IPTC-17914-MS

Seismic Dim Spots Too Can Have A Great Reservoir Potential!

Rajendra K. Shrestha and James R. Mennie, Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company (KPOC)

Copyright 2014, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10 –12 December 2014.

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Abstract
Deepwater turbidite exploration in Northwest Borneo has targeted amplitude supported structures that
resulted in significant discoveries. Seismic dim spots provide opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration
(Brown, 2012), however, they are considered higher risk due to the non-unique impedance relationships.
This paper presents an example of a gas bearing reservoir represented by both bright and dim amplitude
response in Offshore Sabah, Malaysia.
Introduction
Structurally conformable amplitude anomalies are often associated with hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs
and have traditionally been the focus in deepwater turbibidite exploration. The acoustic response of an
exploration target is non unique with contributing variables such as reservoir thickness, quality, porosity,
and fluid type contributing to the response. It is also recognized that the seismic response may be further
impacted by acquisition, processing and other geological overprints which potentially can mask the
acoustic response of the reservoir. For this reason, the lack of amplitude anomalies or even dims spots can
be easily misinterpreted to be indicative of the absence of a prospective reservoir. Therefore, it is
necessary to evaluate the seismic anomalies by integrating all available data and tools in the exploration
and appraisal phase.
Well A was drilled in deepwater offshore Sabah in the late 1990s targeting a structurally comformable
amplitude anomaly (Figure 2). The well encountered a hydrocarbon bearing reservoir deposited in
turbidite channels. An appraisal well (Well B) recently tested the extent of the reservoir in an area
characterized by a lack of strong top reservoir amplitude response observed in Well A within the field
(Figure 2). The appraisal results indicated the reservoir development in this dim area of the field was even
better than in the discovery well and upgraded the resource potential of the field.
Bright and Dim Seismic Facies
A zig-zag seismic line that demonstrates the variation of seismic response within the reservoir interval is
shown in Figure 1. A well defined seismic flat spot defines the hydrocarbon water contact (confirmed in
well penetrations). The high amplitude seismic facies in the right of the seismic panel was targeted by the
discovery well A. The primary objective of the subsequent appraisal well (Well B) was to test the dim
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Figure 1—Seismic Line displaying the left (appraisal) and right (discovery) sections of the field and Top of Reservoir.

Figure 2—Seismic Line displaying the left (appraisal) and right (discovery) sections of the field and Top of Reservoir.

seismic facies in the left section of the seismic panel (Figure 1). The key uncertainty of this well was that
the reservoir would be less developed than in the discovery well.
This appraisal well (Well B) penetrated a well developed reservoir with even higher net-to-gross than
the discovery well. A zero-offset VSP was obtained with one of the main objectives to further characterize
if the observed seismic response was reservoir derived. A geological side track was subsequently drilled
in order to evaluate the extent of the high net-to-gross reservoir penetrated in the appraisal well and to
determine if the high quality reservoir extended into a bright seismic facies. The side track demonstrated
correlatable reservoir development to Well B (Figure 2 and 3).
A pre-stack inversion dataset, including acoustic impedance, Vp/Vs ratio and the sand probability
volumes, was considered in defining the reservoir potential in appraisal planning. The sand probability
data suggested the reservoir was well developed and laterally extensive irrespective of the variation of
bright to dim seismic facies observed across the structure (Figure 3).
Another high amplitude anomaly was recognized above the top reservoir and comprised a secondary
exploration objective for the appraisal well (Figure 1). The well confirmed a thin hydrocarbon bearing
IPTC-17914-MS 3

Figure 3—Sand Probability Line displaying the left (appraisal) and right (discovery) sections of the field and Top of Reservoir.

Figure 4 —Well-to-seismic match on Well B.

reservoir at this level. One predrill interpretation was that the the dim seismic response at the primary
reservoir level may be due to an attenuation effect of the overlying amplitude anomaly.
The upper reservoir penetrated in Well B is of a gradational nature from a heterolithic sequence at the
top of the reservoir to blocky channel system at the base (Figure 4). This is confirmed by the wireline
image log and sonic/density data. The lack of strong impedence boundaries at a seismic scale may further
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Figure 5—AVO modeling of Well B showing stronger reflectivity at the Top Reservoir in brine-case 5(b) compared to the in-situ case 5(a).

explain the weak top reservoir seismic reflection character in the dim area of the field. The discovery well
penetrated shale units of thickness varying from 10 to 30m within the reservoir sufficient to yield a
resolvable impedance contrast (Figure 2). Hence, the dim seismic facies observed in Well B could also
be due to the reservoir response itself. The VSP data and the synthetic seismic in the seismic-to-well
match for Well B demonstate limited seismic character within the reservoir interval (Figure 4).
The top of the reservoir shows a weak Class 2 AVO response (Figure 5 (a)) for gas sands. It is
interesting to note that if the reservoir fluid is replaced with brine, the impedance contrast between the
sand and the overlying shale results in a stronger reflectivity event at the top of the reservoir than in the
gas case (Figure 5 (b)).
Summary and Conclusions
The discovery of the field was based on classical deepwater turbidite exploration principals focused on
drilling of amplitude supported structures. The recent appraisal work, in a seismically dim area of the
field, penetrated a higher quality reservoir than encountered in the discovery well, and upgraded the
resource potential of the field.
The dim seismic facies within the field is believed to be caused by the gradational reservoir
development and lack of internal shale units to yield sufficient impedance contrasts. This is substantiated
by the synthetic and VSP data in Well B. A shallower amplitude anomaly is interpreted to contribute to
dimming of the seismic reflectivity at the primary reservoir through attenuation.
The sand probability data from the prestack seismic inversion will be used to further constrain the
modeling of reservoir development across the field.

Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company Sdn. Bhd. (KPOC)
IPTC-17914-MS 5

management, PETRONAS Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) and the shareholders PETRONAS
Carigali Sdn. Bhd., ConocoPhillips Sabah Gas Ltd. and Shell Energy Asia Limited for permission to
publish this paper. The authors highly appreciate Michael I. Challis and Bret R. Prideaux from KPOC for
their time and efforts in reviewing this paper.

References
Brown, A.R., 2012, Dim spots; opportunity for future hydrocarbon discoveries: The Leading Edge, 6,
682–683.