Patent ID: 6014343
Filing Date: 2000-01-11
Classification: G01V,G06T

Abstract:
An automatic, non-artificially extended, fault surface based horizon modeling system adapted for receiving horizon data and fault surfaces and relationships data and adapted for allowing a faulted horizon model to be defined in the presence of faults which die out naturally within a modeling domain without providing any extensions of the faults, comprising:final faulted horizon model determination means for determining and generating a final faulted horizon model, said final faulted horizon model including one or more reference horizon surfaces and one or more conformal horizon surfaces associated with each of said one or more reference horizon surfaces, where each said reference and conformal horizon surface includes one or more accurately represented intersections and one or more faults passing, respectively, through said one or more intersections whereby underground deposits of hydrocarbon are potentially located adjacent each of said intersections, said final faulted horizon model determination means including,reference horizon determination means responsive to said horizon data and said fault surfaces and relationships data for modeling and determining a final faulted reference horizon model for each of said one or more reference horizon surfaces, andconformal horizon determination means responsive to said final faulted reference horizon model and responsive to at least some of said horizon data and to said fault surfaces and relationships data for modeling and determining at least one conformal horizon model for each of said final faulted reference horizon models determined by the reference horizon determination means and thereby determining a final faulted horizon model,said reference horizon determination means including first filter means for filtering said horizon data in the vicinity of at least some of said intersections which exhibit geometric characteristics not in good agreement with the geometric characteristics of the corresponding faults passing through said intersections.