Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
Do you ever need to use your SMT fault polygons for other applications? For example, I quite often convert them to an SMT culture layer, as a fault QC (quality control) tool, or use them in Surfer, when I need extended gridding capabilities.
The benefit of having an individual horizon’s fault polygons converted to an SMT culture layer is that you can easily keep the fault strikes consistent when working on an adjacent horizon, by overposting the culture layer onto your active horizon. I normally create fault planes on all of the faults that I see on multiple lines. However, some faults don’t extend far enough to be seen on more than one line, so it’s difficult to fault plane them with the lack of control points—a common occurrence in 2D projects, with widely-spaced lines (eg. regional projects).
Golden Software’s Surfer program has a wide array of gridding, and grid-manipulation capabilities, but it only uses the proprietary “bln” file format for faults. So, you will need to convert your SMT fault polygons to this format before you can use them in Surfer.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
I recently wondered why I hardly ever see anyone using the Seismic Inversion tool, found in SMT’s TracePak module? Maybe you’ve thought about using it, but didn’t understand it well enough, or maybe tried it once, and the results didn’t match anything in the well(s). Like anything new, if you don’t under- stand it, it’s going to be difficult to use it properly. So, I thought that it would be helpful to explain some of the benefits and pitfalls of using inversion, for those interested.
First, for those unfamiliar with inversion, what is it, and how do we use it in our interpretation? You could think of seismic inversion as the reverse of a synthetic seismogram processing flow, and we use inversion to get some idea about rock properties. For an example, the portion of the seismic inversion in the image below, was generated from a synthetic seismogram in the well at the center of the line. Normally, you would generate the inversion from an actual seismic line, but I wanted an optimum response for this example. I’ve also posted three well logs from this well: the spontaneous potential (aka. SP log) in blue, the deep resistivity (RES log) log in magenta, and the acoustic impedance (AI log) in red.
See the larger Adobe Reader pdf file.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
For those who read my previous posting, “Making the Case for Synthetic Seismograms“, but didn’t currently have a program to generate your own synthetics, I thought that I would include a few links to the programs that I knew about. All of the programs listed below, except SMT’s SynPak, are stand-alone programs, or part of a group of software related to synthetics (log editing, AVO modeling, etc.)—at least that I could determine from their websites.
Please note that I have only used the first two programs in the list, and cannot recommend any of the remaining software, relative to how accurate they are, how well they perform, etc. The list is provided for your informa- tion, and convenience only.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
I was just notified that the instructions in the info page of the Culture Symbol Spreadsheet (posted on 02/08/08) were in error.
I had copied-and-pasted the intial text, for the info page, from another spreadsheet, and thought that I had made the appropriate changes. However, I may have uploaded the wrong version when I finished.
Sorry for any confusion, previously. I have corrected the version in the original posting, but here is the corrected Culture Symbol Spreadsheet, along with the ascii file that goes with it.
Copyright © T/X RESOURCES, 1995-2008. All Rights Reserved.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
One of the limitations of seismic visualization that I often encounter, prior to interpreting the data, is being able to effectively isolate a geobody without including too much of the surrounding data.
For those new to visualization, the two common methods for displaying geo- bodies are: (1) Amplitude Restriction within a window (requires no previous interpretation), and (2) Data Extraction adjacent to an interpreted feature (ie. a fault, or horizon). Method 1 is usually faster, but can leave in a lot of extraneous data, as I’ve already mentioned. Method 2 is usually better at eliminating extraneous data, but most of the time it can’t be done until after a detailed interpretation—not much help if you’re in a hurry to see something.
So, I’m mainly looking for a method that can be used prior to a detailed inter- pretation, but is much better than Method 1 (and hopefully quicker than Method 2). The idea that I had is similar to the erase function in many raster image editing programs. Why can’t we erase the seismic data that we don’t want, just like we erase pixels in an image, using a combination of polygons for larger areas, and an adjustable “eraser” tool, for detailed, manual deletions.
See the larger Adobe Reader pdf file (four pages).
Note: The avi file is fairly large, so it will take some time before the animation starts.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
Here’s the latest in the series of T/X Resources spreadsheets designed to help when you need to create symbols to import as an SMT culture layer.
In the image below, a variety of symbols have been created to highlight certain wellbore attributes. For example, they could represent producing formations, hydrocarbon shows, well log types, or test results. You can also vary the symbol sizes, and colors, to represent a ranking order, such as production volumes, etc. It doesn’t really matter what you want to show on your map—this is an easy way to do it.
See the larger Adobe Reader pdf file.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
How cool is this? I just found a new online spreadsheet application that allows you to share, collaborate, and publish spreadsheets that actually work when they are posted on a website, or blog. EditGrid received a very good rating from PC Magazine. The concept is somewhat similar to what is already being done with the online spreadsheet applications of Google Docs, and Zoho. However, the company focuses all of its efforts on the spreadsheet application solely, and apparently does a much better job at it, than either of its competitors.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
For those of you that haven’t had a chance to try out the Coblending feature in version 8.2 of SMT’s VuPak module yet, I would suggest that you give it a look. If you’ve never used anything like it before, be aware that it could max out your wowie-meter! Excuse the enthusiasm, but I like cool (and useful) technology.
(Back in the real world now) What is Coblending? It is just as its name implies—it is the ability to blend two different volumes of seismic data together, and display them both at the same time. Besides being very cool, it could also really be helpful with seismic interpretations—especially in complexly faulted areas.
See the larger Adobe Reader pdf file.
