Land Seismic Techniques for
High-Quality Data
Claudio Bagaini
Oslo, Norway
Tim Bunting
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Adel El-Emam
Kuwait Oil Company
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Andreas Laake
Claudio Strobbia
Gatwick, England
Oilfield Review Summer 2010: 22, no. 2.
Copyright © 2010 Schlumberger.
For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Abdulmohsin
Al-Dulaijan, South Rub Al-Khali Co. Ltd, South Rub Al-Khali,
Saudi Arabia; Jarrah Al-Genai, Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait
City, Kuwait; Danny Burns, Beach Petroleum, Adelaide,
South Australia, Australia; Daniele Colombo, Saudi Aramco,
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Dennis Cooke, Santos, Perth,
Western Australia, Australia; Tim Dean, Tom Heesom,
Anthony McGlue, John Quigley, Paul Taylor and Richard
Whitebread, Gatwick, England; Benjamin Jeffryes,
Cambridge, England; Leif Larsen, Perth, South Australia;
Marco Mantovani, Milan, Italy; Denis Sweeney, Dubai, UAE;
Randall Taylor, Origin Energy Limited, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia; and Pieter van Mastrigt, Brunei Shell Petroleum
Company, Brunei.
dBX, Desert Explorer, DX-80, MD Sweep, Q-Land,
Q-Technology and UniQ are marks of Schlumberger.
1. Quigley J: “An Integrated 3D Acquisition and Processing
Technique Using Point Sources and Point Receivers,”
Expanded Abstracts, 74th SEG International Exposition
and Annual Meeting, Denver (October 10–15, 2004): 17–20.
Ait-Messaoud M, Boulegroun M-Z, Gribi A, Kasmi R,
Touami M, Anderson B, Van Baaren P, El-Emam A,
Rached G, Laake A, Pickering S, Moldoveanu N and
Özbek A: “New Dimensions in Land Seismic Technology,”
Oilfield Review 17, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 42–53.
2. Papworth S: “Stepping Up Land Seismic,” E&P (March 1,
2009), http://www.epmag.com/Magazine/2009/3/
item31469.php (accessed May 11, 2010).
28
Innovative seismic techniques are energizing exploration and development activities
in onshore areas, many of which have proved difficult to image in the past. New
seismic sources, acquisition methods and processing approaches help illuminate
reservoirs hidden beneath complex near-surface layers.
Since the first land seismic surveys, performed in
the 1920s, the quality of data has improved dra-
matically through the use of better survey design
practices, acquisition techniques and data pro-
cessing. Despite these advances, seismic surveys
still may deliver disappointing results in several
challenging parts of the world—including some
with significant onshore reserves.
Often, the cause of inadequate imaging of
deep structures lies in the presence of geologic
complexity near the surface. Variations in topog-
raphy and in the velocity of near-surface layers
create distortions in the seismic signal. Strongly
refractive layers near the surface can prevent
deep penetration of seismic energy, as can inter-
vals of anomalously low velocity. Abrupt lateral
changes in near-surface properties warp raypaths
and weaken the effectiveness of traditional pro-
cessing methods. Provinces with rough topogra-
phy, surface dunes, permafrost and buried soft
layers are notorious for the obstacles they pre-
sent to exploration; companies prospecting in
these regions have learned to temper their
expectations of seismic surveys.
Recent advances in land seismic data acquisi-
tion and processing are enhancing imaging in
these problem areas. Advanced sources, optimized
acquisition practices and improved processing
algorithms are producing seismic data rich in
usable content, resulting in superior structural
imaging and successful inversion for reservoir
properties without compromising acquisition
efficiency. Sophisticated evaluation of signals—
particularly those usually considered purely
noise—is enabling subsurface imaging in areas
that previously yielded poor results. With addi-
tional information, such as gravity, electromag-
netic or remote-sensing data, uncertainty in
near-surface properties can be minimized, thereby
improving imaging of deep targets.
This article describes developments in land
seismic data acquisition and processing to help
oil and gas companies obtain effective results in
geographic areas that have proved difficult to
image in the past. Among the acquisition innova-
tions are high-performance explosive and vibra-
tor sources, a new way of activating vibrators that
extends the bandwidth of seismic energy imparted
to the earth and techniques for deploying multiple
vibrators to acquire data more efficiently. New pro-
cessing methods involve characterizing near-sur-
face properties using additional information from
surface waves and other geophysical surveys.
Because these advances rely on the enabling
technologies of point-receiver acquisition and
continuous recording available with the most
up-to-date land seismic systems, a brief review of
these systems is in order.
The Point of Point Receivers
Point-receiver acquisition involves recording
traces from individual receivers rather than sum-
ming the responses of a group or array of receivers
before recording the summed trace (next page,
bottom). Conventional seismic acquisition uses
group summing to attenuate coherent noise,
which is assumed to travel horizontally, and to
Oilfield Review
 Copyright Andreas Laake.

