ABSTRACT

Maracaibo Lake is one of the most significant petroleum basins in Venezuela. Conventional seismic data recorded in Lake Maracaibo generally shows a significant resolution loss with penetration depth, along with ringing and linear noise from guided waves. A 3D Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) was acquired in the Lake to image an area where the surface seismic data was of very poor quality. In contrast to the surface data, the quality of the 3D VSP data was excellent. A vector migration algorithm was applied to image the 3 component VSP data. The image result presented in this paper shows a classic example where 3D VSP is able to identify detailed stratigraphic and structural geologic features with greater resolution than surface seismic data.

Keywords:
acquisition, surface seismic data, venezuela, lake maracaibo venezuela, upstream oil & gas, distributary channel, receiver, resolution, maracaibo lake, amplitude
Subjects:
Reservoir Characterization, Seismic processing and interpretation
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2007. Society of Exploration Geophysicists
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