Unsupervised Machine Learning, Multi-Attribute Analysis for Identifying Low Saturation Gas Reservoirs within the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and Offshore Australia

Abstract

An effective method of identifying and discriminating undersaturated gas accumulations remains unresolved, resulting in uncertainty in hydrocarbon exploration. To address this problem, an unsupervised machine learning multi-attribute analysis is performed on 3D post-stack seismic data over several blocks within the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and within the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Australia. Results reveal that low-saturation gas (LSG) reservoirs can be discriminated from high-saturation gas (HSG) reservoirs by using a combination of instantaneous attributes that are sensitive to small amplitude, frequency, and phase anomalies with self-organizing maps (SOMs). This methodology shows promise for de-risking prospects, even if it is not quantitative, particularly in frontier and exploration basins where wells may not exist or be very limited. However, this method only proved to be successful within the Gulf of Mexico and yielded limited results in the Carnarvon Basin. This difference is most likely due to the Carnarvon Basin having a different amplitude response resulting from a different burial history and fluid saturations when compared to the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, this method is non-transferrable, and a different combination of attributes may be needed in other LSG-prone basins.