Petrel 2013 Geophysics

Seismic Interpretation

Module 1: Basic Knowledge

SEISMIC REFLECTION METHOD

(Modified from
http://www.epa.gov/esd/cmb/GeophysicsWebsite).
AI & RC
Rock properties control seismic response i.e.
density and velocity of seismic wave.

Acoustic Impedance is the product of density

and velocity (Ex 1a)

Reflection coeffiecient (RC) determines the

seismic pluse (Ex 1a)
ic Impedance (AI ) = Velocity*Density

Minimum Phase Zero Phase

T=0

UK Normal Polarity UK Reverse Polarity

“hard kick”
T=0

T=0
“soft kick”

Increasing “Hardness”

Seismic Phase
 TYPE OF SEISMIC PULSE
Minimum Phase Zero Phase
Reflection Reflection
Coefficients Coefficients

• Causal (real – no motion before wave • Not Causal (not real, since there is motion
arrives) before the wave arrives)
POLARITY

SEG polarity convention (zero-phase)

Peak = an increase in acoustic impedance with

depth

Trough = a decrease in acoustic impedance with

depth

European convention is opposite of SEG

IDEAL SEISMIC RESPONSE

1 meter

Increase in Impedance Decrease in Impedance

SEISMIC - UNITS 10S OF METERS THICK

Predominantly
Shale

Predominantly
Sand

Predominantly
Shale

10 m
 COLOR

Peak (Black/Red)

Trough (White/Blue)

Zero-crossing (usually white)

(modified from Hart, 1999)

Petrel 2013 Geophysics
Seismic Visualization and Interpretation

Module 3: Fault Interpretation

Learning Objectives

In this module, you will learn about:

 fault interpretation in Petrel
 fault interpretation function bar and fault settings
 manual fault picking
 manipulating and editing faults
 tracked faults.
We can recognize faults by:

Termination of reflections
Offset in stratigraphic markers
Abrupt changes in dip
Abrupt changes in seismic patterns
Fault plane reflections
Associated folding or sag
Discontinuities
Function Bar for Fault Interpretation

With the Seismic interpretation process active,

the Function bar provides these tools:

Interpret faults [F]

Join selected points [J]
Cut segments [T]
Select single point
Activate fault [Shift+S]
Selection paintbrush [Shift B]
Bounding box select [B]
Eraser [X]
Interpretation Manager

1. Right-click the Interpretation folder and select

Interpretation manager.
1
2. Click Select columns to display in
Interpretation manager to control the
spreadsheet’s appearance.

2
Manual Fault Picking (1)

1. Activate Seismic interpretation in the

Processes pane.
2. Display the seismic section in the
Interpretation window or a 3D window.
3. Right-click Interpretation folder 1 and
select Insert fault. Alternatively, insert
new fault from the Seismic interpretation
toolbar. The new fault appears in the 3
same folder. A fault is stored in the active
Interpretation folder in the Input pane.
4. Click Interpret faults in the Function 4
bar or press the F key.
 Manual Fault Picking (2)

5. Interpret fault on the seismic

5
line either in the Interpretation
window or 3D window.
Double-click or press N to
break the fault stick.
6. In the General intersection
player, set the increment.
7. Click to move to the
next or the previous seismic 7
6
section. Or, press Page Up or
Page Down on the keyboard.
Note: Fault segments are added to the active fault (bold in the Input
pane) or to a new fault (non-bolded faults in the Input pane).
Edit Fault Segment (1)
1. To activate the Fault segment, click on the Function bar or press Shift + S
before clicking on the fault stick to activate it. The color of the fault is highlighted
when it is active.
 Edit Fault Segment (2)

2. To edit a fault segment,

click in the Function bar or
press E. The points on the fault
can now be moved or new points
can be added to the fault
segment to accurately mark the
fault geometry.

3. To delete a part or whole fault segment, click or

press X. Click on the active fault to delete two adjoining
points on the segment.
 Move Fault Segment

1. Activate the fault, click , then

click on a single point (node) on
fault stick. Part of fault segment
turns yellow.
1
2. Now, click between any two
digitized points (nodes) on the 2
remaining fault segment to make
whole segment yellow.
3. Click and then click on a single
digitized point (node) and drag it to
move the whole segment to a new
location on the seismic section. 3
Move Faults Laterally

1. Go to Settings > Operations tab > Seismic operations > Move faults laterally.
2. Set the Distance value.
3. Click Run and the active fault is moved
laterally east or west depending on 1
whether the distance is set in positve or
negative value.

