D023

Interpretational Applications of Spectral

Decomposition in Identifying Minor Faults
X.D. Wei* (BGP/CNPC)

SUMMARY
At present, spectral decomposition is used in reservoir characterization and hydrocarbon detection. But
there is very little literature on fault identification using spectral decomposition. In this paper, on the basis
of the high-precision 3D seismic data from the Qiuling oil field, spectral decomposition is used for
identifying minor faults. The phase tuning cube is used for interpreting fault planar variation and the
common frequency cubes are used for describing the spatial features of faults. Integrating both the phase
tuning cube and the common frequency improves the reliability of fault identification.

72nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010

Barcelona, Spain, 14 - 17 June 2010

Introduction
Spectral decomposition transforms the seismic data into the frequency domain via mathematic
methods such as discrete Fourier transform, continuous wavelet transform, etc. The transformed
results include tuning cubes and a variety of discrete common frequency cubes. Spectral
decomposition has proven to be a robust approach for seismic interpretation. They are used for
mapping temporal bed thickness (Partyka et al., 1998, 1999), to indicate stratigraphy traps (Marfurt
and Kirlin, 2001), and to delineate hydrocarbon distribution (Castagna et al., 2003). However, there
is little literature on fault identification using spectral decomposition. In the other words, the
advantages of spectral decomposition have not been fully utilized in seismic interpretation. In this
paper, on the basis of the high-precision 3D seismic data from the Qiuling oil field, spectral
decomposition is used for identifying minor faults. The ability to identify minor faults is enhanced by
means of the spectral decomposition.
Technical methods
Spectral decomposition is used for seismic interpretation by analyzing the variation of amplitude
spectra, phase spectra and time-frequency attributes. Using a different mathematic transform, we can
obtain two types of cubes: the tuning cube and the common frequency cube. Above all, the spectral
decomposition maps generally show substantially higher fidelity than full-bandwidth conventional
complex trace attributes.
Based on the short-window discrete Fourier transform, Greg Partyka (1998) promoted the principle
and technical procedure of spectral decomposition. The tuning cubes use amplitude spectra and phase
spectra to transform zone-of-interest data into frequency domain. They indicate geological features in
detail. The amplitude tuning cube is primarily used for describing the distribution of thin sandstones,
such as the qualitative or quantitative prediction of thin bed thicknesses. Phase tuning cubes are
mainly used for revealing stratigraphic and structural edges of bodies, like faults and sandstone pinchouts.
By way of a variety of spectral decomposition transform methods, such as discrete Fourier transform
(DFT), the time-frequency continuous wavelet transform (TFCWT), the continuous wavelet transform
(CWT), and the S transform (ST), etc., spectral decomposition will generate a series of discrete
frequency volumes. They are computed from single input seismic volumes into amplitude or phase
volumes via a running-window approach on each seismic trace in a time seismic volume. These
discrete frequency volumes are called common frequency volumes. Their time-window is not limited
and is determined according to the vertical scope of all faults. The common frequency cube can
improve the seismic interpretation ability in geological edge or bodies through large volumes in timefrequency domain, especially in fault identification. However phase tuning cube is typically done in
the target zone between two horizons, which can only indicate the lateral character within a limited
time-scope, and can not reveal spatial character of the fault plane.
Example
The Qiuling oil field is located in the Tuha Basin in Western China. It is an east-west trending,
complicated anticline structure with a set of different scale faults. The anticline is about 15 km in
length and 5 km in width. Its closure is about 700-800 m, and its oil-bearing area covers about 50
km2. The anticline structure is characterized by asymmetry on both sides, it is slow in the northern and
steep in south, and high in the west and low in the east due to the influences of asymmetric stresses
from the northern and southern regions of the structure. The oil field is heavily faulted. Conventional
seismic interpretation methods have found that there are more than 50 faults with varying scales.
Product wells show that minor faults play an important role in the movement of reservoir fluids and
the distribution of gas, oil, and water. The difficulty with identifying minor faults, as well as their

72nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010

Barcelona, Spain, 14 - 17 June 2010

planar distribution, has restricted the improvement of reservoir geology knowledge and successful
achievement of development programs.
In order to improve the reliability of identifying minor faults, it is necessary to evaluate seismic data
quality. Figure 1 shows the seismic data of the target to be good quality with high a signal to noise
ratio. The frequency band of the seismic data is 10-55 Hz and the dominant frequency is 28 Hz, which
is beneficial for using spectral decomposition to identify minor faults.

