Industry-Rice Earth Science Symposia (IRESS)
PETROLEUM GEOSCIENCE LECTURE SERIES
January 31, 2014
4:00-5:00 PM
Room 100 Keith-Wiess Geology Laboratories 

photo of Roberto Fainstein

Roberto Fainstein
Geophysics Advisor, Schlumberger (WesternGeco)
Ph.D., Rice University (1979)

A Brief Look at Seismic Responses of Deepwater Reservoirs: Salt Basins, Basins without Salt and Sub-Basalt Imaging

Deepwater petroleum exploration has been on a phenomenal rise in the recent times. Several reservoir elements have now been recognized in different deepwater geological settings. Seismic signatures and responses of deepwater reservoirs have been synthesized from different continental margins across the world. This paper deals with the case studies from basins with salt, no salt and sub-basalt imaging. The study represents mainly the Atlantic margin corresponding to post- salt and sub/pre salt plays of both clastics and carbonates reservoirs. On basins with no salt, in the Atlantic margin and elsewhere these also exhibit bright spots associated with deepwater amalgamated channels. Basalt and sub-basalt imaging of deepwater mini-basins exhibit several characteristic seismic responses, these are seen in the Mesozoic syn-rift beneath salt basins and in the stratigraphy beneath lava blankets. The seismic signatures demonstrated in the paper would serve as the specific background tool for identifying future exploration and development targets in the deepwater exploration and development frontier.