2 3
Display and Annotate Faults

1. In the Input pane, right-click 2

on Fault Interpretation 1 and
select Show settings.
2. On the Style tab, choose the
annotation and the display
settings for your picked faults.
In the settings for a 2D or 3D
window, the Surface option also
is available.
 Clean Faults

1. In the Fault interpretation Settings > Operations tab, expand

Convert points/polygons/surfaces.
2. Select Create clean fault.
3. Click Run.

3
Track Fault
1. Create a new fault interpretation and interpret
it manually on one or two seismic lines.
2. Adjust settings on the Autotracking tab.
3. With a seismic cube active, either:
a. Right-click the fault in Input pane or in
the 3D window and select Track faults.
b. In fault Settings, click Track. The fault 3
extends along the seismic cube. b
3aa
 Digitize a Fault on a Surface (1)

1. Activate Make/edit polygons 2. Display a surface in a 2D

under Utilities. window.

Note: The digitized polygon can be

converted into Fault interpretation.
Digitize a Fault on a Surface (2)
3
3. Click Start new polygon on active set of
polygons and digitize the fault plane
on the surface displayed.

4. A new polygon displays

in the Input pane. Right-
click on the polygon,
open the settings dialog,
and select the display
4
options.
Restrict Interpretation Displays in 3D Windows

1. Display interpretations and

seismic lines in a 3D window.
2. To view only interpretations
projected along seismic lines,
click these icons in Function
bar:
 Click for active
interpretation.
 Click for all visible
interpretations.
Exercises
Petrel 2013 Geophysics
Seismic Visualization and Interpretation

Module 4: Horizon Interpretation

Learning Objectives
In this module, you will learn how to:
 access and use the horizon  perform manual interpretations
interpretation Function Toolbar
 edit horizons and parent/child
 change horizon settings and relationships
parameters
 Interpretation manager
 interpret horizons using different
 filter interpretations
techniques
 correct horizon problems
 Seeded 3D autotracking
 flatten horizons
 Seeded 2D autotracking
 annotate horizons
 Guided autotracking
Module 4: Horizon Interpretation
Lesson 1: Overview
 Function Bar Icons for Horizon Interpretation

These icons are active when the Seismic Interpretation process is activated:
Interpret grid horizons [H]
Seeded 3D autotracking [Shift+A]
Seeded 2D autotracking [A]
Guided autotracking [G]
Manual interpretation [U]
Paintbrush autotracking (resize +/-), [Q]
Active box autotracking [Shift Q]
Autotrack inside polygon
Select interpretation point
Activate Fault / Horizon [Shift+S]
Selection paintbrush (resize: +/-) [Shift + B]
Bounding box select [B]
Select by polygon
Eraser (resize +/-), [X]
Horizon Interpretation Techniques

Petrel offers different methods to interpret your horizons.

 Seeded 3D autotracking

 Seeded 2D autotracking

 Guided autotracking

 Manual interpretation

 Paintbrush autotracking

 Active box autotracking

 Autotrack inside polygon.

Horizon Interpretation Workflow (1)
1
Create/Insert New Horizon(s)
1. Right-click on the Interpretation folder 1
and select Insert seismic horizon.
2. (Option) Create a new horizon from the
Seismic interpretation toolbar.
3. Activate the Seismic interpretation
process and display the seismic line 3
to interpret in the Interpretation window
or 3D window.

2
Horizon Interpretation Workflow (2)

4. Activate Seismic horizon 1 in

the Input pane and click
Interpret grid horizon .
Click one of interpretation icons 4
in the Function bar.
4
5. Click on the seismic event you want to 5
pick as Seismic horizon 1. Hold down left
mouse button down and move the cursor
in the direction of interpretation. Either
double-click or press N to break the pick.
Continue picking seismic event across
the fault on the section.
Horizon Interpretation Workflow (3)

To continue the horizon interpretation:

6. Go to the next seismic line by either selecting from the General
intersection player or pressing PageUp/PageDown.
7. You can set the increment as per your requirement to jump on
next seismic line through Plane Step icon .

6
7
 Horizon Interpretation Workflow (4)

8. Choose an intersecting
seismic line (inline in this
case) that shows the point
where Seismic horizon 1 has
been picked on the crossline
to aid in picking the event on
the inline. Build a loop across
as you work on the data set.

