The application of volume texture extraction to three-dimensional seismic data - lithofacial structures exploration within the Miocene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep

Abstract

There are numerous conventional fields of natural gas in the Carpathian Foredeep, and there is also evidence to suggest that unconventional gas accumulations may occur in this region. The different seismic signatures of these geological forms, the small scale of amplitude variation, and the large amount of data make the process of geological interpretation extremely time consuming. Moreover, the dispersed nature of information in a large block of seismic data increasingly requires automatic, self-learning cognitive processes. Recent developments with Machine Learning have added new capabilities to seismic interpretation, especially to multi-attribute seismic analysis. Each case requires a proper selection of attributes. In this paper, the Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix method is presented and its two texture attributes: <i>Energy</i> and <i>Entropy</i>. Haralick's two texture parameters were applied to an advanced interpretation of the interval of Miocene deposits in order to discover the subtle geological features hidden between the seismic traces. As a result, a submarine-slope channel system was delineated leading to the discovery of unknown earlier relationships between gas boreholes and the geological environment. The Miocene deposits filling the Carpathian Foredeep, due to their lithological and facies diversity, provide excellent conditions for testing and implementing Machine Learning techniques. The presented texture attributes are the desired input components for self-learning systems for seismic facies classification.