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By Faqi Liu
Subsurface Imaging and Prediction
ConocoPhillips, Houston

Abstract:
Wave equation based shot profile migration can produce better quality images than the ray theory based Kirchhoff type methods in complicated areas with strong lateral heterogeneity. However, the high cost of the wave equation migration algorithms largely limits their production use. Source plane wave migration is one technique that has the pootential to procude images that are comparable to those of shot profile migration in quality, but the computation cost can be significantly less. The theory supporting this is the linearity of the wave field extrapolators, and the fact that the integration of plane wave images over ray parameters produces shot migration reesult. This implies the plane wave sections are constructed from shot gathers with infinite aperture. However, current acquisition geometries do not record data that meet this requirement. In this presentation, I will discuss the basic theory of plane wave migration, compare the results of shot and plane wave migration. Then I will talk about the optimal approach to apply the plane wave technique to marine seismic data with the application of the reciprocity principle.