Preliminary interpretation of 3D 3C seismic data from an Athabasca oil sands field, Alberta

Bobby J. Gunning, Donald C. Lawton

Oil sands in the Athabasca region constitute a major hydrocarbon deposit in northern Alberta. In this project, a multicomponent 3D seismic dataset provided by Canadian Natural Resources Limited is used to study the rock column in the Athabasca Oil Sands region. The initial data consists of fully processed PP seismic data, and three-component raw seismic data. The PP data is used for an initial, full volume interpretation including: picking several pervasive reflection horizons, well log analysis and post-stack impedance inversion. The raw three component data has begun processing and will eventually be processed into PP, PS1 and PS2 seismic volumes.