Day 5 Emerge

EMERGE
Multi-Attribute Analysis
Workshop
Instructor: Kevin Gerlitz

August 7, 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
EMERGE Course Outline

Introduction to EMERGE
Exercise 1: Setting up an EMERGE Project
Seismic Attributes
Cross Plotting
Exercise 2: The Single-Attribute List
Multiple Attributes
Validation of Attributes
Exercise 3: The Multi-Attribute List
Using the Convolutional Operator
Exercise 4: The Convolutional Operator
Exercise 5: Processing the 3D Volume
Neural Networks in EMERGE
Exercise 6: Predicting Porosity Logs
Training the Neural Network
Exercise 7: Using Neural Networks
Case Study: Using Emerge to predict Vshale
PNN Classification
Exercise 8: Using Classification
S-wave Prediction
Exercise 9: Predicting Logs from Logs
Last updated: January, 2009
Summary of the EMERGE Course
Introduction to EMERGE
The Objective of the EMERGE Program:
EMERGE is a program that analyzes well log and seismic data.
It finds a relationship between the log and seismic data at the well locations.
It uses this relationship to predict or estimate a volume of the log property
at all locations of the seismic volume.
The Data that EMERGE uses:
A seismic volume (usually 3D).
A series of wells which tie the volume.
Each well contains target log, such as porosity, which is to be predicted.
Each well also contains the information for converting from depth to time,
usually in the form of a check-shot corrected sonic log.
(Optional) One or more external attributes in the form of seismic 3D
volumes.
The log data must be inserted

into a GEOVIEW database:
This display shows the log
data from a single well:
Theoretically, any type of log property may be used as a target for EMERGE.
Practically, the following types have been predicted successfully:
P-wave velocity
Porosity
Density
Gamma-ray
Water saturation
Lithology logs
The only requirement is that an example of the target log must exist within
each of the wells.
Since EMERGE assumes that the target log is noise-free, it is usually
important to edit the target logs before applying EMERGE.
Since EMERGE will be correlating the target logs with seismic data, the
proper depth-to-time conversion is critical. For this reason, check-shot
corrections and manual correlation are usually necessary.
EMERGE can be thought

of as an extension of
conventional post-stack
inversion:
Inversion
Uses seismic and well log
data.
Predicts a volume of
impedance (acoustic,
elastic, shear).
Uses the convolutional
model to relate logs with
seismic.
Uses seismic and well log

data.
Predicts a volume of any
log property.
Operates on pre-stack and

post-stack seismic data
using a deterministic
model (e.g. Aki-Richards).
May be used with very few
wells as few as one.
Does not use any a priori

model. Instead,
determines an arbitrary
relationship statistically.
Does not require wavelet
extraction. Effectively, the
wavelet is part of the
derived relationship.
Operates on seismic
attributes statistically,
including post-stack and
pre-stack attributes.
Requires sufficient well
control (at least 3 wells).
The result is validated by

creating a synthetic
seismic section which
matches the real data.
The effective resolution is
limited by the seismic
bandwidth.
The result is validated by

hiding wells and
predicting them from other
wells.
The resolution may be
enhanced by neural
network analysis.
Requires the extraction of

the wavelet.
Emerge
Exercise 1: Setting up an EMERGE Project

Estimating P-Wave Velocity from Seismic Attributes
We are now ready to do the first EMERGE example. In this example, we will
estimate p-wave or sonic log velocity from seismic attributes.
The data set consists of the following:
A SEGY file, seismic.sgy, which is a 3D post-stack data set.
A SEGY file, inversion.sgy, which is the 3D result of performing
inversion on the input seismic data.
12 wells that tie the two SEGY files. Each of these wells
contains a sonic log and a check-shot file.
The objective of this analysis is to predict new sonic logs for the entire 3D
survey, using the seismic data and the inversion result.
Loading the Data
Start the GEOVIEW program by

typing geoview in the command
window (Unix) or selecting
Geoview from Start / Programs /
HRS applications (Windows).
We want to open an existing
database, so simply click OK on
the first menu that appears.
To load the complete

well log database for
this exercise, select
guide.wdb on the next
menu, as shown.
A GEOVIEW Well Explorer window will now appear:
As you can see, 12 wells are available in this database.

Starting EMERGE
Now that the logs have been loaded into

GEOVIEW, we are ready to start the EMERGE
program. To do this, click on the EMERGE
button on the GEOVIEW main window. This
menu will appear:
Click on Ok to Start New Project. The File Selection window now

appears. Fill it in as shown below and click on OK (note that we are
calling the new project velocity):
10
The EMERGE main window now appears:

Let us now review the
EMERGE process. We
wish to use the seismic
data to predict new
sonic logs at every
location in the 3D seismic
volume. To do this, we
will collect some sample
data around the well
locations and find a
relationship between the
seismic at those locations
and the measured logs.
This step is called
training.
After the training is completed, we will assume that the derived relationship
is valid for the entire 3D volume and apply that relationship to the entire 3D
data set.
11
To start the training process, we need to read the sonic logs from GEOVIEW
into the EMERGE main window. To do this, click on Wells / Read From
Database. The following menu appears:
The first page allows us
to select the type of
EMERGE analysis and
which wells to include.
The default is to predict
a volume using all
wells.
The left column lists all
the wells in the guide
database. We will use
them all for training, so
click on Next >>.
12
The second page is used to tell EMERGE which of the logs in the database
is the one that we are trying to predict, i.e., which one is the Target. For
this exercise, we want to predict the P-wave or sonic log, as shown. Also,
we are specifying that, although the log is measured in depth, the analysis
(Processing Domain) will be done in time. This is because the seismic data
is measured in time. We need to specify the sample rate correctly
(Processing Sample Rate), so that EMERGE can do the depth-to-time
conversion properly.
Note that the check-shot
corrected sonic log will be
used for this conversion.
Click on the Next >> button.
The Analysis Window page of
the menu will appear.
13
The Analysis Window page allows you to specify the analysis window for
training in terms of the tops that have already been entered into the
GEOVIEW database. In this project, we have entered four tops: viking,
mann, ch_top and miss. As shown below, select viking for the start of the
analysis window and miss for the end of the analysis window.
Note that the
analysis window
can be changed
later if desired.
14
At this point, the OK button becomes active, indicating that EMERGE has
enough data from the GEOVIEW database to proceed. After you click on
OK, a confirmation menu appears.
This menu appears because there
are actually two P-wave logs, the
original log and the check shot
corrected log, in each well. By
default, the most recently created
log will be used. This is the check
shot corrected log, which is shown
in the table. If you wanted to use
another log, click on the words Pwave_CheckShotCorrected for any
of the wells to produce a pullDown
menu allowing you to select the
desired log. For our case, accept
the defaults by clicking on Ok.
15
The EMERGE window now shows the target log for each of the wells. The
brown horizontal lines indicate the analysis window selected on the
previous menu. We will see how to change that later. By sliding the scroll
bar, you can look at all the remaining wells.
16
Now we wish to read in the seismic data near the well locations. As
mentioned at the beginning of this exercise, the seismic data actually
consists of two SEGY files, seismic.sgy and inversion.sgy.
To load the seismic, click
on Seismic / Add Seismic
Input / From File. The
following menu appears:
Select the file

seismic.sgy and click
Add >> to make it
appear in the right
column as shown:
Click on Next >> on this menu. The next two pages are used to specify the
format and geometry of the SEGY file.
17
On these pages, we must

tell the program that we
are loading a 3D volume
that does not have either
Inline & Xline numbers or
X & Y coordinates in the
trace headers. This
means that the primary
key for assigning traces
will be set to CDP
(Rectangular), i.e., the
seismic has a uniform
series of inlines and
crosslines.
18
Click on Next >> to get this menu:
In the box that defines the Type of Data, we must select the attribute type.
When the menu first appears, it shows <Unknown>. Click in this box and
choose Raw Seismic, as shown. The Attribute Name will also be set to Raw
Seismic automatically.
19
Click once more on Next >>

to get this menu:
This allows you to set
attributes of the SEGY
format. Since we have told
the program that the seismic
file does not contain Inline &
Xline numbers or X & Y
coordinates, most of the
parameters on this page are
not active. Click on Next >>
one last time.
You will see a dialog that
indicates that the data file
needs to be scanned. Click
on Yes on this dialog to
proceed with the scanning.
20
On this menu, we specify the geometry of the 3D volume. Note that the only
change we need to make is to set the Number of Cross-lines.
Fill in the menu as shown
(change Cross-lines to 64)
and click on Ok.
Two new
windows will
now appear.
One window
shows a table,
indicating how
the wells are
associated with
the seismic
data:
21
The second window

shows the seismic
data:
For this data set, the well locations are correct because the X-Y coordinates
were entered appropriately in the GEOVIEW database. For other data sets,
you may need to modify the Inline and Xline columns of the table. Now click
on Ok to get the next menu.
22
This menu tells the EMERGE

program how to extract the trace at
each well location that is used in
the training process. We will use a
Neighbourhood radius of 1, as
shown. This means that the
composite trace will be the average
of those traces within 1 Inline or
Xline of the well location. This is an
average of 9 traces. Alternatively,
you could modify the capture
option to Distance, which will
average all traces within a specified
distance from each well. Make sure
that the parameters on the menu
are set as shown, then click on Ok.
23
The composite seismic trace at each well location will be extracted from
the SEGY volume and the EMERGE main window will be modified to
show the additional data:
24
The final piece of data to add is an external attribute from the SEGY file
inversion.sgy. To do this, click on Seismic / Add Seismic Input / From
File. Fill out the menu as follows:
The next series of menus is identical to those used in adding the Raw
Seismic. Start by selecting the option to load a 3D volume:
25
Specify the trace header information:
Tell EMERGE that this is an External Attribute with the name Inversion
Result.
Click on Next >> on this menu and the one that follows. When you see the
dialog that says that the file must be scanned, click on Yes.
26
Next, describe the geometry:
Note that we are telling the program that this is a rectangular grid of lines,
with 64 Cross-lines, and 110 Inlines.
When you click Ok on this menu, two things will happen.
27
The first thing thing that will

happen is that the Extract
Composite Trace menu will appear
again to allow you to specify
parameters for extracting the
External Attribute trace:
Click on Ok on this menu to extract
a single trace, which is the average
of those traces within one Inline or
Xline of the well location. The
EMERGE main window will be
updated to include this new data.
28
Second, the seismic

display window will be
updated to show the
inversion data in color.
Note that the wiggle
traces, with no fill now,
are showing the
seismic traces.
This window therefore
contains both the
seismic and inversion
data, which will be
used in the EMERGE
process.
29
To see the zone of interest,

enter 95 into the box at the
top of the Seismic Analysis
window, as shown, and
press the Enter key.
Then move the vertical
scroll bar downwards, until
you see the sand channel
which is the target zone for
this data.
Finally, click on the zoom

button to zoom in on the
anomaly.
30
Next, click on View / Base Map to see the base

map with the wells, as shown below:
31
The EMERGE main window shows the analysis data for each well: the
target log in red, the single seismic trace in black and the external attribute
in blue. The analysis window is also shown by brown horizontal bars on
each log. Note that this window may be different for each well.
32
To examine (and possibly

change) the analysis window,
click on Wells / Set Analysis
Windows to get this table:
Since we are happy with the

