Long offset ocean bottom node full-waveform inversion and multi-azimuth tomography for high-resolution velocity model building: North Sea, Utsira High

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Citlali Ramirez ◽  
Simon Baldock ◽  
Dhiman Mondal ◽  
Jan Gromotka ◽  
Matt Hart
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Full Waveform Inversion ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Velocity Model Building ◽  
Long Offset

Interpreter's Corner

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 828-833
Author(s):  
Henrik Roende ◽  
Dan Chaikin ◽  
Yi Huang ◽  
Konstantin N. Kudin
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Hydrocarbon Traps ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Velocity Model Building ◽  
Long Offset ◽  
Set Up

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM) geology is well known for prolific structural hydrocarbon traps created by salt tectonics. In many areas, these structures lie below salt overhangs or thick canopies, requiring advanced seismic imaging to identify prospects and plan exploration wells. Ever-evolving geophysical technologies, such as 3D seismic, wide azimuth, multiwide azimuth, coil, and ocean-bottom node (OBN) acquisition designs, have unlocked the image for some of these structures over the past three decades. Recently, automatic velocity model building methods, particularly full-waveform inversion (FWI), introduced another step change in the subsalt image quality and refocused the acquisition methods on the need to acquire long-offset data. To make such a long-offset program affordable, a new survey geometry was set up with sparse OBN nodes and simultaneous shooting. The actual survey was acquired in 2019 and fully processed within 15 months from the end of the acquisition. Offsets up to 65 km were recorded, enabling FWI velocity updates down to 15 km depth. To provide the reader with a glimpse of the geologic insight that the new technology enabled, we report a few examples of deep geology revealed by this survey in a hydrocarbon- and seismic-data-rich area of the GoM — the Greater Mars-Ursa Basin.

Pre-Stack Full Waveform Inversion for Velocity Model Building

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Jerry Kapoor ◽  
Denes Vigh ◽  
Timothy John Bunting
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Full Waveform Inversion ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Velocity Model Building

Assisting salt model building with reflection full-waveform inversion

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. SB43-SB52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Gomes ◽  
Joe Peterson ◽  
Serife Bitlis ◽  
Chengliang Fan ◽  
Robert Buehring
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Full Waveform Inversion ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Full Waveform ◽  
Velocity Model Building ◽  
Wave Limit ◽  
Rabbit Ears

Inverting for salt geometry using full-waveform inversion (FWI) is a challenging task, mostly due to the lack of extremely low-frequency signal in the seismic data, the limited penetration depth of diving waves using typical acquisition offsets, and the difficulty in correctly modeling the amplitude (and kinematics) of reflection events associated with the salt boundary. However, recent advances in reflection FWI (RFWI) have allowed it to use deep reflection data, beyond the diving-wave limit, by extracting the tomographic term of the FWI reflection update, the so-called rabbit ears. Though lacking the resolution to fully resolve salt geometry, we can use RFWI updates as a guide for refinements in the salt interpretation, adding a partially data-driven element to salt velocity model building. In addition, we can use RFWI to update sediment velocities in complex regions surrounding salt, where ray-based approaches typically struggle. In reality, separating the effects of sediment velocity errors from salt geometry errors is not straightforward in many locations. Therefore, iterations of RFWI plus salt scenario tests may be necessary. Although it is still not the fully automatic method that has been envisioned for FWI, this combined approach can bring significant improvement to the subsalt image, as we examine on field data examples from the Gulf of Mexico.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document