Geotime: A 3D automatic tool for chronostratigraphic seismic interpretation and filtering

Abstract

Chronostratigraphic seismic interpretation provides insight into basinal evolution. Because it maps the internal stratigraphic architecture, this method has been widely used for well placement optimization and reservoir model building. After many years of research at TOTAL, a software tool, called GeoTime, has been developed for automatic chronostratigraphic analysis of seismic data, particularly in complex geologic settings. This tool first creates automatically, from the seismic, a 3D isogeologic time volume which highlights all stratigraphic surfaces. Then a “3D Wheeler diagram” volume is obtained by segmenting the seismic volume into different depositional or nondepositional packages. This diagram provides better understanding of the spatial distribution of deposition through geologic time. Finally, this tool can be used to automatically or semi-automatically track chronostratigraphic surfaces.