The Role of Intensive Seismic Reflection Processing in Understanding the Offshore Otway Basin

The offshore Otway Basin is a difficult area for seismic exploration, due to the presence of shallow, high-velocity carbonates. Both the shallow and deep-water parts of the basin were investigated in a single regional survey done by the Bureau of Mineral Resources vessel Rig Seismic in 1985. The survey and processing parameters used to obtain the best results for such a wide-ranging survey are discussed. A mixed group length cable was used to improve shallow resolution. By using an intensive approach to processing, good results were obtained on the shallow water shelf areas, and deep crustal features were well resolved in deeper areas. The processing sequence used F-K filtering in the shot domain routinely, with signature deconvolution and 2D filtering for multiple suppression in deep water.