About This Item

Share This Item

The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

GCAGS Transactions

Abstract


Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions Vol. 58 (2008), Pages 775-775

ABSTRACT: Depth on Demand—Fast Beam Migration, Smart Flood™, and Integrated Visualization for Improved Velocity Depth Previous HitModelNext Hit Previous HitBuildingNext Hit

Kevin Sherwood, Jostein Lima, Tim Bird, and Peter Wijnen

AGS, Petroleum Geo-Services, 11490 Westheimer Rd., Ste. 800, Houston, Texas 77077

Our industry is facing ever-shorter time frames to address a problem of increased complexity: maturing a prospect from initial access-level exploration into a de-risked mature prospect ready for well planning and drilling. Some of the challenges in this process come from handling large regional-scale high-quality seismic datasets that are now available, to managing the computer time needed to make high-fidelity images of the subsurface. Previous HitModelNext Hit Previous HitbuildingNext Hit typically relies on human interaction and can be a bottleneck in this process, involving multiple software platforms and time-consuming data logistics.

Here, we will present a set of tools that we find are very well suited to address this challenge. Through our beam-migration approach, we are able to image large datasets very rapidly and accurately with a large migration aperture and with a full dip-range. The beam-migration process is separated into two main components: (1) a dipscan process that is performed once for the whole survey and which output is then stored on disk for later use, and (2) a fast migration step is carried out “on-demand” or through multiple Previous HitmodelNext Hit iterations. With modern computer hardware, this imaging step can be performed in almost real-time. We will also present beam-based imaging techniques that allow for improved salt interpretation in complex regions through the use of a unique Smart FloodTM process.

By integrating these capabilities with a 3D visualization system that can handle the full range of scales from basin-size seismic to detailed interpretation and Previous HitmodelNext Hit Previous HitbuildingNext Hit, we are shortening the cycle time and greatly reducing the data-logistical overhead. The data can reside in this system from the early mega-regional stages through to prospectspecific Previous HitmodelNext Hit Previous HitbuildingTop and imaging projects, where also other imaging algorithms such as one-way wavefield extrapolation migration and reverse-time migration can be applied.

Copyright © 2008, The Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. All Rights Reserved.