Here we present a case study of improved subsalt imaging for a wide azimuth (WAZ) survey in the Mississippi Canyon/Atwater Valley area in the Gulf of Mexico. The key technologies to impact the subsalt images are: 1) WAZ acquisition, 2) True Azimuth Multiple Elimination (TAME), 3) Tilted Transverse Isotropic (TTI) model building and imaging, and 4) Reverse Time Migration (RTM) based Delayed Imaging Time (DIT) scans to update the subsalt velocities. The area was previously imaged with Narrow Azimuth (NAZ) Vertically Transverse Isotropic (VTI) Kirchhoff migration and WAZ VTI Kirchhoff and RTM algorithms. Application of TTI RTM has resulted in significant improvements of subsalt images.

The Florida escarpment is one of the most dramatic bathymetric features in the Eastern Gulf. In places it reaches more than 1600m above the abyssal seafloor. Dips of 40 degrees are frequent, and vertical cliffs are not uncommon 1. This feature along with geological complexities of carbonate and salt regimes present imaging challenges that are addressed through the use of: • True azimuth 3D SRME