WesternGeco to Acquire the First Multiclient Wide-Azimuth, Towed-Streamer Seismic Survey in the Gulf of Mexico; Shell Underwrites Q-Marine Seismic Survey to Illuminate Complex Subsalt Structure

WesternGeco announced today that Shell Exploration will
underwrite a major portion of the first exploration multiclient
wide-azimuth (WAZ) towed-streamer survey in the Gulf of Mexico. The
project covers a minimum of 200 Outer Continental Shelf blocks in the
central Gulf of Mexico, about 125 miles off the coast of Louisiana in
water depths of 4,400 ft.
To enhance the subsalt image, WesternGeco will employ Q-Marine(a)
technology, with proprietary processing workflows and wave
extrapolation migration (WEM).
Seismic data acquisition will begin in mid-July 2006 and conclude
as early as December 2006 utilizing a unique design co-developed by
WesternGeco and Shell. A final WEM product will be available for
interpretation in advance of the March 2008 lease sale.
"This project provides WesternGeco with the opportunity to set the
standard for wide-azimuth design, acquisition and processing using
Q-Marine technology and breakthroughs in WAZ seismic processing," said
Maurice Nessim, Vice President, North America, WesternGeco. "The
multiclient product will provide value by allowing a greatly improved
image of key blocks on offer in the March 2008 and subsequent lease
sales, and reducing subsalt drilling risk."
Shell Exploration and WesternGeco recently collaborated on a
proprietary survey in the Gulf of Mexico applying a unique WAZ survey
design to illuminate the geology beneath complex salt. The success of
that project has led to this new WAZ multiclient survey, an
acquisition step-change required for subsalt illumination in parts of
the Gulf of Mexico and other salt provinces around the world.

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(a) Mark of Schlumberger