analysis windows as shown,
click on Cancel to remove this
menu.
(End of Exercise 1)
33
Seismic Attributes
Seismic Attributes are transforms, generally non-linear, of a seismic trace.
Two types of attributes:
Sample-based: calculated from the trace on a sample-by sample basis.
Example: amplitude envelope.
Horizon-based: calculated as averages within a window.
Example: average porosity between two horizons.
For EMERGE, all attributes must be sample-based.
34
Examples of seismic attributes:
35
EMERGE calculates the following attributes internally:
Amplitude Envelope
Amplitude Weighted Cosine Phase
Amplitude Weighted Frequency
Amplitude Weighted Phase
Average Frequency
Apparent Polarity
Cosine Instantaneous Phase
Derivative
Derivative Instantaneous Amplitude
Dominant Frequency
Filter Slices
Instantaneous Frequency
Instantaneous Phase
Integrate
Integrated Absolute Amplitude
Second Derivative
Second Derivative Instantaneous Amplitude
Time
36
EMERGE can also import external attributes. These are seismic attributes
that cannot be calculated internally because:
They are proprietary e.g. coherency
They are too complicated e.g. seismic inversion, AVO attributes, etc.
The internal attributes can be grouped into the following categories:
Instantaneous attributes
Windowed frequency attributes
Filter slices
Derivative attributes
Integrated attributes
Time (a linear ramp)
We will now look at the theory of each group of attributes with seismic
examples.
37
Instantaneous Attributes
Instantaneous Attributes were first described in the classic paper by Taner et
al (Geophysics, June, 1979). They are computed from the complex trace,
C(t), which is composed of the seismic trace, s(t) and its Hilbert transform,
h(t), which is like a 90 phase shifted trace. Writing the complex trace in
polar form, as shown below, gives us the two basic attributes: the amplitude
envelope, A(t) and instantaneous phase, f(t). (Note that the term
instantaneous amplitude is used synonymously with amplitude envelope.)
C (t ) = s (t ) + ih(t )
= A(t ) exp(i (t ))
= A(t ) cos (t ) + iA(t ) sin (t )
where : i = 1
A(t ) = s (t ) + h(t )
2
h(t )
(t ) = tan
and :
s
t
(
)
h(t)
A(t)
(t)
s(t)
Time
38
A third basic attribute is the instantaneous frequency, which is the time

derivative of the instantaneous phase. In equation form, we can write:
(t )
=
d (t )
= the instantaneous frequency
dt
The other instantaneous attributes in EMERGE are combinations of the

three basic attributes, as shown below:
cos (t ) = cosine instantaneous phase,

A(t) cos (t ) = amplitude weighted cos phase,
A(t) (t ) = amplitude weighted phase,
A(t) (t ) = amplitude weighted frequency.
Finally, the apparent polarity attribute is the amplitude envelope multiplied
by the sign of the seismic sample at its peak value, applied in a segment
between the troughs on either side of this peak.
39
Now, lets look at examples of each of the instantaneous attributes applied

to inline 95 from the input 3D volume. The line is shown below in color
amplitude form with wiggle trace overlay. The sonic log from well 08-08
has also been overlain.
40
Amplitude envelope of inline 95.
Instantaneous phase of inline 95.
41
Cosine of instantaneous
phase of inline 95.
Amplitude weighted cosine

phase of inline 95.
42
Amplitude weighted phase of

inline 95.
Apparent polarity of inline 95.
43
Instantaneous frequency
of inline 95.
Amplitude weighted
frequency of inline 95.
44
Windowed Frequency Attributes

A second set of attributes in EMERGE is based on a windowed frequency
analysis of the seismic trace. In this process, the Fourier transform of each
seismic trace is taken over a 64 sample window (the default).
From this window, either the average
frequency amplitude or the dominant
frequency amplitude is chosen and
this value is placed at the center of
the window. A new window is then
chosen 32 samples later (the default)
and the new frequency attribute is
calculated and so on. Note that the
defaults can be changed in the
Attribute / Attribute Parameters menu,
shown here.
45
Dominant frequency of inline 95.
Average frequency of inline 95.
46
Filter Slice Attributes

A third set of attributes in EMERGE is comprised of narrow band filter slices of
the seismic traces. The following 6 slices are used:
5/10 15/20 Hz
15/20 25/30 Hz
25/30 35/40 Hz
35/40 45/50 Hz
45/50 55/60 Hz
55/60 65/70 Hz
The figures on the next slide show the lowest and highest frequency slices.
47
5/10 15/20 Hz filter slice

of inline 95.
55/60 65/70 Hz filter slice

of inline 95.
48
Derivative Attributes
A fourth set of attributes in EMERGE is based on the first or second

derivative of the seismic trace or its amplitude envelope (or instantaneous
amplitude, synonymous with amplitude envelope). The derivatives are
calculated in the following way, where si = the ith seismic or amplitude
envelope sample, d1i = the ith first derivative, d2i = the ith second derivative
and Dt = the sample rate:
s i s i 1
,
d 1i =
t
d 1i d 1i 1 si 2si 1 si 2
.
=
d 2i =
2
t
t
The derivative examples on the next two slides are from inline 95.
49
Derivative of inline 95.
Derivative of amplitude
envelope of inline 95.
50
Second derivative of inline 95.
Second derivative of amplitude

51
Integrated Attributes
A fifth set of attributes in EMERGE is based on the integrated seismic trace
or its amplitude envelope. The integrated values are calculated in the
following way, where si = the ith seismic or amplitude envelope sample, Ii =
the integrated value. Note that this is a running sum.
I i = si + I i 1
At the end of the running sum the integrated seismic trace is filtered by
running a default 50 point smoother along it and removing the resulting low
frequency trend. The integrated amplitude envelope is normalized by
dividing by the difference between the minimum and maximum samples
over the total number of samples. Note that the defaults can be changed in
the Attribute / Attribute Parameters menu, shown earlier.
The integrated examples on the next slide are from inline 95.
52
Integrated traces of inline 95.
Integrated amplitude
53
Time Attribute
The last attribute is the time attribute. This is simply the time value of the
seismic trace and thus forms a ramp function that can add a trend to the
computed reservoir parameter.
Here is a plot of the time attribute:
Time attribute of inline 95 (Note: it would look the same for any line in the
volume!).
54
Seismic Attributes
EMERGE actually tries to find a relationship between the target log and a
combination of attributes of the seismic trace.
All attributes for a single well:
55
Cross Plotting
One way of measuring the correlation between the target data and an
attribute is to cross plot the two.
This display shows the
target log, a seismic trace
and an external attribute:
56
This is a cross plot, showing the target, P-wave, on the vertical axis
against a particular attribute.
57
The regression line has the form:
y = a +b x
This line minimizes the total prediction error:
1 N
E = (y i a b * x i ) 2
N i =1
2
The covariance is defined as:
1 N
xy = (x i m x )(yi m y )
N i =1
where the mean is:
1 N
mx = xi
N i =1
1 N
m y = yi
N i =1
58
The normalized covariance is defined as:
xy
Applying the regression line gives a prediction of the target attribute:
The prediction error is the RMS difference between the actual target
log and the predicted target log.
59
The correlation can sometimes be improved by applying a non-linear

transform to either the target variable or the attribute variable or both:
60
Exercise 2: The Single-Attribute List

In this exercise, we will perform cross plotting on the data loaded in
Exercise 1, and generate the Single-Attribute List.
Cross Plotting
First lets look at some of the internal attributes for a particular well. Click
on Display / Well to get the following menu:
Fill in the menu as shown.

Note that the list of all available
internal attributes is shown on
the left, while we have chosen
to display one particular
attribute on the right.
61
Click on Ok to
get this plot,
which shows the
amplitude
envelope of the
composite
seismic trace
extracted near
well 01-08.
62
To see how well any

attribute correlates with
the target log, click on
Display / Crossplot to get
the menu on the right:
63
Note that this menu will create a cross plot between the target log and any
other internal or external attribute. We may use any combination of the
wells. In addition, we may apply one of a series of non-linear transforms to
the target and/or to the attribute. Fill in the menu as shown and click Ok.
The cross plot appears:
The cross plot has used all
points within the analysis
window of every well. The
vertical axis is the target sonic
log value and the horizontal
axis is the selected attribute,
Inversion Result. A regression
curve has been fit through the
points and the normalized
correlation value of 0.47 has
been printed at the top of the
display. The normalized
correlation is a measure of
how useful this attribute is in
predicting the target log.
64
Performing Single-Attribute Analysis

Now lets calculate the correlation coefficients for all the attributes and rank
their values. Click on Attribute / Create Single Attribute List to get this
menu:
The upper left box shows all the
wells in the EMERGE project. The
upper right box shows the wells to
be used in performing this
analysis. The default is to use all
the wells.
The center left box shows all the

attributes (internal and external) in
the project. The center right box
shows the attributes to be used in
this analysis, and the default is to
use all the attributes. Also, note
that testing non-linear transforms
of both the target log and the
external attribute will be
performed, to try to enhance the
correlation.
65
When the menu has been filled in as shown above, click on Ok and the
resulting table will be displayed:
We note that the
minimum error of 298.76
results from taking the
inverse of the external
attribute Inversion
Result.
Sometimes this error can
be improved by applying
residual time-shifts
between the target logs
and the seismic data, in
addition to the check
shot corrections.
66
One way to check this is to click on Wells /

Shift Target Logs to get this menu:
This menu allows you to enter time-shifts

to be applied to each of the target logs.
Of course, we dont know what numbers
to enter. To estimate these shifts, click
on Optimize to display the menu on the
left.
67
The Optimize Shifts menu allows you to select any one transform in this
case, the single attribute transform: 1/Inversion Result.
The program then tries a series of time shifts for each well to find the set
of shifts that will maximize the correlation, subject to a Maximum Shift of
10 milliseconds. With the menu set as shown, click on Ok. The Shift
Logs menu now shows the suggested shifts:
To accept these shifts, click on Ok. The
EMERGE main window will be updated
to show the shifted logs. Now
recalculate the single attribute
transforms by clicking on Attribute /
Create Single Attribute List.
68
Accept the defaults, and recompute the single attribute list with the
shifted target logs:
Note that the minimum error
has now decreased to 289.75,
corresponding to predicting the
square root of the target log
with the attribute 1/(Inversion
Result).
The Single Attribute List
shows the result of crossplotting each attribute and
ranking the result by
increasing error.
If you select any row in this table by clicking in one of the fields, and then
click the Cross Plot button at the bottom of the table, the corresponding
cross plot will be displayed.
69
Click in one of the cells of the first row (Sqrt(P-wave) vs. 1/Inversion Result)
and press the Apply button. The Application Plot window will appear:
This display shows the
target log for each well
along with the
predicted log using
the selected attribute
and the derived
regression curve. To
get a closer look at the
result, click on View /
Zoom at the top of this
window and use the
mouse to select a
rectangle around the
analysis window for the
first three wells.
70
The resulting plot will look

like this:
The plot shows the target
logs in black with the
predicted logs in red. The
Average Error reported at the
top of the plot is the rootmean-square difference
between the target log values
and the predicted values.
Notice that applying a regression curve to the Inversion Result produces a
result which tracks the general trend of the target logs, but does not
adequately predict the subtle features. This is because the Inversion
Result has been blocked with a relatively coarse block size. One of the
objectives of EMERGE is to improve on this prediction using other
attributes of the seismic data.
(End of Exercise 2)
71
Multiple Attributes
An extension of the conventional cross plot is to use multiple attributes.
Cross plotting against 1 attribute
(best fit is a line):
Cross plotting against 2

attributes (best fit is a plane):
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Linear Regression with Multiple Attributes
At each time sample, the target log is modeled as a linear combination of

several attributes.
73
Predicting Porosity with Three Attributes
(t ) = w0 + w1 I (t ) + w2 E (t ) + w3 F (t )
where:
(t) = porosity
I(t) = acoustic impedance
E(t) = amplitude envelope
F(t) = instantaneous frequency
This can be written as a series of linear equations:
In matrix form:
1 = w0 + w1 I1 + w2 E1 + w3 F1
2 = w0 + w1 I 2 + w2 E2 + w3 F2
N = w0 + w1 I N + w2 E N + w3 FN
1 1 I1
1 I
2
2 =

N 1 I N
E1
E2
EN
F1 w 0 or:
F2 w 1
w 2

FN w 3
P = AW
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This can be solved by least-squares minimization to give
W = A A
T
A P
As a detailed computation, note that:
or:
These coefficients minimize the total prediction error:

N
1
E 2 = ( i w 0 w 1 * I i w 2 * E i w 3 * Fi ) 2
N i =1
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Decreasing Prediction Error

The prediction error for N+1 attributes can never be larger than the
prediction error for N attributes.
How can we be so sure?

