SB01

The largest 3D seabed seismic survey in the world is under

way offshore Abu Dhabi
G. Cambois1, S. Al Mesaabi1, G.A. Casson1, J. Cowell1, D. Arnold1, M. Mahgoub1, M. Al Hammadi1,
K. Obaid1
1
ADNOC

Summary
ADNOC has launched a survey aimed at imaging the entire acreage offshore Abu Dhabi with high-resolution full-
azimuth seismic data. Due to the shallow waters, everything will be acquired with either nodes or cables. Covering
about 30,000km2, this will be the largest seabed seismic survey ever recorded. An aggressive timeline of just over
three years means that five crews will be acquiring simultaneously, with full source blending. The survey started
early 2019 and has already ramped up to three crews. The data is showing broad bandwidth and intriguing new
azimuthal features that could lead to improved near-surface imaging.

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Introduction

In 2017 the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) made the decision to image the entire
Emirate’s subsurface (onshore and offshore) with 3D seismic. At close to 30,000 km2 the offshore part
will constitute the largest continuous 3D ocean-bottom survey ever acquired. In addition to covering
areas little explored before, and refreshing old images with modern technologies, the goal is to explore
specifically for unconventional resources and shallow gas. Imaging both shallow and deep targets, in
areas known for low signal-to-noise ratio, requires intense field efforts and elaborate processing
sequences. Acquisition started early 2019 and is scheduled to finish in 2022 with a final image delivery
one year later. To meet this rather tight timeline up to five crews will be operating simultaneously
offshore Abu Dhabi.

Offshore environment and geophysical objectives

Water depth can reach over 50m in the northwesternmost part of the Emirate, but most of the offshore
area is around 20-30m deep, laden with dozens of islands (and even more at low tide). There are many
obstructions around oilfields, including platforms and artificial islands used as well-pads. Near the
coast, the transition-zone (TZ) area has one major urban centre around Abu Dhabi Island, and many
sensitive mangrove patches. There is abundant protected marine wildlife including Dugong, Hawksbill
turtle, juvenile whale shark, dolphin and even Humpback whale. Respect of the environment is
primordial, and while every crew has dedicated marine life observers, it is up to each individual to do
his or her part (Figure 1).

The water-bottom is fairly uneven and the overburden quite complex. There are karstic collapses,
meandering channels and diagenesis, which cause significant drilling hazards. P- and S-velocities, as
well as anisotropy, are high in the near-surface giving rise to all sorts of linear noises (e.g. mud-roll and
guided waves). The imaging targets range from shallow to deep and experience has shown that large
offsets (6km) are necessary. While most structures are fairly benign, faults and fractures are key for
field development and full-azimuth acquisition is required.

Figure 1 Dugong being freed from fishing net by a seismic crew member offshore Abu Dhabi.

EAGE Seabed Seismic Today: from Acquisition to Application

8-10 September 2020, Online
Survey design and crew performance

The majority of the offshore acreage will be acquired by ocean-bottom nodes (OBN) using the nodes-
on-a-rope deployment system (Walker and McIntosh, 2011). Twenty active receiver lines 300m apart
with 320 nodes spaced every 50m record parallel airgun source lines 50m apart with a shot every 25m
(Figure 2). With a single line-roll, this geometry leads to 2,400 fold for a 12.5x25m bin size with
maximum inline and cross-line offsets of 6km. Areas requiring denser sampling (mainly over producing
fields) will have 4,800 fold for 12.5x12.5m bins with 6km maximum inline and cross-line offsets.

The main source is a 1,520 in3 airgun array towed 3 or 4m deep depending on water depth. In even
shallower waters, a lighter 440 in3 array towed 1.5m deep takes over. Because of the aggressive timeline,
source blending is the rule. Two dual-source and two single-source vessels, a minimum of 6km apart,
shoot simultaneously into the active spread (two boats on each side). This rather conservative approach
– which can still deliver close to 40,000 shot points per day – can be relaxed if acquisition needs further
acceleration and if deblending techniques prove effective enough to allow it.

