Improved Reservoir Characterisation in Malay Basin through Seismic Stratigraphy and Rock Physics Modelling

Abstract

Abstract Discovering easy hydrocarbon reserves in Malaysian Basins particularly in the Malay Basin has become the story of the past. Most of the remaining reserves are now anticipated to be found in more difficult geological settings; such as in channel sand, stratigraphic traps, or in thin beds. This is not to say that there is zero possibility of discovering new hydrocarbon reserves in the more "easier" anti-cline structural setting, but most likely the new reserves would be at deeper intervals below the current typical operating depth of within 3 km below the sea bottom. The deeper reservoirs would require larger investment and at the same time exposing exploration and development ventures to higher risks as the likelihoods of penetrating the overpressure zones in the Malay Basin at deeper interval are much higher. The main objective of this paper is to establish a workflow concept of a seismic modelling platform that utilizes deterministic rock physics to derisk and reduce uncertainties in the reservoir characterization. This general objective entails three specific goals: 1) to model geological scenario from seismic data, in order to identify more likely geological scenarios among the all avaible geological possibilities; 2) to discover and incorporate rock physics diagnostic and modelling as the link between geological and geophysical parameters; 3) to apply the proposed workflow in an actual dataset (a possible delta fan lead in Malay basin) to verify its applicability. A field in the early development stage has very limited data: a little well data, seismic data, and some geological observation. Reservoir forecasting in this stage is one of the most important tasks for future decision making. A deep lead located in half graben setting within Malay basin (Figure 1) is used for verification of the workflow, and the study starts from the beginning stage of stratigraphy modelling.