Print this pageAAPG GEO 2010 Middle East
Geoscience Conference & Exhibition
Innovative Geoscience Solutions – Meeting Hydrocarbon Demand in Changing Times
March 7-10, 2010 – Manama, Bahrain
The Land-Streamer Acquisition System to Map the Sand Dune Base
(1) SAC, KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(2) KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(3) Saudi Aramco, Dahran, Saudi Arabia.
(4) SAC, KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Complex near-surface structure is a major problem in land seismic data. This is more critical when acquisition takes place over Sand dune surfaces, where the base of the Sand acts like a trap for energy and depending on its shape can considerably distort conventionally acquired seismic data. Estimating the base of the Sand Dune surface can help model the Sand dune and reduce its harmful influence on conventional seismic data. Among the current methods to do so is drilling upholes and using conventional seismic data to apply static correction. Both methods have their cost and limitations. For upholes, the cost factor and its inability of upholes to provide continuous model is well realized. Meanwhile, conventional seismic data lack the resolution necessary to obtain accurate modeling of the Sand basement. We develop a method to estimate the Sand base from Land streamer seismic acquisition that is developed and geared to Sand surfaces. Land streamer acquisition not only provides a more efficient data acquisition system than the conventional spiked geophone approuch, but in our case the land streamer provided better quality data, with broader frequency bandwidth. Such data enabled us to do proper near surface velocity estimation that resulted in velocities that are very close to those measured using uphole methods. This fact is demonstrated on a couple of lines acquired near upholes, and the agreement between the seismic velocities and the upholes is high.