Abstract The Suizhong 36-1 oil field was discovered by Bohai Oil Corporation, a subsidiary of CNOOC, in 1987 in the Bohai Gulf, Liaodong Bay. The structure consists of Oligocene fluviodeltaic and lacustrine sandstones that contain heavy oil in a combination structural-stratigraphic trap. Seismic data were reprocessed and interpreted. Synthetic seismograms were used for correlation and wavelet processing of the seismic data. Seismic-petrophysical analyses were carried out to relate the measurable seismic parameters to the subsurface rock and fluid parameters. Interpretations were carried out on a GeoQuest workstation and were iterated several times to obtain a consistent match with the wells. Seismic attribute generation and analysis were used primarily to reveal patterns associated with the depositional environments. The approximate inversion or pseudoinversion method was applied to the seismic data to obtain the subsurface acoustic impedance distribution that was the basis for the reservoir parameter estimates. For estimation of hydrocarbon reserves, first the values of acoustic impedance were converted into estimates of porosity using the relationships derived from seismic-petrophysical analysis, and then the porosity distribution was transformed into maps of net reservoir thickness, permeability, and oil saturation. The results suggest that accurate predictions of oil in place are possible with this methodology.