Deep Water Seismic Imaging from Exploration to Development

David R. McCann¹, Jennifer Lewis², Debbie Bones³, Yuli Zhang¹, and Errol Blumenthal^2
1ETC, Chevron, Houston, TX
²CNAEP, Chevron, Houston, TX
³ETC, Chevron, San Ramon, CA

The Challenge
In years past we did not recognize the opportunities in the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico due largely to an inability to see through salt. With today’s improved acquisition and processing technologies this is no longer the case and the race into the deep water is well underway. The current focus is to optimize the utilization of these tools to reduce the time from exploration through to first oil.

The Technology
Deep Water seismic imaging as defined in this presentation combines three existing Chevron technologies with newly developed technical capabilities. These technologies consist of:
1. Improved true-amplitude seismic data processing aimed at preserving subsurface information while removing unwanted noise
2. Efficient and accurate Gaussian-beam pre-stack depth migration that places data correctly in 3-D space
3. Iterative tomographic velocity modeling, which is critical for the success of the other technologies
While adding significant value individually, when combined, these technologies yield new levels of seismic data quality and subsurface understanding.

Case Studies

We will show examples of both Sub-salt plays that have benefited from this technology as well as supra-salt plays in adjacent areas that have gained significant uplift as well.

AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Cape Town, South Africa 2008 © AAPG Search and Discovery