Can Interpolation Help Reduce Acquisition Costs? A Case Study

Prestack trace interpolation (5D interpolation) is widely used in seismic data processing recently to regularize spatial sampling and recover missing traces. There are many successful cases of interpolation helping improve prestack migration images, stabilize AVAZ analysis, and distinguish and attenuate short period multiples. It is a hot topic if interpolation can help reduce acquisition costs. In this study, different decimation tests of a typical orthogonal land seismic survey in combination with 5D interpolation were conducted to investigate the ability of recovering missing data by interpolation. The test results show that 5D interpolation provides an opportunity to reduce acquisition cost with thoughtful design. The results also show that 5D interpolation can eliminate acquisition footprints and increase signal-to-noise ratio of final images.