Interpretation of a 3-D 9-Component Survey Over Ismay Algal Mounds, Paradox Basin, Colorado*
By
Paul La Pointe1, Robert Benson2, Rich Van Dok3, James Gaiser3, and
Claudia Rebne4
Search and Discovery Article #40206 (2006)
Posted August 3, 2006
*Oral presentation at AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, April 9-12, 2006
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presentation in PDF format (8.8 mb).
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1Golder Associates Inc, Redmond, WA ([email protected])
2Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
3WesternGeco, Denver, CO
4Legacy Energy, Denver, CO
Abstract
Algal mounds have
little structural expression, a small target size (a few hundred acres) and
complex internal reservoir geometries. Advances in exploration and development
success in these mounds have often occurred through advances in seismic
technology. A joint project funded by the US Dept. of Energy and the Southern
Ute Tribe's Red Willow Production Co. acquired a 9-component 3D
survey, along
with
3D
Zero-offset
VSP
, over the Roadrunner Field and surrounding acreage in
the Paradox Basin on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation in southwestern Colorado.
The goals of the project were to evaluate how well 3D9C
data
can improve
exploration success and the reservoir description of the mounds' internal
variations of porosity, permeability and fluid content, and also to develop and
refine processing and interpretation strategies.
Several different
processing strategies and interpretation methods were applied to the data
. The
results from the survey show that the P-wave
data
provides good depiction of the
external mound geometry, but little information about the internal structure.
The PS- and SS-wave
data
, however, do reveal aspects of the internal mound
structure. Examples of different processing streams, derived attributes, and
their relation to mound geology are presented. Based on these maps, wells were
located and the results of drilling are presented.