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AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsPeter P. Van Bemmel, Randolph E. F. Pepper
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A workstation computer system, and its associated method and program storage device, stores a novel software package known as "Variance Cube". The computer system is responsive to a plurality of seismic signals propagating through a cubic volume of an earth formation for generating a cube, representing said cubic volume of earth, where the cube includes a plurality of seismic data samples and where each seismic data sample has a corresponding "variance value" assigned thereto. The computer system also generates one or more maps, such as a time slice map, representing one or more slices through the cube. Each map displays and is used to determine certain geologic features which exist along the corresponding slice through the cube, each map including a plurality of the variance values representing the geologic features, each such variance value being defined as the degree to which an amplitude of each seismic data sample in the cube at a particular reflection time "t" varies about an average amplitude. When the Variance Cube software is executed, the method of this invention determines the plurality of variance values by: dividing the cube into a plurality of slices, dividing each slice into a plurality of cells, calculating an average of the amplitudes of a plurality of seismic data samples in each cell on the slice, subtracting that average from each amplitude of each seismic data sample in each cell thereby producing a plurality of differences, summing the squares of the plurality of differences thereby producing a numerator, summing the squares of the plurality of amplitudes of the plurality of seismic data samples in each cell thereby producing a denominator, dividing the numerator by the denominator to thereby produce an approximate variance value which is assigned to a center seismic data sample in each cell on the time slice.
A method of generating a cube for displaying a set of geologic features of a cubic volume of an earth formation, a plurality of seismic waves propagating through said cubic volume of said earth formation, a plurality of seismic traces being generated in response to said plurality of seismic waves, said plurality of seismic traces including a plurality of seismic data samples, a cube representing said cubic volume of said earth formation enclosing said plurality of seismic data samples, comprising the steps of:
A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for generating a cube that displays a set of geologic features of a cubic volume of an earth formation, a plurality of seismic waves propagating through said cubic volume of said earth formation, a plurality of seismic traces being generated in response to said plurality of seismic waves, said plurality of seismic traces including a plurality of seismic data samples, a cube representing said cubic volume of said earth formation enclosing said plurality of seismic data samples, said method steps comprising:
A computer program product for generating a cube that displays geologic features of a cubic volume of an earth formation, a plurality of seismic waves propagating through said cubic volume of said earth formation, a plurality of seismic traces being generated in response to said plurality of seismic waves, said plurality of seismic traces including a plurality of seismic data samples, a cube representing said cubic volume of said earth formation enclosing said plurality of seismic data samples, said computer program product comprising:
A seismic signal processing apparatus responsive to a plurality of seismic traces for generating a cube that displays a set of geologic features of a cubic volume of an earth formation, a plurality of seismic waves propagating through said cubic volume of said earth formation, a plurality of seismic traces being generated in response to said plurality of seismic waves, said plurality of seismic traces including a plurality of seismic data samples, said cube representing said cubic volume of said earth formation enclosing said plurality of seismic data samples, comprising:
A method of generating a cube including a plurality of seismic data samples and a plurality of variance values corresponding, respectively, to said plurality of seismic data samples in response to a set of seismic data, said set of seismic data including said plurality of seismic data samples, said seismic data being generated when an acoustic energy source generates acoustic energy, reflects said acoustic energy off a horizon in an earth formation, and propagates said acoustic energy through a cubic volume of said earth formation, said cube displaying a set of geologic features of said cubic volume of said earth formation, comprising the steps of:
A method of generating a map displaying a set of geologic characteristics representative of the geologic characteristics of a time slice through a cube in an earth formation, a boundary enclosing a plurality of seismic data samples, comprising the steps of:
A program storage device including a plurality of instructions, the instructions adapted to be executed by a processor of a computer, said instructions when executed by said processor conducting a process which generates a map that displays a set of geologic characteristics representative of the geologic characteristics of a time slice through a cube in an earth formation, a boundary enclosing a plurality of seismic data samples, said process comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.