Benefits of full-azimuth and ultralong-offset data for subsalt imaging in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

In deepwater regions of the Gulf of Mexico, the ability to image subsalt structures has improved significantly with wide-azimuth data, reverse time migration, and anisotropic tomography and imaging. However, subsalt imaging, such as imaging steeply dipping salt flanks and subsalt three-way closures, still remains difficult in areas with complex salt geometry. Moreover, limited subsalt illumination provides insufficient incident angles for residual curvature tomographic analysis. Full-azimuth and long-offset acquisition configurations are the latest acquisition technologies designed to address these subsalt challenges. An improved subsalt imaging and tomography updating using staggered acquisition provides full-azimuth data coverage and ultralong offsets.