Application of Seismic Lithology Inversion for Enhanced

Description of the Draugen Oil Field

Jon Einar Tellefsen (JSI A/S), Paul van Riel (Jason Geosystems), Milos Savic (Jason
Geosystems)

Summary

The economics of reservoir appraisal and development can be strongly improved if a quantitative
description of reservoir properties is obtained not only at well control but also away from well
control. It is shown from the Draugen Field how the spatial distribution of the reservoir lithology
can be determined with substantially more accuracy and detail from the results of 3D seismic
lithologic inversion than from interpretation of the 3D seismic reflection data. Only limited well
information was utilized in the study, so that a workflow typical for appraisal situations was
applied.

The main results of the seismic lithology inversion study are:.

• The pinch out of the Rogn Formation reservoir unit towards west is clearly delineated.
• The lateral distribution of reservoir porosities of both the Rogn and Garn formations can be
mapped.
• The oil water contact is imaged in parts of the field, mainly in the western part in the Garn
Formation.
• The small scale intra reservoir faults are more clearly imaged.
.
It is expected that the presented lithology inversion approach can also be successfully applied for
the appraisal and development planning of similar prospective fields in the area. Additionally, as
good lithology control points are available from the shales surrounding potential reservoirs, it is
expected that the method can also be effectively applied for exploration purposes.

Field Description Overview

The Draugen Field was discovered in 1984 and is located in block 6407/9 in the Haltenbanken
area. A general description of the area is provided by Koch and Heum (1995). Provan (1992)
describes the specific characteristics of the Draugen Field.
Provan (1992) describes the Draugen Field as a low relief north-south trending anticline
measuring some 20 by 6 km with the crest at 1600 m subsea and an oil column of 40 m. The
main reservoir unit is the Rogn Formation, which is embedded in the Spekk Formation, a shale
unit, which form the cap rock as well as the seat seal. Over the field, the Rogn Formation varies
between 0-60 m in thickness. The Garn Formation lies underneath the Spekk Formation, and
forms the reservoir unit in the western part of the field. The accumulations are sealed by a
combination of dip closure and pinch-out.
The Rogn Formation forms a coarsening upward sequence, subdivided into two main units
corresponding to different depositional environments. The Garn Formation comprises several
coarsening upward sequences. The shales of the Spekk Formation does not show strong lateral
variations in lithology.

Motivation for seismic lithology analysis

The Draugen Field is a very low relief structure with only 20 - 30 m oil column over most of the
area. Seismic resolution of 3D reflection data is insufficient to resolve and map internal reservoir
variations below approximately 15 m. Lateral variation in seismic amplitudes are expected due to
a combination of tuning, destructive/constructive interference and lateral lithology changes in the
reservoir units. It is therefore difficult to relate seismic amplitude changes to reservoir unit
lithology changes. The well logs, however, include more detailed information about internal
reservoir variations, which can be calibrated to acoustic impedance.

The objective of seismic lithology inversion is to address the problems of seismic resolution by
converting seismic data to lithology. The advantage is that lithology represents layer properties
and not seismic reflection interface properties. Several lithology parameters can be reconstructed
from seismic data, including such parameters as porosity and sand/shale ratio. However, the most
often used parameter is acoustic impedance (product of density and interval velocity) as it is
directly related to the seismic reflections and should show lithologic variations if they are present
in the seismic. This study focuses on the use of acoustic impedances.

Methodology to calculate acoustic impedances

To obtain an accurate acoustic impedance reservoir characterization, a multidisciplinary

approach is required integrating well log, geologic and seismic information. A workflow for such
a multidisciplinary quantitative reservoir analysis includes the following steps:

1. Seismic well calibration;

2. Seismic interpretation of main zones;
3. Seismic lithology inversion to obtain an acoustic impedance lithology cube;
4. Detailed interpretation of reservoir units using the lithology cube in conjunction with well
and geologic control;
5. Mapping of properties for each pay zone from the acoustic impedance data.