enhance signal, which is assumed to travel verti- Conventional groups No corrections Conventional image
before grouping
cally. However, summing the responses of a group
of receivers before recording the signal reduces
flexibility in subsequent processing. Furthermore,
the presence of near-surface heterogeneities can
complicate the desired enhancement of verti- 100m
cally traveling signals sought by grouping. Also, a
trace resulting from group summation generally
Q-Technology point receivers Trace-by-trace corrections Q-Technology image
contains only the low end of the bandwidth of the before grouping
original individual traces.
WesternGeco pioneered point-receiver land
seismic acquisition and processing in 2002
Oilfield Review
with the Q-Land single-sensor system, capable Summer 10
of recording 30,000 live channels.1 The new- Land Seismic Fig. Opener
generation UniQ integrated point-receiver system, ORSUM10-LNDSMC
> Point-receiver Fig.seismic
acquisition. In land Openeracquisition, receivers (inverted triangles) are deployed
introduced in 2009, relies on the same principle of on the ground surface (green). In this case the ground is an uneven surface, which causes signal
using a large number of receivers—up to arrival times (red) to vary. Conventional acquisition (top) sums the responses of several receivers
before recording. Arrival-time variations are averaged and the resulting sum is a broader signal than
150,000—to sample the signal and noise in the that of the originals. Point-receiver technology (bottom) records a trace from every receiver and
seismic wavefield.2 Compared with conventional applies corrections to each of the traces before they are summed, resulting in a compact signal with
approaches that deploy fewer live channels, the high signal-to-noise ratio. The seismic image created from point-receiver acquisition (bottom right) is
point-receiver approach allows much lower overall usually of higher resolution than that obtained from grouped acquisition (top right).
sensor density on the ground yet provides superior
signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and frequency content.

Summer 2010 29
 0 Explosive sources, usually dynamite, are
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
Gro
Time, s
und
roll
2.0
2.4
2.8
3.2
3.6
> Ground roll. High-amplitude ground-roll arrivals dominate the shot record acquired by point receivers
(left); however, they are properly sampled and therefore can be attenuated by filtering (right).
Signal preservation and noise removal in the is removed on a trace-by-trace basis by proprie-
point-receiver approach are achieved in part by a tary programs; statics, or time shifts, are applied
digital process that enhances the signal by sum- to correct for elevation and other traveltime
ming recorded traces into groups at the spacing differences; and amplitude compensations cor-
required to correctly image the target without rect for variations in coupling of the source or
aliasing.3 Before summation, individual traces receiver to the earth. Noise that is coherent from
undergo noise-removal processing: Random noise trace to trace, such as source-generated noise—
ground roll, for instance—is removed by filters
that perform effectively because the noise is not
aliased (above).
Sources of Seismic Energy
Impulsive
source Enhancing the receiving end of the acquisition
process is just half the story. Recent advances in
source technology are further improving data
quality by putting more seismic energy into the
earth at a wider range of frequencies.
Energy = power time Oilfield Review The ideal source for seismic exploration is an
Summer 10 impulsive source that concentrates its energy at
Land Seismic Fig. 2
Power
ORSUM10-LNDSMCa pointFig. 2
in space and releases it instantaneously.
Such a source produces a concentrated wavelet
that enables resolution of subtle stratigraphic
and structural features. In practice, sources have
finite spatial size and emit signals over a finite
Vibrator source period, producing broadened wavelets that add
complexity to processing.
Land seismic data acquisition relies primarily
on two types of seismic sources—explosives and
Time vibrator trucks. Each has advantages and disad-
> Source energy. Impulsive seismic sources such vantages. Surveys may be acquired using one type
as dynamite supply a large amount of power or both, and the choice depends on several fac-
over a short period of time, and vibrator sources
supply power over a long duration. Both source tors, including geophysical objectives, cost and
types can deliver equivalent amounts of energy— environmental constraints.
the areas inside the blue boxes are equal.
30
placed in shot holes drilled to below the zone
of near-surface weathering or unconsolidated
sediments—usually a few to a few tens of meters
thick. Burying the source beneath this low-veloc-
ity layer increases the energy transmitted deeper
into the ground and reduces the amount of
energy that goes into creating undesirable by-
products: source-generated noise in the form of
surface waves. Dynamite is a high-power source
of short duration (below left). As such, it creates
a compact wavelet with a wide bandwidth. Other
advantages over vibrator trucks are its light
weight, low cost, lack of required maintenance
and capacity for deployment in rugged terrain
unreachable by vehicles.
As for disadvantages, the process of drilling
shot holes, burying the dynamite and cleaning up
after the operation is labor intensive, and with
this option the survey geometry cannot be
changed without drilling new shot holes. The
input signal can be neither measured nor reliably
repeated. Explosive sources are subject to strict
security regulations, and permission for use and
transportation may be difficult to obtain in some
places. The potential for causing damage pre-
vents their use in populated areas.
To overcome some of these limitations
WesternGeco and Dyno Nobel developed dBX
purpose-built seismic explosive, the first explo-
sive specifically designed for seismic source use.
The formulation offers significant geophysical
benefits over conventional explosive, optimizing
energy transfer to the earth and delivering higher
S/N and greater bandwidth than dynamite. A
comparison test in Canada demonstrated the
capability of the dBX source to improve imaging
of deep reflectors (next page, top). The safety
advantages of the new compound are also consid-
erable. The two inert substances—a solid and a
liquid—used in the formulation can be shipped
separately for safety. They may be mixed on site,
allowing field personnel to prepare only the
amount needed for immediate operations.
A completely different type of source, vibra-
tors, or vibroseis trucks, use a concept developed
by Conoco in 1952. These mobile sources were
designed to obviate the need to drill shot holes,
reduce environmental impact and improve safety
and security.
Oilfield Review
 Gel Dynamite Source dBX Source
0 0

–5

–10

Amplitude, dB
1 –15

–20

dBX source
Time, s

–25
Gel dynamite
–30
2
0 25 50 75 100 125
Frequency, Hz

> Explosive comparison. The dBX compound produces greater signal across the entire bandwidth (right) compared with conventional gel dynamite. The
increased low-frequency content is especially important for improving deep imaging. In this example from Canada the image obtained with the dBX source
(center) exhibits deep reflections (yellow box) more clearly than that obtained with conventional gel dynamite (left).

