Eight-Fold Three-Dimensional Seismic Coverage Onshore for Price of Two Normal CDP Lines

James L. Allen, John L. Howell, Sr.

By laying out two seismic lines perpendicular to one another and recording on both lines while shooting each line, a grid of three-dimensional subsurface seismic information can be obtained for the cost of shooting two normal common-depth-point lines. The subsurface coverage will be single-fold points one-half the geophone station interval, a distance called the bin interval. By shooting at each station and mixing recording stations one bin apart, the resulting traces on the three-dimensional grid can be eight-fold and still be one bin interval apart. As with most three-dimensional surveys, the cost of processing the data is roughly equivalent to the cost of acquisition.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91038©1987 AAPG Annual Convention, Los Angeles, California, June 7-10, 1987.