Abstract
Data acquisition in 3D seismic is influenced by various elements. They may range from lithological features, terrain or environmental conditions to acquisition design parameters, instrumentation, and data collection style. This paper considers the design parameters used for orthogonal geometry seismic acquisition and how they influence the quality of data obtained from surveys carried out using the 3D technique in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This study presents an investigation done on six 3D seismic acquisition design data used for land seismic explorations in the Niger Delta. The design parameters investigated were divided into three main categories.
These categories were then independently compared with the nominal fold obtained in each acquisition data studied. The categories are source parameters (parameters related to the source or shot events), the receiver parameters (parameters related to the receivers), and the offset parameters i.e. maximum offset, minimum offset, and largest minimum offset. Regression analyses were carried out to adequately compare the nominal fold and the investigated parameters. Furthermore, mathematical expressions showing the relationships between these parameters and the nominal fold were obtained from the generated regressions. The source point interval, receiver
point interval and the minimum offset were observed to show no direct relationship with the nominal fold. The source line interval, the receiver line interval and the number of receiver lines showed a linear relationship with the nominal fold. Furthermore, a polynomial trend line was observed to exist between the number of source lines, the total source line length, total receivers, the receiver line length, the maximum offset and the largest minimum offset (LMO).