Improving Subsalt Imaging by Incorporating MT Data in a 3D Earth Model Building Workflow - A Case Study in Gulf of Mexico

In this work we present the simultaneous joint inversion of seismic and EM data in WalkerRidge area, Gulf of Mexico. The deep-water Gulf of Mexico can be a difficult geologic and imaging environment due to the diverse and repeated salt tectonic episodes that have resulted in complex allochthonous salt formation. Accurate salt body characterization and careful earth model building are key objectives for properly assessing the exploration potential of the area. Seismic methods alone, cannot always properly image the subsalt reflectors. The inclusion of non-seismic data, such as magnetotelluric (MT) is very useful in complex salt provinces where the method can leverage the differences between salt and sediment resistivity as well as between seismic velocity.