True-azimuth 3D inverse scattering series method for internal multiple attenuation

Abstract

Removal of internal multiples is a long-standing problem and is still very challenging for the industry. The inverse scattering series (ISS) method is one of the advanced approaches addressing this issue. It is a data-driven approach that can predict all internal multiples without any prior knowledge of subsurface information. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a true azimuth 3D ISS method which takes into account the 3D nature of the earth. It is applicable to both wide-azimuth data (land or marine) and conventional marine streamer data. We apply the approach on a synthetic example as well as real data acquired from the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The results show that the 3D approach predicts the multiples well because it takes into account the out-ofplane contributions of the internal multiples. As a result, all the internal multiples are strongly attenuated from the data while primaries are well preserved.