A Case Study Solving VMB Overburden Complexities in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Using FWI and RTM

Improving imaging beneath Messinian salt layers has garnered a lot of attention, especially due to recent pre- Messinian gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which has proven promising hydrocarbon potential in the region. The primary challenges of imaging the pre-Messinian targets are related to enhancing the overburden velocity resolution, including Messinian layer which is very heterogeneous in this region. Advanced technology like Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) and Reverse Time Migration (RTM) can help in developing an optimized
velocity model building (VMB) workflow. In this paper, one such VMB workflow has been proposed demonstrating different overburden solutions to improve the pre-Messinian Image. The proposed workflow has been implemented on recently acquired data from some of the blocks in the Eastern Mediterranean region.