Land seismic in difficult terrain and complex geology: a case study from the Jungar Basin, northwest China

Abstract

Huantong Lv, Xianmin Li, Zaichao Jiang, Long Zhang, Lixin Xiao, Jian Wu, Yan Liang, Bo Liang, Meng Zhang, Rong Li, Fang Li, Sherman Yang, Peter van Baaren, Thomas Heesom and Hongping Xiao describe how a high-density, point-source, point-receiver approach can address statics and noise challenges of rough mountain thrust-zone topography and deliver high-quality imaging results. High-density, single-component, point-receiver land acquisition geometries are increasingly displacing ‘conventional’ acquisition designs that are based on long-standing practices of sparse sampling, low channel counts and an analog approach to noise attenuation via multi-sensor arrays. Over the past decade, dense point-receiver – often complemented by point vibroseis or dynamite source – geometries have been proven in diverse locations including Australia, the Middle East, North and South America, Russia and China. Two case histories from China have recently been published that demonstrate the success of the approach in solving geological challenges encountered in the exploration and development phases of challenging oilfield environments in the Sichuan Basin (Xiao et al., 2014) and the Ordos Basin (Wang et al., 2014).