Joint Migration Inversion of Vertical Seismic Profile Full-Wavefield Data: The First Application Offshore Abu Dhabi

Joint Migration Inversion is a joint and simultaneous implementation of velocity model building and imaging based on an iterative optimization process leveraging full-wavefields via a full-waveform matching scheme. The full-wavefields include not only primaries but also all multiples from both up- and down-going wavefields explained by the model parameters, namely velocity and reflectivity series. Therefore, the full-wavefields have a valuable opportunity to extend the subsurface illumination and refine both the velocity model and reflectivity image, even though dealing with data from a sparse and non-uniform acquisition geometry. In this paper, we applied this novel technology to 2D walk-away Vertical Seismic Profile data offshore Abu Dhabi with the objective to prove the concept and demonstrate the virtues. We confirmed that the technology can offer reliable solutions of both the velocity model and reflectivity image, and that the technology can considerably enhance the resulting data quality compared to conventional processing. In addition, we realized that the technology could considerably shorten the turnaround time thanks to no requirement of intensive pre-processing as well as its unified implementation of velocity model building and imaging.