University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 8-10-2005 3D Seismic Interpretation of Turbidite-Sands from the Gulf of Mexico Omar Akbar University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at:http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Akbar, Omar, "3D Seismic Interpretation of Turbidite-Sands from the Gulf of Mexico" (2005).University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 286. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/286 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. The author is solely responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright. For more information, please [email protected]. 3D SEISMIC INTERPRETATION OF TURBIDITE-SANDS FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Geology and Geophysics by Omar Othman Akbar BS. King Fahid University of Petroleum and Minerals, 1994 August 2005 © 2005, Omar Othman Akbar ii iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT This is the most difficult part to write in my thesis. Thanking people who contributed to my success is not an easy task. Many people helped and supported me to reach this stage. I will try my best to pass my deepest thanks in a few words, but I know what they gave me is much more than words to be written. First, I would like to thank Saudi Aramco for giving me this opportunity to get my advanced degree in Geology. I would also like to thank my manager Saad Al- Akeel for his encouragement and support. Thanks to my colleagues at Aramco who took over my workload and made this scholarship possible. Lastly, I would like to thank my Aramco advisors Brad Brumfield for his understanding and support for the last two years. At UNO, I was also surrounded by great people. Thanks to Dr. Mostofa Sarwar for sharing his knowledge and guiding me during my research. Thanks for being so patient and kind with me. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Laura Serpa, who has been my mentor and guide since the very beginning of my program. She was a great adviser in helping me to select the right courses at the right times. My accomplishments could not be possible without her support and advice. Thanks to Dr. Mathew Totten for being part of my committee iv and for his opportune advice. Thanks to all my teachers and my friends at UNO, who contributed to this accomplishment. Finally, I would like to pass my greatest appreciation to Ibrahim AlQassim, who gave me my first hand in the United States and continued to offer his help whenever I need it. v Everyone wants to be in the picture, but me. For the past two years I was out of this picture. I was busy with my study and research. Now it is the time to tell my family THANK YOU ……….. FOR BEING SO PATIENT I am back, Omar Akbar vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..............................................................1 1.1 Area Overview...................................................................................1 1.2 Thesis Objective ................................................................................4 1.3 Thesis Significance............................................................................4 1.4 Previous Work...................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .........................................................10 2.1 Study and evaluation of the Area...................................................11 2.2 Data Collection.................................................................................11 2.3 Geological Interpretations ..............................................................13 2.3.1 Data preparation.......................................................................14 2.3.2 Log Correlation.........................................................................15 2.3.3 Map Generation ........................................................................21 2.4 Geophysical Interpretation .............................................................24 2.4.1 Data Loading.............................................................................24 2.4.2 Geological & Geophysical Data Integration ........................28 2.4.3 Salt Diapir Picking...................................................................30 2.4.4 Major Faults Picking...............................................................30 2.4.5 Major Sands Picking................................................................32 2.4.6 Fault Boundary Creation ........................................................35 2.4.7 Final Time Map Generation ...................................................35 2.4.8 Amplitude Anomaly Map Generation....................................37 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS..........................................................38 3.1 Observation .......................................................................................38 3.1.1 Observation Summary..............................................................44 3.2 Hypothesis .........................................................................................46 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................48 4.1 Structural Interpretation.................................................................48 4.2 Stratigraphical Interpretation ........................................................58 4.2.1 The 4500-ft Sand......................................................................58 vii 4.2.2 The 8500-ft Sand......................................................................63 4.3 Results Comparison .........................................................................70 4.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................80 References...................................................................................................81 VITA.............................................................................................................83 viii ABSTRACT This thesis interprets and maps some key stratigraphic and structural elements of Garden Bank (GB) Block 191 applying both geological and geophysical techniques. The area is located in the Gulf of Mexico 160 miles southwest of Lafayette. Three-dimensional seismic data and some well logs were integrated and analyzed to construct a reasonable geological subsurface image. GeoFrame software from Schlumberger was used in this research. A spatial attention was given to salt diapers. Their influence on sand accumulations and hydrocarbon traps were investigated. Two Pleistocene sands accumulations (4500- ft & 8500-ft) were examine thoroughly in this research. Time and amplitude maps were produced. In addition, a wave-theoretical model that describes salt tectonic activities within the area was reconstructed in order to understand the influence of these dynamical forces on the overlaying strata. ix