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US 4,357,660 AGranted
Formation dip and azimuth processing technique
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorVincent R. Hepp
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorVincent R. Hepp
Estimating the term…
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention include methods and apparatus for processing measurements indicative of the dip and azimuth of formation features at various depths in a borehole to produce three-dimensional representations of the formation features. These three-dimensional representations may be in the form of two-dimensional presentations of apparent dip traces for various depths in one or more planes. The apparent dips may be varied with distance from the borehole in accordance with information derived from dips above and below a selected dip. The three-dimensional representations may also take the form of a contour map of a formation surface around the borehold which represents a three-dimensional structural model derived from dips above and below the contoured formation surface. Dip and azimuth variations over a given interval are used to define a family of surfaces in a three-dimensional reference system. Each dip represents a possible tangent plane to one of the surfaces at its intersection with the borehole. Dips are statistically analyzed to define a structural model, such as intersecting or faulted planes or cylindrical folds. Once a model is defined, the position of any surface in the model with direction and distance away from the borehole may be found and represented as variations in apparent dip in a given azimuth or as variations in dip or contour lines. A statistical analysis of combined dip and azimuth variations determines a dominant mode for a dip distribution which corresponds to the structural dip for an automatically determined interval, even though the interval may also contain many dips corresponding to stratigraphic or depositional features.
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
The method of claim 44 wherein the step of providing representative dip and azimuth values further includes the steps of analyzing dip and azimuth measurements of formation features from a sequence of depths to determine a dominant mode for such measurements;
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features for measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
A method of automatically producing with a machine three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
An apparatus for automatically producing three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface comprising:
An apparatus for automatically producing three-dimensional representations of formation features from measurements indicative of dip and azimuth in a borehole beneath the earth's surface, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.