Figure 1: The analysis diagram of seismic data quality in the study area
Because the phase attribute is more sensitive to detailed geology features than the amplitude attribute
is, minor faults can be shown clearly in the phase tuning cubes than in the amplitude tuning cubes.
Within the effective band of seismic data, as the frequency increases, the minor faults become clearer.
Likewise, the amplitude cubes mainly reveal the larger faults on the common frequency cubes, while
high-frequency common frequency cubes can reveal the minor faults. In order to identify minor faults
and to reveal the spatial features of faults, it is necessary to combine the phase tuning cubes with
common frequency cubes. At the same time it can improve the feasibility and reliability of minor fault
interpretation. The common frequency cubes are used for interpreting faults in the time domain, and
the frequency slices of phase tuning cubes are used for analyzing faults planar features in the
frequency domain.
In comparison with conventional time seismic data, the section of the phase tuning cube (Figure 2)
shows a series of breaks. The seismic responses of faults have been effectively enlarged in the
frequency domain section, which can improve the ability to identify minor faults. Figure 3 shows
frequency slices of the phase tuning cube. The fault relation and its planar combination are the most
obvious in the 35 Hz slice. The 35 Hz slice is mainly used for identifying faults with the assistance of
other slices. Due to the limits of time thickness, application of phase tuning cubes is primarily
confined to identifying faults in short-time windows, which can not fully reveal the spatial
characteristics of faults. Therefore, the common frequency cubes are used for indicating the spatial
characteristics.
The mathematic transform of the spectral decomposition for common frequency cubes has no window
restriction. The length of the time window can be determined by vertical scale of the fault, which is
different from spectral decomposition for the tuning cube. Figure 4 shows the resulting comparison of
the spectral decomposition methods. It can be seen that fault features in all common frequency cubes
are clearer than those in the original seismic data, especially in the high frequency cube obtained by
TFCWT method. In the effective seismic band, as the frequency increases, the characteristics of faults
plane and faulting point are clearer, and the most clear at the dominant frequency.
Based on the above analysis and comparison, we choose the common frequency cubes around the
dominant frequency and the original seismic data to identify and interpret the spatial characteristics of
the faults. It is emphasized that we also use the common frequency cubes above the dominant
frequency in order to identify minor faults (Figure 5 shows different frequency comparisons of the
common frequency cubes). Figure 6 shows the interpretation results using the different methods. On
the new method map, more minor faults are identified, the relation of faults is more obvious and

72nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010

Barcelona, Spain, 14 - 17 June 2010

structural features are in better agreement with the regional geological background. The gas-oil and
oil-water contacts are more reasonable.

Figure 2: The cross-well section of phase tuning cubes in the frequency domain for the study area

Figure 3: Comparison of different frequency slices for the phase tuning cube

Figure 4: Comparison with seismic sections transformed by different spectral decomposition

methods (left: original seismic data; middle: 30 Hz common frequency volume after CWT; right: 30
Hz common frequency volume after TFCWT)
Conclusions
1. Spectral decomposition is a new method for seismic interpretation for analyzing the geological
characteristics of seismic response in the frequency domain. This opens up a new field for seismic
interpretation.
2. Applying spectral decomposition can improve the feasibility of minor fault interpretation. Tuning
cubes highlight the amplitude and phase spectrum characteristics in the frequency domain, and

72nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010

Barcelona, Spain, 14 - 17 June 2010

provide more abundant geological information of the target area. The common frequency cubes
highlight the seismic response of a target at a given frequency, and provide more detailed spatial
geological features.
3. Using spectral decomposition can improve the reliability of minor fault identification. The phase
tuning cubes are used for interpreting fault planar variation, and the common frequency cubes are
used for describing spatial characteristics of faults. Integration of both will improve the reliability of
fault interpretation.

Figure 5: Comparison of sections from different frequency cubes after TFCWT

Figure 6: Comparison of the old structural map (above) with the new structural map (below)
References
Castagna, J. P., Sun, S.J., Robert, W. S., 2003, Instantaneous spectral analysis: Detection
frequency shadows associated with hydrocarbons, The Leading Edge, no.2, 120-127.

of low-

Marfurt, K. J., and Kirlin, R. L., 2001, Narrow-band spectral analysis and thin-bed tuning,
Geophysics, no. 4, 1274 1283.
Partyka, G., Gridley, J., and Lopez, J., 1999, Interpretational Applications of Spectral Decomposition
in Reservoir Characterization, The Leading Edge, no.3, 353-360.
Peyton, L., Bottjer, R., and Partyka, G., 1998, Interpretation of incised valleys using new 3-D seismic
techniques: A case history using spectral decomposition and coherency: The Leading Edge, no. 9,
1294-1298.

72nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010

Barcelona, Spain, 14 - 17 June 2010