CGG has launched the start of a new seismic data reimaging program on Oct. 15 in the prospective Walker Ridge area, as part of a major reimaging campaign being conducted in the Gulf of Mexico. The Walker Ridge program covers approximately 300 OCS blocks including two priority areas of significant industry interest. Advanced proprietary imaging technologies will be applied to this program to unlock the full potential of existing seismic data and provide significant uplift in subsurface imaging.

Given recent discoveries and proven production in Walker Ridge, the new program has received strong industry prefunding from clients actively exploring and drilling for oil and gas within this basin. CGG’s Walker Ridge Wide-Azimuth and StagSeis DEUX surveys will provide input for the project and the reprocessed data will deliver valuable, high-quality imaging throughout the program with two priority discovery areas being processed on an accelerated schedule. Final products are expected in February 2021 and May 2021 respectively, ahead of the full program results, due out by the end of 2021.

The target of CGG’s new program is the prolific Wilcox formation which is deformed by thrusts and folds beneath multiple thick salt sheets and shales that have historically been difficult to image. To better define this challenging and complex area, CGG will reprocess existing data with 3D deghosting, 3D SRME and its advanced new velocity modelling technologies, including Time-Lag FWI and FWI Imaging. Preliminary test results show significant uplift in imaging of the subsalt fold-belts and continuity of reflectors within the Eocene and Paleocene exploration targets.

“Production in the Walker Ridge area has been consistent and continues to grow with recent discoveries,” Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO of CGG, said. “As the industry leader in seismic data processing, we are continually developing new technology and techniques that we can apply to existing data to provide our clients with the best, most technically advanced images of the subsurface. Advances in technology and the results from this project will allow for more efficient decision-making in finding and producing oil and gas.”

Offshore