Method and system for detecting hydrocarbon reservoirs using amplitude versus offset analysis of seismic signals
US5784334A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 21, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V2210/632
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A computer-operated method for analyzing seismic data to discern the presence of hydrocarbon-bearing formations is disclosed. According to the disclosed method and system, amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) analysis is performed to assign, for each depth point in a survey region, an AVO intercept value and an AVO gradient value; the AVO intercept value corresponds to the zero-offset response for acoustic reflections from the depth point, while the AVO gradient value corresponds to the rate of change of the amplitude as a function of the angle of incidence of the acoustic energy (typically, with the square of the sine of the angle). An AVO indicator indicative of the presence of hydrocarbons at a subsurface stratum is derived to correspond to the rate of change of the product of the AVO intercept value and the AVO gradient value for the depth point under analysis, along the direction of a deviation vector of the AVO intercept value and the AVO gradient value from a background trend for depth points surrounding the depth point under analysis in time and space. The background trend, and thus the deviations, may be a straight line in a space having AVO intercept value and AVO gradient value…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.