Abstract: This invention provides a method for performing three dimensional seismic surveys. In one configuration, receiver lines containing equally spaced receiver stations run in one direction while the source station lines run orthogonal to the receiver station lines. The receiver stations and/or the source stations are offset to obtain a desired spatial sampling (number of bins) or multiplicity of the common mid points. In an alternate configuration, the receiver line spacing is offset by a fraction of the source station spacing and/or the source line spacing is offset by a fraction of the receiver station spacing to obtain the desired spatial sampling. These configurations provide higher spatial sampling (smaller bins) compared to the conventional geometries. The smaller bins may be combined to obtain folds (multiplicity) which is sufficient to provide desired seismic imaging while preserving the benefits provided by the higher spatial sampling by the method of the present invention.

Abstract: This invention provides a method for performing three dimensional seismic surveys. In one configuration, receiver lines containing equally spaced receiver stations run in one direction while the source station lines run diagonal to the receiver station lines. The receiver stations and/or the source stations are offset to obtain a desired spatial sampling (number of bins) or multiplicity of the common mid points. In an altemate configuration, the receiver line spacing is offset by a fraction of the source station spacing and/or the source line spacing is offset by a fraction of the receiver station spacing to obtain the desired spatial sampling. These configurations provide higher spatial sampling (smaller bins) compared to the conventional geometries. The smaller bins may be combined to obtain folds (multiplicity) which is sufficient to provide desired seismic imaging while preserving the benefits provided by the higher spatial sampling by the method of the present invention.