1.

On AVO intercept versus AVO gradient plots what are the controls on the background trend for
sandstone reservoirs and how does this trend vary with over-pressure?
AVO Intercept Normal incidence RC & AVO Slope Gradient of AVO
For controlling the background trend for sandstone reservoir Zero-offset RC or Intercept is
controlled by the contrast in AI, and The gradient or Slope is more complex in term of rock
properties; contrast in Vp, density and Vs.
The background trend varies with over-pressure due to over-pressure and gas sand have a same
response in term of AI. Need to know that AVO background trends as a function of Vp/Vs.
- Vp/Vs ratio in overpressure zone High
- Vp/Vs ratio in gas sands is Low
(PAPER Source) : In shallow, unconsolidated sediments where VP /VS _ 2.0, the background trend
will be less correlated. This can also be true in overpressured sediments where the background VP
/VS can exceed 2.0 at great depths. Intercept or normal-incidence reflectivity can be a better
hydrocarbon indicator in shallow, unconsolidated sands than an AVO anomaly
2. Draw a sketch to show how porosity variations map into the background trend.
3. Explain the location of shales on such a crossplot and how their relationship changes at shallow, mid
and deep prospects.
- The schematic of effects of compaction on
clean sands and shales
- At shallow depth : shale has higher AI than
sands (Harder). Modestly negative AVO
gradient)
- At mid depth : there is crossover between
shale and snad due to compaction and
cementation.
- At deep prospect : shale has lower AI than
sands (softer). (Negative AVO gradient)
- Normally, in shallow section the AI of shale
is higher than sandstone and it viceversa
for the deep section

4. How do the different AVO classifications plot on cross-plots?

5. Explain the reason for anomalous points away to the SW and NE on cross-plots How do you use such
cross-plots to the optimum fluid and lithology angle gather?
6. What are the major features of a true-amplitude processing sequence and what QC steps would you
envisage at the beginning of an AVO analysis project?
The major features of a true-amplitude processing sequence
- Recovery of correct value of relative amplitudes with depth and calibrated against borehole
control.
- Improvement of SNR
- Data enhancement for improved interpretability
- Imaging the data correctly with pre-stack time or depth migration
- Aligning reflections correctly across a NMO gather
QC steps
- Zero phase, high bandwidth seismic data
- Continuity of reflectors across the CMP gather
- Adequate offset
- Good multiple and noise attenuation
- Flat gathers-correct moveout applied
- Correct relative amplitude across the gather
- Consistent frequency content across the gather
- Consistent scaling of each trace
- No critical or post-critical energy
- Correct pre-stack imaging
7. What are the azimuthal AVO analysis procedures required for a ocean-bottom cable survey to
determine the amount of fractures and their orientation?
8. How does coloured inversion differ from standard deterministic inversion?
Coloured inversion of seismic data exploits the frequency spectra of the logs. An average amplitude
spectrum of the input seismic is computed to derive an inversion operator. This operator is applied
to the seismic cube, so that its amplitudes are in better agreement with the well dat.
The coloured inversion method is based on a special filtering technique. The amplitude spectrum of
the well log in the inversion window is compared with that of the seismic dataset. An operator is
designed bringing the seismic amplitudes in correspondence with those seen in the well. This
operator is subsequently applied to the whole seismic cube (Lancaster and Whitcombe 2000).
9. Detail the main steps of an inversion study
Inversion increases the resolution of conventional seismics in many cases and puts the study of
reservoir parameters at a different level. It results in optimized volumetrics, improved ranking of
leads/prospects, better delineation of drainage areas and identification of sweet spots in field
development studies (e.g. Veeken et al. 2002).
The main steps in an inversion study are:
Quality control and pre-conditioning of the input data.
Wellto-seismic match, zero-phasing of data in zone of interest and extraction of the wavelet.

Running of the inversion algorithm with generation ofacoustic or elastic impedance cubes and
extraction of attributes.
Visualisation and interpretation of the results in terms of reservoir development.

10. What are the advantages of undertaking a pre-stack inversion rather than a post-stack inversion?
Working pre-stack or with partial angle (Near, Mid, Far) stacks introduces more than one
seismic measurement and therefore provides an additional degree of freedom for reservoir
property prediction. We can expect to access more than one petrophysical parameter in a
meaningful manner (Connolly, 1999)
Traditional pre-stack inversion provides either compressional and shear impedance (IP and IS)
or the triplet Vp, Vs, and density.
Shear wave may yield valueable information on the lithological distribution (Pedrel et al.1998).
The S wave mainly interact with the rock frame work, whereas the P wave are influenced by
the porefill and rock matrix.
Signal to noise of the near and far stacks is high compared with that of a gather and partial
stacks remove much of the residual move-out problem from gradient estimation. Furthermore,
Pre-stack migration becoming routine-can re-locate the near and far stacks correctly
11. What sort of parameter testing would you undertake for a post-stack inversion?
Wavelet
Well Ties
Background Model
Impedance Prediction at Wells
Low Frequency Merge
Scale and Resolution
12. What is Elastic Impedance and Extended Elastic impedance, EEI?

Elastic impedance inversion (EI) is a generalization of acoustic impedance for variable incidence
angles. It provides a consistent and absolute framework to calibrate and invert nonzero-offset
seismic data
Elastic impedance inversion is performed in three parts:
1. Well data analysis of elastic rock properties and generation of EI logs
2. Wavelet extraction, using the EI logs and the input angle stacks
3. AVO and AVA inversion of seismic cubes, using the classic two-term Shuey approximation or a
full implementation of the Aki-Richards AVO equations
The EEI method is based on Shuey's form of the Aki-Richards equation. This method is used to invert
data with AVO effects. It uses angle stacks for a range of incidence angles (essentially a partial farangle stack) for the inversion. This approach to inversion also lets you use a wavelet especially for
the offset (so the inversion becomes more accurate than using one wavelet for all angles in
stacked data). Extended elastic impedance (EEI) can be used to estimate k, l, m, AI, VP/VS and other
petrophysical reservoir parameters by creating a reflectivity section for the specific parameter

Steps for EEI inversion:

1. Prepare data: well, seismic, horizons
2. Create the EEI spectrum at c (Chi) range: -90 to +90 degs.
3. Cross plot the c angles versus the cross-correlation coefficient for the targeted rock property
logs (e.g. VP/VS ratio) with EEI logs.
4. Compute targeted reflectivity volumes using the Intercept and Gradient attribute volumes with
a formula at the premium angle of maximum correlation(c):
5. Create an EEI log at the premium angle of maximum correlation.
6. Build the EEI model.
7. Extract a statistical wavelet.
8. Perform inversion analysis of the reflectivity volume.
9. Invert the reflectivity volume.

13. What procedures would you use, given EEI logs at a borehole, to find the optimum fluid and lithology
indicator angle stack?
By correlating EEI logs calculated from particular angle with fluid (Sw) and lithology (GR). Crosscorrelation between GR&EEI and trying particular angle, we can find the certain angle with good
correlation.

14. What are the advantages of stochastic inversion over deterministic inversion?
15. Describe conditional simulation procedures to map in reservoir heterogeneity to a post-stack
inversion
16. Briefly describe what are the modern developments in pre-stack inversion involving facies
descriptions. Use a flow diagram if at all possible