If it were not true, we could always make it so by setting the last coefficient
to zero.
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Choosing Combinations of Attributes

Given the set of all internal and external attributes, how can we find
combinations of attributes which are useful for predicting the target log?
EMERGE uses a process called step-wise regression:
(1) Step 1: Find the single best attribute by trial and error. For each
attribute in the list:
Amplitude Weighted Phase,
Average Frequency,
Apparent Polarity, etc.,
calculate the prediction error. The best attribute is the one with the
lowest prediction error. Call this attribute1.
(2) Step 2: Find the best pair of attributes, assuming that the first
member is attribute1. For each other attribute in the list, form all pairs,
(attribute1, Amplitude Weighted Phase),
(attribute1, Average Frequency), etc.
The best pair is the one with the lowest prediction error. Call this
second attribute attribute2.
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(3) Step 3: Find the best triplet of attributes, assuming that the first
two members are attribute1 and attribute2. For every other
attribute in the list, form all triplets:
(attribute1, attribute2, Amplitude Weighted Phase),
(attribute1, attribute2, Average Frequency), etc.
The best triplet is the one with the lowest prediction error. Call
this third attribute attribute3.
Carry on this process as long as desired.
Decreasing Prediction Error

The prediction error, EN, for N attributes is always less than or equal to
the prediction error, EN-1, for N-1 attributes, no matter which attributes
are used.
78
Validation of Attributes
How can we know when to stop adding attributes?
Adding attributes is similar to fitting a curve through a set of points, using
a polynomial of increasing order:
Fourth Order
79
For each polynomial, we can calculate

the Prediction Error, which is the RMS
difference between the actual y-value
and the predicted y-value.
As the order of the polynomial is
increased, the prediction error will
always decrease.
The problem is that while the higher order polynomial predicts the training
data better, it is worse at interpolating or extrapolating beyond the limits of
the data as shown below. It is said to be over-trained:
80
To determine the validity of attributes, EMERGE uses the following Validation

procedure:
(1) Divide the entire data set into two groups:
Training data set
Validation data set
(2) When determining coefficients by regression, use the Training
Data Set
(3) When measuring the prediction error, use the Validation Data Set
As the figure to the right shows, a
high order polynomial which fits
the Training Data well may still fit
the Validation Data poorly. This
indicates that the order of the
polynomial is too high.
81
EMERGE performs Validation by systematically leaving out wells.

Assume we have 5 wells:
{Well1, Well2, Well3, Well4, Well5}
Assume we have 3 attributes:
{Impedance, Envelope, Frequency}
Perform the Validation
(1) Leave out Well1. Solve for the regression coefficients using
only data from {Well2, Well3, Well4, Well5}. This means solving
this system of equations, where the rows contain no data from
Well1:
1 = w0 + w1 I1 + w2 E1 + w3 F1
2 = w0 + w1 I 2 + w2 E2 + w3 F2
N = w0 + w1 I N + w2 E N + w3 FN
82
(2) With the derived coefficients, calculate the prediction error for
Well1. This means calculate the following:
1 N
E = ( i w 0 w 1 * I i w 2 * E i w 3 * Fi ) 2
N i =1
2
where now only data points for Well1 are used. This gives us the
Validation Error for Well1, E1.
(3) Repeat this process for Well2, Well3, etc., each time leaving the
selected well out in the calculation of regression coefficients,
but using only that well for the error calculation.
(4) Calculate the Average Validation Error for all wells:
EA
(
E1 + E2 + E3 + E4 + E5 )
=
5
83
This is a validation plot for

an EMERGE analysis:
The horizontal axis shows
Number of Attributes used
in the prediction. The
vertical axis shows the
Root-Mean-Square
Prediction Error for that
number of attributes.
The lower (black) curve shows the error calculated using the Training Data.
The upper (red) curve shows the error calculated using the Validation Data.
The figure above shows that when more than 6 attributes are used, the
Validation Error increases, meaning that these additional attributes are
over-fitting the data.
84
Exercise 3: The Multi-Attribute List
In this exercise, we apply Multi-Attribute Analysis to the data from the first
two exercises.
To initiate the multi-attribute
transform process, click on
Attribute / Create Multi
Attribute List to see the
menu on the left.
This menu contains three
pages of parameters. The
first page is used to select
which wells will be used in
the training. To accept the
default, which is all the
wells, click on Next >>.
85
The second page of the Create Multi-Attribute List menu looks like this:
The first item on the menu
determines whether we will
be creating a list of
transforms or adding a
single transform. Usually,
we want to create a list by
examining all the available
attributes using the process
of step-wise regression.
An important parameter is the Maximum number of attributes to use. In this

part of the analysis, EMERGE searches for groups of attributes that can be
combined to predict the target. It does this by the process of step-wise
regression. The parameter Maximum number of attributes to use tells
EMERGE when to stop looking. This of course affects the run-time for the
analysis.
86
A second important new parameter is the Operator Length. This

parameter will be explained in the next exercise. For now, leave the
default of 1 sample. Also, as we did with the Single-Attribute Analysis, we
will be testing non-linear transforms on both the target and the external
attributes.
To verify that these options
have been selected, click
on Next >> to display the
Advanced Search
Parameters menu. When
the menu has been filled in
as shown, click on OK.
This analysis will take
several minutes. When it
completes, you will see the
Multi-attribute table.
87
This table shows the results of the step-wise regression. Each row
corresponds to a particular multi-attribute transform and includes all the
attributes above it. For example, the first row, labeled 1/Inversion Result,
tells us that the best attribute to use alone is the inverse of Inversion
Result. The second row, Time, actually refers to a transform that uses both
1/Inversion Result and Time together as the best pair.
88
As we proceed down the list,

we get the best triplet, the
best quadruplet, and so on.
The decreasing Training
Error shows that the
prediction error decreases
with increasing number of
attributes, as expected.
You can also see a display
of the prediction errors, if
you click on Error Plot /
Versus Attribute Number:
The lower (black) curve shows the training error on the vertical axis and the
number of attributes on the horizontal axis. The upper (red) curve is the
Validation Error, which tells us that we should not use more than 7 attributes.
89
To see a cross-plot of the

multi-attribute operator with
the minimum validation
error, click in a box on the
7th row, and then click on
the Cross Plot button. This
window appears:
This cross plot differs from the previous in that it shows the predicted
target value against the actual target value. The red line is not a regression
line but a line with zero intercept and slope 1, indicating perfect correlation.
The actual correlation and error are printed at the top and we can see that
the result of using 7 attributes is to achieve a correlation of just under 62%.
90
Ensure that the seven

attribute transform is still
selected on the Multiattribute table and click
on Apply / Training
Result. The Application
Plot window shows the
predicted log from this
multi-attribute transform
overlain on the actual
target log.
After using the View /
Zoom option, the plot will
look like this:
91
You may want to compare this result with the prediction using the best
single attribute. To do that, click on Attribute / Display Single Attribute List,
select the first row, (Sqrt(P-wave) vs. 1/Inversion Result), and click on
Apply. You can see that the correlation increased from 51% to 62% when
we used seven attributes.
Return to the Multi-attribute Table and highlight the words Dominant
Frequency and click on the List button. The following table appears:
This table lists

all the weights
for each of the
seven attributes,
as well as the
constant.
(End of Exercise 3)
92
Using the Convolutional Operator

The Multi-Attribute Analysis so far
correlates each target sample with
the corresponding samples on the
seismic attributes:
This approach is limited

because it ignores the fact
that there is a big difference in
frequency content between
logs and seismic data, as
shown in this zoomed display.
93
The convolutional operator extends the cross plot regression to

include neighboring samples:
Each target sample is predicted using a weighted average of a group of

samples on each attribute. The weighted average is convolution.
94
The previous equation:
is now replaced by:
P = w0 + w1 A1 + w2 A2 + + wN AN
P = w0 + w1 A1 + w2 A2 + + wN AN
where * represents convolution by an operator.

Consider the example of predicting porosity from two attributes, using
three samples:
1
I1
E1
= w + w I + w E
0
1 2
2 2
2
3
I 3
E3
Note that the same weights are applied to all samples. Thus, for the
second sample, we get:
2 = w0 + w1 I 2 + w2 E2
95
Now let the weights become 3-point convolutional operators. Using the
convolutional equation, we get:
0 I1 w2 (0) w2 ( 1)
0 E1
1
w1 (0) w1 ( 1)
= w + w ( +1) w (0) w ( 1) I + w ( +1) w (0) w ( 1) E
2
2
0
1
1
2
1
2 2
2
w1 ( +1) w1 (0) I 3 0
w2 ( +1) w2 (0) E3
3
0
This is a new system of linear equations in which each weight, wi, has been
replaced by three weights, wi(-1), wi(0), wi(1). This can be solved by leastsquares regression just as before. The only difference is that for two
attributes, we now have 3+3+1 = 7 parameters. For example, notice that for
the second sample we now get the following equation with 7, rather than 3,
terms:
2 = w0 + w1 ( +1) I1 + w1 (0) I 2 + w1 ( 1) I 3 + w2 ( +1) E1 + w2 (0) E2 + w2 ( 1) E3

96
We can then re-write the previous equation to get:
2 = [w0 + w1 (0) I 2 + w2 (0) E2 ] + [w1 ( +1) I1 + w2 ( +1) E1 ] + [w1 ( 1) I 3 + w2 ( 1) E3 ]

In the above equation, the first term is the same as for the non-convolutional
operator, involving only the second sample. It also contains the 0 weights.
The second term consists of the +1 weights and the first sample attributes.
The third term consists of the -1 weights and the third sample attributes.
This suggests that an equivalent way to solve for the weights is to create
new attributes which are shifted versions of the original attributes.
To find the +1 weights, shift the attributes forward one sample and solve the
same way as for the 0 weights.
To find the -1 weights, shift the attributes back one sample and solve the
same way as for the 0 weights.
97
Using the Convolutional

