Front Matter

Geophysical Monograph Series
Number 16
First Steps in
Seismic Interpretation
Donald A. Herron
Rebecca B. Latimer, managing editor
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Downloaded 17 Feb 2012 to 198.3.68.20. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; Terms of Use: http://segdl.org/
SEG-SEISMIC-11-0601-FM.indd 1
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ISBN 978-0-931830-56-3 (Series)

ISBN 978-1-56080-280-8 (Volume)
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
P.O. Box 702740
Tulsa, OK 74170-2740
2011 by Society of Exploration Geophysicists
All rights reserved. This book or parts hereof may not be reproduced in any
form without written permission from the publisher.
Published 2011
Printed in the United States of America
Cover background image courtesy of Thomas H. Wilson
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Herron, Donald A., 1949 First steps in seismic interpretation / Donald A. Herron ; Rebecca B. Latimer,
managingeditor.
p. cm. -- (Geophysical monograph series ; no. 16)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56080-280-8 (volume : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-931830-56-3 (series : alk. paper)
1. Seismology. 2. Geophysical surveys. I. Latimer, Rebecca B. II. Title.
QE534.3.H47 2011
551.22--dc23
2011047720
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Contents
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter 1: Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2: Seismic Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3: Seismic Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amplitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coherence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Inversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
22
28
30
Chapter 4: Velocity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sonic logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Well-velocity surveys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seismically derived velocities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Velocity anisotropy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time-depth conversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
36
38
41
56
57
Chapter 5: Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 6: Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 7: Correlation Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
First look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Horizons versus faults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Multiple reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Manual versus automatic tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Artifacts and interpretation pitfalls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
iii
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iv
Chapter 8: Correlation Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Getting started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Loop tying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Jump correlation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Correlations in depth-migration projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Visualization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Interpretation processes and work flows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter 9: Data Quality and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Data quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Data management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Nomenclature systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 10: Other Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Gridding and contouring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
4D seismic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Seismic modeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Interpretive judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Curiosity and interpretive thinking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
The interpretation paradox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Approximations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Uncertainty and risk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
The workstation environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Ergonomics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Presentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Career development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Advanced interpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Time spent and value added. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
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About the Author

Don Herron received a bachelor of science degree (with honors) in geological sciences from Brown University in 1971 and a
master of science degree in geological sciences from the California Institute of Technology in 1973. He enjoyed a career as a
seismic interpreter at Texaco (19731977),
Gulf (19771984), and most recently Sohio/
BP (19842008). Since retirement in 2008,
he has worked as an independent geophysical consultant for Petroleum Geo-Services
(PGS) as a geosciences advisor, and with
several oil companies as a seismic interpretation instructor. At Gulf and Sohio/BP he taught in-house courses in seismic interpretation and was co-instructor for the SEG Continuing Education
course Seismic Interpretation in the Exploration Domain (19952007).
He was a member of the Editorial Board of The Leading Edge (20022007,
chairman in 20062007) and is author of the bi-monthly Interpreter Sam
column in The Leading Edge. He is an active member of SEG, AAPG, and
Sigma Xi.
v
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Preface
This book begins with an introduction that is more philosophical than
technical, followed by five chapters on fundamentals of reflection seismic (titled Seismic Response, Seismic Attributes, Velocity, Migration, and
Resolution). The gist of what I really have to say about the correlation of
seismic records is in Chapters 7 (Correlation Concepts) and 8 (Correlation
Procedures). Chapter 9 (Data Quality and Management) certainly should
not be glossed over, and Chapter 10 (Other Considerations) contains my
thoughts on several worthy topics that do not fit neatly into any of the preceding chapters.
In large part, this book is a compilation of notes from seismic interpretation courses that Ive had the good fortune to teach over the past three
decades. Because Ive assumed that readers are familiar with basic concepts
and principles of geology and reflection seismology, the book is best viewed
as a synthesis rather than a fundamental treatment of those concepts and
principles. When I use the expression geologically reasonable to qualify
interpretation results, which I do throughout the book, I mean reasonable
in the sense of analogous to known geology or consistent with known
geology or sound geologic models or within the context of expectation or
realization of some geologic concept or model.
I certainly dont intend this book to be the definitive primer on interpreting reflection seismic data or a comprehensive treatise on the latest in
correlation tools and techniques; rather, Im seeking to give voice to a concern about this particular art that Ive had ever since my first foray into
interpretation in the early 1970s. My concern is founded on a statement by
a man from whom I had the privilege to learn about exploration geophysics
in the classroom and in the field. In his own book he wrote that the correlation procedure itself is of such a nature that it can hardly be adequately
described in a book.
Well, with the utmost respect for that man, here goes.
vii
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Acknowledgments
I thank Rebecca Latimer, Bill Barkhouse, Bruce Hart, and John OBrien
for their constructive reviews of my manuscript and also BP (Amal Ray and
Tim Summers), PGS (Nathan Oliver), TGS (Tom Neugebauer), and WesternGeco (Lee Hooper) for permission to include data and images from their
companies in this book. I thank Mike Schoenberger for sharing his characterization of seismic data quality with me; its the most concise and practical description of data quality Ive ever known, so Ive used it to set context
throughout the book. I extend my thanks also to members of the SEG publications and graphics groups in Tulsa, in particular Jennifer Cobb and Kathy
Gamble, without whose skill and patience this book could not have come
into being. Im especially grateful to Kathy Pile and Gary Stewart, whose
editing gave my text the clarity and consistency it needed. In creating this
book, Im indebted to countless geoscientists, old and young alike, from
whom Ive learned so much over the years. Among all those talented men
and women, I owe the most to Tim Smith, perhaps the most insightful interpreter Ive ever known and an excellent teacher as well, with whom Ive had
the distinct privilege numerous times to share the front of a classroom.
ix
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Interpretation is telling the geologic story contained in seismic data. It is

correlating the features we see in seismic data with elements of geology as
we know them. The story is read from a book having many chapters, some
of which are either illegible or unintelligible, and others are lost or yet to be
written. And although the story doesnt always have a happy ending, only in
its telling do we expand our knowledge.
Interpreter Sam
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Geophysical Monograph Series

Rebecca B. Latimer, managing editor

ISBN 978-0-931830-56-3 (Series)

Cover background image courtesy of Thomas H. Wilson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chapter 2: Seismic Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 3: Seismic Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 8: Correlation Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

About the Author

Interpretation is telling the geologic story contained in seismic data. It is

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