Seismic vibrators produce ground motion that

propagates into the earth. The waveform of the
ground motion is a chirp, also termed a sweep
(right). The envelope of the ground motion typi-
cally ramps up from zero at the start to a constant
level during the frequency sweep, then tapers back
to zero at the end of the sweep. This source type is
Amplitude

repeatable and customizable—with controllable

amplitude, frequency and phase. The force applied
to the ground can be monitored and adjusted in
real time by way of a feedback loop. Vibrator trucks
can be used in urban areas and can be equipped
with special tires or tracks for deployment in envi-
ronmentally sensitive areas, such as sand dunes or
arctic snowpack.4
Vehicular access, however, may be restricted
in terrains such as mountains, swamps and
coastal areas. Source effectiveness may be lim-
ited in regions with thick weathered zones or
dune cover. Also, fleets of vibroseis trucks are
expensive to build and maintain. And unlike that
produced with dynamite, the input signal is not
impulsive, so additional processing is required to
extract interpretable data; a recorded trace is
correlated with a reference trace to extract the
reflected signal.
Oilfield Review Time
Summer 10
LandSweep
> Seismic Fig. 4A vibrator creates ground motion in the form of a sinusoid
signal.
ORSUM10-LNDSMC
of varying frequency. Fig. 4
Amplitude increases quickly from zero to a specified
level for the duration of the sweep. This plot shows an upsweep, which
starts at low frequency and ends at high frequency. A downsweep does
the opposite.
For most survey objectives the advantages of a large rectangular pad in the midsection of the
vibroseis source outweigh the disadvantages. vehicle—that is pressed to the ground by the
Accordingly, hydraulic seismic vibrators are the
3. Aliasing is signal distortion caused by inadequate spatial
predominant source used in land seismic explo- or temporal sampling; it can be avoided by sampling at a
ration today. frequency that is at least twice that of the highest
frequency in the waveform.
The performance of a seismic vibrator is dic- 4. Gibson D and Rice S: “Promoting Environmental
tated by its actuator, which is composed of a Responsibility in Seismic Operations,” Oilfield Review 15,
no. 2 (Summer 2003): 10–21.
driven and a driving structure. The main element
of the driven structure is the baseplate—a

Summer 2010 31

> Vibrator components. The baseplate is held against the ground by the
weight of the truck. A hydraulic system increases and decreases the force
on the baseplate by moving the reaction mass down and up at specified
frequencies, creating a sweep. The baseplate is about 1 m [3.3 ft] across.
weight of the truck. The main element of the driv-
ing structure is the heavy reaction mass. A piston
inside the reaction mass is mounted above the
baseplate with a hydraulic system to drive the
mass up and down (above).5
Relative Acoustic Impedance
Low frequencies to 2 Hz
piston and baseplate assembly move up and down
at specific frequencies, transmitting energy
Stopper through the baseplate and into the ground.
The baseplate is often coupled with a large
Reaction
mass fixed weight known as the hold-down weight.
During those parts of the cycle in which the reac-
tion mass is moving down and the baseplate is
moving up, the hold-down weight applies a com-
pressive force to keep the baseplate in contact
with the ground. Therefore, the ground force gen-
erated by a seismic vibrator is always less than
Baseplate
the product of the weight of the vibrator times
the gravity force. Harmonic distortions, or reso-
nances, both in the vibrator and at the earth/
baseplate interface, can have the effect of addi-
tional upward-directed force and must be consid-
ered in the selection of the desired vibrator
output. Increasing hold-down weight on the
vibrator adds stability to the system and helps
establish optimal operating conditions.
During operations the vehicle moves into Typical vibroseis vehicles can apply up to
position and lowers the baseplate to the ground, 60,000 lbf [267,000 N] and produce a sweep lasting
where it applies a compression to the earth. By 2 to 20 s. The frequency of the sweep may vary lin-
controlling hydraulic fluid flow around the piston early or nonlinearly with time. A linear sweep is
inside the mass, the vehicle operator can make the one in which a plot of the instantaneous frequency
against time produces a straight line. Sweeps may
start at a low frequency and finish at a high fre-
quency (upsweep) or vice versa (downsweep).
The typical vibrator can create signals with a
bandwidth from about 8 to 105 Hz. Broadening
the bandwidth by adding both low and high fre-
quencies can enhance the resolution of seismic
reflectors.6 Increasing the amount of low-
frequency energy emitted by the source improves
the ability to invert seismic data for reservoir
– properties (left). Enhancing low-frequency con-
tent also enables imaging of deep targets because
Relative acoustic impedance

low frequencies are less attenuated and propa-

Oilfield Review gate deeper than high frequencies. The low fre-
Summer 10 quencies are crucial for imaging beneath
Low frequencies to 5 Hz Land Seismic Fig. 6 absorptive formations. However, the energy out-
ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 6
put at low frequencies is limited by mechanical
constraints, such as the maximum displacement
+
of the vibrator’s reaction mass. The output at
high frequencies is limited by hydraulic and
mechanical constraints.7

5. Some seismic vibrators are designed to induce shear

waves (S-waves) instead of compressional waves
(P-waves) by vibrating from side to side instead of up
and down.
> Better inversion with low-frequency data. Increasing the low-frequency 6. Hill D, Bacon J, Brice T, Combee L, Koeninger C,
Leathard M and McHugo S: “Over/Under a Technology
content improves the ability to characterize rock properties through for Illuminating Deep Objectives,” presented at the
inversion. In this model, shale of high relative acoustic impedance contains 69th EAGE Conference and Exhibition, London,
a wedge of sandstone of constant lower impedance. Inversion of seismic June 11–14, 2007.
data containing frequencies down to 2 Hz (top) identifies the edges of the 7. Bagaini C, Dean T, Quigley J and Tite G-A: “Systems
wedge and also the relative acoustic impedance inside the sand body. and Methods for Enhancing Low-Frequency Content
Inversion of seismic data containing frequencies down to 5 Hz (bottom) in Vibroseis Acquisition,” US Patent No. 7,327,633
(February 5, 2008).
identifies only the acoustic impedance contrasts at the interfaces. (Adapted
from Hill et al, reference 6.)

