Over the past few years, there has been a significant evolution in SEG’s publications. SEG publishes three peer-reviewed journals: Geophysics, Interpretation, and The Leading Edge, each with a distinctive focus on geophysics (https://seg.org/publications/journals/); a large range of book titles and reference manuals (https://seg.org/publications/books/), and maintains a vast digital library (https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/seg).
Energy security is reshaping geophysics across the Middle East and beyond. Yogaani Bhatia, SEG Managing Director, Global Strategy and Operations (MEA/Asia Pacific), discusses renewed exploration, growing investment in mining and geological knowledge, and the need to better understand the subsurface. As that investment accelerates, success will depend not only on better technology, but on people who know how to use it.
Abstract Fault zones were treated as finite-width deformation structures rather than discontinuous lines. A cumulative maximum tensor shear attribute, γp,max, was defined from incremental plastic strain and accumulated as a nondecreasing shear-path-length measure. In two dimensions, instantaneous maximum tensor shear corresponded to the radius of the in-plane strain Mohr circle. The component and principal-strain forms were derived, and their factor-of-two relation to engineering shear was made explicit. A monotonic simple-shear example showed that the thickness-averaged cumulative attribute satisfied s=2γ¯p,maxt, whereas nonuniform or rotating deformation required integration across the band. Continuum-discrete element method (CDEM) examples showed high cumulative shear along modeled fault cores and tips, and lower values across distributed deformation zones. The workflow produced registered mechanical targets and structural models suitable for subsequent synthetic-seismic and machine-learning experiments, while remaining subject to small-strain, constitutive, and spatial-resolution limitations.
Abstract Because seismic data are band-limited and lack low-frequency components, estimation of elastic properties through seismic inversion requires the construction and incorporation of a low-frequency model (LFM). However, building a reliable LFM is often challenging. Consequently, seismic inversion results are sometimes interpreted in relative terms and are strongly influenced by thickness variations and contrasts in overburden and underburden properties. To address this limitation, a simple and transparent workflow was proposed for constructing robust LFMs. The method began with an initial background model (BGM) built from well data and interpreted seismic horizons, followed by correction of the BGM within the reservoir interval through a combination of seismic inversion results and wedge model-derived results. The workflow corrected thickness and background property effects without requiring explicit prior assumptions on reservoir properties such as net-to-gross ratio or fluid. Synthetic tests demonstrated that the method compensated for these effects and improved the prediction of absolute elastic properties by recovering the missing low-frequency component. Field application in the Northern North Sea demonstrated the practical value of the method, showing improved property predictions relative to commonly used deterministic LFM construction methods. Owing to its simplicity and transparency, the proposed workflow complemented more complex inversion methods such as probabilistic inversion by offering a practical alternative during exploration and early appraisal stages, while also serving as a useful benchmark for quality control in probabilistic inversion during development and production stages.
