Processing the Teal South 4C-4D seismic survey

Carlos Rodriguez-Suarez, Robert R. Stewart, Han-xing Lu

Repeated 4C-3D seismic surveys have been acquired over the Teal South field, Gulf of Mexico. This paper reports the processing of the second 4C-3D data set, acquired in the spring of 1999.

Conventional processing of P-P and P-S data (including asymptotic binning for horizontal components) and CREWES specific flows were applied to the data. The best quality sections were realized from the hydrophone measurements, followed by the vertical component and then the radial component. The use of depth-variant stacks and anisotropic stacks in the radial component did not present improved results at this point.

3-D pre-stack time migration generated low-frequency sections on vertical and hydrophone data but better quality on radial component. No P-wave energy was found in the radial component, but there is evidence of vertical component contamination with converted-wave energy. Separation of these modes into their components and use of different VP/VS ratios for asymptotic binning are future work priorities.

From the three methods used investigate receiver coupling of the cable to the ocean floor (trenched, sand-bagged, lain), the best results were found with cable laid on the sea bottom and receivers taped to it.