OpendTect - Open Source Seismic Interpretation System

Last month, Jan Stellingwerff from dGB visited my office and gave presentation about OpendTect. It was very nice presentation. Unfortunately we had only 1 hour and we couldn’t explore all OpendTect features.

I will try to write my personal reviews here. But, in this first post, I will show you the main features of OpendTect. This software is totally free (GPL) and cross-platform (Windows, Unix, and Mac).

Main Features

OpendTect

OpendTect is an open source seismic interpretation software system for processing, visualizing and interpreting multi-volume seismic data, and for fast-track development of innovative interpretation
tools.

Optionally OpendTect can be extended with (closed source) commercial plugins.

GNU GPL

OpendTect is released under a triple licensing scheme: 1) GPL (open source), 2) Commercial (allows access to the commercial plugins), 3) academic (free plugins for research only).

The GPL license covers OpendTect. The software is released with its source code (C++), is not protected by a license manager, and can be used by anyone, including for commercial purposes, as long as the user accepts to adhere to the GNU/GPL rules.

2D, 3D, 4D
& Prestack Seismic

Analyze 2D, 3D, 4D pre- and post-stack seismic data.

2D & 3D Viewers

Data processing and visualization are rigorously integrated in the OpendTect system. Visualization elements can be moved freely through data space to interactively analyze data from stored volumes, or data that are calculated on-the-fly.

Volume Rendering
& Stereo Viewing

Volume-rendering, stereo viewing and color blending are supported features.

Seismic Attributes

Numerous attributes and filters, math & logic, attributes from attributes are supported in the industry’s most powerful attribute engine.

Spectral Decomposition

Spectral Decomposition is used for imaging and mapping temporal bed thickness and geological discontinuities. Algorithms include FFT and CWT.

Movie-Style Parameter Testing

Attribute parameters (frequency, time gate or step out) can be inspected in a movie-style way, to quickly find the optimal settings for your data.

Distributed Computing

Heavy processing of large volumes can be carried out in batch mode on multiple machines and on multiple platforms that can be accessed through the network.

Interpreters can share surveys.

Horizon Tracking

The updated horizon tracker has more user-friendly editing capabilities and is more robust due to the new step-wise tracker functionality.

Faults

Fault planes and fault-sticks sets.

Well-Tie

The synthetic to seismic well-tie module enables the interpreter to tie wells to seismic.

-Synthetic seismogram
-Check-shot correction
-Additional stretch & squeeze
-Updated depth/time model
-Statistical wavelet extraction
-Deterministic wavelet extraction

Time to Depth conversion

Use an existing velocity model, or create one with the new Volume Builder.

Supports: on-the-fly TD conversion of display elements and batch processing of volumes.

Geobodies

Insert an iso-surface in a volume rendered cube and save it as a geobody.

Manually draw 3D bodies.

Madagascar Processing

OpendTect has a generic user interface to Madagascar, the open-source software package for geophysical data processing and reproducible numerical experiments.

GMT Mapping

Via the link to the open-source GMT package you can create within the OpendTect UI scaled maps of OpendTect results.

Windows 32 & 64 bit

Linux 32 & 64 bit

Apple Mac OS X