First Published: GEO ExPro Magazine, Issue 2, May 2021
The US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) has always been one of the main engines for driving technical innovation in the offshore oil and gas industry. TGS’s Amendment Phase 1 is the latest proof positive of this. This ultra-long offset sparse node survey was optimized to acquire full azimuth 40 km offsets, one of many industry firsts achieved by this survey. The combination of a velocity model update and long offset, full azimuth imaging, has begun to unlock previously unimaged parts of this complex salt basin. Industry acceptance that this approach will drive exploration and field development in the GoM for years to come, is rapidly growing. This development poses an interesting question: Could this survey provide a window into the future of seismic surveys in other mature basins?
The legacy velocity model (top) was derived from a traditional top-down interpretation and tomography-driven workflow. The updated DM-FWI model (lower) shows the velocity model is more conformable to the geology and the reflection image is greatly improved.
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