Keynote Address: New Developments in Seismic Acquisition

Abstract

The economic climate in the energy industry today has created unprecedented investment in exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources. As a result, seismic acquisition is experiencing a renaissance in both technique and equipment that is aimed at producing better seismic information. For example, the seismic challenges posed by the deep water, sub-salt Gulf of Mexico plays are addressed with field efforts unimaginable just a few years ago. To collect wide azimuth surveys efficiently, multiple vessels are employed in a dizzying array of configurations sometimes with several boats recording, but always with several boats shooting. On land, the quest for noise reduction, wider bandwidth and better estimation of reservoir properties has resulted in the use of single sensor recording systems capable of recording more than 30,000 live channels. Such technologies ? breakthroughs in and of themselves ? are spurring further developments that promise to revolutionize the way we acquire and process data. In particular, the use of simultaneous marine sources offers the exciting possibility to significantly increase marine acquisition efficiency. Although developed for specific problems in specific regions, it is clear now that such efforts will spread to many different applications around the world. In this talk, I will review recent developments in acquisition technologies and strategies and examine the ensuing effects that are developing as a result. Much research remains to be done, but early indications are that we are at the start of a paradigm shift in seismic acquisition and processing.