The objectives of this project was to (1) Deliver a benchmark stimulated seismic dataset that will be used by industry and academic research institutes to investigate improved approaches for prediction of shallow hazards and deep over-pressured reservoirs; and (2) Reduce drilling risk - both safety and environmental - through improved pre-drill pressure prediction methodologies that are derived from iterative interpretations of the simulated dataset.

The project evaluated and advanced current methodologies for pre-drill pressure prediction from seismic data in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. An industry research consortium will be established to provide a collaborative forum where industry experts will prioritize current challenges in the use of seismic velocity (and other seismic attributes) to construct pore pressure and hazards forecasts for well planning. The existing SEAM Deepwater Subsalt earth model will be modified to incorporate these challenges. A seismic acquisition plan will be designed that can be evaluated that can evaluate the potential for current and future acquisition and processing techniques to provide improved estimates of abnormal pressure regimes. This seismic dataset will be developed through advanced computer simulation. The resultant benchmark dataset(s) is available to industry and academia for quantifying risk and uncertainty associated with velocity models derived from current and future stat-of-the-art in seismic acquisition, processing and imaging. A proposed methodology will be developed, with recommendations for further research, for assessing risk and uncertainty in pressure prediction from seismic.