STATE-OF-THE-ART VISUALIZATION AND INTERPRETATION: A VOLUME APPROACH TO STRUCTURAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC UNDERSTANDING

3D seismic though acquired and processed as a volume is more commonly viewed and interpreted in 2D. This interactive presentation will focus, via real world 3D datasets, on the ‘total volume interpretation' (TVI) process. This approach leads to better understanding of both the structure and the stratigraphy as integrated and complex systems. The computer games that our youth play bring new hardware and software technologies that significantly improve the speed and enhance our understanding of the depositional systems captured in the seismic data. Combining these technologies with geologic specific processing routines delivers unique images and insights best viewed in 3D. TVI is a powerful workflow to unravel complex geologic problems. TVI can be viewed as two processes, first the building of a 3D structural framework and secondly, as characterization of the reservoir using seismic attributes within the sequence of interest. Experience has shown that TVI can yield more precise and detailed information in significantly less time than traditional workflows. Utilization of the full volume yields a more thorough knowledge of the geologic environment that the interpreter is charged with understanding. You don't only see the fault, or the channel or the amplitude. Rather you understand the role of the fault in controlling the flow of the channel, style of deposition and its impact on reservoir character. Examples of TVI applied to structural and stratigraphic systems will be shown from the Moxa Arch (Wyoming), Uinta Basin (Utah), Gulf Coast (Texas) and deepwater Campos Basin (Brazil).