Shooting over the streamer spread; a novel approach in seismic marine acquisition and imaging

In this paper we present a new marine seismic acquisition technique initially developed to meet imaging challenges of the Loppa High in the Norwegian Barents Sea. Two seismic vessels operate in tandem; one streamer vessel towing a spread of deep, densely spaced streamers, and one source vessel towing two or more sources. The source vessel is positioned on top of the seismic spread. The unique configuration facilitates acquisition of zero-offset data. This, together with the fact that both negative and positive offsets are recorded, creates a unique illumination density of the subsurface. The solution is developed and tested in close cooperation between CGG and Lundin through a comprehensive modelling and field trial program involving a series of safety and mechanical tests and also a small 3D test survey. The result is high-resolution seismic images in the shallow and improved S/N in the deeper sections.