Reducing Imaging Depth Distortions in the Central North Sea with High Resolution Velocity Model Building

Abstract

Summary The Central North Sea is a mature basin containing a large number of fields, some of which have been in production for decades. Advances in seismic acquisition and data processing over the life of these fields have brought about improvements in seismic image quality and therefore the understanding of the reservoirs. Here we apply some of the latest imaging techniques such as joint tomography using both reflection and refraction pick data and Q Full-Waveform Inversion (Q-FWI) in a challenging geological setting, to help overcome some prevalent subsurface issues. These include the imaging problems introduced by shallow channels and gas, which induce distortion at reservoir depth.