Seismic Data Balancing using Histogram Shaping

S. Al-Dossary¹ and J. Ren¹

Abstract

Well balanced seismic amplitudes can help delineate hydrocarbon reservoirs by revealing subtle stratigraphic and structural features. Existing amplitude scaling methods, such as AGC and windowed amplitude equalization, often compromise both reflector visibility and the relative amplitudes of nearby reflectors. Herein, we employ an amplitude histogram-based approach to produce balanced seismic sections that show enhanced subtle geologic features while retaining some relative amplitude characteristics.

Our histogram shaping method rescales the seismic data by mapping the input data’s amplitude histogram to a more uniform (but tapered) histogram. The mapping function is based on the unique distribution of the input data amplitudes. The histogram analysis is performed on absolute amplitudes to preserve asymmetric distributions of positive and negative amplitude values. We apply histogram shaping to entire volumes, sections, or ensembles, which helps preserve relative amplitudes both spatially and temporally.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90188 ©GEO-2014, 11th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, 10-12 March 2014, Manama, Bahrain