Seismic attributes add a new dimension to prospect evaluation and geomorphology offshore Malaysia

The Malay Basin is a mature Tertiary extensional basin with
a later inversion regime in the Late Miocene. The general geology
is simple “layer cake” seismically, with some compressive
anticlinal inversion structures. The Borneo Basin, on the other
hand, is tectonically complex, with steep dips, overthrust, and
complex faulting. The rocks are unconsolidated, and geophysical
techniques such as amplitude and other attributes should
work well. In early years, seismic interpretation was based mostly
on mapping structures. The advent of AVO and inversion
technologies and pioneering geophysical work brought about
increased usage of seismic attributes, solving various problems
of geologic interpretation. In Southeast Asia, concentrated efforts
since 2000 in seismic data acquisition and processing have
resulted in significant improvement in data quality and hence
success of attribute application. Seismic imaging and attributes
meet challenges such as (1) inversion structural plays in the Malay
Basin, (2) stratigraphic channels, (3) fractured basement, (4)
deep high-pressure (HP) and high-temperature (HT) plays, (5)
steep-dip/overthrust plays, (6) deepwater turbidite plays, (7)
carbonate plays of Luconia Province, and (8) thin pay beds, often
below seismic resolution, using spectral attributes. Various
attributes can be applied to a widespread problem in prospect-
maturation evaluation and reservoir characterization