Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic surveys have become a major tool in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. The first few 3-D seismic surveys were acquired in the late 1970s, but it took until the early 1990s before they gained general acceptance throughout the industry. Until then, the subsurface was being mapped using two-dimensional (2-D) seismic surveys.
Theories on the best way of sampling 2-D seismic lines were not published until the late 1980s, notably by Anstcy, Ongkichong and Askin, and Vermeer. These theories were all based on the insight that offset forms a third dimension, for which sampling rules must be given.
The design of the first 3-D surveys was severely limited by what technology could offer. Gradually, the number of channels that could be used increased, leading to discussions on what constitutes a good 3-D acquisition geometry. The general philosophy was to expand lessons learnt from 2-D acquisition to 3-D. This approach led to much emphasis on the properties of the CMP gather (or bin), because good sampling of offsets in a CMP gather was the main criterion in 2-D design. 3-D design programs were developed, which mainly concentrated on analysis of bin attributes, and in particular on offset sampling (regularity, effective fold, azimuth distribution, etc.). This conventional approach to 3-D survey design is limited by an incomplete understanding of the differing properties of the many geometries that can be used in 3-D seismic surveys. In particular, the sampling requirements for optimal prestack imaging were not properly taken into account. This dissertation addresses these problems and provides a new methodology for the design of 3-D seismic surveys.