Automatic non-artificially extended fault surface based horizon modeling system
First Claim
1. A device adapted for storing instructions, said instructions adapted to be executed by a processor of a workstation, said workstation adapted to receive data including horizon data representing one or more horizons in an earth formation and fault data representing one or more faults intersecting at least some of said horizons, said instructions, when executed by said processor of said workstation, conducting a process comprising the steps of:
- (a) computing a preliminary unfaulted horizon model using only said horizon data,(b) computing intersections between said preliminary unfaulted horizon model and each of the faults intersecting said horizon model, at least some of said intersections between said horizon model and said each of said faults being inconsistent intersections, and(c) filtering in the vicinity of said inconsistent intersections.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic, non-artificially extended, fault surface based horizon modeling method and apparatus produces a final faulted horizon model which is a three dimensional representation of a faulted earth formation including all the horizons and all the faults in response to seismic data, well log data, and fault surfaces and relationships data. The horizon modeling apparatus produces the final faulted horizon model by filtering input horizon data and removing bad (wrong-sided) data points. This is accomplished by: (a) computing intersections between each horizon and each fault that intersects the horizon, (b) assessing the quality of each intersection, (c) filtering in the vicinity of the intersection by decreasing the slope between the intersecting fault and its respective horizon, (d) generating a horizon surface and reassessing their quality, (e) reintroducing the eliminated data points between the fault and the horizon, (f) re-filtering the reintroduced data points, (g) generating an initial faulted horizon model, (h) generating a set of final fault locations, and (i) generating a final faulted horizon model.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A device adapted for storing instructions, said instructions adapted to be executed by a processor of a workstation, said workstation adapted to receive data including horizon data representing one or more horizons in an earth formation and fault data representing one or more faults intersecting at least some of said horizons, said instructions, when executed by said processor of said workstation, conducting a process comprising the steps of:
-
(a) computing a preliminary unfaulted horizon model using only said horizon data, (b) computing intersections between said preliminary unfaulted horizon model and each of the faults intersecting said horizon model, at least some of said intersections between said horizon model and said each of said faults being inconsistent intersections, and (c) filtering in the vicinity of said inconsistent intersections. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of determining an accurate estimate of underground deposits of hydrocarbon in an earth formation, comprising the steps of:
-
(a) introducing data representing one horizon; (b) generating a preliminary horizon model, said horizon model including horizon data; (c) computing intersections between said preliminary horizon model and each fault intersecting said horizon model; (d) improving said preliminary horizon model, the improving step (d) including the step of filtering said horizon data in the vicinity of at least some of said intersections which exhibit geometric characteristics not in good agreement with the geometric characteristics of the corresponding faults passing through said intersections; and (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) for each horizon model until said horizon model exhibits clean intersections between said horizon model and faults intersecting said horizon model, said clean intersections representing initial fault locations which have geometric characteristics matching well the geometric characteristics of the corresponding fault. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
-
Specification