A three-dimensional marine seismic survey was conducted in the Gulf of Thailand to aid in the development of a gas field indicated by three wildcat wells.,The results and interpretation reported previously demonstrated improved fault resolution and better structural definition.Five successful appraisal wells have now been drilled, and these show that most of the sands have limited extent. Widespread character changes in the seismic data also support stratigraphic variations in many of the sands.Several new methods of 3D stratigraphic interpretation have been developed while investigating the depositional history of this area. Anomalous seismic amplitudes, tied .to sands penetrated by wells and mapped from SeiscropTM horizontal sections in time and depth, have indicated the distribution of bars and channels. Horizon Seiscrop sections, each sliced through a single bed, have been used to delineate these depositional features directly. G-LOGTM sections, displaying seismic logs derived by rigorous wave equation inversion, confirm the existence of these features. Sands greater than 10 m thick have proved mappable.
During the past four years, studies have been made at Saint Louis University on earthquakes of shallow focal depth. The Tango Earthquake in Japan was studied by Dr. Hodgson, the Hawke Bay (New Zealand) Earthquake by the writer, and the Long Beach Earthquake by the Reverend James B. Maeelwane, S.J., and the writer. The travel‐time tables published in November 1955 by Father Macelwane were based on data from these earthquakes, the depth of whose foci was 10 to 12 km.
A three‐dimensional (3-D) marine seismic survey was conducted in the Gulf of Thailand to aid in the development of a gas field indicated by three wildcat wells which had been located by seismic reconnaissance programs shot over a period of several years. The key to successful exploration in the area, basically a hinge line play, was a detailed understanding of the complex faulting controlling the hydrocarbon traps. Since the prospect lies 160–220 km offshore, some specialized surveying techniques were employed to achieve the required positioning accuracy. About 1280 km of seismic data were recorded at 100-m line spacing over a roughly rectangular block covering about [Formula: see text]. The 48‐fold data were processed using a 3-D wave equation migration algorithm yielding a set of seismic traces representing the data vertically below a grid of depth points spaced at [Formula: see text] by 100 m. The results of the 3-D program showed greater fault resolution and structural delineation. The interpretation developed from a series of horizontal slices provided by the 3-D processing further improved fault resolution. Five wells, drilled on the basis of the 3-D survey, are productive and closely tie the seismic data. Initial studies of amplitude patterns of key reflectors, combined with interval velocities from seismic derived logs, appear to offer the potential of direct detection of productive gas zones thicker than 25 to 30 ft. The 3-D seismic data are being utilized for planning additional development wells and potential platform locations.
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