Separated Wavefield Imaging for Shallow Geohazard Analysis - An Ocean Bottom Study on a North Sea Dataset

We present a method using separated wavefield imaging to mitigate risk associated with well drilling. In shallow water environments the process of geohazard assessment is challenging. Conventional acquisition processed for shallow hazard assessment is deficient in shallow reflectivity. This leads to appraisal difficulties. High resolution site surveys are often acquired and then processed, but incur additional costs. Imaging with separated wavefields uses up-going and down-going wavefields at the surface to deliver high-resolution images of the subsurface. It takes advantage of the extended illumination provided by surface-multiple energy. We present a feasibility study for using this technology on a shallow water ocean bottom cable acquisition, demonstrating the suitability of this technology to mitigate geohazard assessment.