Enhancing Stratigraphic Geomodelling through Integration of Relative Geological Time and Spectral Decomposition: A Case Study from the Volve Field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/p-jpft.v12i2.34465Keywords:
Relative Geological Time, Spectral Decomposition, Stratigraphic Interpretation, Geobody Extraction, Volve FieldAbstract
This study aims to enhance stratigraphic interpretation and geomodel construction through the integration of Relative Geological Time (RGT) and spectral decomposition in the Volve Field, North Sea. Conventional seismic interpretation often faces limitations in identifying subtle stratigraphic features such as channels and thin layers due to limited vertical resolution. To address this issue, RGT was applied to generate a stratigraphic framework with dense horizons based on relative geological time, followed by spectral decomposition using Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to improve vertical resolution and delineate depositional features. The results show that the RGT-based stratigraphic framework successfully identified major horizons from Jurassic to Cenozoic intervals, highlighting depositional evolution within the study area. Spectral decomposition analysis at selected frequencies revealed sinuous channel geometries within the Sleipner and Hugin formations. Comparison between methods indicates that STFT provides more laterally continuous channel delineation, while CWT is more sensitive to local amplitude variations. RGB blending further enhanced visualization of channel features and improved geobody extraction. The integrated interpretation produced a three-dimensional geomodel of channel geobodies, indicating fluvio-deltaic to shallow marine depositional systems with significant lateral heterogeneity. This study demonstrates that integrating RGT and spectral decomposition improves stratigraphic interpretation, enhances geobody delineation, and reduces uncertainty in reservoir characterization. The proposed workflow can be applied to other complex depositional systems to improve stratigraphic geomodeling and reservoir analysis.
References
Bi, Z., Wu, X., Geng, Z., & Li, H. (2021). Deep relative geologic time: A deep learning method for simultaneously interpreting 3-D seismic horizons and faults. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126(9), e2021JB021882. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB021882
Calderon, M. D., Castagna, J. P., Meza, R., Chen, S., & Jiang, R. (2021). Use of seismic spectral decomposition, phase, and relative geologic age as attributes to improve quantitative porosity prediction in the Daqing Field, China. Applied Sciences, 11(17), 8034. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11178034
Castagna, J. P., & Sun, S. (2006). Comparison of spectral decomposition methods. First Break, 24(1), 75–79. https://doi.org/10.3997/1365-2397.24.1093.26885
Chopra, S., & Marfurt, K. J. (2007). Seismic attributes for prospect identification and reservoir characterization. Tulsa, OK: Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
Cubizolle, F., Daynac, N., & Lacaze, S. (2020). From seismic interpretation to property filled gridding using the relative geological model. 82nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 8–11 December 2020. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202011753
Cubizolle, F., Durot, B., & Evano, L. (2022). Enhancing geological features delineation by combining a relative geological time model with the matching pursuit spectral decomposition. SEG/AAPG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy Expanded Abstracts, 1288–1291. https://doi.org/10.1190/IMAGE2022-3749793.1
Kartika, A., Handoyo, H., Sigalingging, A. S., Pangestu, F. B., & Husain, M. W. (2025). Reservoir characterization using integrated seismic inversion and multiattribute analysis based on probabilistic neural network (PNN). ARRUS Journal of Engineering and Technology, 5(6), https://doi.org/10.35877/jetech4411
Krishna, S., Irfan, S. A., Keshavarz, S., Thonhauser, G., & Ilyas, S. U. (2024). Smart predictions of petrophysical formation pore pressure via robust data-driven intelligent models. Multiscale and Multidisciplinary Modeling, Experiments and Design, 7, 5611–5630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41939-024-00542-z
Lacaze, S., Durot, B., Devilliers A., & Pauget, F. (2020) Comprehensive Seismic Interpretation to Enhance Stratigraphy and Faults. 15th International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society & EXPOGEF. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202011753
Mandong, A., Loke, M. H., Acworth, I., & Dahlin, T. (2025). Advancing seismic interpretation through spectral decomposition. 86th EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202571004
Mitchum, R. M., Vail, P. R., & Sangree, J. B. (1977). Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level. In C. E. Payton (Ed.), Seismic stratigraphy—Applications to hydrocarbon exploration (pp. 117–133). American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Naseer, M. T., Asim, S., Solangi, S. H., & Abbasi, S. A. (2017). Continuous wavelet transforms of spectral decomposition analyses for fluvial reservoir characterization of Miano Gas Field, Indus Platform, Pakistan. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 10, 292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-2920-5
Naseer, M. T., Naseem, S., Singh, A., Khalid, P., Redwan, A. E., Li, W., Rafiq, F. M. F., Khan, I., Abd El Aal, A., Al-Awah, H., & Kontakiotis, G. (2024). Seismic attributes and spectral decomposition-based inverted porosity-constrained simulations for appraisal of shallow-marine Lower Cretaceous sequences of Miano gas field, Southern Pakistan. Heliyon, 10(4), e25907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25907
Partyka, G., Gridley, J., & Lopez, J. (1999). Interpretational applications of spectral decomposition in reservoir characterization. The Leading Edge, 18(3), 353–360. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1438295
Pelemo-Daniels, D., & Stewart, R. R. (2024). Petrophysical property prediction using seismic inversion attributes: Volve Field. Applied Sciences, 14(4), 1345. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14041345
Posamentier, H. W., & Walker, R. G. (2006). Facies models revisited. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).
Román, A. S. F. & Yutsis, V. (2018). Application of spectral decomposition methods to the definition of stratigraphic features associated with channel reservoirs in the Southeast Petroleum Province, México. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 176, 873–883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1999-2
Sandunil, K., Bennour, Z., Ben Mahmud, H., & Giwelli, A. (2024). Effects of tuning decision trees in random forest regression on predicting porosity of a hydrocarbon reservoir: A case study of the Volve oil field, North Sea. Energy Advances, 3, 2335–2348. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4YA00313F
Sanei, M., Ramezanzadeh, A., & Asgari, A. (2023). Building 1D and 3D static reservoir geomechanical properties models in the Volve Field. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 16, 142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-022-01553-7
Shang, S., & Fu, S. (2022). Spectral decomposition using improved synchrosqueezing transform for seismic data interpretation. Journal of Seismic Exploration. 31(1), 53–64.
Sinha, S., Routh, P. S., Anno, P. D., & Castagna, J. P. (2003). Spectral decomposition of seismic data with continuous wavelet transform. Geophysics, 68(2), 712–722. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1567243
Talinga, D., & Reine, C. (2021). Fluid saturation and pressure changes in the Hugin Formation, Volve Field. GeoConvention 2021 Conference Proceedings.
Wahyuni, S. Y., & Ramdani, A. (2025). Enhanced reservoir characterization in the Volve Field, North Sea: A comparative study between deterministic and stochastic inversions and its application to probabilistic neural network. Indonesian Petroleum Association.
Wang, Y., Liu, Z., & Chen, Q. (2022). Seismic time-frequency spectral decomposition by matching pursuit. Geophysics, 72(1):V13-V20. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.2387109
Zhang, Z., Yao, Z., & Wang, P. (2022). Fine complex geological structure interpretation based on multiscale seismic dip constraint. Journal of Geophysics, 2022, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1529935
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dinanti Syafirani Zahra, Eleonora Agustine, Ginanjar Hidayat, Rafiki Ramadani, Luthfi Tanton Atthaillah

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Phi agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

