The advice offered by 3DSymSam is based on the 3D symmetric sampling theory developed by Gijs Vermeer and his colleagues when working at Shell’s E&P lab and as further expanded and modernized since then. This theory allows to design 3D survey geometries with an emphasis on spatial continuity rather than on bin attributes. The design of a 3D survey may be split over three major steps:

– Gather all relevant information, review existing data, review objectives of new survey,
– Determine main parameters of best geometry, and also reasonable alternatives to the best,
– Determine how to implement the design and look at logistics of the survey.

Advice can be given for the design of new 3D marine or land surveys based on these three steps. Another option is to review the results of existing 3D surveys, and to establish whether significant improvements can be reached using an alternative approach.

Applying conventional seismic processing techniques to data acquired with the 3D symmetric sampling technique leads in general already to better results than for instance can be obtained with data acquired with asymmetric techniques. Yet, further improvement can be obtained by also adapting the processing techniques. Advice on alternative processing techniques can be given.