RTM technology for improved salt imaging in the Santos Basin, Brazil

Abstract

Reverse time migration (RTM) is now recognized as a powerful imaging tool. With its ability to account for rapid spatial variations in the velocity model and to utilize all wavefront information, RTM can produce superior images of the most complex structures. This is why RTM is frequently used to interpret salt structures in regions known to have complex salt geometries like the Gulf of Mexico. With the application of recent advancements such as Vector Offset Output and 3D angle gathers, the imaging capability of RTM is enhanced even further. In this paper we demonstrate that significant improvements result when advanced RTM tools are used for salt imaging even in the Santos Basin in offshore Brazil where the salt geology is relatively simple compared to the Gulf of Mexico.

Lithostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of salt diapir sedimentary inclusions: unravelling Ediacaran salt–sediment interaction in the Flinders Ranges

“…With continued halokinesis, these rock inliers are incorporated into the evaporite sequence only to be re-exposed as the salt continues its upward movement and dissolution (Giles et al, 2012;Kernen et al, 2019). This produces complex stratigraphic relationships and is difficult to image using seismic reflection data in the subsurface (Helgesen et al, 2013;Huang et al, 2012;Li et al, 2011;Peles et al, 2004;Roy & Chazalnoel, 2011). Because syntectonic sedimentary facies change dramatically and are often eroded in proximity to the topography created by salt diapirs, biostratigraphic information is difficult to interpret proximal to a diapir.…”