Seismic
Attribute
Analysis in Understanding the Facies Distribution of Minagish Formation in Western Kuwait
Srinivasa R. Narhari*, Mohammed D. Al-Ajmi, and Saifullah K. Tanoli
KOC
*[email protected]
Hydrocarbon production from the Valanginian Minagish Formation in Kuwait is limited to the western Kuwaiti fields like Minagish and Umm Gudair. Exploratory efforts in other parts of the country for this play-equivalent have met with limited success. The primary reason for this was the lack of trap integrity in the western part of the country and unfavorable facies development in the north and northeast. This presentation examines the integration of seismic
analysis and geological understanding in deciphering the paleo-basin configuration for this play in the western part of the country. Based on the application of
seismic
attributes and
seismic
waveform analysis techniques, an edge of the prograding, high-energy facies was interpreted. This facies corresponds to the middle unit of the Minagish Formation, the main producing interval in the western Kuwaiti fields. A 2-D
seismic
dataset has provided the general trend of the facies, whereas with the help of the 3-D
seismic
it was possible to delineate the approximate edge of the facies boundary. Spectral decomposition and other
seismic
attributes were applied in the interval of interest when mapping the zone of facies change. This study has highlighted a potential stratigraphic-structural exploration play fairway corresponding to the Minagish Formation.
Seismic
-
attribute
mapping and
seismic
-waveform characterization were found to be efficient tools in understanding the distribution of facies for this play. Recent drilling results have corroborated the interpretation by encountering a thin reservoir facies coincident with the zone of
seismic
facies change.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90077©2008 GEO 2008 Middle East Conference and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain