Imaging through shallow gas: Integrating broadband acquisition, processing and high-end model building for improved imaging of deeper targets

Abstract

We present a case study offshore Malaysia, shallow gas features in the overburden distort the seismic imaging at the target level. While a multifaceted approach involving a combination of seismic acquisition and processing strategies were used to improve the bandwidth of the seismic data, particularly for the low-frequency content of the seismic image, several distortions still existed at the target level. The prominent structural sag evident at the reservoir level is a typical indication that the overlying shallow gas velocity model needed to be resolved and incorporated into a depth migration algorithm. To resolve the transversally and laterally variant velocity features in the shallow gas areas, a solution that consisted of full waveform inversion (FWI) and high-resolution reflection traveltime tomography was utilized to produce an accurate compressional velocity model. To further resolve the amplitude and phase distortions at the reservoir level due to shallow gas effects, Q tomography was incorporated into the model building phase to derive a space-variant 1/Qmodel and Q compensation was integrated within depth migration. The integrated approach of broadband receiver acquisition, data processing strategies and high-end Earth model building has cumulatively improved the imaging of the reservoir below the shallow gas anomalies.