Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Mamadou S Diallo

Warren S Ross

Christine E Krohn

Marvin L Johnson

The invention is a method for extrapolating missing near-offset seismic data () so that the data may be used, for example, in SRME or another multiple-reflection elimination method. The invention uses the reciprocity principle () to relate two seismic states (acoustic or elastic) that can occur in a time-invariant, bounded domain in space. One of these states represents the physical experiment for the acquisition of the actual seismic data where near-offset traces are missing, and the other state represents a synthetic experiment with no missing near offset traces, computer-generated on a much simpler earth model. The reciprocity relationship used to relate these two states is iteratively inverted for the missing near-offset traces (), preferably using only part of the synthetic data () so as to reduce inversion artifacts. The reference model acts as a constraint on the near-offset extrapolation.

Near-offset extrapolation for free-surface multiple elimination in shallow marine environment

An exemplary method for filtering multi-component seismic data is provided. One or more characteristics of the seismic data corresponding to a relative manifestation of surface wave noise on the different components, such as polarization attributes, are identified. A time-frequency boundary in the seismic data is also identified in the time-frequency transform domain, the time-frequency boundary delineating portions of the seismic data estimated to contain surface wave noise (). Finally, filtered seismic data are created () by removing portions of the seismic data that correspond to the identified characteristics of surface waves and that are within the time-frequency boundary ().

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Mamadou S Diallo