Salt interpretation practices for depth imaging in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Salt interpretation is now considered one of the most important steps in the depth imaging process for two primary reasons. First, experience has shown that the accuracy of the salt model has a relatively large impact on the resultant subsalt image when using wave-equation migration algorithms. Second, the salt interpretation phase of a depth-imaging project, one of the most labor-intensive steps in the process, accounts for roughly 70% of a project's duration. This fact has caused companies to put pressure on seismic interpreters to deliver these detailed interpretations of the salt in a limited amount of time. As interpreters, we must implement innovative workflows utilizing state-of-the-art hardware to meet this challenge.