Improved structural interpretation of legacy 3D seismic data from Karee platinum mine (South Africa) through the application of novel seismic attributes

Abstract

Seismic detection of faults, dykes, potholes and iron‐rich ultramafic pegmatitic bodies is of great importance to the platinum mining industry, as these structures affect safety and efficiency. The application of conventional seismic attributes (such as instantaneous amplitude, phase and frequency) in the hard‐rock environment is more challenging than in soft‐rock settings because the geology is often complex, reflections disrupted and the seismic energy strongly scattered. We have developed new seismic attributes that sharpen seismic reflections, enabling additional structural information to be extracted from hard‐rock seismic data. The symmetry attribute is based on the invariance of an object with respect to transformations such as rotation and reflection; it is independent of the trace reflection amplitude, and hence a better indicator of the lateral continuity of thin and weak reflections. The reflection‐continuity detector attribute is based on the Hilbert transform; it enhances the visibility of the peaks and troughs of the seismic traces, and hence the continuity of weak reflections. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these new seismic attributes by applying them to a legacy 3D seismic data set from the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. These seismic attributes show good detection of deep‐seated thin (∼1.5 m thick) platinum ore bodies and their associated complex geological structures (faults, dykes, potholes and iron‐rich ultramafic pegmatites). They provide a fast, cost‐effective and efficient interpretation tool that, when coupled with horizon‐based seismic attributes, can reveal structures not seen in conventional interpretations.

Three-dimensional Structural Modeling (3D SM) and Joint Geophysical Characterization (JGC) of Hydrocarbon Reservoir: A Case Study of the Kadanwari field in Middle Indus Basin (MIB), Southeastern Pakistan

“…On the one hand, reservoir facies discrimination can be obtained from the laboratory studies on core plugs which are costly and time-consuming. However, seismic attributes allow stratigraphic-based basin portrayal within a composite deposition-based structure and discriminate sand facies from shale, thereby increasing the rate for successful reservoir characterization (Chopra and Marfurt, 2006;Manzi et al, 2020). Seismic attributes such as dip magnitude, edge enhancement, variance edge, sweetness, and root mean square (RMS) amplitude are essential tools for delineating structural and stratigraphic characteristics, lithofacies changes, and hydrocarbon potential zones (Azeem et al, 2016;Ashraf et al, 2019;Manzi et al, 2020;Naseer, 2021b).…”

“…However, seismic attributes allow stratigraphic-based basin portrayal within a composite deposition-based structure and discriminate sand facies from shale, thereby increasing the rate for successful reservoir characterization (Chopra and Marfurt, 2006;Manzi et al, 2020). Seismic attributes such as dip magnitude, edge enhancement, variance edge, sweetness, and root mean square (RMS) amplitude are essential tools for delineating structural and stratigraphic characteristics, lithofacies changes, and hydrocarbon potential zones (Azeem et al, 2016;Ashraf et al, 2019;Manzi et al, 2020;Naseer, 2021b). On the other hand, petrophysical modeling plays an essential role in reservoir characterization, especially in discriminating the non-hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon bearing intervals (Hussain et al, 2017;Ali et al, 2019;Raza et al, 2020;Abdeen et al, 2021).…”

Three-dimensional Structural Modeling (3D SM) and Joint Geophysical Characterization (JGC) of Hydrocarbon Reservoir: A Case Study of the Kadanwari field in Middle Indus Basin (MIB), Southeastern Pakistan

“…On the one hand, reservoir facies discrimination can be obtained from the laboratory studies on core plugs, which are costly and time-consuming. However, seismic attributes allow stratigraphic-based basin depiction within a composite deposition-based structure and discriminate sand facies from shale, thereby increasing the rate for adequate reservoir characterization [38,39]. Seismic attributes such as dip magnitude, edge enhancement, variance edge, sweetness, and root mean square (RMS) amplitude are essential tools for delineating structural and stratigraphic characteristics, lithofacies changes, and hydrocarbon potential zones [20,38,40,41][ 20,38,40,41].…”

“…However, seismic attributes allow stratigraphic-based basin depiction within a composite deposition-based structure and discriminate sand facies from shale, thereby increasing the rate for adequate reservoir characterization [38,39]. Seismic attributes such as dip magnitude, edge enhancement, variance edge, sweetness, and root mean square (RMS) amplitude are essential tools for delineating structural and stratigraphic characteristics, lithofacies changes, and hydrocarbon potential zones [20,38,40,41][ 20,38,40,41]. On the other hand, petrophysical modeling plays an essential role in reservoir characterization, especially in discriminating the non-hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-bearing intervals [17,22,42,43].…”

Reflection Seismic Imaging in the Zinkgruvan Mining Area, Central Sweden

“…To be successful in exploration, a better understanding of the geological structures and of the tectonic framework of a mining area is necessary. Seismic methods have the potential to be used for these purposes as illustrated partly by several recent studies (e.g., Buske et al, 2015 and the references therein;Malehmir et al, 2020 and the references therein;Manzi et al, 2020).…”