Can New Seismic Imaging Technologies Reduce Exploration Risks?

Poor imaging quality and having less detail about the anomaly which causes poor seismic image can easily be considered within the exploration risks. Therefore, seismic pre-stack depth imaging algorithms have been widely applied to improve image quality and reduce exploration risk via compensating distortions caused by complex overburden. Local anomalies within the subsurface geology cause non-hyperbolic deformations on the recorded wave-fronts which can easily be corrected by decent ray tracing for offsets with account for VTI anisotropy. Defining HTI anisotropy is another challenge on seismic depth imaging which comes with lots of benefits such as producing depth gathers which carry information about fracture orientation, fracture intensity, and velocity through the azimuths at image point. This case study describes a workflow which defines how the vintage rich azimuth seismic data can be used for azimuthal imaging. The results of the study shows that extra information extracted from the azimuthal imaging may reduce the exploration risks without acquiring a new seismic data over the prospective area. The main motivation of applying Common Reflection Angle Migration (CRAM) to 3D seismic land data which is located at the South East Anatolia is to improve image quality and extract extra reservoir related information from gathers. Since the study area is located within the trust belt zone, seismic imaging and velocity modeling are highly complex, and the quality of the existing imaging gathers is quite poor in order to carry reservoir study over them. This study shows how much improvement has been achieved by CRAM imaging comparing to Kirchhoff Depth Migration. Moreover, CRAM gathers has been used to identify fracture orientation, fracture intensity and velocity change throughout the azimuths at subsurface image point. Furthermore, borehole based reservoir information is compared with the results of this study.