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An introduction to seismic interpretation
Cretaceous
Research
(1980)
1, 91-92
Book Review An Introduction to Seismic Interpretation. R. McQuillin, Limited.
M. Bacon
and W. Barclay.
1979. pp. 199. Graham
and Trotman
Seismic reflection interpretation has been well served with texts in recent years, but this book is notable in presenting plenty of case-history material. Four case studies make up almost the entire last third of the book. The first two-thirds of the text consists of chapters on seismic waves, data acquisition and processing, the use of well-data, geophysical and geological interpretation and hydrocarbon reservoirs and their detection. Most topics are well covered though at times the authors seem unsure of who their readers are likely to be. The general level of treatment is as befits an “introduction” to the subject but on p. 45 the “Dix interval velocity” is mentioned as if the reader would know all about Dix’s paper; no reference is given nor again at four other text locations. In places treatment is uneven so that a topic like the stretching of long-offset traces through NM0 correction is given in detail while the ability of diffractions to stack is passed over in a sentence. Hagedoorn’s method of refraction interpretation is discussed in terms of a plane refractor and its real power in delineating refractor topography is not mentioned. Indeed the whole topic of refraction data would have benefited from a unified treatment rather than split between the topic of static corrections and the chapter on “other geological methods”. The topic of migration is similarly split, for it appears mostly in the data-processing chapter while “depth conversion” is limited to a short paragraph in the chapter on geophysical interpretation. As a result the extent of application of computer migration schemes remains unclear. But these are relatively minor criticisms of balance and presentation and do not detract from the considerable merit of the book as a survey of current practice in the art of seismic reflection exploration. The chapters on geophysical and geological interpretation especially give a clear view of what is actually done with the data right through to the writing of reports. The chapter on data processing is a clear step-bystep account of what is done to the original field recordings. Throughout the book illustrations are numerous and generally well chosen. They include photographs, line diagrams, maps and many examples of seismic cross-sections. Colour printing has been employed where appropriate to emphasize reflectors or allow the illustration of modern forms of data display. Copious illustration is also a feature of the last third of the book dealing with four case histories. The areas described are the Moray Firth (U.K.), the Rainbow Lake field (western Canada), the Kingfish field (south-east Australia) and the Hewett gas field (U.K.). The Moray Firth study provides some interesting seismic sections, but they are presented only in terms of reflection time, not depth, so that a potentially interesting synthesis, with the gravity data that is also presented, cannot be made. The Rainbow Lake study discusses Devonian reef traps and their recognition and the Kingfish field study brings out the importance of tight velocity control in assessing the extent of a major oil field. The Hewett study demonstrates how modern seismic data can reveal the presence of gas in reservoir rocks. Throughout these studies the integration of well data with seismic data is clearly explained and illustrated with numerous well-logs and synthetic seismograms and seismic modelling is brought in as appropriate. Indeed it is the wealth of illustrative material in
the case studies and throughout class text at 1I.S. 10~1.
the text that has persuaded
me to uw this book as a
Research
(1980)
1, 91-92
Book Review An Introduction to Seismic Interpretation. R. McQuillin, Limited.
M. Bacon
and W. Barclay.
1979. pp. 199. Graham
and Trotman
Seismic reflection interpretation has been well served with texts in recent years, but this book is notable in presenting plenty of case-history material. Four case studies make up almost the entire last third of the book. The first two-thirds of the text consists of chapters on seismic waves, data acquisition and processing, the use of well-data, geophysical and geological interpretation and hydrocarbon reservoirs and their detection. Most topics are well covered though at times the authors seem unsure of who their readers are likely to be. The general level of treatment is as befits an “introduction” to the subject but on p. 45 the “Dix interval velocity” is mentioned as if the reader would know all about Dix’s paper; no reference is given nor again at four other text locations. In places treatment is uneven so that a topic like the stretching of long-offset traces through NM0 correction is given in detail while the ability of diffractions to stack is passed over in a sentence. Hagedoorn’s method of refraction interpretation is discussed in terms of a plane refractor and its real power in delineating refractor topography is not mentioned. Indeed the whole topic of refraction data would have benefited from a unified treatment rather than split between the topic of static corrections and the chapter on “other geological methods”. The topic of migration is similarly split, for it appears mostly in the data-processing chapter while “depth conversion” is limited to a short paragraph in the chapter on geophysical interpretation. As a result the extent of application of computer migration schemes remains unclear. But these are relatively minor criticisms of balance and presentation and do not detract from the considerable merit of the book as a survey of current practice in the art of seismic reflection exploration. The chapters on geophysical and geological interpretation especially give a clear view of what is actually done with the data right through to the writing of reports. The chapter on data processing is a clear step-bystep account of what is done to the original field recordings. Throughout the book illustrations are numerous and generally well chosen. They include photographs, line diagrams, maps and many examples of seismic cross-sections. Colour printing has been employed where appropriate to emphasize reflectors or allow the illustration of modern forms of data display. Copious illustration is also a feature of the last third of the book dealing with four case histories. The areas described are the Moray Firth (U.K.), the Rainbow Lake field (western Canada), the Kingfish field (south-east Australia) and the Hewett gas field (U.K.). The Moray Firth study provides some interesting seismic sections, but they are presented only in terms of reflection time, not depth, so that a potentially interesting synthesis, with the gravity data that is also presented, cannot be made. The Rainbow Lake study discusses Devonian reef traps and their recognition and the Kingfish field study brings out the importance of tight velocity control in assessing the extent of a major oil field. The Hewett study demonstrates how modern seismic data can reveal the presence of gas in reservoir rocks. Throughout these studies the integration of well data with seismic data is clearly explained and illustrated with numerous well-logs and synthetic seismograms and seismic modelling is brought in as appropriate. Indeed it is the wealth of illustrative material in
the case studies and throughout class text at 1I.S. 10~1.
the text that has persuaded
me to uw this book as a