Subsalt Imaging in the GOM: Can Existing Streamer Data Still Bring Added Value?

In the Gulf of Mexico, subsalt exploration is a complex and expensive exercise. Prospects are located at great depth, often around 8 to 10 km, and drilling is costly. Minimizing the risks and increasing the success rate of exploration drilling requires high-quality seismic imaging.

In this context, the seismic industry has made considerable efforts over the last twenty years to improve acquisition and processing techniques and to produce ever more reliable images. It was in the GOM that WAZ and FAZ acquisition techniques using the best of streamer technology were developed and used for the first time. This data, often acquired in multi-client mode, has been processed and reprocessed in order to benefit from the latest time processing and imaging technology.

In its quest for “always better”, the seismic industry seems to have exhausted the potential of the streamer and is now turning to OBN technology, in principle more adapted for imaging subsalt targets. Is this the end of the streamer technology? This paper will focus on demonstrating that the streamer data has not delivered its full potential yet.