See the VuPak animation
Note: The avi file is fairly large, so it will take some time before the animation starts.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
I got the idea for today’s posting from a client’s search for a critical well log—he’s been searching for it for a while now, but hadn’t been able to find it, so far. So, I suggested a few more companies to search, and hence this posting. Since logs are so important for what we do as geoscientists, I thought that the list of sources (in no particular order) that I sent to him, might be helpful to others, as well.
IHS has millions of feet of world-wide coverage of digitized logs, and raster images at: http://www.ihslognet.com/
TGS also has world-wide coverage of digital LAS log files, and raster logs at: http://www.tgsnopec.com/data_solutions/geological_products_services.asp
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
If you’re like me you probably spend long hours at the computer. Because of this, it’s easy to develop Repetative Stress Injuries (RSI) if you’ve improperly positioned yourself, your computer equipment, or your office furniture.
I just ran across a few websites that may be helpful and informative as to the proper, ergonomic placement of these items.
The U.S. Governments Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) website provides a lot of useful information concerning Computer Workstations, and provides a Workstation Checklist, and Workstation Purchasing Checklist, Good Working Positions, and Selecting Workstation Components .
Even with the correct design and placement of the workstation, RSI can become a problem unless the risk factors are reduced by Work Process and Recognition, and the Workstation Environment.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
The following is an example of an easy method to import culture lines into an SMT project, using a spreadsheet formatted as an SMT culture line file. Note that this is also applicable for importing polygons.
Suppose you have an SMT project that includes both 2D and 3D seismic data, but you only want to show the 2D line location overlays without the 3D line overlays, to reduce map clutter. Normally, SMT’s 2d/3dPak module only has the option to have all seismic line locations turned on, or to have them all turned off.
In the examples below, the first image, annotated “WITH ALL SURVEY LINES” is how a map would look with the Display Survey Line Option selected (Surveys>Survey Annotation> Line Options>Display Survey Lines). Often, this creates a lot of map clutter (in my opinion), especially if you have many 2D lines, or they are concentrated in one area. This map clutter can distract from the structure map, or other focus of the display.
See the larger Adobe Reader pdf file.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
Do you have a new 3D seismic volume that you need to review quickly? Maybe you just need to scan it to get a feel for the structural trends, or for quickly finding new prospects to concentrate on.
Whatever the case, SMT’s VuPak Chair Cut Animation, a common method of seismic visualization, is a good approach to use for the evaluation. It allows for the simultaneous viewing of three different planes of seismic data, as seen in the image below—Inlines (vertical data surface facing forward), Crosslines (vertical data surface facing towards the left) and Time Slices (horizontal data surface, facing upwards).
The data set being displayed below is a Coherency volume, which is an excellent seismic attribute for highlighting subtle structural and stratigraphic changes in the data. In this case, we’re looking for the major fault trends. Seconds after opening the volume for viewing, we find that there are two significant faults surfaces (the dark purple, linear features being highlighted by the red arrows), which can be seen traversing through various faces of the cube of seismic data volume.
See the VuPak animation (25MB Media Player avi file).
Note: The avi file is fairly large, so it will take some time before the animation starts.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
Being in business for myself, I have to wear several “hats” during the day. Not only am I a Geophysicist, but also must be adept at geology, marketing/sales, finance, etc. (and now running a blog). Whew, sometimes there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day!
Another one of my duties, which often seems to take a lot of my time, is being the unofficial, computer support person for several computers: three of my own, one in a currently active client’s office, and three for my family—all with Windows XP (I’ve had no desire to jump to Windows Vista yet, with all of its reported problems, and slowness). It seems that I’m continually fixing something that is broken, corrupted, won’t work, etc., or continually searching for upgrades/fixes, and boy do I get frustrated with the seemingly never-ending problems.
As a result, I have recently started to investigate the possibility of using Linux as an OS (operating system). Let me state here, that I’m not an expert yet, by any means—I’m still way down on the learning curve. There’s still a lot to learn, but I thought that I would share some of what I have found out so far. Here’s a recent Linux user survey that I found, about some of the leading Linux distributions (distro’s in geek speak).
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
This is a continuation of my previous Linux article (which eventually got too long for one posting), discussing the results from my Linux tests.
First, the negatives from my tests: From the initial results, additional research, and my other experiences, many of the currently available Linux operating systems (OS) doesn’t yet seem to be able to recognize every hardware component available like Windows usually does. Generally, Linux still has problems with network-related hardware (especially wireless adapters), video adapters, and some external devices such as printers, and digital cameras. Because of these network, and video-related problems, laptops seem to have more problems than desktops do.
Fixing a problem usually requires delving into the very “geeky”, and unfamiliar domain of the CLI (Command Line Interface, similar to the old MS DOS commands). It can be a bit intimidating, initially. Also, the general user-interface appearance on many distros are still very garish—I have no idea where they come up with some of the colors, or graphics symbols which are used, or when they did think of them, why they decided to use actually them. However, as they become a more mainstream OS, they will improve these problems. Actually, I can already see it happening, in just the short time that I’ve been looking into Linux.
Author: Mike Cline, T/X Resources
While we’re on the subject of channels…………….
Here is a “quick-look” visualization technique, accomplished within SMT’s VuPak program, which can be used for prospect scanning of new 3D seismic volumes—either standard migrations, or other seismic attributes such as angle/range-limited AVO (amplitude-versus-offset) volumes.
This prospect scanning technique highlights interesting seismic amplitude details in much less time than when standard, vertical seismic displays are used for the interpretation, and it also lessens the chance that subtle anomalies will be overlooked. The example shown here, is another presentation of the channel in the previous two postings, and is accomplished by quickly discriminating larger amplitude events from the “background noise.
See the VuPak animation (29MB Media Player avi file).
Note: The avi file is fairly large, so it will take some time before the animation starts.