Role of Comprehensive Seismic Evaluation in a Globally Impactful Discovery in the Kuwait Offshore

Summary The Kuwait offshore remained largely unexplored for more than 50 years following two unsuccessful drilling campaigns conducted during the 1960s and 1980s, which resulted in seven dry wells. Limited seismic coverage, absence of 3D data, and poor imaging at deeper stratigraphic levels hindered confident prospect generation. A major reevaluation effort began with the acquisition of a close-grid 2D seismic survey in 2014–2015 Figure (1): close-grid 2D seismic survey in 2014–2015. followed by advanced pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) and quantitative seismic interpretation workflows. These processes improved depth imaging, revealed subtle structural elements, and enabled lithology and porosity prediction. To overcome the absence of 3D data, a custom 2.5D seismic workflow was developed, allowing 3D-style interpretation, attribute mapping, and structure modeling from the 2D dataset. Curvature-based structural analysis challenged the long-held interpretation of the region as a simple easterly dipping monocline, revealing multiple second- and third-order structural traps. Integration of seismic results with multi-domain regional datasets—including more than 1,000 onshore wells, potential-field data, satellite imagery, reservoir analogs, and regional geological frameworks—facilitated robust prospect evaluation and ranking. Six exploration locations were selected based on structural closure, reservoir quality prediction, and drilling risk assessment. The first well, drilled ~80 km offshore and completed in 2023, resulted in a major Lower Cretaceous discovery estimated at ~3.2 BBOE, marking Kuwait's first successful offshore discovery. This study demonstrates the transformative impact of modern depth imaging, inversion, and multi-domain integration on historically high-risk basins and establishes the Kuwait offshore as a newly proven hydrocarbon province.