From the seismic method to internally consistent subsurface models — hands-on, on-site.
Seismic data is the backbone of subsurface interpretation, but its full value is only unlocked when it is calibrated, understood, and enhanced with the right attributes. This course gives your team a thorough, practical command of seismic interpretation: from the seismic method itself, through calibration and attribute analysis, to structural and stratigraphic interpretation and the construction of internally consistent maps and 3D models.
The training is built around doing, not just watching. Short lectures are interspersed throughout with hand-based exercises, which build the intuition that button-clicking never does. Because the course is delivered on-site, exercises and case studies can be adapted to your organisation's own data and plays.
Instruction is led by geoscientists with industry and academic experience of turning seismic data into working subsurface models. The emphasis throughout is on interpretations that are internally consistent, testable and clearly communicated — the qualities that make an interpretation trustworthy enough to drill or invest against.
Geoscientists who work with, or alongside, seismic data — geologists, geophysicists and engineers. It suits new hires and those moving into a seismic-based role who need a foundation.
A general geoscience background. Familiarity with basic subsurface concepts is helpful but not essential; the course builds the seismic fundamentals from first principles.
What seismic data can and cannot tell us about the subsurface; where seismic adds value across exploration and development; the role of the interpreter and of an internally consistent geological model in de-risking decisions.
Seismic wave propagation and reflectivity; 2D vs. 3D acquisition; the key processing steps that shape the data an interpreter receives (statics, velocity analysis, migration, imaging); factors that control seismic resolution.
Tying seismic to wells: sonic and density logs, checkshots and VSPs, synthetic seismograms and the well-tie; wavelet, phase and polarity; time-to-depth relationships and their uncertainties.
What seismic attributes are and how to use them responsibly; amplitude, complex-trace and geometric (structural) attributes; spectral decomposition; an introduction to post-stack inversion and the elastic response; recognising the limitations and pitfalls of attributes.
Horizon and fault picking, correlation, auto-tracking and mapping; building maps and 3D models from interpreted data; hand-based interpretation to build intuition, then the equivalent computer-based workflow; testing internal consistency.
Recognising and interpreting structural styles on seismic — extensional, compressional, strike-slip and inverted settings; fault and fold geometries; growth strata and timing; the imaging pitfalls specific to structurally complex areas.
Seismic stratigraphy and sequence boundaries; seismic facies; stratal slicing and channel/reservoir mapping; using attributes and spectral decomposition to extract stratigraphic detail from 3D data.
Participants bring the full toolkit together on an integrated seismic dataset — ideally your organisation's own — to interpret it, build internally consistent interpretations, and present and defend the result.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to: apply the fundamental concepts needed to interpret seismic data; perform hand-based interpretation of 2D seismic; understand seismic attributes; interpret seismic in both structural and stratigraphic contexts; and build internally consistent maps and 3D geological models that support basin evaluation and subsurface energy assessments.
Instructor-led delivery on-site; all course exercises and worked 2D seismic datasets; a course workbook and reference list participants keep. The course can be weighted towards structural, stratigraphic or attribute content on request, and optional follow-up support or a tailored interpretation-review add-on is available.
Travel and accommodation for the instructor (charged at cost or by arrangement); participant laptops and any commercial interpretation software your team wishes to use.