Of importance is that the seismic interpretation step 2 does not require any detailed interpretation
at the reservoir level but only the interpretation of main events. Rather, detailed interpretation
can be done on the lithology data, which is more efficient and more accurate than interpreting
reservoir level detail from the seismic data. In this way better results are achieved, typically with
similar or better turnaround time than achieved with detailed seismic amplitude interpretation.
The key reason is that lithology cubes represent layer properties and not seismic reflection
interface properties. Also, lithology cubes can be generated with higher bandwidth than the
seismic data, which is particularly helpful in addressing tuning problems.
Results

The input data for the study consists of a 3D seismic survey, and logs from the discovery well
6407/9-1. Only this well was used for the inversion, the other 4 appraisal wells 6407/9-2, 3, 4
and 6 were only utilised for QC of the final results.

For the seismic to well calibration step an iterative technique was used which combines log
editing and deterministic wavelet estimation around the wells. The wavelet was found to be close
to zero phase and the data bandwidth was determined to be 7 - 60 Hertz.

For the seismic lithology inversion a Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion (CSSI) method was
utilized. The main constraints were set on horizons bracketing the reservoir. Within the reservoir
zone, the constraints were left open to capture the expected lithologic variations. The output of
Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion is an acoustic impedance cube with bandwidth from 0 to
somewhat beyond the high side of the seismic data bandwidth. To stabilize the very low
frequencies (0-3 Hertz) of the inversion results, they were replaced by the low frequencies of an
acoustic impedance model derived by geologic interpolation of well control.

Figures 1 and 2 show results for a northwest-southeast and a north-south line respectively. Figure
1 clearly shows a potential OWC in the Garn Formation at approximately 1695 ms in the western
part of the Draugen Field. The Rogn Formation is clearly delineated in the acoustic impedance
results. Also the Garn Formation is readily interpreted. Within the Rogn Formation strong lateral
changes in acoustic impedance are seen. Though further geologic and petrophysical input is
required to confirm this, these changes may show variations in deposition with associated
changes in reservoir porosity and sand/shale ratio. A final observation is that reservoir faulting is
more clearly distinguished in the acoustic impedance data.

Figures 1 and 2, Acoustic impedance northwest-southeast and north-south sections.

From acoustic impedance volumes it is relatively straightforward to extract interval timeslices of
acoustic impedance attributes and reservoir parameters such as net pay and average porosity. An
important feature is that such maps can be calculated using acoustic impedance cut-offs. This
implies that reservoir maps can be generated without detailed interpretation of the reservoir
zones. Figure 3 shows such a map of the average porosity of the uppermost 24 ms of the
Rogn/Garn reservoir interval below a cut-off value corresponding to good quality oil filled sands
(Note that the low porosity range, i.e. below appr. 20 %, is not realistic due to the cut-off values
chosen. This map, derived without detailed interpretation of the reservoir units, clearly delineates
the field extent and also shows lithology variations within the field, most likely due to porosity
and/or sand/shale ratio changes.

Figure 3, Map of reservoir aver. porosity, showing Rogn Fm. pinchout and appr. field extent.

Conclusions

This study from the Draugen Field shows the benefits of seismic inversion to increase the
accuracy of mapping the lateral extent of different reservoir quality units and imaging potential
flat events (OWC’s). The results are based on all available information: seismic data, well logs
and structural interpretation. The study represents a workflow typical for appraisal, where only
one well is used to accurately delineate the lateral extent of the field.

It is expected that the presented lithology inversion approach can also be successfully applied to
similar prospective fields in the area. As demonstrated, the Constrained Sparse Spike Inversion is
largely driven by using the encompassing shale units as control. In such situations the method
can also be effectively applied for exploration purposes.
In addition, the study shows the clear benefit of doing the actual seismic interpretation on an
acoustic impedance cube, rather than on the commonly used reflection cube.

Acknowledgments

The study was conducted jointly by Jason Geosystems BV and JSI A/S, while the data and
additional information was provided by field operator Norske Shell A/S and their partners BP
Norge and Statoil.

References

Koch, J.O. and Heum, O.R., 1995. Exploration Trends of the Halten Terrace. In S. Hanslien
(Editor), Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation in Norway, NPF Special Publication 4, pp.
235-251, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Provan, D.M.J., 1995. Draugen Oil Field, Haltenbanken Province, Offshore Norway. In M.T.
Halbouty (Editor), Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade 1978-1988, Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.
Mem., 54, pp. 371-382.