Patent ID: 7577529

Claim:
A method for determining net-resource attributes associated with the net-sand thickness in a target zone, the method comprising: obtaining a plurality of seismic traces from a seismic survey conducted over a subterranean region; obtaining a top and a base of a target zone for each seismic trace; determining a gross thickness for each seismic trace by subtracting the top from the base of the target zone; determining a probe function associated with the gross thickness of each seismic trace in accordance with the following expression: N = ∫ 0 T ⁢ p 0 ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ r ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ⅆ t ; where p 0 (t)=c(t−T/2) for 0≦t≦T; wherein the variables are defined as: N is the net-sand thickness: p 0 (t) is a probe function for the seismic trace r(t) when the wavelet is a spike; T is the thickness of the target zone; c is the reciprocal of the shale/sand reflection coefficient; and computing a net-resource attribute based upon the inner product of the determined probe function and the segment of the seismic trace that includes the target zone.