Paper Summary
A new methodology for building salt velocity models is proposed that allows effective testing of different salt interpretation scenarios. In this methodology, we combine the strength of efficient interactive imaging with the accuracy of layer-stripping RTM to derive a more accurate salt geometry. A set of interactive imaging tools enables a large number of salt interpretation scenarios to be quickly tested and narrowed down to a small number of likely salt interpretation cases. This is followed by a reduced number of layer-stripping RTM runs to single out the final salt velocity model. Redatuming the wavefield from the surface to a user-defined subsurface datum plays a pivotal role in this methodology; it enables the improvement of the quality of beam migration and the efficiency of RTM.
