Imaging pre-Messinian targets in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea - A case study using FWI.

Following pre-Messinian gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, there has been a great interest in recent years to enhance imaging beneath Messinian salt layers. In order to adequately image the pre-Messinian, various problems must be overcome, including correctly illuminating the sub-salt portion. The Eastern Mediterraneans illumination issues are largely caused by a complicated combination of shales and salt. Another challenge for velocity model building (VMB) here is that the Messinian layer is not typically uniform, and it might consist of a mixture of salt and clastics known as dirty salt. In this paper a VMB workflow solution, including FWI, has been presented for the complex Messinian salt layers and post-Messinian carbonates in order to improve pre-Messinian imaging. The workflow has been applied on recently acquired data in east Mediterranean Sea using multisensor streamer and triple source acquisition configuration.