This area is characterized by complex geology and salt tectonics, creating the need for an innovative approach to illuminate the highly prospective Miocene and its associated traps against salt flanks or deep weld systems. The combination of OBN data, recording of ultralong (>30-km) offsets, and FWI (through data-fitting, model-building technology) is expected to deliver superior salt body definition and a major update to the earth model.

Results from the Amendment Phase 1 sparse-OBN survey in the Mississippi Canyon and Atwater Valley show that the combination of this updated model—integrated with the available multiple types of WAZ surveys—demonstrates significant imaging uplift and can reveal previously unseen structural relationships subsalt.