A modified 3D view of the Kufra Basin created in Discover 3D

FrOG Tech has developed SABRE™ - Systematic Approach to Basin Resource Evaluation – as the backbone of its rapid basin evaluation workflow.

SABRE™ is divided into:

• Province and Terrane Analysis
• Basin and Basin Phase Analysis
• Petroleum System and Play Evaluation

One of the key products of SABRE™ is a SEEBASE™

surface. SEEBASE™ stands for Structurally Enhanced view of Economic BASEment. The evolution of sedimentary basins is controlled by a response in the crust and lithosphere to tectonic forces. The nature of this response depends both on the magnitude of the tectonic forces and on the character and kinematic response of the underlying basement. The strength, composition and fabric of basement at the time of a tectonic event controls crustal response, while sediments record the resultant changes in basin morphology. A rigorous model for basin evolution can be developed through an understanding of basement character beneath and adjacent to sedimentary basins, coupled with a a knowledge of tectonic events that were responsible for basin formation (i.e. basin phases). This model provides a basis for more accurate prediction of the occurrence and distribution of petroleum play elements throughout basin evolution.

Individual basin phases are separated from one another by changes in the type of subsidence mechanism or the magnitude or rate of subsidence. Basin phase boundaries correspond to platescale tectonic events and in turn to major megasequence boundaries. Stresses operating during each basin phase cause reactivation of basement structures and reactive fabrics, as well as the development of new structures. Understanding the kinematics of each tectonic event allows a predictive model for structural reactivation to be applied to the interpreted faults from fault history data calibrated with geological observations (e.g. seismic, maps).

Potential field data (principally gravity and magnetic data) provide a window to the basement that can cover a wide area with uninterrupted data at constant resolution. Such “map view” interpretation contrasts with the “cross-section view” interpretation conventionally used in the petroleum industry. But the combination is significant for extracting more geological information more quickly than is possible with either dataset on its own. This is the basis of the FrOG Tech approach that has been developed over many years.

Once calibrated to surface geology, seismic, and wells, potential field data provide information that allows the development of a predictive structural model based on basement composition and structure. Depth to magnetic basement can be modeled from magnetic data and used to produce a structurally-controlled model of basement topography: SEEBASE™. Geological information derived during the development of the SEEBASE™ image, in combination with the image itself, can be used to predict and evaluate basement-involved and basement-detached structures, firstorder fluid focus points, and both the distribution and quality of source, reservoir, and seal facies throughout the basin. FrOG Tech’s interpretation techniques and tools are efficient and cost effective from continental to concession scales.