Residual statics estimation via deconvolution of horizon-based velocity profile

Abstract

Seismic exploration aims to provide high data quality in order to optimize finding hydrocarbon reserves and minimize drilling costs. However, near surface irregularities are considered as a noise generator for land seismic data and static problem can considerably degrade seismic images. I have investigated a potential and unconventional approach to remove static problem from seismic data. This approach attempts to extract time delays, generated by near-surface, from a stacking velocity profile for a given seismic reflector. The extraction (separation) process is a accomplished by deconvolving stacking velocity profile with the impulse response of the seismic acquisition spread system. The application of this technique to synthetic data demonstrates its ability to recover time delays from stacking velocity profile. Unfortunately, the impulse response of the seismic acquisition spread system is not a minimum phase. As a result, instability occurs during the deconvolution process and imposes applicability limitation. Tackling instability problem by suitable techniques, such as weight damping, could alleviate such limitation.