectly from seismic data. Green and red arrows highlight cult if the quality of the data had not been improved by
zones of weak reectivity, correlating with discrete zones using the techniques described. Vertical cross-sectional views
of low similarity trending northwest-southeast and east- of the structurally improved data show that imaging of the
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northeastwest-southwest, respectively. faults and visibility of wall-rock volumes next to faults have
Figure 6 demonstrates the usefulness of computing been improved by the application of dip steering for similar-
multitrace similarity using dip-steering techniques. In Fig- ity computation.
ure 6a, similarity was calculated directly from seismic data
(without the application of dip steering), whereas in Figure References
6b, similarity was calculated along subregional dips (with Al-Dossary, S., and K. J. Marfurt, 2006, 3D volumetric multispectral
dip steering). Faults shown in Figure 6b are better resolved estimates of reector curvature and rotation: Geophysics, 71, no.
(red arrows), with improved contrast and visibility of fault 5, P41P51, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190.1.2242449.
zones (green arrows). In contrast, discontinuities have a Bahorich, M., and S. Farmer, 1995, 3-D seismic discontinuity for faults
and stratigraphic features: The coherence cube: The Leading Edge,
lower contrast in the similarity data computed directly from
14, no. 10, 10531058, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1437077.
seismic data. Brouwer, F., and A. Huck, 2011, An integrated workow to optimize
In vertical cross sections, faults are located at zones of ver- discontinuity attributes for imaging of faults: Presented at the 31st
tically displaced reectors and discrete zones of low similarity Annual Gulf Coast Section SEPM Foundation Bob F. Perkins Re-
with a reverse sense of direction (red arrows in Figure 7 and search Conference, Attributes: New Views on Seismic Imaging
Figure 8). Their Use in Exploration and Production.
Comparing similarity computed by using dip steering Chopra, S., S. Misra, and K. J. Marfurt, 2011, Coherence and curva-
with similarity computed directly from seismic data, it is ture attributes on preconditioned seismic data: The Leading Edge,
seen that the edges of faults are sharper, with signicantly 30, no. 4, 386393, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.3575281.
improved contrast, in the former (Figure 7c and Figure 8c). Heggland, R., 2003, Vertical hydrocarbon migration at the Nigerian
Furthermore, the contrast of the complex pattern of fault- continental slope: Applications of seismic mapping techniques:
Presented at AAPG Annual Meeting, AAPG Search and Discov-
ing has been improved with the application of dip steering
ery article no. 90013.
(green arrows in Figure 7 and Figure 8). Dipping reectors in Maloney, P. D., 2011, Seismic analysis of the Niger Delta gravitational
the forelimb and backlimb of the faults exhibit anomalously detachment system: Ph.D. thesis, Durham University.
low similarity. However, the application of dip steering has Marfurt, K. J., V. Sudakher, A. Gersztenkorn, K. D. Crawford,
improved the contrast and visibility of those zones by cor- and S. E. Nissen, 1999, Coherency calculations in the presence
recting for the anomalously low similarity causing by dipping of structural dip: Geophysics, 64, no. 1, 104111, http://dx.doi.
reections using dip-steering lag correction (yellow arrows in org/10.1190/1.1444508 2.
Figure 7c and Figure 8c). Qayyum, F., and P. de Groot, 2012, Seismic dips help unlock reser-
In general, two distinct pattern of faulting have been voirs: American Oil and Gas Reporter, 7579.
revealed in the structurally improved data. The northwest- Tingdahl, K. M., 2003, Improving seismic chimney detection using
southeast-trending structures are thrust faults and folds result- directional attributes, in M. Nikravesh, F. Aminzadeh, and L. A.
Zadeh, eds., Soft computing and intelligent data analysis in oil
ing from compressional deformation of the deepwater Niger
exploration: Developments in Petroleum Science, 51, Chapter 9,
Delta, whereas the east-northeastwest-southwest structure 157173.
represents a zone of strike-slip faulting. Thrust faults north of Tingdahl, K. M., and P. F. M. de Groot, 2003, Post-stack dip and
the strike-slip fault are forethrusts and backthrusts verging in azimuth processing: Journal of Seismic Exploration, 12, 113
opposite directions (Figure 7), whereas thrust faults south of 126.
the lineament verge seaward (Figure 8). Tingdahl, K. M., and M. de Rooij, 2005, Semi-automatic de-
The structural framework might have implications for hy- tection of faults in 3-D seismic data: Geophysical Prospect-
drocarbon prespectivity in the area. For example, the strike- ing, 53, no. 4, 533542, http://dx.doi/org/10.1111/j.1365-
slip fault might be a conduit for hydrocarbon migration 2478.2005.00489.x.
across the thrust subdomains if the fault is not sealing. How-
ever, if the fault is sealing, hydrocarbons might be entrapped Acknowledgments: The author is grateful to Petroleum Geo-Services
in either of the two domains. (PGS) for providing the 3D seismic data and for permission to use
the data for this article. The author thanks dGB Earth Sciences for
Conclusion providing OpendTect software for academic use at the University
Techniques for improving the fault imaging and visibil- of Birmingham. Data were provided for the authors doctorate at
ity of fault zones have been applied to 3D seismic data ac- the University of Birmingham, funded by the Nigerian Petroleum
quired over the central deepwater Niger Delta. A major east- Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
northeastwest-southwest-trending strike-slip fault is seen to
partition a northwest-southeast-trending zone of thrusting Corresponding author: bjibrin@gmail.com

434 The Leading Edge April 2014

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