Abstract
Wide-azimuth ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic data have several advantages for imaging, such as high fold, long offsets, and a wide range of source-receiver azimuths. However, conventional wide-azimuth processing has some drawbacks because the full range of advantages is not exploited. In conventional wide-azimuth processing, azimuthal variations are usually ignored, whereas multi-azimuth processing treats each source-receiver azimuth individually. We performed a pilot multi-azimuth processing trial on wide-azimuth OBC seismic data offshore Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to evaluate its benefits compared to conventional wide-azimuth processing, and discuss its applications for fault imaging and fracture characterization. We show that: (a) multi-azimuth processing achieves significantly higher signal-to-noise ratio, and effectively corrects the distortions in the subsurface image resulting from azimuthal variations; (b) mono-azimuth processing enhances imaging of existing subtle faults; and (c) azimuthal variations extracted from mono-azimuth processed data provide indications about fracture orientation, relative fracture intensity, and their spatial distributions. The results should encourage us to apply multi-azimuth processing to wide-azimuth OBC seismic data to improve focusing quality, image subtle faults, and gain insights into fracture characteristics.
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