The acquisition design is altered in shallower waters and in TZ areas, which large node vessels cannot
access. Nodes are replaced by ocean-bottom cables (OBC) or by “sand burger” marsh phones in the
surf. The airgun source is reduced in stages from 1,520 in3 to 320 in3. Vibroseis is used onshore and on
the larger islands, as well as dynamite in unpopulated, hard to access areas. Fold and maximum cross-
line offsets are reduced to cope with the many obstacles, especially around populated areas.

At the time of writing there are two BGP node crews operating offshore Abu Dhabi using 8,500
Magseis’ 4C MASS-I nodes each. The most productive crew averages 22,122 shot points per day and
reached a high of 37,113 sp/d. BGP also operates a TZ crew equipped with a 8,500-channel 408 ULS
cable system. One additional node crew and one additional TZ crew will mobilize this year, bringing to
five the number of crews operating simultaneously offshore Abu Dhabi.

Figure 2 The active node spread (blue) is 16km long and 6km wide. There are six 28km source lines
(red) on each side on the spread. The entire patch rolls North-South by one line. Then the zipper moves
East-West by 16km (source overlap only). The four source vessels (two single-source and two dual-
source), never less than 6km apart, simultaneously acquire six source lines in one pass (three on each
side of the spread).

Preliminary data analysis

The high-end acquisition parameters described above provide a wealth of data to be analysed in
processing. A preliminary stack result shows a wide bandwidth with excellent low frequency content
despite the rather low airgun array volume and its shallow tow (Figure 3). Also, the wide-azimuth nature
of the acquisition highlights remarkable patterns for mud-roll and guided waves (Figure 4). While these
features are yet to be fully understood, we believe they could lead to high resolution imaging of the
near-surface.

EAGE Seabed Seismic Today: from Acquisition to Application

8-10 September 2020, Online
Figure 3 Scaled filter panels of the hydrophone brute stack from a node survey offshore Abu Dhabi.
While the 2-4Hz panel is heavily contaminated by mud-roll noise (which will be eliminated in the
processing sequence) some dipping events conform to the local structure can already be observed. This
is remarkable considering the weakness of the source in the low frequencies.

Figure 4 RMS amplitude map of a raw hydrophone gather for a shallow window (left). The node is
located at the black star and each pixel represents a shot position, without offset limit. The high
amplitudes (red) correspond to the mud-roll and display a remarkable azimuth-dependent pattern. The
data extract on the right cuts through this pattern, which correlates with shifts in the mud-roll arrival
times (red ellipse). The guided waves (green ellipse) show similar shifts but following a different
pattern. Other linear noises (yellow arrow) show no shift at all.

EAGE Seabed Seismic Today: from Acquisition to Application

8-10 September 2020, Online
Conclusions

Covering the entire offshore acreage of a country (ca. 30,000 km 2) with high-resolution full-azimuth
3D seismic in a little over three years is a massive endeavour. Yet this survey is very real and already
happening. It started in early 2019 and has already ramped up to three crews. By the end of 2020 there
should be five crews operating simultaneously offshore Abu Dhabi. So far the crews have met their
production and HSE objectives. Preliminary imaging results vindicate the high-end choice of
acquisition parameters and open the way to new imaging technologies. The broadband nature of the
data represents a step change compared to legacy surveys. ADNOC is well on track to achieving its
demanding timeline and geophysical objectives, without compromising health, safety and the
environment.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank ADNOC for permission to present this paper, as well as BGP crew 252 and CGG
Abu Dhabi Centre for data acquisition and processing. George Casson provided the offshore picture.

References

Walker, C., and S. McIntosh, 2011, Autonomous nodes — The future of marine seismic data
acquisition?: 12th International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society.

EAGE Seabed Seismic Today: from Acquisition to Application

8-10 September 2020, Online