Operator is like adding
more attributes: it will
always improve the
Prediction Error, but the
Validation Error may not
improve the danger of
over-training is increased.
As the operator length is
increased, the Training
Error always decreases.
The Validation Error
decreases to a minimum
and then increases again
for longer operators.
98
Exercise 4: The Convolutional Operator

In this exercise, we apply Multi-Attribute analysis using the convolutional
operator to the data from the previous exercises.
To initiate the multi-attribute transform process, click on Attribute / Create
Multi Attribute List. We will create a new list, using all of the wells, so
click on Next >>.
On the second page, set the Maximum number of attributes to use to 7.
99
On the third page, we can

specify the range of
convolutional operators to test.
Try Operator Lengths from 1 to
9, incrementing by 2.
Click OK.
Select Yes on the pop-up
warning menu that appears.
This will take a little while to complete,

so nows a good time to take a break.
100
The multi-attribute
table that is returned
has 5 different
versions of List 2,
each for a different
length convolutional
operator.
List 1 (from the
previous exercise) is
also available.
As you select different multi-attribute lists, the corresponding Final

Attribute list will change.
Click on Error Plot / Versus Operator Length.
101
This is the validation error

plot for all 5 different
operator lengths.
The minimum Validation

Error occurs when a 7
point operator is used with
6 attributes. Any other
combination results in a
larger validation error.
102
Select Multi Attribute

List2_7pt, and click on
Error Plot / Versus
Attribute Number:
This shows the plot of validation

and training errors plot for the 7
point convolutional operator.
103
To see a cross-plot of one of the multi-attribute operators, highlight the words

Amplitude Weighted Frequency, selecting the sixth attribute, and click on the
Cross Plot button. The following plot appears:
Notice that the effect of using a convolutional operator was to further

increase the correlation from 62% to nearly 71%.
104
Select the sixth attribute again, and click on Apply / Training Result. A plot
appears, showing the results of applying the multi-attribute transform along
with the target logs.
After using the View
/ Zoom option, the
plot will look like
this:
105
Another useful display can be seen if you select the sixth row on the multiattribute transform list and click on Apply / Validation Result.
This display is like the
previous one, but as
the annotation points
out, each predicted log
has used an operator
calculated from the
other wells.
Effectively, this display
shows how well the
process will work on a
new well, yet to be
drilled.
(End of Exercise 4)
106
Applying EMERGE to the 3D Volume

Once we have derived a multi-attribute relationship between the seismic and
target logs at the wells, we can apply it to the entire 3D seismic volume to
create a new volume of the target parameter.
This involves three steps:
(1) Saving the weighting coefficients, which is done
automatically by EMERGE
(2) Creating an attribute value for all of the attributes in the list
for each seismic trace. EMERGE does this on the fly (i.e. the
attribute volumes are not created and saved, which would
consume valuable disk space.
(3) Applying the weighting coefficients to each attribute volume
and summing the result.
We will now apply the results of the previous exercise to the full volume.
107
Exercise 5: Processing the 3D

Volume
In this exercise, we will apply the multi-attribute relationship that we have
derived between the seismic and target logs to the entire 3D volume to create
a new volume of P-wave velocity.
To start this, click on
Display / Seismic. This
causes the Seismic
Analysis window to
appear, if it is not
already on the screen.
This window currently
shows Inline 95 of the
3D volume. The wiggle
traces are the raw
seismic data and the
color background is the
Inversion Result.
108
To apply the derived multi-attribute transform to the 3D volume, click on

Process / Apply EMERGE to get this menu:
This menu allows you to specify the output file name and location, as well as
specify the range of data to process. Accept the default data range by
clicking on Next >> .
109
The next page appears:

This page specifies which
multi-attribute transform we
wish to apply. Also, by
clicking on Type of transform,
you can choose to apply one
of the single-attribute
transforms or a Neural
Network (if one has been
created). We will use this in a
later exercise.
As with the EMERGE list
window, each line in the table is
a transform including all of the
attributes above it.
For example, by selecting Amplitude Weighted Frequency as shown, we
are choosing the transform with 6 attributes and a 7 point operator. This
was the one that the Validation Analysis showed to be the best.
110
If you would like to examine the

parameters used to create this
transform, click on History:
After filling in the menu as shown

on the previous page, click on
Next >> and Ok to create the 3D
volume. The application can take
several minutes for the entire 3D
volume. While the process is
running, a progress monitor is
visible.
111
After the
application of
the transform is
complete, you
will see Inline 95
of the predicted
P-wave velocity
volume:
112
To improve the plot, click

on View / Parameters.
When the menu appears,
click on the Color Key tab
at the top to show this
page, which gives you full
control over the color
scale:
113
Click on the Data Range button and fill in

the menu as shown to change the range
of the color bar:
Then click on OK on this menu and
also on the Seismic View Parameters
menu to redraw the window.
Note the channel clearly visible

in the center of the display.
114
Another interesting way of looking at this

result is to produce a data slice. To do this,
click on Process / Slicing / Create Data Slice
on the seismic window showing the
computed_P-wave result. The upper menu
appears, allowing you to select the volume
that you are displaying along with the Plot
Attribute. We will use the defaults, so click
on Next >>.
Fill in the Data Slice Parameters menu
as shown, to create 6 slices by
averaging a 10 ms window centered
on the time of 1065 ms. These slices
are averaged using Arithmetic Mean,
RMS Average, Minimum, Maximum,
Median and Alpha Trim Mean.
115
When you have filled in the menu as shown, click on Next >> and OK to
produce the 6 data slices. Note that the Arithmetic Mean is shown here:
This data slice shows a lowvelocity channel feature
extending horizontally across
the survey through many of
the wells in the project. You
may want to look at the other
maps to see if the channel is
defined better.
Now, close the EMERGE
program, click on File / Exit on
the EMERGE main window.
When you see the question:
Do you want to save the
project?
Click Yes.
116
Neural Networks in EMERGE:

Why use a Neural Network?
Linear prediction:
We want to account
for non-linear
relationships between
logs and attributes.
Log
Attribute
Non-linear prediction:
Log
Attribute
117
Neural Networks in EMERGE

EMERGE has four types of Neural Network:
MLFN
PNN
RBF
Discriminant
Multi-Layer Feed Forward

- Similar to traditional back-propagation.
Probabilistic Neural Network
- Can be used to classify data, in which case it is similar
to Discriminant analysis, or to predict data, in
which case it is similar to regression analysis.
Radial Basis Function Neural network.
A linear classification system.
118
MLFN Neural Network
Each training example consists of the input attributes plus the known
target value for a particular time sample.
119
MLFN Neural Network Training

Parameters
The training of MLFN consists of determining the optimum set of weights

connecting the nodes. By definition, the best set of weights is the one
which predicts the known training data with the lowest least-squares error.
This is a non-linear optimization problem. EMERGE solves this by a
combination of simulated annealing and conjugate-gradient.
The main parameter controlling the training time is the number of Total
Iterations. Within each one of these iterations, there is a fixed number of
Conjugate-Gradient Iterations to find the local minimum.
120
Within each of the Total Iterations, simulated annealing may be used to look
for improvements by searching in other areas of the parameter space. The
decision about whether to perform simulated annealing in any iteration is
controlled by the program and depends on the degree of improvement in the
previous iteration. Theoretically, more iterations is always better than fewer
because it allows more scope for finding the global minimum.
While the training is going on, the prediction error may be monitored:
Pressing Stop on this menu allows the training to be terminated at any time.
121
The parameter which controls how well the network predicts the training
data is the Number of Nodes in the Hidden Layer:
The default value follows the rule-of-thumb that it should be equal to 2/3
the number of input attributes. (Note that the number of input attributes
equals the number of actual attributes multiplied by the operator length).
Increasing the Number of Nodes in the Hidden Layer will always predict the
training data more accurately, but the danger of over-training is increased.
122
Effect of Changing Nodes in Hidden

Layer
These displays show the effect of changing the number of hidden layer
nodes for the simple 1-attribute case:
2 nodes in
hidden layer:
5 nodes in
hidden layer:
123
These displays show the effect of changing the number of hidden layer
nodes for the simple 1-attribute case:
5 nodes in
hidden layer:
10 nodes in
hidden layer:
124
MLFN Neural Network

Advantages:
(1) Traditional form is well described in all Neural Network books.
(2) Once trained, the application to large volumes of data is relatively fast.
Disadvantages:
(1) The network tends to be a black box with no obvious way of interpreting
the weight values.
(2) Because simulated annealing uses a random number generator to search
for the global optimum, training calculations with identical parameters may
produce different results.
125
Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN)

The Probabilistic Neural Network, or PNN, is a second type of neural network
used in EMERGE. The PNN can be used either for classification or for
mapping.
In classification, EMERGE classifies an input seismic sample into one of N
classes (e.g. sand, shale, carbonate, or oil, gas, water, etc.)
In mapping, EMERGE maps an input seismic sample into a reservoir parameter
such as porosity. This is the same thing that we did with multi-linear
regression and MLFN, but PNN uses a different approach. (Another term for
PNN applied to mapping is the Generalized Regression Neural Network, or
GRNN, but we will use the term PNN for both mapping and classification.)
To understand PNN, we will first review the concept of linear regression.
126

Log
Seismic Attribute
y1
y2
y3
y?
x1
x2
x3
Let us start with the simple case in which we try to predict an unknown log
value y from a known seismic attribute value x, using the known training
values (x1 , y1), (x2 , y2 ), and (x3 , y3 ).
127
The Basic Prediction Problem

The basic prediction
problem from the previous
slide is re-shown on the
right in graphical form.
Given a set of known points
we want predict an
unknown point y at position
x.
y2
y?
y3
y1
x1
x2
x3
128
Linear Regression
In linear regression, we fit the
line
y = w0 + w1x
to the points.
8
6
In the example on the right, w0

= 2 and w1 = 0.5, and the
predicted point is as shown.
However, notice that the
training points are not
correctly predicted.
y = 4.5
4
2
0
x=5
129
PNN
In PNN, we fit weights to the
points themselves, or:
y = w1y1 + w2y2 + w3y3 ,
where the weights are
functions of x.
y=5
Notice that the training points

are correctly predicted in the
PNN example shown on the
right.
x=5
130
PNN Weights
The PNN weights are given as:
d12
w1 = S exp 2 ,

d 22
w2 = S exp 2 ,

y2
y3
d
w3 = S exp , where :

y1
1
S=
d 32
d12
d 22
exp 2 + exp 2 + exp 2

2
3
2
d2 d3
d1
x1
x2 x
x3
Note that di is the distance from the i th training point to the output point, the
factor S forces the weights to sum to 1, and determines the fit.
131
The Effect of Sigma
Let us look at a graph of the unscaled weights as a function of x

for the second point, given by:
( x x2 ) 2
g 2 ( x) = exp
= 2.0
= 1.0
= 0.5
Notice that the effect of is to

widen the curve as increases.
x
x2
132
= 0.5
= 2.0
In the previous PNN result, = 1.0. The above displays show values of 0.5
and 2.0. As increases, the fit becomes smoother, but does not fit the
training points perfectly.
133
PNN Validation
To determine which value
of sigma is correct, we use
cross-validation, in which
known values are left out of
the training process.
The simple example on the
right shows that the
validation points (open
circles) are fit best using a
sigma value of 2.0, even
though this value produces
a curve which does not
correctly fit the training
data.
134
PNN using Two Attributes

Seismic Attributes
Log
X
p1
p2
x1
x2
x3
p3
p?
y1
y2
y3
Now let us consider the same problem using 2 attributes, but still 3
training points and one unknown point.
135
y2
p1
y1
p2
d2
d1
p
d3
p3
y3
x
x1
x3
x2
Note that the only change is that we now can think of the points in attribute
space as being 2-dimensional, and that distance is now computed by:
d i2 = ( xi x ) + ( yi y )
2
2
136
Practical PNN
In practice PNN is performed in M-dimensional space, where M

equals the number of attributes. This cannot be visualized, but the
mathematics is the same.
Also, the training dataset consists of N points, where N is much

larger than 3.
As we have seen, is the most important parameter in PNN, and

needs to be optimized. Optimization is done using cross-validation,
in which each well is left out of the training process and predicted,
one at a time.
Finally, is allowed to vary for each attribute.
137
PNN Application Example
The figure on the left shows the application of multilinear regression on

four well logs, using six attributes, and the figure on the right shows the
application of PNN.
138
PNN Validation Example
The figure on the left shows the validation of multilinear regression on four
well logs, using six attributes, and the figure on the right shows the
validation of the PNN.
139

Summary
The PNN is used in EMERGE for both classification and mapping.
In classification we need only the weights that depend on the distance
from the desired point to the training points.
The distance is measured in multi-dimensional attribute space.
The distance is scaled by smoothers (the sigma values), which are
determined automatically by cross-validation.
In mapping, the weighting functions are multiplied by the known log values
to determine the unknown log values.
We will now look at the specific menu items in EMERGE.
140
Probabilistic Neural Network Training

Parameters
Training the PNN means finding the best set of sigma values for each
attribute.
By definition, the best set of sigmas is the one which produces the
minimum cross-validation error.
Cross Validation means hiding data on a well-by-well basis or on a point-bypoint basis. The well-by-well default is always recommended:
141
Probabilistic Neural Network Effect of

Changing Sigmas
These displays show the effect of changing the single sigma value for the
simple 1-attribute case:
Sigma optimized
automatically:1
Sigma reduced
to 1/10 the
optimized value:
142
Sigma optimized
automatically:
Sigma reduced to
1/2 the optimized
value:
143
Sigma optimized
automatically:
Sigma increased
to 2 times the
optimized value:
144
Probabilistic Neural Network

Advantages:
(1) Because the PNN is a mathematical interpolation scheme, the derived
sigmas may be interpreted as the relative weight given to each attribute.
(2) Unlike the MLFN, the training process is reproducible.
(3) In classification mode, the PNN may produce probability estimates.
Disadvantages:
(1) Because the PNN keeps a copy of all the training data, the application time
to the 3D volume may be very large. This application time is proportional to
the number of training samples. This problem may be alleviated by applying to
a small target window.
145
Radial Basis Function Neural Network

(RBFN)
A third type of neural network available in EMERGE is the radial basis

function neural network, or the RBF network.
The RBF network is similar to the PNN in that there is a weight for each
training point and the weights are multiplied by gaussian functions of
attribute distance that are controlled by a sigma parameter.
However, the RBF network is different to the PNN (and similar to

multilinear regression) in that the weights are pre-computed and then
applied. (Note that in the PNN, the weights are computed on the fly
from the data, and only the sigma value needs to be pre-determined).
Again, the best way to understand the RBFN is to look at a simple

example.
146
RBFN
In the RBF network the fitting
function is given as:
y = w1 g1 + w2 g 2 + w3 g 3 ,
d i2
where : g i = exp 2 .

Note that gi is equal to the PNN
weight without the scaling. In
the example shown, the
individual curves (light lines)
and the final result (heavy line)
are shown. The training points
are correctly predicted.
= 1.0
147
RBFN Effect of Sigma
= 0.5
= 2.0
Two different values are shown above. As sigma decreases, the weights
converge to the training values (i.e. wi = yi). As increases, the fit becomes
smoother. Also note that the training points are always correctly predicted.
148
RBFN Validation
Again, we will use the crossvalidation technique to
determine which value of
sigma is correct, in which
known values are left out.
The simple example on the
right shows that the
validation points (open
circles) are fit best using a
sigma value of 1.0, even
though this value produces a
curve which is not as smooth
as for a sigma of 2.0.
149
RBFN Computing the Weights

For the three point problem just discussed, the RBFN weights are computing
by solving the following 3 x 3 matrix equation:
y1 1 g12 g13 y1
y
y = g
1
g
23 2
2 12
y3 g13 g 23 1 y3
( xi x j ) 2
d ij2
where : g ij = exp 2 = exp
.
2
w1 g11
w = g
2 21
w3 g 31
g12
g 22
g 32
g13
g 23
g 33
In the general case, we solve for an N x N matrix inverse, where N is equal

to the number of training points. However, notice that the matrix is
symmetrical, and there are efficient ways to solve this problem.
150
RBF Application Example
The figure on the left shows the application of the PNN on four well logs,
using six attributes, and the figure on the right shows the application of the
RBF network.
151
RBF Validation Example
The figure on the left shows the validation of the PNN on four well logs, and
the figure on the right shows the validation of the RBF network.
152
Practical RBFN
In practice the RBF network is applied in M-dimensional space, where M

equals the number of attributes. As with the PNN, this cannot be
visualized, but the mathematics is the same.
Also, the training dataset consists of N points, where N is much larger

than 3.
As in the PNN, is the most important parameter in the RBF network and
needs to be optimized. Optimization is done using cross-validation, in
which each well is left out of the training process and predicted, one at a
time.
Unlike the PNN, is not allowed to vary for each attribute in the RBF
network.
153
Radial Basis Function Neural

Network
Advantages:
(1) Because the RBF network is an exact mathematical interpolation
scheme, the training data will be optimally fit.
(2) For small training datasets, the RBF network gives a higher frequency
result than the PNN.
(3) The RBF network can run considerably faster than the PNN.
Disadvantages:
(1) Unlike the PNN, in which sigma is allowed to vary for each attribute, the
RBF network is optimized for a single value of sigma.
(2) For small values of sigma, the fitting function can have large swings
between points.
154
Exercise 6: Predicting Porosity Logs

In this exercise, we use EMERGE to predict porosity logs from seismic
attributes.
The analysis data will consist of seven wells with measured porosity logs,
along with the seismic files seismic.sgy and inversion.sgy.
To load a new database into
GEOVIEW, click on Database /
Open.
Select the database
porosity.wdb as shown here
and click on OK.
155
The GEOVIEW Well Explorer

window now looks like this:
As you can see, seven wells

have now been loaded. To
examine the logs in the first
well, click on the name, 01-08,
and then on Display Well to
produce this display.
156
This well contains a porosity log, called Porosity, along with the other
logs. Restart the EMERGE program and select Start New Project. Call
the project porosity as shown:
The EMERGE main

window will appear
after you click OK.
157
The steps for loading the data into this project are identical to the
previous exercise, so they will be summarized briefly here. Click on Wells
/ Read From Database and fill in the three pages as shown below:
158
Now click on OK. Once again this menu appears, because there is more
than one P-wave log within the database:
Even though we are using the

porosity log as the target, the Pwave log is still required to
perform depth-to-time conversion
for EMERGE analysis. Click on Ok
on this menu to accept the active
P-wave logs.
159
The EMERGE main

window will now look
like this, showing the
target (porosity) logs:
To load the seismic

data, click on Seismic /
Add Seismic Input /
From File and select
both files, as shown
below:
160
We will load the files as

two independent 3D
volumes:
The headers do not

have Inline & Xline
numbers or X & Y
coordinates.
161
Specify the attribute type and name for both files:
Set the file format (the

defaults are correct):
162
Set the geometry

information (the
defaults are correct):
Click Ok on this
menu.
163
Set the well-toseismic mapping

(the defaults are
correct):
Extract the traces

at the wells (the
defaults are
correct):
164
The EMERGE main window now shows the extracted seismic trace and
the composite impedance trace from the external attribute (Inversion
Result):
165
One option in Emerge, which can sometimes improve results is to filter the
target logs to the seismic bandwidth.
The logic for doing this comes
from the fact that the target log
is usually much higher
frequency than the seismic or
attributes. We hope that by
filtering the target logs, we can
create an easier problem for
Emerge. We will do that in this
exercise.
First, we need to determine the
frequency content of the input
data. To do that, go to the
window containing the seismic
volumes, and click on Process /
Utility / Amplitude Spectrum:
166
Set the menu to analyze the first

Inline using a time window starting at
800 ms:
The resulting spectrum shows
that the maximum useable
frequency is between 75 and
90 Hz:
167
Now filter the Target Logs to the same

frequency band. Click on Wells / Filter
Logs:
Set the maximum frequencies

as shown and click on Ok.
168
A new window appears, showing the filtered logs over the original logs. By
zooming, you can see that the highest frequency detail has now been
removed:
169
The data is now loaded and ready for analysis. The first step is to examine
the single-attribute transforms. To do this, click on Attribute / Create Single
Attribute List to get this menu:
Note that we are
choosing to test nonlinear transforms applied
to both the target
(porosity) and the
external attribute
(Inversion Result). This
is suggested by the
expected negative
correlation between
these two data sets.
170
With the menu set as shown

above, click on Ok to get the
list to the left:
We note that the best correlation of

about 46% is rather poor. One reason
for this may be that there are residual
time-shifts between the target porosity
logs and the seismic data, in spite of the
check shot corrections. One way to
check this is to click on Wells / Shift
Target Logs to get this menu:
171
This menu allows you to enter timeshifts to be applied to each of the

target logs. Of course, we dont
know what numbers to enter. To
estimate these shifts, click on
Optimize to get this menu:
The Optimize Shifts menu allows
you to select any one transform
in this case, the single attribute
transform: 1/(Inversion Result).
The program then tries a series of
time shifts for each well to find the
set of shifts that will maximize the
correlation, subject to a Maximum
Shift of 10 ms. With the menu set
as shown, click on Ok.
172
The Shift Logs menu now shows the suggested shifts:

To accept these shifts, click
on Ok. The EMERGE main
window will be updated to
show the shifted logs. Now
recalculate the single
attribute transforms by
clicking on Attribute / Create
Single Attribute List. Using
the default values on this
menu, the new list will look
like this:
Note that the maximum

correlation has now
increased to 55%.
173
Now create the multi-attribute list by clicking on Attribute / Create Multi

Attribute List and filling in the menus as shown below:
When the analysis completes, the

multi-attribute list is displayed.
174
Click on Error Plot / Versus

Attribute Number to show the
prediction error plot. This display
indicates that it is best to use four
attributes.
175
To see the application, select the fourth row of the Multi-attribute Table
(Y_Coordinate) and click on Apply / Training Result:
Note that we have now

achieved a 74%
correlation between
the predicted logs and
the target logs. In
addition, the average
RMS error is 0.028, i.e.,
2.8% porosity.
176
Now apply this result to the SEGY data. Go to the Seismic Display window
and click on Process / Apply EMERGE. Fill in the first menu as shown
below:
Note that we are choosing to process a single Inline to save time in

this process. With the menu filled in as shown above, click on Next >>
to get the next page.
177
Select the fourth multiattribute transform, as

shown.
Set the application window
from 1000 to 1200 ms.
Click on Next >> and then
OK to start the process.
178
To improve the display parameters, click on View / Parameters. On the Color

Key tab, change the Color Scheme to Lithology and clear the Normalized
Scale box:
To change the numerical range,

click on Data Range and set the
menu as shown:
179
Click on OK on both menus

to see the new display of
predicted porosity:
Note the predicted high

porosity zone at around
1065 ms corresponding to
the sand channel from
Exercises 1 5.
(End of Exercise 6)
180
Training the Neural Network
This menu allows you to create a new network or to overwrite an existing

one. There is no limit to the number of networks stored in an EMERGE
project. You may also choose to write out the training data to an ASCII file
for another Neural Network program to read.
181
This page determines which wells to use in the training.
Note that there may be two reasons to leave a well out of the training:
(1) The well-to-seismic tie is poor.
(2) You may wish to use the well for blind well testing or validation later.
182
This page determines whether a previously calculated multi-attribute

transform is used as a template for setting up the neural network.
Choosing yes here means
that the neural network will
have exactly the same
attributes and the same
operator length as the
selected multi-attribute
transform.
This is usually
recommended since stepwise regression is the best
way to determine which
attributes to use.
183
This page is used only if a multi-attribute transform is not being used as a

template. In that case, any attributes with (optional) non-linear transforms
may be specified here.
184
This page determines

important general
network properties.
The first parameter is

the type of network:
185
These parameters control the option to cascade the Neural Network with
the trend from the multi-attribute transform. This option exists because
Neural Networks usually work best with stationary data containing no long
period trend.
Sometimes it is best to remove the trend from the target data and use the
Neural Network to predict the residual data which is left after trend
removal.
In this option, the following steps are followed:
(1) The multi-attribute transform is used to predict the target logs.
(2) The predicted logs are smoothed using a running average.
(3) The smoothed predicted logs are subtracted from the original logs.
(4) The Neural Network is then trained on the residual or difference.
186
The only way to tell if this option is helpful is to create Neural Networks both
ways and look at the training and validation errors.
Trend predicted from

multi-attribute transform
PNN Prediction of residual
PNN Prediction without

cascading
187
Exercise 7: Using Neural Networks

In this exercise, we will use the Neural Network capabilities of EMERGE to
improve the porosity prediction from the previous exercise.
To start the Neural Network analysis, click on Neural / Train Neural Network.
The following menu appears:
We will accept these

defaults, which will cause
a new network to be
created with the name
Network_1.
188
Click on Next >> to get the

next page of the menu:
As with the multi-attribute
training, this page allows us
to select the subset of wells
to be used in training the
Neural Network. The default
is to use all the wells.
Click on Next >> to get the next

page:
189
The question at the top of this page asks if we wish to use one of the previously
calculated multi-attribute transforms to structure the Neural Network. Usually, the
answer to this is Yes. This is because the multi-attribute selection process has
determined which attributes are best for predicting the target porosity log. By
selecting the fourth transform (Y-Coordinate), we are constructing a Neural Network
with precisely the same attributes as those used in that transform. To see the details
of that multi-attribute transform, click on Show Transform History. With the menu
filled in as shown above, click on Next >> to get the network parameters page:
We will start by creating a
Probabilistic Neural Network, as
shown. For this network, we will not
cascade with the trend from the multiattribute transform. We will do this
later and the process will be explained
then. Finally, by choosing the type of
analysis as Mapping, we are
specifying that we wish to predict
numerical values for the porosity and
not classification types.
190
Click on Next >> to get the final page:
Accept the defaults for the PNN Training

process by clicking on OK. This process will
take several minutes, during which a Progress
Monitor can be seen:
191
If you click Stop before the

process has completed you
can save the partially trained
network. We recommend,
however, that you allow the
training to finish.
When the training has been
completed, the predicted logs
appear:
192
Note that the correlation of 0.87 is much higher than that achieved with
multi-attribute regression. This is usually the case with Neural Networks
because of the non-linear nature of the operator. Note also that the Neural
Network has been applied only within the training windows. This is done
for two reasons:
(1) The application time for the
Neural Network can be very long if
applied to the entire window.
(2) The Neural Network is not very
good at extrapolating beyond the
bounds of the training data. For
this reason, it is expected to be
less valid outside the training
windows than the multi-linear
regression.
After zooming, the result looks like
this:
193
Now we would like to see how the network performs in Validation Mode. This
means that we will hide wells and use the trained network to predict their
values.
To start this, click on Neural / Validate Neural Network. The following menu
appears:
194
Click on Next >> to select the network which has been trained. The next
page appears:
Since all the wells were used for training, only the first selection is appropriate.
This means that each of the training wells will be hidden in turn and predicted
using the remaining wells. Click on OK to start this process.
195
When completed, the following

plot appears:
Note that the correlation is now
lower (0.60).
To see how the errors are

distributed over the wells, click
on View / Error Plot. This
display appears. Note that the
validation error for the first and
last wells are higher than the
others, indicating that we might
improve the analysis by leaving
out those wells.
196
Another possibility for improving the PNN result is to use the trend from the
multi-linear regression calculation. This is sometimes useful because Neural
Networks operate best on data with stationary statistics, i.e., data sets
without a significant long period trend.
To evaluate this option, we will create a new network. Click on Neural / Train
Neural Network. When the menu appears, click on Next >> to accept the
default new network name:
On the second page, click on

Next >> to use all the wells:
197
On the third page, click on

Next >> to use the same
multi-attribute transform with
four attributes as the basis
for this network:
Finally, on the next page, we

come to the parameter which
must be changed:
198
Note that we have answered Yes to the question:

Do you wish to cascade with the trend from the multi-attribute
transform?
Click on Next >> and then OK to start training the new network.
In this mode, the first calculation that the network performs is the multi-linear
regression with the same four attributes. The predicted log from that
calculation is then smoothed with a smoother length given on the Neural
Network training menu. The PNN Neural Network is then used to predict the
residual, which is the high-frequency component of the logs which is not
contained within the smooth trend. The final predicted log is obtained by
adding the trend from the multi-linear regression and the predicted residual
from the Neural Network.
199
When the training is completed, the following plot appears:
The first thing you can see is

that the low-frequency trend
from the target logs has
actually been predicted
outside the analysis windows.
We can see the correlation is

lower than that obtained with
the first Neural Network.
200
Now click on Neural / Display Neural Network List to get a list of all
networks created so far:
As an example of the
capabilities of this list, click on
the name Network_1 and click
the Cross Plot button. The
Cross Plot window appears:
201
Similarly, click on the History

button to get the detailed history
of how this network was created:
202
Applying the Neural Network to the

3D Volume
Now that we have a trained network,
we will apply the result to the 3D
volume.
Click on Process / Apply EMERGE.
We will create an output SEGY

file called pnn_result.
Also, we will apply this result
to the entire volume.
203
When you have completed

the menu as shown, click on
Next >> to get this page:
Note that we have chosen to
apply Network_1. Also,
because we are applying a
Neural Network, the lower
part of the menu is enabled,
allowing us to set an
Application Window for the
Neural Network.
If horizons had been entered into the project, these could have been used to
guide the Neural Network application window. Since there are no horizons,
we will apply the network from 1000 to 1200 ms. When the menu has been
filled
as 2009
shown above, click on Next >> and OK to start the process.
Last
updated:in
January,
204
When the calculation

has completed, the
result appears:
We can improve the display

by inserting the actual
porosity logs into the
volume. Click on the
eyeball icon:
205
On the menu, go to
the Insert tab, and
change all the items
shown. Note that we
are inserting the
actual Porosity logs
into the display.
Click on the Color
Key tab.
206
On the Color Key page,

click the Data Range
button and set the color
display limits as shown.
Click on Ok on both
menus.
207
Now display Inline 95. As before, the high porosity channel can be seen at
the well location:
208
By scrolling through the 3D volume, you can check how well the porosity
volume ties the original porosity logs. For instance, this shows Xline 26,
which actually ties 3 wells.
209
This ends the porosity exercise. On the EMERGE main window, click
Project > Save to save the project.
Do not exit the project. In the next exercise, we will next use the same
seismic and inversion data but with a different target log.
(End of Exercise 7)
210
Case Study:
Using EMERGE to predict Vclay from
Simultaneous Inversion attributes
New developments in EMERGE use

The original use of Emerge:
To predict porosity, using
CDP Stack
Acoustic Impedance Inversion.
Advanced use of Emerge:
To predict water saturation, gamma-ray, or Vshale, using
CDP Stack
Zp from simultaneous inversion.
Zs from simultaneous inversion.
from simultaneous inversion.
This case study shows a recent use of Emerge for predicting Vshale.
212
Objective
Utilize pre-stack P-wave seismic data combined with well information to

produce a Vclay volume using pre-stack Simultaneous Inversion.
Main goal:
Discriminate between sands and shales to

help with steam injection program.
213
Petrophysical Analysis
Petrophysical analysis and modeling: log and core data from 42 wells.
Core, density and P- and S-wave velocity logs: available in most wells.
Standard processes:
log editing
normalization and invasion correction
reservoir parameter interpretation: clay volume (Vclay), porosity and
water saturation (Sw)
214
DEPTH
M
DEPTH_FT
ft
GR
GAPI 100
SP
-190 MV
10
CALI
100
MM
200
RES_D
0.2 OHMM 2000
RHOB_RAW
1.65 g/cc 2.65
VP_FINAL
4000 ft/s10000
AI
10000
g/cc-f/s
20000
PHIE_FIN
1
v/v
0
RES_M
0.2 OHMM 2000
NPSS
0.6 V/V
VS_FINAL
2000 ft/s 5000
PR
v/v
BVW_TMS
DEC
RES_S
0.2 OHMM 2000
VPVS
v/v
VCL_FIN
v/v
PEF
B/E
VS_FLAG
5
20
0.5
G
GPa
SI
0 ft/s-g/c
10000
QUAL_VS
0
120
VCL_FIN
RHOB_RAW NPHI
20
400
130
450
140
150
500
160
170
550
180
McM
600
190
200
210
650
Mud Plug
700
220
230
Density
Vs,
Vp
IP
IS
750
240
800
250
215
216
LR = Ip2 2Is2
Sands
MR = 2Is2
Shales
217
Sands
Shales
218
Rock properties with highest correlation to Vclay:

Density and Lambda-Rho.
Density is the best discriminator parameter between

sands and shales.
219
Simultaneous Inversion
Resulting inversion volumes: Zp, Zs, Density, Vp/Vs,
Lambda-Rho and Mu-Rho.
Zp
Zs
Density
Lambda-Rho
Inversion and reflectivity volumes were used to estimate Vclay via

probabilistic neural network (PNN) analysis using EMERGE.
220
EMERGE: PNN for Vclay Correlations
Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) using seismic inversion:

Total correlation = 0.88
Cross validation correlation of PNN = 0.79
Ordered attribute list to train the PNN:
Density**2
LambdaRho
1/Zp
(Vp/Vs)**2
Post-stack
Instantaneous Frequency
2nd Derivative
221
Vclay volume illustrating channel system
222
Vclay volume illustrating channel system
Reflectivity
Volume of Clay
223
Vclay cross section (sands in red)
224
Conclusions
EMERGE is a powerful tool for predicting log properties from seismic
attributes.
While EMERGE has been used for a number of years, recent new success has
come from using pre-stack and simultaneous inversion results as attributes.
This case study has shown the successful prediction of a Vclay volume from
simultaneous inversion results.
225
PNN for Classification
Next, we will show

how to use PNN for
classification. On
the right, we see two
different classes, A
and B (e.g. sand and
shale), each defined
by three points. We
want to classify
point p0 into one of
the two classes.
Note that we are not
trying to predict the
values on the log, as
in mapping.
Log
Class A
Seismic Attributes
X
Y
x2
x1 y1
y2
x3
x0
Class B
x5
x4
x6
y3
p1
p
p3 2
y0
y4
y6
y5
p4
p
p6 5
226
On the right the

points have been
plotted in attribute
space and the
distances between
point p0 and all the
other points are
shown, where
di =
p1
p2
p3
d1
d3
d2
p0
(xi x0 )2 + ( yi y0 )2
Notice that point p0 is

closer to Class A
than it is to Class B.
Class A
d4
Class B
d5
d6
p5
p4
p6
X
227
As with the mapping option, PNN classification does not use distance on its
own, but applies an exponential weighting function to the distance (called the
Parzen Estimator). For the two classes, we can write:
g A ( p0 ) = e
d12
+e
d 22
+e
d 32
, and g B ( p0 ) = e
d 42
+e
d 52
+e
d 62
This leads us to the famous Bayes Theorem, which allows us to assign a

probability to each class, as follows:
PA
g A ( p0 )
g B ( p0 )
, and PB
=
g A ( p0 ) + g B ( p0 )
g A ( p0 ) + g B ( p0 )
The decision is then simple. If PA > PB, the point p0 is in Class A and if PA <
PB, the point p0 is in Class B.
228
Classification can sometimes be useful even for numerical data, by

blocking the data and reducing the range of possible output values:
Mapping
Classification
229
These are the menu items which control the use of Classification:
Mapping is the process of predicting numbers. This is the default option in

EMERGE.
Classification means to predict classes or types of data. If this option is
chosen, parameters must be supplied which tell EMERGE how the target
data is to be classified:
If the target logs have been classified previously, they must still be read
into EMERGE as numerical values, where the numbers represent the
classes.
230
For a network trained in classification mode, the option exists to calculate

and output the probability associated with each class. This option appears
when the trained network is applied to the seismic volume:
231
Discriminant Analysis
Discriminant Analysis is a mathematical clustering technique which is

applied in Classification Mode. As an example, assume we have 2
attributes X and Y and we know there are 2 clusters A and B:
Discriminant Analysis finds the

single line which best separates
the two clusters. For more than
two attributes, the line becomes
a hyper-plane in multidimensional space.
Discriminant
Line
232
Because discriminant analysis assumes a linear separation between
clusters, it can fail if the real separation is non-linear:
Attribute 1
In this case, a Neural

Network such as PNN
can be expected to
work better.
Attribute 2
233
Advantages:
(1) Both training and application times are much faster than any Neural
Network.
(2) The algorithm is very robust, with little tendency to over-train. This
means that cross-validation errors are usually comparable to training
errors.
Disadvantages:
(1) Only works in Classification mode.
(2) Assumes linear separation between classes.
234
Exercise 8: Using Classification

In this exercise, we use EMERGE to predict porosity logs which have been
classified, i.e., separated into classes.
The analysis data will consist of seven wells with classified porosity logs,
along with the seismic files seismic.sgy and inversion.sgy.
The current GEOVIEW
database contains 7
wells, which we can see
using the GEOVIEW Well
Explorer:
235
Select the first well by clicking on the number 1
Then, click on Display Well:
When the well is displayed,

we see that one of the log
curves is called
Classes_Edited_1. This is the
classified log we will now
predict with Emerge.
236
To create the
classification log, the
original porosity log
has been divided
into 3 zones.
The objective is to
predict the locations
of the high porosity
zones, and the
probability of
occurrence.
Zone 1 : Porosity < 5%.
Probably shales.
Zone 2 : Porosity between

5-15%. Shaly sands.
Zone 3 : Porosity greater

than 15%. High porosity
clean sands.
237
Now we will start a new Emerge project but this time we will use the
existing porosity project to speed up the data loading.
(If Emerge is closed, open it by clicking on the Emerge button and
open the previous porosity project.)
Now click on Project

> Save As
And give it the name

porosity_classes:
238
The software then pops up this

message asking if you want to copy
the previous internal seismic data
(i.e., the computed_porosity and the
pnn_result).
Click No.
239
Now, reset the target log. Click

Wells > Read From Database.
This time select
Classes as the
target log:
Keep all other

parameters the same
as before:
240
The software then pops up a warning message about losing all the training
work. Since we have already saved the old porosity project, then this is not a
problem. Click Yes.
Then click OK on the multiple P-wave

logs dialog.
241
Now begin the composite trace re-extraction process by clicking Ok on the

Well-Map Table Menu and Ok on the subsequent menu:
242
The Emerge window will

look like this:
Now go immediately to the option to

Create the Multi-Attribute List:
Keep all the default

parameters, except to
specify a 3 point operator:
243
The resulting list

looks like this:
The error plot shows

that 5 attributes should
be used:
244
Select the 5th attribute and

click on Apply / Training
Result:
We can see that multi-linear

regression does not do a very
good job of predicting the
classes, but we believe the
choice of attributes is still valid
for the next phase, PNN with
classification.
245
Now train a Neural Network:
Select the option to use the first 5

attributes from the Multi-Attribute
list:
This time, specify that we are doing

Classification. We must also tell the
program the Classification
parameters.
246
When the training has finished, the result looks like this. The Fractional
Classification Error means that 19% of the input samples were misclassified, i.e., predicted wrong.
In this plot, when blue overlays red, the classification is correct. Where we
see red lines, that indicates mis-classification.
247
To see the validation plot,

click on Validate Neural
Network, and accept all the
defaults.
The validation plot is

interpreted the same
way. Note that the
validation error is
larger.
248
Now apply the neural

network to the volumes:
Note that we are applying to a

single Inline only.
We will start by displaying

the Value of the most likely
class, which is the classified
result:
249
The resulting classification plot looks like this:
250
We can improve this

display by optimizing the
color key.
Click on the eyeball icon,

and set up 3 colors as
shown:
251
The resulting plot shows the high porosity clean sands in red:
252
A second very useful result is the probability or

reliability associated with the high porosity sand.
Once again, Apply Emerge:
This time, set the output volume name to

sand_probability.
Now ask for the

probability of class 3,
which is the high
porosity class.
253
The resulting plot looks like this. Once again we can improve the display
by changing the color key.
254
Click on the eyeball icon,

and change the Color Key
parameters as shown to
the right.
Also, choose the

option to insert the
Porosity log:
255
The resulting plot shows a very high probability (>90%) of clean, highporosity sand at the channel location
(End of Exercise 8)
256
S wave Log Prediction Case Study
18 wells available with full logs suites for inversion QC
Vs logs recorded in only 4 wells
Log quality is variable with problems related to poor S wave

signal quality in low velocity shallow sediments
Log prediction using Castagnas method is complicated by the

presence of gas in shallow sands and lithology variation (clastics
and carbonates)
257
Well with best S wave log
Shear velocity slower than Stonely
258
Typical problem log
Bad log section
259
Result of multi-attribute stepwise

regression
260
Application of 4 attributes
Analysis window excluded bad log sections
261
Cross-validation result
(blind well test)
262
Prediction from P wave alone
Pwave alone cannot estimate shallow gas sands and carbonate velocity correctly
263
Impact of Neutron log
Neutron log improves fit for shallow gas sands and carbonates
264
Effect of Gamma ray
Gamma ray improves fit in sand/shale transitions

265
Effect of density
Inclusion of density improves fit in carbonate section

266
Exercise 9: Predicting Logs from Logs

In this exercise, we apply EMERGE to the problem of predicting logs using a
multi-attribute transform calculated from other logs.
The data for this example consists of a series of four wells, each containing
several log curves. To see this data, go back to the GEOVIEW main window.
That window currently contains the porosity database:
267
To change to the new database containing the data for this example,
click on Database / Open. On the Directory Chooser menu, select the
logs database, as shown below and click OK:
The GEOVIEW Well Explorer

window now looks like this:
268
As you can see, there are four wells in this database. To see the log curves
in the first well, select the B_Yates_11 well name and click on Display Well.
This display will appear:
Move the scroll bar,
and you will see the
eight logs that are in
this well, including a
sonic log (DLT).
Another way of
examining the logs
within a well is to click
on the arrow to the
left of the well name in
the GEOVIEW Well
Explorer window.
269
The Table View is updated as shown:
270
We see that this well, B_Yates_11, contains nine logs, including a sonic and
its depth-time relationship. Examine the other wells and you will find that one
other well, B_Yates_18D, has a sonic log, while two of the wells, B_Yates_13
and B_Yates_15, do not contain sonic logs. The objective of this exercise is
to predict sonic logs using the other log curves.
Restart the EMERGE program by clicking the EMERGE button on the
GEOVIEW main window and select Start New Project. Call this new project
logs, as shown below:
271
To load the analysis logs from the database, click on Wells / Read From
Database.
Unlike the
previous
exercises, we will
use logs as the
external attributes.
Click on
Predicting Logs
From Other Logs.
272
Click Next >>. The second page should be filled in as shown:

Notice that we have
selected the P-wave (or
sonic) log as the target.
Also notice that the
Processing Domain has
been selected as Depth.
This is because all the
logs are in depth there
is no seismic in this
example, so there is no
need to convert from
depth to time. The
Processing Sample Rate
must also be set before
you can access the next
page of this menu.
273
When this page of the

menu is completed as
shown, click on Next >>
to show the Analysis
Window page:
For this example, we

have created two tops
called Start and End.
Select these to limit the
analysis window.
274
Finally, click on Next >> to

show the External
Attributes page:
The list of possible
External Attributes shows
all of the log curves that
are present in at least one
of the wells in the
GEOVIEW database.
Click on Add all >> to
select the attributes that
will actually be used by
EMERGE.
You will see two dialogs appear as the database is analyzed. The first
informs you that a list of logs is being built and the second lists the logs
that are not found in all four wells. EMERGE will look for a relationship
between the remaining six logs and the target sonic log.
275
After you click OK, the EMERGE main window will look like this:
By moving the
scroll bar, you can
see each of the
four wells and their
associated logs.
You will also notice
that two of the
wells do not
contain target logs.
276
Now click on
Display / Crossplot.
Fill in the menu as
shown below:
277
The resulting plot looks like this:

Obviously, the P-wave logs
and the Gamma Ray show a
strong linear relationship
with a correlation of 0.82.
Now go once again to the EMERGE main window and select Display /
Crossplot. This time, select RILD as the attribute:
278
The new cross plot looks like this:
Clearly, this relationship is

not linear.
Go back to the EMERGE main

window once more and click on
Display / Crossplot. This time,
choose the option to apply a Log
transform to both the target
(sonic) and attribute (RILD).
279
Now the cross plot looks like this:

This analysis demonstrates that
sometimes it helps to apply a
nonlinear transform to either the
target or the attribute or both.
Fortunately, EMERGE can help

determine which transform to
apply. To see the singleattribute transforms, click on
Attribute / Create Single
Attribute List. Fill in the menu
as shown:
280
Notice that the options Test Non-Linear Transforms of Target and Test
Non-Linear Transforms of External Attributes are checked. This means
that for each of the selected External Attributes, Caliper, Gamma Ray, etc.,
EMERGE will create a series of new attributes by applying a set of nonlinear transforms.
Click on Ok on this menu
and the following table
will appear:
This table shows that the

lowest error is obtained by
cross plotting 1/(P-wave)
against Log(RILM). The
correlation for this
transform is 0.87.
281
To see this cross plot, select

any cell in the first row and click
on Cross Plot.
Now once again, select any cell

in the first row and click on
Apply. The following display
appears:
282
This display shows all four predicted sonic logs in red. Two of the wells,
which contain target logs, show those logs in black. By using the View /
Zoom feature, you can see how well the target sonic log has been predicted
using the RILM curve:
283
Now start the multi-attribute

analysis by clicking on Attribute /
Create Multi Attribute List. On the
first page, ensure that all the wells
are selected for analysis and click
on Next >>. Fill in the second page
as shown:
Note that for log prediction from other logs, we tend to use an Operator
Length of 1, which is conventional multi-regression. We are also testing
the non-linear transforms of both the target and the external attributes.
When the analysis is complete the following table appears:
284
Just as before, each line on this table represents a

multi-attribute transform containing all the attributes
down to that line. For example, the third line, with
the final attribute (Density)**2, represents the
transform with Log (RILM), Gamma Ray and Square
of Density. The upper curve on the prediction error
plot shows the validation error for the log that was
hidden during the analysis. Clearly, the proper
number of attributes to use in this case is three.
Now, select the name (Density)**2 (the third
attribute) from the list and click on Cross Plot. The
plot shows that the correlation between the
Predicted and Actual P-wave logs is 0.93, indicating
a very good fit.
285
Now, select the name

(Density)**2 (the third
transform) from the list
and click on List. This
table appears:
The table shows the actual

weights to be applied to each
of the logs in order to predict
the sonic log.
Finally, select the name
(Density)**2 from the list and
click on Apply / Training
Result. The display on the left
appears.
286
On this display, click on File / Export to Database. This will allow you to
send the predicted logs back to the GEOVIEW database, where they can be
used just like any other log. By default, the sonic log from EMERGE will be
exported to every well in the database.
287
To verify that this happened,

go back to the GEOVIEW Well
Explorer window,select the
second well (B_Yates_13), and
click on Display Well. The new
Emerge_DLT log now appears:
This completes the analysis of the third data set. To close the
EMERGE program, click on File / Exit on the EMERGE main window.
When you see the question: Do you want to save the project?, click
on Yes.
(End of Exercise 8)
288
Summary of the EMERGE Course

EMERGE is a program that predicts log properties from seismic
attributes.
Attributes may be internal (generated by EMERGE) or external (generated
by other programs).
EMERGE uses training data at well locations to determine a relationship,
which is then applied to a seismic volume.
EMERGE does not assume any particular model, but uses statistical
analysis to determine the attribute/log relationship.
EMERGE uses step-wise regression to determine the optimal ordering of
attributes.
EMERGE uses validation to determine the optimal number of attributes.
EMERGE extends cross plotting to include the convolutional operator,
which accounts for frequency differences between target and attributes.
The EMERGE algorithm may be used to predict logs from other logs.
EMERGE uses Neural Networks to enhance the high frequency resolution
and perform classification.
289
Useful references & case studies

Banchs, R. & R. Michelena (2002): From 3D seismic attributes to pseudo-well-log volumes using neural
networks: practical considerations:The Leading Edge, October, p996
Calderon, J. & J. Castagna (2007): Porosity and lithologic estimation using rock physics and multi-attribute
transforms in Balcon Field, Colombia: The Leading Edge, February, p142
Chen, Q. & S. Sidney (1997): Seismic attribute technology for reservoir forecasting and monitoring: The Leading
Edge, May 1997, p445
Dumitrescu, C. & F. Mayer (2006): Case study of a Cadomin gas reservoir in the Alberta Deep Basin: SEG Exp
Abst, 2006
Fouad, K., D. Jennette, J. Jackson, G. Jackson & A SotoCuervo (2002): Porosity prediction from
multiattribute analysis in deepwater sandstone reservoirs, Veracruz Basin, Southeast Mexico: SEG
Exp Abst, 2002
Gomez, F. & J. Castagana (2005): Reservoir seismic characterization using rock physics, seismic attributes &
spectral decomposition in Puerto Colon oil field, Colombia: SEG Exp Abst, RC P1.1, 2005
Hampson, D., J. Schuelke & J. Quirein (2001): Use of multi-attribute transforms to predict log properties from
seismic data: Geophysics, 66, 220
Hart, B. (2002): Validating seismic attribute studies: Beyond statistics: The Leading Edge, October 2002, p1016
Hart, B. & M. Chen (2004): Understanding seismic attributes through forward modelling: The Leading Edge,
September 2004, p834
290

Hart, B. & R. Balch (2000): Approaches to defining reservoir physical properties from 3D seismic
attributes with limited well control: An example from the Jurassic Smackover Formation,
Alabama: Geophysics Vol.65 No.2, 368-376
Helle, H., A. Bhatt & B. Ursin (2001): Porosity and permeability prediction from wireline logs using
artificial neural networks: a North Sea case study: Geophysical Prospecting, 49, 431-444
Kalkomey, C. (1997): Potential risks when using seismic attributes as predictors of reservoir properties:
The Leading Edge, March 1997, p247
Leiphart, D. & B. Hart (2001): Comparison of linear regression and probabilistic neural network to predict
porosity from 3D seismic attributes in Lower Bushy Canyon channelled sandstones,
southeast New Mexico: Geophysics Vol.66 No. 5,1349-1358
Mendez-Hernandez, E. et al. (2003): Advanced seismic technology improved prospect evaluation &
reservoir delineation in the mature Macuspana Basin, Mexico, The Leading Edge, Nov 2003,
p1142
Mercado Herrera, V., B.Russell & A. Flores (2006): Neural Networks in reservoir characterization: The
Leading Edge, April 2006, p402
Oldenziel, T., P. de Groot & L. Kvame (2000): Statfjord study demonstrates use of neural network to
predict porosity and water saturation from time-lapse seismic: First Break, 18.2, February
2000, 65-69
Pearson, R. & B. Hart (1999): Convergence of 3D seismic attribute-based reservoir property prediction
and geological interpretation as a risk reduction tool: A case study from a Permian intraslope
basin: SEG 1999 Expanded Abstracts, 896-899
291

Pramanik, A., V. Singh, R. Vig, A. Srivastava & N. Tiwary (2004): Estimation of effective porosity using
geostatistics and multi-attribute transforms - a case study: Geophysics Vol.69 No.2, 352-372
Robertson, J. & H. Nogami (1984): Complex seismic trace analysis of thin beds: Geophysics Vol. 49 No.4,
344-352
Ronen, S., P. Schultz, M. Hattori & C. Corbett (1994): Seismic-guided estimation of log-properties: Part 2
Using artificial neural networks for nonlinear attribute calibration, The Leading Edge, June 1994,
p674
Russell, B., D. Hampson, J. Schuelke & J. Quirein (1997): Multi-attribute seismic analysis: The Leading Edge,
October 1997, p1439
Russell, B., D. Hampson, T. Todorov & L. Lines (2002a): Combining Geostatistics & Multi-Attribute
Transforms: A Channel Sand case Study: Journal of Petroleum Geology, January 02, Vol. 25 (1)
Russell, B., C. Ross & L. Lines (2002b): Neural networks and AVO:The Leading Edge, March 2002, p268
Russell, B., C. Ross & L. Lines (2002c): AVO classification using neural networks: A comparison of two
methods: CREWES Research Report Vol. 14, 2002
Russell, B., L. Lines & D. Hampson (2002d): Application of the radial basis function neural network to the
prediction of log properties from seismic attributes: CREWES Research Report Vol 14, 2002
Russell, B., D.Hampson & L. Lines (2003): Application of the radial basis function neural network to the
prediction of log properties from seismic attributes a channel case study: SEG Exp Abst, 2003
292

Sarg, J. & J. Schuelke (2003): Integrated seismic analysis of carbonate reservoirs: From the framework to the
volume attributes: The Leading Edge, July 2003, p640
Schuelke, J., J. Quirein, J. Sarg, D. Altany & P. Hunt (1997): Reservoir architecture and porosity distribution,
Pegasus Field, West Texas - an integrated sequence stratigraphic-seismic attribute study using
neural networks: SEG 67th Meeting Expanded Abstracts, INT 5.2, 668-671
Schuelke, J. & J. Quirein (1998): Validation: A technique for selecting seismic attributes and verifying results:
SEG 68th Meeting Expanded Abstracts, 936-939
Schuelke, J., A. Ruf, J. Andersen & L. Corwin (2005): Volume-based rock property predictions and
quantifying uncertainty: SEG Exp Abst, RC2.3, 2005
Schultz, P., S. Ronen, M. Hattori, P. Mantran & C. Corbett (1994): Seismic-guided estimation of logproperties: Part 3 A controlled study, The Leading Edge, July 1994, p770
Sukmono, S. (2007): Application of multi-attribute analysis in mapping lithology and porosity in the PematangSihapas groups of Central Sumatra Basin, Indonesia: The Leading Edge, February 2007, p126
Tonn, R. (2002): Neural network seismic reservoir characterisation in a heavy oil reservoir:The Leading Edge,
March 2002, p309
Wang, B., K. Pann, T. Shirle, B. Ferguson & J. Shuelke (1997): View of neural network training as
constrained optimisation and applications to rock porosity prediction: SEG 67th Meeting Expanded
Abstracts, RC2.3, 838-841
293

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EMERGE

Instructor: Kevin Gerlitz

EMERGE Course Outline

Summary of the EMERGE Course

Last updated: January, 2009

The log data must be inserted

Last updated: January, 2009

EMERGE can be thought

Uses seismic and well log

Operates on pre-stack and

Does not use any a priori

The result is validated by

The result is validated by

Requires the extraction of

Last updated: January, 2009

Exercise 1: Setting up an EMERGE Project

Last updated: January, 2009

Loading the Data

Start the GEOVIEW program by

To load the complete

A GEOVIEW Well Explorer window will now appear:

As you can see, 12 wells are available in this database.

Now that the logs have been loaded into

Click on Ok to Start New Project. The File Selection window now

Last updated: January, 2009

The EMERGE main window now appears:

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

Select the file

On these pages, we must

Last updated: January, 2009

Click on Next >> to get this menu:

Last updated: January, 2009

Click once more on Next >>

The second window

This menu tells the EMERGE

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

Specify the trace header information:

Next, describe the geometry:

The first thing thing that will

Last updated: January, 2009

Second, the seismic

To see the zone of interest,

Finally, click on the zoom

Last updated: January, 2009

Next, click on View / Base Map to see the base

Last updated: January, 2009

Last updated: January, 2009

To examine (and possibly

Since we are happy with the

Last updated: January, 2009

For EMERGE, all attributes must be sample-based.

Last updated: January, 2009

Examples of seismic attributes:

Last updated: January, 2009

EMERGE calculates the following attributes internally:

Last updated: January, 2009

A third basic attribute is the instantaneous frequency, which is the time

The other instantaneous attributes in EMERGE are combinations of the

cos (t ) = cosine instantaneous phase,