3D seismic processing and interpretation from 2D seismic data: Application in environmentally sensitive areas of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina

Abstract The increasing environmental and regulatory restrictions for recording 3D seismic, along with urban constraints, are limiting the acquisition of new 3D seismic information in some areas. A low-cost methodology can provide a pseudo-3D seismic data set. Geologic complexity is the most important condition to understand to assess the quality of the pseudo-3D volume created. These data can help to reduce many structural uncertainties that can be solved geometrically or at least outlined, giving real improvement in evaluation of prospective areas or in delineation of fields and generating new drilling strategies. In addition, the generated 3D data can be used as input for seismic-attribute calculation that otherwise would not have been possible because of discrete 2D information. The technique basically consists of conducting prestack migration using 24 offset planes, limiting with a structure control, and using the spatial propagation of the migration operator. The results of this data treatment show ...