SEAM Update

Abstract

At the end of January, SEAM Corporation issued the first request-for-bids (RFB) on numerical simulations for its Phase II consortium “Land Seismic Challenges.” The consortium has been working on three separate models covering different settings, and challenges, for seismic exploration on land. The first model to be completed, called the Unconventional Model, represents subtle features of shale-gas shale reservoirs embedded in a complex stratigraphic section and overlain by the buried topography of a typical midcontinent basin. The Arid Model places these same shale-gas reservoirs and stratigraphic section beneath a 500-m thick near-surface zone with features characteristic of desert areas—such as karsts, buried stream channels or wadis, with unconsolidated, low-velocity surface sediments juxtaposed with outcropping, high-velocity refractors. Finally, the Foothills Model contains complex structural features, typical of fold-and-thrust zones, and is topped by near-surface layer consisting of extreme topography and rapid lateral variations often found in mountainous regions.