Geophysical SIG

1
Geophysical SIG

• Towards reduced cycle time
• In
• Geophysical Work Processes

10th Jan 2009
2
Introduction

• Success in todays business, demands mechanisms
  that facilitate sharing of information with
  partners, regulatory agencies and service
  companies.
• Ideally, these mechanisms should be standardized,
  simple, non-proprietary and reliable to avoid
  pitfalls in data management.
• The value of data comes from its correctness.

3
Objective of GEOPHYSICAL SIG

• Aimed towards reducing API ( Acquisition,
  Processing, Interpretation) cycle time by
  addressing data standards and process automation
  opportunities
• Evaluate all the standards enhancement
  opportunity in entire API life cycle of Seismic
  Data with Oil companies business needs as the
  driving objective.
• Ensuring rapid availability of data along with
  complete contextual information across the API
  work processes.

4
Background

• A large number of new seismic techniques have
  emerged generating huge amounts of seismic and
  related data without commensurate progress in
  work processes for the use management of this
  data.
• The proposal by ONGC is for addressing these
  issues and ONGC presented the business case for
  seismic Standards initiative in various
  Energistics forums since 2005.
• ONGC presented a public request for need of
  Geophysical SIG in Energistics Regional SIG
  Meeting in Delhi in Jan 07.
• In late 2007 ONGC funded the launch of
  Geophysical SIG Workgroup for Geophysical
  Standards Assessment for standardizing the data
  exchange and improving work practices in
  geophysics.

5
Efforts so far

• An Effort vs. Impact study was carried out for
  more than 60 standards opportunities listed by
  ONGC.
• The Study showed improved work processes and
  practices can reduce the API work cycle time
  typically up to 80 days.
• Given that the industry also shared many of the
  seed points listed by ONGC and incorporated in
  the revised SEG formats, the data objects that
  remain, requiring development of new or improved
  standards are identified.
• Based on the analysis Energistics has come out
  with an Assessment report on Geophysical
  Standards.

6
Energistics Study on Delays
7
Opportunities in Acquisition

• Identity of surveys and lines
• Local Nomenclature standards but consistent
  across API
• Unique identification of seismic data sets and
  surveys
• Reduction of errors arising from manual data
  entry.
• Consistent results from search and inspection of
  seismic data inventories
• Data content Requirements should be defined for
  various information that may be encoded within
  identifiers, such as operator and contractor
  names, survey area, geologic basin, year
  acquired, etc.

8
Opportunities in Acquisition

• Recording of Unstructured reports
• Benefits of survey summary and observer's report
• Quality of Meta data on seismic recording from
  original source and avoiding errors of subsequent
  manual entry.
• On-site, near real-time integration and
  validation of seismic and observer logs about
  dead traces, surface conditions, shot offsets,
  uphole times, repeat shots etc.
• Reduce or eliminate post-event error prone
  reconciliation of seismic and positioning data

9
Opportunities in Acquisition

• Requirements for logistics data
• Benefits from meteorological and weather data
• Data Content Tidal data, Surface temperature and
  pressure, wind speed and direction, wave height
  etc
• Clearer evaluation of compliance with specified
  operating conditions.
• Increased consistency and quality of the data.
• Maritime, fisheries and other meteorological
  reporting protocols can be referred.
• Any Existing data format standards?.

10
Opportunities in Acquisition

• Improved SEG standards in Acquisition
• Data items include
• Equipment descriptions, CRS descriptions,
  Source-receiver geometry, Integration of
  positioning data with seismic trace data, Source
  Signatures, etc
• Benefits
• Increased consistency and quality of the data.
• Compare quality and characteristics of different
  vintages of data
• Reduced manual data entry and associated errors
• Data Formats Requires active association with
  SEG to improve/evolve data formats and standards.

11
Opportunities in Processing

• Velocity standards and XML based data exchange
• Benefits
• Routine use of a standard velocity format (along
  with interfaces between the standard and the
  internal proprietary application model
  representations)
• would reduce or eliminate the costs of the
  following-
• creating and maintaining the reformatting
  software,
• delays in ascertaining and applying the needed
  transformations, and
• would enhance management and preservation for
  re-use of velocity data in the long term.

12
Opportunities in Processing

• Velocity data Content
• A universal format for velocity data should
  contain
• Seismic velocity point identification (inline,
  xline for 3-D data line name and shotpoint
  number for 2-D data)
• Position data for the seismic velocity point
  (consistent with EPSG based best practice)
• Indication of the type of Velocity (Stack,
  Migrated etc.)
• Details of any correction applied to reference
  the velocity data to a seismic datum
• Time and velocity or depth and velocity value
  pairs
• A possible opportunity for XML based data flow
  implementation

13
Opportunities in Processing

• Improved SEG standards in Processing
• Capture of all required data items in a standard
  format into processed data (not manual entry)
• Data items to include
• Seismic data polarity and phase
• Relationships of SP-CDP (2d) and full fold Grid
  (3d)
• Processing organization, processing steps
  (history) and other special processing details
• Projection parameters
• X,Y coordinates of traces should be recorded in
  trace headers.

14
Opportunities in Processing

• Improved SEG standards in Processing
• Benefits
• Retain supporting info for future
  reference/re-use
• Avoid delays and errors of re-merging positioning
  data with trace data when loading to
  interpretation workstations.
• Eliminate recourse to earlier datasets to
  understand processing and interpretation history
  and eliminate reworking.
• Data Formats Collaboratively work towards early
  adoption of SEG rev 1 standards.

15
Opportunities in Interpretation

• Data associated with seismic data
  interpretation
• Like horizons, faults, seismic attributes, grids,
  maps, etc.
• MetaData Benefits
• Long term retention of high value-added data
  resulting from skilled knowledge workers, for
  easy reference and re-use.
• Enable transfer of interpretation data between
  exploration, reservoir engineering, drilling, and
  production groups, within companies and between
  companies, partners, and service organizations.
• Retention by government agencies.

16
Opportunities in Interpretation

• Requirement of standard for interpretation data
• Interpreted data will be seamlessly accessible
  across various platforms, and between various
  third party applications
• Enable transfer of interpretation data between
  exploration, reservoir engineering, drilling, and
  production groups, within companies and between
  companies, partners, and service organizations.
• Retention by government agencies.

17
Broad Strategy

• Adopt the best practices and conform to existing
  SEG/ UKOOA standards and ensure completeness in
  all contextual data. ( Acquisition / Processing )
• Wherever data standards need improvement, support
  SEG in the revision work and early industry
  adoption. ( SEGD rev 3, SEGY rev 1 )
• Evolve standard templates and formats wherever
  non-existing. Ensure adherence to the standard
  by services( observer reports/ summary reports
  etc.)
• Work towards data exchange automation through XML
  web services. ( Velocity data, interpretation
  results, all Meta data )

18
Road Ahead

• The approach towards better Geophysical Standards
  would involve Collaboration among the EP
  Players, Equipment Manufacturers, API Operators
• Evolving and Adopting best practices in data
  standards across geophysical work processes.
• Close association with SEG in evolution
  adoption of data standards , SEG revisions by
  Energistics members
• Evolving automation in work processes by adopting
  XML approach in geophysical data models.

19
Thank You