Reducing Geologically Significant Structural Uncertainties in Anisotropic Depth-velocity Modeling

Geological interpretation of seismic data usually identifies a limited number of structural details where uncertainties in velocity and depth estimations can make real differences in reservoir characterization. In general, there are two types of uncertainty which can affect the result of depth-velocity modelling. The first type is caused by “technical” errors occurring in depth-velocity estimation with a given velocity model representation. The second type is caused by problems and uncertainties with this model itself. We discuss how an analysis of localized anisotropy variations can reduce geologically significant uncertainties. This analysis should be done in conjunction with geological interpretation. We use both synthetic and real data for illustrations.