Crosswell imaging by two-dimensional oriented wave path migration

Abstract

SUMMARY We apply a new imaging method, called oriented wave path migration, to 2-D prestack crosswell imaging. Compared to conventional crosswell imaging techniques, for example, Kirchhoff migration, which requires separation of the data into upgoing and downgoing waves prior to migration, oriented wave path migration automatically separates the wavefields during the migration process. Results with synthetic data show that oriented wave path migration can effectively locate the steeply dipping fault boundaries and noticeably improve the image resolution compared to the Kirchhoff migration method. Both oriented wave path and Kirchhoff migration images are suitable for geological interpretation. Results with field data show that oriented wave path migration generates quality images similar to the Kirchhoff migration method, all of which roughly correlate with the P-wave sonic logs.