Seismic attributes for reservoir studies

In most exploration and reservoir seismic surveys, the main objectives are, first, to correctly
image the structure in time and depth and, second, to correctly characterize the amplitudes of the
reflections. Assuming that the amplitudes are accurately rendered, a host of additional features
can be derived and used in interpretation. Collectively, these features are referred to as seismic
attributes.[1]
The simplest attribute, and the one most widely used, is seismic amplitude, and it is usually
reported as the maximum (positive or negative) amplitude value at each sample along a horizon
picked from a 3D volume. It is fortunate that, in many cases, the amplitude of reflection
corresponds directly to the porosity or to the saturation of the underlying formation.
Attributes can be obtained from typical post-stack seismic data volumes, and these are the most
common types. On the other hand, additional information can be obtained from attributes of the
individual seismic traces prior to stacking, in a prestack analysis. The most common of these is
the variation of amplitude with offset [or amplitude vs. offset (AVO)], which is often used as an
indicator of fluid type. The interpretation of any attribute is nonunique, and calibration to well data
is required to minimize the ambiguities present.
Well calibration[edit | edit source]
Calibration of seismic attributes at wellbores should be undertaken in order to test the correlation
of observed attributes with rock properties using all available:
 Log data
 Core data
 Borehole seismic information
It is simple to correlate the attribute of interest with the well-log (or log-derived) data of interest; a
strong correlation between seismic amplitude and porosity is often enough to convince many
workers that the correlation is meaningful and that seismic amplitude can be used as a proxy for
porosity in reservoir characterization. On the other hand, there are many potential pitfalls in this
approach,[2] so the following protocols should be followed:
 Statistical tests should be performed on the correlations
 Geologic inference should be brought in to evaluate the reasonableness of the results
 Most importantly, the physical basis for the behavior of an observed attribute should be
understood
Spurious correlations can readily be obtained, and, without a geologic or physical basis, simple
statistical correlations should be suspect unless their statistical basis is very robust.[3]

Post Stack Attributes

The stacked seismic data volume is commonly used for interpretation of geologic structure and seismic attributes. The most common attribute is simply amplitude,
although its interpretation in thin-layered beds is not necessarily straightforward. [4] Amplitude is often found to correlate strongly with porosity and/or liquid saturation
(oil/water vs. gas) because those reservoir properties have a strong effect on both velocity and density, and seismic reflections are generated at boundaries where the
acoustic impedance (the product of velocity and density) changes. The “bright-spot” identification of hydrocarbons, as demonstrated in Fig. 1,[5] is a result of this property,
although other nonhydrocarbon changes in lithology can also result in large-amplitude reflections.
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Fig. 1-Amplitudes resulting from changes in seismic impedance. A perspective view of a single horizon containing several potential reservoirs is shown from the Teal
South area of the Gulf of Mexico (from Pennington et al.[5]). The coloring is based on the amplitude of the reflected arrival at this horizon, with the hotter colors indicating
larger (negative) amplitudes, resulting (in this case) from high-GOR oil in both producing and unproduced reservoirs. The reservoirs have been highlighted for increased
visibility on the black-and-white version of a typically color display. (Data provided by Diamond Geophysical, through the Energy Research Clearing House.)

The use of seismic attributes extends well beyond simple amplitudes. Most of the “original” seismic attributes were based on the Hilbert transform (see the section on
reservoir characterization and evaluation) and consisted of the following (see Fig. 2[6]):

 The instantaneous amplitude (or amplitude of the wave envelope)

 The instantaneous phase (most useful for accurate time-picking)

 The instantaneous frequency (probably most often relating to thin-bed reverberations)[4]

Fig. 2-Some trace-based attributes. The original seismic trace from one location in a seismic volume is shown on the left; the three common attributes of instantaneous
amplitude (or envelope), instantaneous phase (wrapped), and instantaneous frequency follow to the right. Additional attributes of average energy and peak-to-trough ratio
are also shown. The values of these attributes are usually not important, and often not cited, because it is the relative value of an attribute along a given horizon or interval
that is important. Exceptions would be the phase (which varies from –180 degrees to +180 degrees in the plot shown) and frequency (which varies from 0 to 110 Hz). (This
figure was modeled after one in Radovich and Oliveros,[6] which provides an interesting case history in the use of various attributes.)

Variations on these attributes have evolved, and other classes of attributes have come into use [7] (see Fig. 3). There are now over two hundred attributes in use in some
geophysical interpretation software packages,[8] many of which result from slightly differing approaches to determining a specific property, such as frequency or amplitude.
Attributes based on stacked data (post-stack attributes) can be computed:

 At each point on the seismic trace independently (such as amplitude)

 Over a time window on each trace independently [such as root mean square (RMS) amplitude over 24 ms]

Or

 by comparing neighboring traces within a time window (such as coherence, dip, and azimuth)

Fig. 3-Classification of attribute types. Attributes can be point-based along a given time slice or horizon, or they can be based on a window that is constant in time, time
associated with a given horizon, or times associated with two horizons (after Brown[7]).

Coherence is an attribute of similarity among neighboring traces [9][10] and is often used to identify fractures or faults that tend to disrupt reflections locally (see Fig. 4[11]).
Dip and azimuth5 describe the direction of trace offset for maximum similarity and can yield finely detailed images of bed surfaces. Additional attributes may be created
based on combinations of original attributes, with the intention of identifying specific features known to be of interest (see Fig. 5[6]).
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Fig. 4-Coherence and faults or other discontinuities. The upper portion of the figure shows a time-slice through the coherence volume of a deformed area in the Gulf of
Mexico; the faults are clearly visible and easy to track laterally. The lower portion shows a conventional amplitude display of the same time-slice in which the doming,
because of salt movement (at depth), is evident, but the faulting is less easily identified (after DeAngelo and Wood).

Fig. 5-Use of combined attributes. This map shows a specific attribute, made up of a combination of two other attributes (instantaneous frequency and amplitude),
designed to indicate specific features. The black arrow points to the red regions of low frequency and high amplitude, which likely correlate (in this instance) with high-
productivity regions within the overall sand body that is outlined in white (after Radovich and Oliveros [6]).