32 Oilfield Review
 New Vibrations
To overcome these limitations, WesternGeco
developed two related source technologies: the
80,000-lbf [356,000-N] DX-80 vibrator and the
MD Sweep maximum displacement vibration
methodology. Together these systems enhance
the generation of both low- and high-frequency
energy delivered to the subsurface.
The DX-80 vehicle has a unique actuator
design that extends the high-frequency content
to more than 150 Hz, an improvement over the
105 Hz achievable from conventional vibrators.
The vehicle’s greater weight imparts more energy
to the formation to enhance the signal-to-noise
ratio. Also, the vehicles can be equipped with > A fleet of WesternGeco DX-80 vibrators. The 80,000-lbf Desert Explorer
rubber tracks, which offers several advantages: vibrator can be equipped with tracks for use in soft-surface environments.
In soft sand the enhanced traction enables the
vehicle to move to the next source location more
quickly, speeding up acquisition (right). A tracked At the other end of the spectrum, the quency bandwidth over what is possible using con-
vehicle is more maneuverable, maintains a MD Sweep approach increases the low-frequency ventional practices. A DX-80 vibrator using the
straighter line and does not have to detour content of the signal. The method helps geophysi- MD Sweep technique can extend signal bandwidth
around obstacles. It can climb steep slopes, cut- cists design an optimized nonlinear sweep that to below 3 Hz, greatly improving imaging results at
ting the amount of time spent bulldozing or spends more time generating the frequencies that depth. A test in the Middle East highlights the
otherwise preparing lines and thus minimizing need to be strengthened. This technique can add superiority of the nonlinear maximum displace-
environmental impact. up to one and a half octaves of full-power, low-fre- ment sweep in generating low frequencies and
illuminating deep reflectors (below).

Linear Sweep MD Sweep Nonlinear Sweep

0

1
Two-way time, s

Oilfield Review
Summer 10
Land Seismic Fig. 8
3
ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 8

70
4

65 > Linear and nonlinear sweeps. These lines (top) from a Middle East survey were
Power spectral density, dB

shot with the DX-80 seismic vibrator source but with different sweeps. The results of
60 the MD Sweep methodology (right) show better definition of deep reflectors (green
box) than the results of the linear sweep (top left). The deep imaging capability of the
55
nonlinear sweep is due to the addition of frequencies lower than 8 Hz in the power
spectrum (bottom left).
50 Linear sweep
MD Sweep
45 nonlinear sweep

40
4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Frequency, Hz

Summer 2010 33
 Point-Receiver Acquisition with Santos and its joint-venture partners Origin
Conventional Acquisition DX-80 Vibrator and MD Sweep Design
Energy and Beach Energy used this combination
1,400 of technologies to help map reservoir thickness
and sand quality in a pilot project in the Cooper
1,500
basin of Australia.8 Log data from a nearby field
1,600 indicated that reservoir quality, driven by low
clay content, could be linked to low Poisson’s
Two-way time, ms

1,700 ratio.9 Part of the pilot study involved investigat-

ing the ability to invert high-resolution seismic
1,800
data for Poisson’s ratio and other attributes.
1,900
Earlier efforts with grouped receivers and
conventional vibrators produced a signal band-
2,000 width of 8.5 to 83 Hz at the depth of interest. A
survey acquired with the Q-Land point-receiver
2,100 system and the advanced source technology
achieved a bandwidth of 5.1 to 92 Hz and deliv-
ered a clearer image of the target (left).
45
The new survey produced coherent signals
with some frequency content even below 4 Hz at
40 the reservoir depth (next page, top). Including
the wider bandwidth in seismic inversion pro-
duced a more detailed picture of Poisson’s ratio
Amplitude, dB

35
than was previously available (below left).
Conventional bandwidth
From 8.5 Hz to 83 Hz = 74.5 Hz
30 3.2 Octaves Improving Productivity
Vibrators can be deployed individually or as a
Q-Land bandwidth
From 5.1 Hz to 92 Hz = 86.9 Hz group—often with four trucks operating simulta-
25
4.2 Octaves neously at one source location. After the pre-
scribed number of sweeps is completed, the
20 baseplates are raised and the vehicles “move up”
0 20 40 60 80 100
Frequency, Hz to the next location, typically a distance of 10 to
> Pilot project in Australia. Point-receiver acquisition with the DX-80 vibrator 50 m [33 to 160 ft]. Meanwhile, signals from sub-
and MD Sweep design produced a seismic image with better definition than surface reflectors continue to be recorded by the
that achieved with grouped receivers and conventional vibrators (top). The recording truck for 4 to 6 seconds, a period called
new survey increased signal bandwidth by almost one octave (bottom). the “listen time.” For an 8-s sweep duration and
8-s move-up time, a minimum of 16 s is required
between sweeps (next page, bottom). Cycle time,
Poisson’s Ratio
Q-Land acquisition with DX-80 source or the interval between two consecutive sweeps,
Conventional acquisition and MD Sweep design
is the main limiting factor for productivity of land
1.3
seismic crews. Productivity, or the number of
1.4 seismic traces recorded in a given time, can be
increased by using more than one fleet; a second
1.5
fleet begins its sweep immediately following the
Two-way time, s

1.6 listen time of the first fleet’s sweep. This method,

called flip-flop acquisition, is currently in wide-
1.7
spread practice.
1.8 Another factor that limits productivity is the
Oilfield Review
Summer 10 finite record length of traces acquired by conven-
1.9
Land Seismic Fig. 10 tional systems. These systems typically record for
2.0 ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 10 only 30 to 60 s before they have to stop and write
the data to a hard disk. Efficient field deployment
2.1
of high-productivity vibroseis methods also
0.10 0.25 0.40
requires that the seismic crew be capable of
Poisson’s ratio redeploying the receiver lines quickly.
> Inversion for Poisson’s ratio. The broader bandwidth of the new survey produced inversion results Several techniques have been developed to
with improved apparent definition of zones of low Poisson’s ratio (ovals) in the reservoir interval (right) improve the vibroseis productivity that can be
compared with that of the conventional survey (left). Log values of Poisson’s ratio are shown at three obtained with flip-flop acquisition, mainly by
well locations (purple).

