VSP detection of interbed multiples using inside‐outside corridor stacking

Abstract

One of the most difficult problems in the exploration of Devonian reefs is the separation of primaries and short period interbed multiples. This is especially true in cases where weak primary reflections from porous reefal carbonates can be easily masked by interbed multiples generated from stronger shale/carbonate reflections above the reef. This problem of primary‐multiple separation is difficult since there are small normal moveout differences between the primary and short‐period multiple reflections, thus stacking might not be as effective at suppressing multiples as one would hope. Also, predictive deconvolution may be ineffective if it is difficult to design an accurate prediction distance for the deconvolution filter. The ineffectiveness of stacking and deconvolution in some cases has caused us to look for other alternatives. A recent paper by Lines (1996) advocates the use of shaping deconvolution and inversion methods that use well log information. Since reliable well log data are not always available, we examine a vertical seismic profiling (VSP) corridor stacking method for multiple identification proposed in Hardage (1983, 154–155) which obviates some of the conventional problems and which does not require well log data. A variation of this concept was applied to long‐period multiple attenuation by Hampson and Mewhort (1983).