In a 2D window, an active horizon

display section of the survey where
horizon has been interpreted.
 Guided Autotracking

1. In Input pane, activate and display the

seismic line for Guided Autotracking in
Interpretation or 3D window.
1
2. Click Interpret Grid horizon and
Guided autotracking . Click along a
reflector to select the starting and ending
points. The interpretation follows the
seismic event between the two seed
points. 2

3. Double-click or press the N or H key to end

an interpretation segment to break the
pick.
3
 Seeded 2D Autotracking
2
1. In Input pane, activate and display
the seismic line for Seeded 2D
Autotracking in Interpretation or 3D
window.
2. Click Interpret Grid horizon
and Seeded 2D Autotracking .
Click once along a seismic event.
The interpretation follows the event
to each side of the point selected
and stops when an abrupt change in
an amplitude value occurs.
Note: Activating Wavelet tracking in horizon settings
3. Repeat the procedure for other (discussed later in detail) is an efficient constraint to
segments and lines. prevent following the wrong event over fault breaks.
 Seeded 3D Autotracking

1.In Input pane, activate and display the

seismic cube to be auto tracked.
Display the seismic trace data in an 2
Interpretation or 3D window.
2.Click Interpret grid horizon then
Seeded 3D autotracking .
Click on the seismic event to be
autotracked to expand the
interpretation over the entire cube.
3. Alternatively, go to horizon Settings,
choose between peak or troughs.
Give a seed point on a seismic
section and click on 3D Track to
3
expand the interpretation.
4. Quality check the results.
Autotracking Tab (1)

Use the Autotracking tab to control the

way you want your horizons to be
autotracked.
 Autotracking Tab (2)

2
1

Original Seeds Amplitude

1 The activated seismic cube is picked

up automatically. Use the blue arrow
to change the seismic cube. Amplitude & Proximity Proximity
2 Priority regulates the priority queue of
available seed points for the
expansion process.
Comparative tracking results of
the three seed priority methods.
Autotracking Tab: Signal Feature (1)

Signal feature controls the feature to be tracked.

Autotracking Tab: Signal Feature (2)

The illustration shows what non-zero centric means. A time

based SEG-Y would plot along the time axis. A zero
crossing for this would represent a local minimum or local
maximum in the non-zero centric world. A peak in the zero-
centric seismic would represent an S-increasing feature
while a trough would represent a Z-increasing feature.

Trace features in
Petrel, Z-
Crossings (blue),
S-Crossings
(green).
Autotracking Tab: Quality

First Phase - Basic 3x3: Checks the

eight closest points (only) against the
seed point. Basic 3x3 Validated 3x3
Second Phase – Validated 3x3: Checks
the eight closest points against the
seed point and their neighbor.
Thrid / Four Phase – Validated 5x5:
Validated 3x3
Checks the 24 closest points against Seed Point
Potential child points
the seed point and their neighbor. Accepted child picks from phase 1 and 2
Autotracking Tab: Parameters (1)

Seed confidence: Specifies the minimum

value for the seismic amplitude as
percentage of the seed point.
Doublet: The search window for the
doublet feature is in samples and is linked
to the dip given in the Geometrical tab.

Value range: Specify a minimum and/or

maximum amplitude value seismic
attribute to be tracked. Picks outside
these amplitude limits are rejected.
Autotracking Tab: Parameters (2)

Dip: Optimize of the

autotracking parameters for
dipping reflectors.

Wavelet: Test potential

expansion points using the
correlation of a seismic trace
window.
Autotracking Tab: Constraints

Lateral limits: Limit the

autotracking laterally.
Vertical limits: Constrain the
autotracking vertically.
Using co-volume: If selected, the
autotracking uses two seismic
inputs instead of one.

Seed/Locking: Choose what to

do with an existing interpretation.
 3D Paintbrush Autotracking

1. Crop a small volume around the seismic horizon.

1
2. Activate and display it in a 3D window with a partly
interpreted horizon. 3
3. Click Paintbrush autotracking
in the process toolbar.
4. Drag the cropped volume from
the top side around some
seedpoints to start the 3D
paintbrush autotracking.
5. Quality control the interpretation.
 Paintbrush, Box, and Polygon Autotracking

1. Activate a seismic volume in the Input

pane and display the partly
interpreted horizon in a 2D window.
2. Click Paintbrush autotracking 2
Paint the horizon interpretation
outwards. 4
3. Resize the paintbrush auto tracker by
pressing the + or – key.
4. Click Active box autotracking .
Drag an area around the seeds. 3
5. Click Autotrack inside polygon . + -
Draw a polygon and double-click to
track inside.
Module 4

Lesson 2: Editing and Manipulating Horizons

Display and Annotate Horizon (1)

1. Display the horizon interpretation in the

Interpretation window.
2. Open the Horizon settings dialog and
click the Style tab.
3. Set the display style for 2D/3D 1
interpretation and crossing points.
4. Choose the Annotation to display on
the seismic line. 4

2
3
Display and Annotate Horizon (2)

1. Display the horizon in a 3D window. 2. Set the display style for 3D

interpretation.
1 2
3. Manipulate the resolution slider bar.

3 4

3
 Display and Annotate Horizon: Display Neighboring
Interpretation
1. Activate and display a horizon in the
Interpretation window.
2. In the Style tab, select Previous and Next to
1
display neighbor sections and set their style.