34 Oilfield Review
deploying many fleets of vibrators. These tech- Conventional Acquisition, Low-Frequency Panels
niques can be grouped into three categories: 1,400
0 to 4 Hz 4 to 8 Hz 8 to 12 Hz
cascaded sweeps, simultaneous shooting and
1,600
slip-sweep acquisition.10 Cascaded sweeps elimi-
nate the listen time between sweeps when more

Two-way time, ms
than one sweep is needed at each shot location. 1,800

In simultaneous shooting two or more groups of

vibrators generate orthogonal sweeps at nearly the 2,000
same time.11 The simultaneously acquired records
are then separated at the processing stage.12 2,200
During slip-sweep acquisition a second vibra-
tor group starts its sweep before the end of the 2,400
listen time of the first sweep.13 This overlapping
approach is different from simultaneous shooting Point-Receiver Acquisition, Low-Frequency Panels
in that it does not require the vibrators to be 1,400
ready at their locations at the same time. 0 to 4 Hz 4 to 8 Hz 8 to 12 Hz
However, harmonic noise from adjacent sweeps 1,600
can leak into each other, contaminating the
records. Numerous methods have been developed
Two-way time, ms

1,800
to suppress the harmonic noise and separate the
shot records without affecting slip-sweep data 2,000
quality.14 Some of these acquisition techniques
can be used in combination for additional pro-
2,200
ductivity improvement.
Geophysicists strive to find the most produc-
2,400
tive vibroseis acquisition technique that pre-
serves data quality. Once the acquisition
> Coherent low frequencies. Comparison of a series of band-pass panels shows the coherent energy
parameters are set, including sweep length and present in the point-receiver survey (bottom) relative to the conventional survey (top). Although the
number of sources, the effectiveness of any of point-receiver survey bandwidth of signal greater than about 35 dB was 5.1 to 92 Hz, the record still
these techniques at preserving data quality can contained energy in the 0- to 4-Hz range (left) where the conventional survey has none. The additional
be determined. For a given set of acquisition low frequencies helped obtain high-quality images at greater depths.
parameters, one study found an order of magni-
tude difference in productivity between the least
and most effective techniques.15 Single-Fleet Operations

Fleet 1 Cycle time = sweep time +

  8. Bunting T, Bayly M, Tham M, McBride P, Daly M and move-up time = 16 s
Barclay F: “Bookabourdie Q-Land* 3D Proof of Concept
Study; Mapping Sand Thickness and Sand Quality in
the Cooper Basin,” presented at the 20th ASEG
Geophysical Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, Flip-Flop Operations
February 22–25, 2009.
Fleet 1
  9. Poisson’s ratio, an elastic constant, is a measure of Cycle time = sweep time +
a material’s compressibility perpendicular to applied
Fleet 2 listen time = 13 s
stress. It can be expressed in terms of compressional
and shear velocities and varies with mineral composition
and fluid content.
10. Bagaini C: “Acquisition and Processing of Simultaneous
Vibroseis Data,” Geophysical Prospecting 58, no. 1 Slip-Sweep Operations
(January 2010): 81–100.
Fleet 1
11. Two sweeps are orthogonal if their initial phases differ
by 90°. Cycle time = slip time = 6 s
12. Stefani J, Hampson G and Herkenhoff ER: “Acquisition
Fleet 2 Oilfield Review
Using Simultaneous Sources,” paper B006, presented Summer 10
Fleet 3
at the 69th EAGE Conference and Exhibition, London, Land Seismic Fig. 11
June 11–14, 2007. ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 11
Moore I, Dragoset B, Ommundsen T, Wilson D, Ward C
and Eke D: “Simultaneous Source Separation Using Sweep time: 8 s Listen time: 5 s Move-up time: 8 s Slip time: 6 s
Dithered Sources,” Expanded Abstracts, 78th SEG
> Improving acquisition productivity. Flip-flop operations (center) reduce cycle time over single-fleet
Annual International Meeting and Exposition, Las Vegas,
Nevada, USA (November 9–14, 2008): 2806–2810. operations (top) by beginning a sweep immediately after the listen time of the first fleet’s sweep. In
13. Rozemond HJ: “Slip-Sweep Acquisition,” Expanded single-fleet operation and flip-flop acquisition, cycle time depends on the sweep length. Slip-sweep
Abstracts, 66th SEG Annual International Meeting and operations (bottom) deliver a far greater productivity improvement because they eliminate the wait
Exposition, Denver (November 10–15, 1996): 64–67. for the end of listen time. In slip-sweep acquisition, the minimum allowed interval between two
14. Jeffryes BP: “Method of Seismic Surveying,” US Patent consecutive shots is called slip time. The cycle time is therefore identical to the slip time and does
No. 7,050,356 (May 23, 2006). not depend directly on the sweep length. However, acquisition with longer sweeps typically requires
Bagaini, reference 10. longer slip times to avoid severe contamination from harmonics generated from successive sweeps.
15. Bagaini, reference 10.

