EXPLORATION:
FRONTIER EXPLORATION
Mega-merged 3D seismic in the
Vaca Muerta, Neuquén Basin
A basin-scale geocellular model provides a tool for sweetspot identification.
Shihong Chi, Felix Dias and Zakir Hossain,
ION Geophysical; Jhon Rivas, independent consultant;
and Yijie Zhou, Noble Energy
T he tectonics of Argentina’s Neuquén Basin has been
studied in detail by many authors. The extensional
period between the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic
resulted in a system of northwest-to-southeast-oriented
half grabens; and a later compressive-transgressive
period from the Upper Jurassic resulted in a system
of mainly east-to-west reverse and transgressive faults.
Trans-tension related to this period adds structural
complexity to the area. Similarly, the stratigraphy
and facies of the Vaca Muerta Formation have been
studied in detail.
The mega-merged 3D seismic clearly shows the
characteristics and geometries that make the interpreta-
tion of strata stacking patterns, their stratigraphic rela-
tions and the interpretation of internal configurations
(e.g., onlaps and downlaps) much easier than before.
From the southeast to northwest, it can be observed
that the major architectural trends from proximal
44
FIGURE 1. Several arbitrary lines of
the mega-merged seismic show the
stratigraphy variation across the basin.
(Source: ION Geophysical)
basin margin facies through central basin settings and
into distal basin floor facies (Figure 1).
Petrophysical analysis
A total of 14 wells with a relatively complete log set were
identified for the petrophysical analysis. Given the complex
mineralogy of the Vaca Muerta Formation, a statistical min-
eral analysis was used. The method included log response
equations for several tools simultaneously to obtain the
mineralogy, fluid content and total porosity. Gamma ray,
density, neutron and compressional sonic and clay volume
estimated from normalized gamma ray were used as input
curves for all the wells analyzed. The results show the Vaca
Muerta is predominantly limestone, with some marl or
siltstone interbeds. Kerogen is mainly deposited in the
lower Vaca Muerta formation with a maximum 12% of vol-
ume. Total porosity can reach up to 25% at the lower Vaca
Muerta. The interpretation was calibrated to core data.
Post-stack seismic inversion
Three key horizons around the target formation, Top
B, Vaca Muerta and Todrillo, were interpreted for well
June 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
 EXPLORATION:
FRONTIER EXPLORATION

tie, background model building and inversion. The high-porosity zone is located in the lower Vaca Muerta
seismic data quality is relatively good in the target zone of the southeastern part of the basin.
(Vaca Muerta to Todrillo). However, this seismic volume
comes from different surveys, and the spectra of differ- Conclusions
ent surveys are not quite balanced, which may affect the An integrated study of the Vaca Muerta Formation,
inversion results. Neuquén Basin, was performed using mega-merged 3D
All the wells inside the seismic survey are tied with seismic data covering about 12,000 sq km to estimate
seismic before inversion. The Gardner equation is used the kerogen, porosity and lithology (Figure 2). Four key
to predict the density log for the wells without the den- tasks were included in this project: regional structural
sity measurement. and stratigraphic interpretation, petrophysical analysis,
The inversion results show a relatively good match with post-stack inversion, and geocellular model building.
the wells. The lower Vaca Muerta shows relatively low acous- 3D structures of the Vaca Muerta are revealed from the
tic impedance (AI), which is a typical Kerogen response. mega 3D interpretation. Regional scale stratigraphic fea-
The inverted AI volume, together with the well logs inter- tures and lateral transitions have been evidenced from a
pretation results are then later integrated using the geologic single seismic volume for the first time.
modeling technique for detailed rock property estimation. Geocellular modeling combines the well log data
and inverted AI volume together with the geological
Geomodeling information to produce a detailed description of the
A geocellular model represents the reservoir geology geological deposition and kerogen distribution. The
and the vertical and horizontal variation of the reservoirs basin-scale geocellular model provides a powerful
in detailed log scale. The model incorporates the 3D tool for sweetspot identification during the
structural framework, the conceptual depositional sys- exploration phase and reserve estimation and well
tem (facies) and reservoir sublayers. The reservoirs and planning during field development.
formations above and below the reservoirs, constraining
the structural model, are divided first into zones and FIGURE 2. Seismic surveys overlay a topographic map in which the
later into thin layers and into a 3D mesh of cells until the red dots are wells used in performing well tie and velocity model
cells with thickness of rocks can simulate the reservoir building for time to depth conversion. (Source: ION Geophysical)
properties. For each cell, just one lithofacies type can be
assigned, but it can storage multiple reservoir properties.
The cells cut by wells are populated with facies and
reservoir properties, using averaging methods such as
arithmetic mean. The values of facies and a cell’s proper-
ties loaded from well logs are distributed or interpolated
through all the cells of the geocellular model based on
the spatial continuity concepts. The spatial distribution
is carried out by applying geostatistics, which includes
data analysis and deterministic and stochastic algorithms.
Sequential Gaussian Simulation is applied to create
heterogeneity-property volumes honoring input/output
of local data, histograms and variograms. Rock physics
constraints and a co-located cokriging method were used
to honor the well data and seismic inversion result simul-
taneously. Finally, the geocellular model was populated
with petrophysical and elastic rock properties that can be
used to assess, develop and manage the reservoir.
Two types of geomodels are created: one using well
data only, and the other using both seismic and well
data. By comparing two geomodels, significant values of
applying seismic data in delineating the 3D rock
properties are demonstrated. From the basin-scale
geomodels, it was observed that the highest total
organic rich and
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