The use of seismic attributes to enhance imaging of salt structures in the Barents Sea

Abstract

Seismic imaging and interpretation of salt bodies and surrounding minibasins have been always a challenge in areas with salt tectonics. Complex steeply dipping flanks along salt structures and adjacent stratigraphy remain problematic areas owing to the complex ray paths of the seismic waves travelling through the salt. This fact avoids a clear image of the salt-sediment interface, increasing the uncertainty of the interpretation of salt structures and surrounding minibasins. In this study, a 3D seismic cube located in the Nordkapp Basin (western Barents Sea), has been used to develop suitable interpretation attribute workflows which will allow the interpreter to: (1) improve interpretation and mapping techniques of salt bodies, salt-related structural elements, and adjacent minibasin stratigraphy; and (2) obtain a better understanding of salt kinematics, trapping geometry, and reservoir distribution adjacent to salt structures. The mapping and characterization of salt structures have been carried out using the attribute dip-illumination and variance. In contrast, chaos and anttrack highlight the presence of radial faults and have been used to better understand diapir kinematics. The surrounding minibasins have been interpreted using frequency filters and cosine of instantaneous phase, which have been essential to identify the different types of composite halokinetic sequences and the presence of sedimentary wedges which might act as potential reservoirs.