Patent ID: 9366772
Filing Date: 2016-06-14
CPC Classification: G01V

Claim Text:
1. A method for analyzing a geophysical data volume obtained or derived from a geophysical survey of a subsurface region to determine physical structure of the subsurface region, comprising: (a) dividing the data volume into a plurality N of initial segments, at least one segment being greater than one voxel in size, a voxel being a single data point in the data volume; (b) successively combining pairs of segments until the number of segments is reduced to a selected number M, where M<N; (c) creating a record of hierarchical multiresolution segmentations by recording stages of successively combined pairs from the plurality of N initial segments to the reduced number of M segments; (d) analyzing some or all of either the M segments, or segments from an intermediate stage of combination, to interpret subsurface physical structure, wherein the analyzing includes zooming in and out of the geophysical data volume by using the stages of the successively combined pairs that were recorded to retrieve and display at least one image of the geophysical data volume with a number of segments ranging from the N initial segments to the M segments; (e) evaluating the interpreted subsurface physical structure within the displayed at least one image for hydrocarbon accumulations; and (f) causing a well to be drilled; wherein analyzing the M segments comprises highgrading, ranking, or prioritizing the M segments based on one or more measures selected from geometrical properties of an arrangement of pixels that form the M segments in the at least one image, direct hydrocarbon indicators, and collocated property measures that are built by querying a seismic or attribute dataset at locations within the seismic or attribute data set that are collocated with locations of the M segments in the geophysical data volume, and wherein the method further comprises using the one or more measures after a plurality of stages of combination to stop the successively combining pairs of segments.