Automated Seismic Facies for Data Integration - An Example from the Fort Worth (Texas, USA)

The continuous development of seismic attributes creates opportunities for data integration techniques. The objective of these techniques is to derive a relationship between a set of observed seismic attributes and a geologic property to be predicted. Automated seismic facies recognition offers a viable alternative for data integration. In this technique, input data sets (e.g., amplitude, phase, frequency, or other attributes) are integrated according to their similarities without requiring well control data. The result is an ensemble of seismic facies which detail the underlying geologic features. However, an inappropriate selection of the seismic facies can produce false associations between the geologic features being predicted and seismic attributes. To address this concern, a visual-based interpretation framework was incorporated into the seismic facies process. The combination of these techniques offers a major advantage. It enables the direct involvement of interpreters in the overall data integration process. Such participation builds confidence in the geologic significance of the seismic facies patterns, and reduces the risk of misinterpretation of the attributes. To demonstrate the benefit of this combined approach, structural features imaged in 3D seismic attributes were analyzed.