The evolution of FWI and its perceived benefits
Tony Martin A C and Andrew Long BA PGS, 4 The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, UK, KT12 5JY.
B PGS Australia Pty Ltd, Level 4, IBM Centre, 1060 Hay Street, West Perth WA 6005.
C Corresponding author. Email: tony.martin@pgs.com
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 432-443 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18038
Submitted: 6 December 2018 Accepted: 8 February 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
Despite the mathematics behind full waveform inversion (FWI) being published in the early 1980s, it was 30 years before the method could be efficiently implemented on the scale of conventional 3D marine seismic volumes. FWI has evolved from using only transmitted waves and being constrained because towed streamer data lacked the very long offsets and ultra-low frequencies necessary to derive stable velocity updates beyond shallow depths. FWI now uses the full seismic wavefield (both transmitted and scattered wavefields), recovers deep velocity updates for standard offsets and frequencies and increasingly uses a wider range of frequencies that contribute to seismic imaging. We use several case examples to consider the benefits and caveats for robust FWI application: for resolving near-surface features and reducing seismic imaging uncertainty in areas with complex overburden heterogeneities; for resolving near-surface features and improving volumetric estimates; for using an enlarged bandwidth to resolve small model features; for updating the velocity in high contrast regimes; and for the creation of survey-wide, high-resolution models to reduce imaging uncertainty, complement attribute analysis, estimate elastic properties and prospect derisking. Collectively, we demonstrate how to produce high-resolution velocity models when conventional methods cannot and how to generate earth models in an accelerated fashion to reduce project turnaround. We describe pragmatic limits to what maximum FWI frequencies are reasonable and suggest ways that may soon by-pass signal processing and obtain direct earth attributes.
Keywords: evolution, full waveform inversion, imaging, uncertainty, velocity models.
Tony Martin works for PGS in the role of Principal Geophysicist. He has 25 years’ industry experience working for both contractors and operators, and has worked in various locations around the world. He has been published on more than 25 occasions. He is a member of the EAGE and SEG, and is an Associate Editor of Geophysics. |
Andrew Long has degrees in Physics and Geophysics from Melbourne University and Curtin University and a PhD in Geophysics from the University of Western Australia. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University in the US before joining PGS in 1997, where he is now Chief Scientist and Technology Analyst. He is a member of PESA, ASEG, EAGE, SEG and SEAPEX. |
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