Application of volumetric seismic discontinuity attribute for fault detection: Case study using deep-water Niger Delta 3D seismic data

Techniques for detecting faults have been applied to a 3D seismic volume acquired in the outer fold and thrust belt in the deep-water Niger Delta. Firstly, the dip and azimuth of seismic traces in the data were calculated in a volume referred to as the "raw steering" data. The data were further improved by calculating two additional generations of dip volumes representing localized and subregional structural dips referred to as the "detailed" and "background" steering volumes, respectively. A multitrace similarity attribute volume was then calculated with the reflectivity and background dip-steering data as the input. The attribute data detected discrete zones of dip and similarity anomalies, trending WNW-ESE, that represented the location of discontinuities in the area. The anomalies may not have been seen clearly in the reflectivity and similarity data calculated without the application of dip-steering.