Subsalt 3D VSP imaging at Deimos Field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

At Deimos Field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, surface seismic imaging cannot fully image sedimentary structure near the steeply dipping base of salt. 3D vertical seismic profile (VSP) imaging was introduced to the deepwater GOM to improve seismic imaging of complex structural and stratigraphic features (Ray et al., 2003; Hornby et al., 2006) and recently has been used for imaging “blind spots” in surface seismic coverage (Hornby et al., 2005; Hornby et al., 2007). With this method, 3D surveys are conducted using a surface source vessel and downhole geophones. Here we investigate the use of 3D VSP imaging to complement the surface results with additional coverage beyond that of the surface seismic adjacent to the complex salt body.