BACKGROUND

The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling. More particularly, the present invention relates to retrieving analogues using topological knowledge representation (TKR).

One of the most valuable approaches that geoscientists employ to infer properties about a new region is to compare the new region with analogue areas for which additional information is available. Transferring the knowledge from one explored area to a new one can help to accelerate decisions. Seismic images can provide a representation of subsurface structures, which may be used in the petroleum industry exploration process in the search for oil and gas accumulations. When working with seismic images, an important analogue could be, for example, a region with a similar arrangement of geological structures.

Thus, unlike a traditional image search that involves searching for images in a database that best match a query image, geoscientists and others involved in the petroleum industry exploration process may wish to retrieve images focusing on a specific topological structure rather than considering visual attributes alone. For example, geologists may wish to search for seismic images with particular arrangements of geological structures or specific order of sediments (also referred to as “geological scenarios”).

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, apparatus, and computer program product for retrieving analogues using topological knowledge representation (TKR). In accordance with some embodiments, a TKR input query is built and/or validated using a domain-specific knowledge base (KB) containing information about a geological domain, such as relationships (e.g., arrangements) of geological structures. A search database containing candidate analogues and corresponding pre-built TKRs is then searched to retrieve at least one analogue of the TKR input query using statistical analysis. In accordance with some embodiments, a system may build the TKR input query based on a seismic dataset. For example, the system may receive a seismic dataset, segment the seismic dataset and classify each region using a computer vision (CV) database and the domain-specific KB, and build the TKR input query based on the segmented and classified seismic dataset. In accordance with some embodiments, the TKR input query may be input and/or edited by a user. For example, the TKR input query may be input and/or edited by the user and validated using the domain-specific KB.

