Slokkert Consultancy

Unfaulting, Unfolding and Unconformities in seismic sections

Unfaulting

Arches National Park, Utah (photograph Marleen Rutten).

Rocks are moved to match layers on either side of the faults.

 Original

 Unfaulted

Unfolding

Wadi Hawasina, Oman (photograph Inger Domingo).

Rocks are rotated and shifted to make layers horizontal.

 Original

 Unfolded

Unconformity

Grand Canyon, Arizona (photograph Anne Rutten).

Rocks above the unconformity are unfolded for shallow horizons and rock below the unconformity are unfolded for deep horizons. The unconformity gap results from the difference between above-movement and below-movement.

 Original

 Unconformity

ezValidator Software

Slokkert Consultancy develops the ezValidator™ unfaulting, unfolding and unconformity software for use in the geological evaluation of oil and gas fields.

The ezValidator™ software can help you to validate interpretation of simple and complex geological structures. Early on in an interpretation it assists you to get the correlation across faulted structures right. Later on it gives you a view of the detailed stratigraphic variation across the unbroken flat-lying sediments in their original depositional setting, honouring unconformity gaps at angular discordances.

The software can handle complex fault patterns such as branching and crossing faults.

The ezValidator™ software is released in Landmark’s DecisionSpace® Geosciences software environment. The software is interactive, intuitive and very fast. It can be used by mainstream seismic interpreters (expert structural-geological knowledge is not required).

Slokkert Consultancy provides an unfaulting/unfolding/unconformity service to oil and gas E&P companies. This can be based on screen dumps of sections or on projects stored in an OpenWorks database. This service is free for the first section in a new area.

Examples for this website are greatly appreciated (outcrop photos, seismic).

Links:

AAPG Explorer Geophysical Corner Article April 2010

Halliburton/Landmark DecisionSpace®

ezValidator Case Study

Champion Field offshore Brunei (courtesy Brunei Shell Petroleum).

Example of unravelling a horrendously complex structure with many crossing faults and several unconformities.

European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
The Nigel Anstey Award 2021