Abstract: Design of High-Frequency-Resolution Airgun Array

T. A. Marty

In a study area characterized by Miocene to recent sands and shales in a depositional and structural environment similar to the U.S. Gulf Coast, previous attempts by Amoco International and other companies to get good resolution within and below the gas zones had been unsuccessful because of the "masking" or shielding problem.

Data-collection techniques of previous surveys were evaluated to determine optimum data-collection parameters. It was determined that the best penetration and resolution had been obtained using tuned airgun arrays consisting of 18 to 25 small airguns.

Because seismic contractors then did not have such airgun arrays available, Amoco and Geophysical Service Inc. designed an airgun array to minimize noise and reverberations.

The Amoco-GSI arrays were used in two seismic surveys which were shot and processed in a "high-resolution" mode. The data from these surveys have enabled Amoco to enhance significantly the signal in many noisy and no-data zones.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90976©1976 AAPG-SEPM-SEG Pacific Section Meeting, San Francisco, California