Fast Automatic Detection of Geological Boundaries from Multivariate Log Data Using Recurrence

TL;DR

This paper presents a fast, multivariate recurrence-based technique for automatically detecting geological boundaries in drill-hole data, improving efficiency and accuracy in mineral and hydrocarbon exploration.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, computationally efficient method that uses recurrence analysis for identifying geological boundaries from multivariate spatial data, adaptable across multiple drill holes.

Findings

Effective boundary detection in mineral exploration boreholes

Accurate identification of lithological layers in offshore gas wells

Method demonstrates high efficiency and reliability

Abstract

Manual interpretation of data collected from drill holes for mineral or oil and gas exploration is time-consuming and subjective. Identification of geological boundaries and distinctive rock physical property domains is the first step of interpretation. We introduce a multivariate technique, that can identify geological boundaries from petrophysical or geochemical data. The method is based on time-series techniques that have been adapted to be applicable for detecting transitions in geological spatial data. This method allows for the use of multiple variables in detecting different lithological layers. Additionally, it reconstructs the phase space of a single drill-hole or well to be applicable for further investigations across other holes or wells. The computationally cheap method shows efficiency and accuracy in detecting boundaries between lithological layers, which we demonstrate using examples from mineral exploration boreholes and an offshore gas exploration well.