Understanding and improving the subsalt image at Thunder Horse, Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

PreviousNext No AccessSEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2015Understanding and improving the subsalt image at Thunder Horse, Gulf of MexicoAuthors: Ken HartmanSamarjit ChakrabortyBertram NolteWeiping GouQingqing SunNicolas ChazalnoelKen HartmanBP, Samarjit ChakrabortyBP, Bertram NolteBP, Weiping GouCGG, Qingqing SunCGG, and Nicolas ChazalnoelCGGhttps://doi.org/10.1190/segam2015-5824923.1 SectionsAboutPDF/ePub ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Abstract Subsalt imaging at the Thunder Horse Field in the Gulf of Mexico is challenging primarily because the salt canopy, overlying roughly 75% of the structure, greatly distorts subsalt illumination and causes imaging and resolution problems. Since the Thunder Horse discovery, advancements in seismic acquisition techniques and imaging technologies have significantly improved subsalt images. The latest successful application is from a tilted transverse isotropy (TTI) reverse time migration (RTM) project combining two wide azimuth towed streamer (WATS) data sets and three narrow azimuth towed streamer (NATS) data sets. The addition of an extra WATS data set and the application of the recent imaging technologies are key contributors to the dramatic structural image improvements with better defined three-way events and a higher signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Keywords: imaging, Gulf of Mexico, illumination, subsalt, multiazimuthPermalink: https://doi.org/10.1190/segam2015-5824923.1FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byOne more stride forward in Thunder Horse subsalt imaging with elastic FWIBunmi Elebiju, Qingsong Li, Ken Hartman, Francis Rollins, Ye Feng, Karl Kaiser, Werner Schinagl, Chi Chen, Alex Yanjun Hao, Zhiyuan Wei, and Jiawei Mei15 August 2022The value of VSP data through early phases of field appraisal and development: A modeling and acquisition case study in the Gulf of MexicoPeter Lanzarone, Elizabeth L'Heureux, and Qingsong Li1 November 2019 | The Leading Edge, Vol. 38, No. 11Improving interpretability of seismic images with directional image partitions and model-based techniquesOlga Zdraveva, Joe Zuech, George Zhao, Mohamed Hegazy, and Ruoyu Gu10 August 2019Leading a new deep water OBN acquisition era: Two 2017-2018 GoM OBN surveysQingsong Li, William Slopey, Francis Rollins, Frederic Billette, Carsten Udengaard, and BJ Thompson10 August 2019Stochastic inversion for seismic reservoir characterization with ocean bottom node data: Deepwater Gulf of Mexico case studySamarjit Chakraborty, Will Dugat, Stan Davis, Sara Grant, Matt Hughes, Anya Reitz, and Kenneth Gullette10 August 2019Image enhancements for subsalt targets: Thunder Horse case studySyed Omar Zaman, Emmanuel Saragoussi, Gloria Arango Arango, Olga Zdraveva, Victor Ramon Bolivar Hernandez, Qingsong Li, Samarjit Chakraborty, Corey Joy, Ken Hartman, and Anya Reitz27 August 2018Joint surface and borehole seismic tomography with simultaneous model parameter updates at Thunder Horse SouthOlga Zdraveva, Gloria Arango Solano, Syed Omar Zaman, Emmanuel Saragoussi, Aurora Rodriguez Castelan, Samarjit Chakraborty, Qingsong Li, Corey Joy, Ken Hartman, and Anya Reitz27 August 2018From TTI to orthorhombic: A case study with multiple WATS/NATS at Mad Dog, Gulf of MexicoSireesh Dadi, Francis Rollins, Kang Fu, Nathalie Mootoo, Qingqing Sun, and Weiping Gou27 August 2018Localized reverse time migration image enhancement using optimized shot selectionDmitry Kulakov, Jodi Gaeman, Olga Zdraveva, and Kevin Lyons17 August 2017Thunder Horse Ocean-Bottom Nodes acquisition designSamarjit Chakraborty, Elizabeth L'Heureux, Kenneth Hartman, Qingsong Li, Imtiaz Ahmed, Corey Joy, Andrew Brenders, J. 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