Seismic Modeling for Gas Field Development in Offshore Niger Delta: A Case History: ABSTRACT

Abstract

In practice, seismic data has been used to map the geometry of events in the subsurface, mainly from reflection continuity and the character of reflection packages. Seismic modeling techniques are attempts to mathematically and geometrically represent the geology of the subsurface and to depict the interaction of the geology with a propagating seismic wave front. In the Niger delta, recent development in stratigraphic exploration has induced the examination of more subtle features of reflection, mainly polarity, amplitude, and waveform, to define the limits of seismic resolution and hence predict the geometry of the subsurface fluid and solid interfaces. The field being appraised for development in this study is located approximately 35 km offshore southeast of the Niger delta in a water depth ranging from 20 to 25 m, and the project involves a modeling evaluation of five sand units encountered at different levels in the subsurface. The sands being modeled occur within the Agbada Formation (Miocene age), an alternation sequence of transitional sands and shales characterized by high-amplitude, anomalous seismic events over the Nkop field. Structurally, the field is characterized by seaward facing, contemporaneous growth faults consisting mainly of a rollover anticline located in a regional fault couple, bounded to more » the north and south by a growth fault. « less