HR: 17:05h
AN: NS34A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Subsalt Imaging in the Gulf of Mexico by PSDM and 3D High Resolution Gravity Inversion
AU: * Ortiz-Aleman, C
EM: jcortiz@imp.mx
AF: Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Eje Central 152, Gustavo A Madero, mexico city, mex 07730, Mexico
AU: Munoz, S
EM: smunozg@imp.mx
AF: Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Eje Central 152, Gustavo A Madero, mexico city, mex 07730, Mexico
AU: Ceron, A
EM: aceronf@imp.mx
AF: Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Eje Central 152, Gustavo A Madero, mexico city, mex 07730, Mexico
AU: Flores, M
EM: mfloresf@pep.pemex.com
AF: Petroleos Mexicanos, Coordinacion de Plays Establecidos, Coordinacionde Plays Establecidos, Villa Hermosa, Tab , Mexico
AU: Nava, M
AF: Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Eje Central 152, Gustavo A Madero, mexico city, mex 07730, Mexico
AB: In this work we applied a three-dimensional high-resolution gravity inversion method based on simulated annealing to the imaging of salt structures in the Gulf of Mexico. The initial input solution was constrained by using a previously interpreted seismic velocity model and all the available geologic information. Conversion of seismic velocities into densities led to an initial determination of salt distribution at depth. Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) provided an accurate estimation of top of salt bodies. Estimation of base of salt (and geometry distribution of salt bodies) most of the times is not an easy task for PSDM alone. PSDM was combined with high resolution gravity modeling in three dimensions in order to constrain estimation of base of salt bodies and velocity structure bellow to them. A significant improvement of resolution of PSDM images was achieved by the conversion of densities from gravity inversion into refined velocity models supplied to the PSDM iterative process.
DE: 0545 Modeling (4255)
DE: 0903 Computational methods: potential fields (1214)
DE: 0910 Data processing
DE: 0935 Seismic methods (3025, 7294)
SC: Near-Surface Geophysics [NS]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly