Unfolding Marine Multiazimuth Data from the Gulf of Mexico

The first evolution of WAZ seismic data acquired over 10 years ago provided a sizable uplift over previous NAZ data sets. The addition of orthogonal surveys, advances in data processing, and improved geological understanding have recently introduced another step change in the data quality. These improvements are now leading to a greater improvement in data analysis and interpretation than just structural imaging uplift. We can see 4 distinct behaviors in 6 azimuth M-WAZ marine data. When data is acquired over “simple” geology, we get common signal in all azimuths. We also notice that close to salt, there are major differences between the 6 azimuths over large depth ranges due to illumination. These two observations have been known and published for the last decade. Our findings show that there are untapped potential and knowledge in marine M-WAZ data if acquired and proccessed correctly. We believe that we can map azimuthal-amplitude variations, and therefore, map stress and fracture fields to facilitate the production of hydrocarbons. If the data is acquired with a significant time lapse between acquisition, there is also an opportunitiy to perform 4D studies.