Summer 2010 35
 records, and because many more records can be
Fleet 1 Dither Pair 1
acquired, the overall data quality is improved.
Fleet 3 Dither Pair 2 The method is able to separate the records and
eliminate interference noise, yielding final data
with quality comparable to that obtained with

Several km
sequential shooting.
Realizing the potential gains from this tech-
nique requires several enabling technologies
offered by the UniQ system that conventional
Fleet 2
acquisition systems cannot provide. First, con-
Fleet 4 tinuous recording is required to facilitate high-
T1 Shooting direction productivity acquisition without having to stop to
T2 write data to disk. Second, the high channel
T3 Sweep time: 8 s Listen time: 5 s Move-up time: 8 s
T4 count with 150,000 active receivers allows deploy-
Time ment of wide receiver spreads. With receivers
> Distance-separated dithered slip-sweep acquisition. In dithered acquisition spread over a wide area, sources can be working
vibrators operate sweeps separated by a short, random but known time. In this at distant corners of the survey with negligible
case two pairs of dithered sources are separated by several kilometers. The optimal interaction, promoting high productivity.
distance depends on target depth and source-receiver offset. Dither Pair 1 operates
first, at Times T1 and T2. Then they move to the next source point while dither Pair
Solutions for Near-Surface Complexities
2 operates at Times T3 and T4. This mode of operation enables the productivity to
be almost doubled compared with a slip-sweep acquisition of the same slip time. Nearly all land seismic surveys contend with sur-
Dithered slip-sweep acquisition with more than two fleets of vibrators is also face unevenness and near-surface heterogeneity.
possible, although these deployments may require a higher number of vibrators than The shallow subsurface may contain large and
is typically available.
abrupt vertical and horizontal variations caused
by many factors, including differences in lithol-
ogy, compaction, cementation and weathering
However, until recently, an inherent limita- conventionally acquired records.16 This tech- (below left). These variations generate delays or
tion of the most productive vibroseis techniques nique, distance-separated dithered slip-sweep advances in the arrival times of seismic waves
has been a compromise in data quality caused by acquisition, manages the interference noise passing through them relative to waves that do
overlapping sweeps. Each record is contami- caused by simultaneous acquisition so that it not. If the processing workflow does not account
nated with noise from the next record. An acqui- can be effectively removed at the processing for these time differences, the resulting seismic
sition and processing technique developed by stage (above). Because the data quality of indi- image may exhibit low resolution, false structural
Schlumberger scientists enables high vibroseis vidual records after separation is essentially anomalies at depth, mis-ties between intersect-
productivity while retaining the data quality of identical to that of conventionally acquired ing lines and artificial events created from noise.
Processing corrects for these time differences
by applying a static, or constant, time shift to the
seismic trace.17 The goal of applying static correc-
tions is essentially to place the source and
receiver at a constant datum plane below the
Source near-surface zone. The amount by which each
Eolian or
peatOilfield
deposits Review trace is corrected depends on the thicknesses
Summer 10
Near-surface

Land Seismic Fig. 14 Receiver and velocities of the near-surface anomalies.

High-velocity zone:
zone

ORSUM10-LNDSMC
ice, evaporites, volcanics Fig. 14 Typically, a velocity model is constructed from
Water table average velocities and thicknesses estimated
Buried river channel
Leached zone from refraction surveys or uphole shots.18
Glacial
scour Datum However, refraction techniques may not work
well in areas with shallow complexities, such as
Bedrock

velocity inversions—where a high-velocity layer

overlies a low-velocity layer—and vibroseis
surveys typically do not use shot holes.
Reflector An alternative approach uses surface waves to
develop a near-surface velocity model. Surface
> Near-surface variations. Differences in elevation and in subsurface lithology waves, the main components of what the explora-
and fluid content affect the traveltimes of seismic waves. Seismic processing tion geophysics community calls ground roll, con-
attempts to place the source and receiver on a datum plane by correcting the tain more energy than any other type of wave
traveltimes for the added propagation through the shallow subsurface.

36 Oilfield Review
generated by a surface seismic source, and they Rayleigh Waves High- Low-
frequency frequency Shear-wave
usually overwhelm the desired P-wave signals. Wave propagation direction penetration penetration Dispersion velocity model
Surface waves are so called because they propagate
along the surface of the earth; their amplitude
decreases with depth. They typically have lower
velocities and shorter wavelengths than P-waves. Particle-motion
direction
Surface waves can be dispersive, meaning velocity
depends on wavelength—long wavelengths travel

Depth
faster and penetrate deeper than short ones.

Time

Depth
Historically, exploration geophysicists have

Velocity
regarded surface waves as coherent noise; in
conventional acquisition, receiver groups are
designed to attenuate them. But with proper
sampling by single receivers, these waves can be
analyzed for the information they contain about A B C D E F
the near-surface zone. Geotechnical engineers Distance Frequency Velocity
use surface waves, especially Rayleigh waves, > Rayleigh wave analysis. Rayleigh waves are the vertical component of ground roll, the main source-
which form the vertical component of ground generated noise in the seismic shot record (A). As the wave propagates to the right, particles within
roll, to derive properties of shallow sediments.19 the earth experience an elliptical motion (B) similar to that of water waves. The wave amplitude
Applying this concept to exploration-scale sur- decreases with depth (C). Because waves with low frequencies penetrate deeper than those with
high frequencies, they usually travel faster (D). Variation of velocity with frequency or wavelength is
veys, WesternGeco scientists developed a work- called dispersion. The dispersion characteristics (E) may be inverted to yield a shear-wave model (F).
flow for surface-wave analysis for 3D land data
(above right).20 In this approach surface waves
are treated as useful signals until the near-sur-
face properties have been extracted; then they
are removed.
Phase velocity, m/s Phase velocity, m/s
For a given survey point it is possible to extract
400 500 600 700 400 500 600 700
the propagation properties of the Rayleigh waves 0 0
over a range of frequencies. For example, the rela-
50 50
tionship between phase velocity and wavelength
can be plotted to produce a dispersion section 100 100
Wavelength, m