2
3. Navigate to the next lines.
Edit the Interpretation: Manual Editing

Undo [Ctrl Z] Select by polygon

Redo [Ctrl Y] Delete Bounding box select

Eraser Selection Paintbrush

Note: Unlimited Undo/Redo within a session.

 Edit the Interpretation: Parent/Child Editing
1. Select the misinterpreted area and 1 2
click on Select single point
icon from function bar.
2. Click Select parent point and
click a misinterpreted point. The
path back to its original seed point
turns yellow.
3. Click Select child point and 4
3
click the first wrongly tracked point
along the path. All points originating
from it turn yellow.
4. Click Delete selection .
The yellow points are deleted.
Note: This works only for autotracked horizons
and the last expansion, if autotracked in steps.
 Inspector Tool

1. Open the Inspector

from the View menu.
2. Click on the object to
view its information in
the Inspector.
Inspector Tool: Settings

Click to open the Option to link the

Inspector settings. Inspector to a
specific window
or all windows.
Displays a constant read-
out of selected objects.

Adjusts Inspector's
background
transparency.
Horizon Flattening

With the Interpretation

window active, right-
click a seismic horizon
in the Input pane and
select Flatten horizon.
To unflatten the horizon,
click the horizon in the
Interpretation folder and
toggle OFF the Flatten
horizon option.
Generate Virtual Flattened 3D Volumes (1)
1. Right-click the seismic
cube in the Input pane and
select Insert flattened
volume. A virtual seismic
volume, Flattened 1, is
created (but not yet 2. In the Settings for the new
flattened). volume > Flattening tab,
insert a Reference surface
for flattening.

1
Generate Virtual Flattened 3D Volumes (2)

Unflattened Flattened a

3
b

3. Activate interpretation objects in the Input pane 5

and click to insert them in the table.
OR
Activate the Interpretation folder and click to 4
create and interpret in flatten space.
new fault interpretation
5. Click `
new horizon interpretation
to flatten/unflatten objects in the list.
new grid interpretation.
4. Click Apply. The seismic volume is flattened on
the reference surface.
Interpretation Display Filter

From the Input pane, under the Interpretation folder, deselect one 3D
interp inclusion filters (for example, 3D autotracked) to hide all 3D
autotracked points for the active horizon.

Note: This filter can be useful to delete

points based on autotracked methods.
 Interpretation Quality Filter

1. From the Input pane, under the Horizon

interpretation, display the ouput 1
attributes created during autotracking.
2. In Horizon Settings > Filtering tab, choose
one attribute to filter. The histogram
updates.
3. Left-click an area of the histogram to filter
it away from the display.
Horizon Operations: Bulk Shift

1. In Settings, Operations tab, Arithmetic

folder, select Z = Z + Constant. 1
2. Define the constant value and click Run.
The horizon shifts vertically.

1 2

Note: Only a single Undo is available. Make

3 a copy before performing these operations.
Horizon Operations: Smoothing

1.Expand the Seismic operations

folder and select Gaussian or Gaussian smooth
3. Click Run. Median smooth.

2. For Median smooth, set the Median smooth

number of Iterations and Radius.

Module 4

Lesson 3: Convert Horizon Interpretation into

Surfaces and Generate Surface Attributes
 Make Surface Process (1)

2
1. In the Processes pane > Utilities,
open Make/edit surface.
2. From Main input, drop in the 3
interpreted horizon you want to
convert into a surface.
3. Click Suggest settings from input.
Petrel suggests the gridding
algorithm based on the chosen 4
input data.
4. Specify grid outline and resolution
on the Geometry tab.
Make Surface Process (2)

Originally interpreted horizon Surface created from

horizon interpretation
Surface Operations: Smooth (1)

1. In the Surface operations

folder, select Smooth.
2. Define Iterations and Filter 1
width parameters.
3. Click Run.

Note: Single Undo available. 2

3
Surface Operations: Smooth (2)

Original surface for smoothing. Surface after smoothing process.

Attribute Map Based on Surface Operation

1.Display an unsmoothed surface in a 3D Window.

2.Right-click the surface and select Create/Update
dip angle and azimuth. 2
3.Expand the surface in the Input pane to display
new surface attributes.
3
 Surface Attributes (1)

1. Open Surface attributes in the Processes pane.

2. Choose a surface attribute in the library.
1

3. Choose the Input seismic.

4. Choose from the options to create new, add, or append to existing attribute.
Surface Attributes (2)

5. Define the Window specification or specify from which horizons to

calculate attribute.
6. Expand surface in Input pane to display attribute.
5

RMS surface
Exercises