Wavelength, m

(right). From this, a model of shear velocity versus

depth can be obtained by inversion. Shear velocity 150 150
is then transformed to compressional velocity
200 200
using well log information or empirical relation-
ships. The compressional velocity model provides 250 250
the input for the static corrections.
300 300
16. Bagaini C and Moore I: “Dithered Slip Sweep Vibroseis Oilfield Review
Acquisition System and Technique,” US Patent
Application No. 20,100,085,836 (April 8, 2010). A similar
Summer 10
50
concept was developed for marine surveys by Moore et Land Seismic Fig. 16
al, reference 12. ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 16
17. Corrections that apply a time-variable shift to traces are 100
Wavelength, m

known as dynamic corrections, as opposed to static

corrections. For more on these corrections: Marsden D: 150
“Static Corrections—A Review, Part 1,” The Leading
Edge 12, no. 1 (January 1993): 43–49.
18. Refraction surveys use head waves that propagate 200
along a subsurface interface to investigate the depth
to the refracting interface, its dip and the velocity 250
contrast across it. Uphole shots use a source on the
surface and a geophone in a shot hole drilled to just
below the weathered layer. The traveltime from the 300
shot to the geophone gives the average velocity of the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
weathered layer. Distance, km
19. Park CB, Miller RD and Xia J: “Multichannel Analysis of
Surface Waves,” Geophysics 64, no. 3 (May–June 1999): 700 600 500 400
800–808. Velocity, m/s
20. Strobbia CL, Glushchenko A, Laake A, Vermeer P, > Dispersion section. Analysis of Rayleigh waves at all frequencies produces a dispersion section
Papworth S and Ji Y: “Arctic Near Surface Challenges:
The Point Receiver Solution to Coherent Noise and (bottom), a plot of velocity (color-coded) for every wavelength (vertical axis) and distance along the
Statics,” First Break 27, no. 2 (February 2009): 69–76. seismic line (horizontal axis). These results are inverted for a velocity model. Two analysis points (top)
are highlighted, showing different profiles of velocity versus wavelength.

Summer 2010 37
 Kuwait Heavy-Oil Field
–80
Depth, m
0
80
100
200
Time, ms
300
400
500
0 0.5
> Near-surface velocity anomalies and a deeper image. The shear-wave velocity section (top) resulting
from Rayleigh wave inversion shows a notable velocity inversion with a high-velocity interval (red)
overlying lower-velocity formations (yellow). This velocity section was converted to compressional
velocity, which was used to correct the seismic data before stacking. The stacked section (bottom)
reveals the high quality with which shallow reflectors above Refractor B can be imaged. (Adapted from
Strobbia et al, reference 21.)
Shallow Targets
Characterizing shallow complexity is especially
important when the near-surface zone contains
the target formation. Such is the case confront-
ing Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in a field in north-
ern Kuwait.21 This reservoir contains what is
probably the largest accumulation of heavy oil
in the country—1,000 km2 [390 mi2] with 12 to
15 billion bbl [1.9 to 2.4 billion m3].22 The reser-
voir is extremely shallow, less than 200 m [about
650 ft], and thin: two 20-m [66-ft] sands sepa-
rated by a 10-m shale. The shallow depth pres-
ents challenges to heavy-oil recovery methods.
The shallowness of the heavy-oil reservoir
also adds difficulty to seismic characterization.
The horizons of interest are in the interval usu-
ally considered the near-surface zone and are
21. Strobbia C, El Emam A, Al-Genai J and Roth J: “Rayleigh
Wave Inversion for the Near-Surface Characterization
of Shallow Targets in a Heavy Oil Field in Kuwait,”
First Break 28, no. 5 (May 2010): 103–109.
22. Oskui GP, Al Naqi A and Dusseault MB: “Screening
Potential Production Technologies for the Lower Fars
Heavy Oil Asset in Kuwait,” paper SPE 126268, presented
at the Kuwait International Petroleum Conference and
Exhibition, Kuwait City, Kuwait, December 14–16, 2009.
23. Bagaini C: “Low-Frequency Vibroseis Data with
Maximum Displacement Sweeps,” The Leading Edge 27,
no. 5 (May 2008): 582–591.
24. Strobbia et al, reference 20.
38
1.0 1.5
Distance, km
embedded in a complex sequence of layers with
velocity inversions. Heterogeneities in the shal-
low subsurface that would normally be averaged
through static corrections are precisely the infor-
mation required to understand reservoir proper-
ties and identify compartmentalization. The
attenuating nature of the near-surface sediments
requires powerful sources to achieve adequate
S/N and closely spaced receivers to record the
high frequencies needed for shallow imaging.
Kuwait Oil Company selected two sites for
acquisition testing, with point receivers deployed
Oilfield Review
Summer
in 2D lines. 10sources were investigated,
Different
including aLand Seismic Fig.
single DX-80 18 with nonlinear
vibrator
MD SweepORSUM10-LNDSMC
operation from 3.5 to Fig.
120 18
Hz.23
Near-surface time corrections were computed
by two means: conventional refraction statics
25. Bird KJ, Charpentier RR, Gautier DL, Houseknecht DW,
Klett TR, Pitman JK, Moore TE, Schenk CJ, Tennyson ME
and Wandrey CR: “Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal:
Estimates of Undiscovered Oil and Gas North of the
Arctic Circle,” US Geological Survey, Fact Sheet
2008-3049 (2008), http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3049/
fs2008-3049.pdf (accessed June 11, 2010).
26. Colombo D, Mantovani M, Hallinan S and Virgilio M:
“Sub-Basalt Depth Imaging Using Simultaneous Joint
Inversion of Seismic and Electromagnetic (MT) Data: A
CRB Field Study,” Expanded Abstracts, 78th SEG Annual
International Meeting and Exposition, Las Vegas,
Nevada (November 9–14, 2008): 2674–2678.
Shallow target
Shallow target
Refractor A
Refractor B
2.0 2.5
using a refractor below the reservoir and a hybrid
method that included analysis of surface waves
along with refraction statics. Although both
methods produced similar images, the refraction
static corrections alone resulted in a seismic sec-
tion with some residual dip that was inconsistent
with the regional geology. The hybrid method
resulted in a section without residual dip.
Inversion of Rayleigh wave dispersion profiles
revealed a shear-wave velocity section with a
strong velocity inversion (above). This velocity
contrast corresponds to a change in compaction
or cementation of the sediments. Corrections
based on the associated P-wave velocity were
applied to traces before they were summed to
produce a stacked section. The resulting resolu-
tion of shallow reflectors is excellent. A strong
27. Colombo D, Cogan M, Hallinan S, Mantovani M,
Virgilio M and Soyer W: ”Near-Surface P-Velocity
Modelling by Integrated Seismic, EM, and Gravity Data:
Examples from the Middle East,” First Break 26, no. 10
(October 2008): 91–102.
For more on TDEM: Dawoud M, Hallinan S, Herrmann R
and van Kleef F: “Near-Surface Electromagnetic
Surveying,” Oilfield Review 21, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 20–25.
28. Colombo D, Mantovani M, Sfolciaghi M, van Mastrigt P,
Al-Dulaijan A and Nafie T: “Near Surface Solutions in
South Rub Al-Khali, Saudi Arabia Applying Seismic-
Gravity Joint Inversion and Redatuming,” First Break 28,
no. 2 (February 2010): 77–84.
Karst is a term applied to carbonate formations that
have large cavities and irregular topography caused by
surface or groundwater dissolution.
Oilfield Review
 Extent of karst structures [1,688 Tcf] of gas.25 More than 15% of the reserves
occur onshore, and finding them will require
ingenuity and high-quality surveys.
Variations in subsurface properties can also
200 ms be detected by gravity and electromagnetic mea-
surements. Joint inversion of these data with seis-
mic datasets is enhancing seismic imaging in a
wide range of environments. In the Columbia
Two-way time

River Valley, in Washington, USA, where a near-

surface basalt layer up to 10,000 ft [3,000 m] thick
refracts seismic energy, integration of seismic
and magnetotelluric data has improved imaging
at depths of more than 16,000 ft [4,900 m].26
Integration is also improving analysis of near-
surface properties. In the United Arab Emirates,
WesternGeco geophysicists incorporated data
from a time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM)
survey to compute static time shifts caused by
thick sand dunes.27 The high contrast in electro-
magnetic properties at the base of the dry sand
helped map the base of the dunes for the shallow-
200 ms velocity model.
Information provided by gravity data has been
used in simultaneous joint inversion with seismic
data to compute statics for imaging deeper hori-
Two-way time

zons. Gravity measurements are highly sensitive

to density variations near the measurement
point. This makes gravity a superb tool for
characterizing shallow heterogeneities. This
approach has been applied in Saudi Arabia,
where the gravity records showed clear evidence
of shallow density and velocity features inferred
to be karst structures in the Rus limestone.28
Final processing that included gravity and seis-
mic joint inversion modeling for near-surface
> Adding gravity information. Shallow karst features create large perturbations in traveltimes that are properties resulted in a significantly clearer
not completely accounted for by refraction static corrections (top). Incorporating gravity measurements image that was much less disrupted by near-
in joint inversion generates a seismic image that is less affected by surface irregularities (bottom). surface anomalies (left).
(Adapted from Colombo et al, reference 28.)
As more companies witness the progress
made in the quality of land seismic surveys and
deploy the latest source and acquisition tech-
reflection near the bottom of the section, Refractor Integrating Other Measurements niques, applications will expand. In many areas
B, is a Tertiary anhydrite and limestone layer that Approaches abound for improving land seismic previously plagued with inadequate seismic
is continuous throughout most of Kuwait. For typi- results, whether by enhancing signal, attenuating illumination, the way forward is to include new
cal surveys it is considered the base of the near- noise, reducing model uncertainty or including kinds of measurements, whether they are other
surface zone, and the reflectors and structures other measurements. For example, surface wave types of seismic signals or surveys deploying
above it are generally ignored. In this area con- inversion for near-surface velocity estimation has other physics. —LS
taining a shallow, heavy-oil resource, they are the been successfully applied to land seismic surveys
layers of interest, and the hybrid method using in arctic regions, where permafrost and season-
surface waves successfully imaged them. Oilfield Reviewally frozen layers induce large, abrupt vertical
Summer
In addition to creating velocity models 10 and lateral variations of elastic properties.24 The
for com-
Land Seismic
puting near-surface corrections, Rayleigh wave Fig. 19 north of the Arctic Circle has long been
region
ORSUM10-LNDSMC Fig. 19
inversion provides information about the shear- thought to contain a large portion of the remain-
wave properties of the reservoir and surrounding ing global oil and gas resources. In 2008 the US
formations. These results may be important for Geological Survey (USGS) estimated undiscov-
planning enhanced recovery operations for pro- ered resources within the Arctic Circle at 14 bil-
duction of heavy oil. lion m3 [90 billion bbl] of oil and 47.8 trillion m3

Summer 2010 39