{"id":66,"date":"2015-03-05T17:41:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T17:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/?page_id=66"},"modified":"2026-10-08T14:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:29:02","slug":"the-four-stages-of-seismic-exploration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/?page_id=66","title":{"rendered":"The Four Stages of Seismic Exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The oil industry uses specialized seismic contractors and equipment in their search for hydrocarbons. There are 4 stages of exploration:<\/p>\n

1. Seismic Acquisition<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Vibroseis<\/a>
Vibroseis truck, a land seismic source. Click on the image to see one in action!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To produce a seismic image of the subsurface, a seismic source must be generated and the resulting reflection data recorded by a field crew. In this way, land and marine seismic data is created and recorded all over the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Seismic Processing<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Seismic
Seismic processors and powerful computer workstations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next the data must be processed, where the raw data is put through many complex procedures using powerful computers and finally a seismic section is produced.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Seismic Interpretation<\/h2>\n

Making sense of the seismic image, identifying and mapping geological structures that can act as oil traps is the final stage of the seismic process.<\/p>\n

\"Seismic
Seismic profile with interpretation of horizons and structures<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n

4. Exploration Drilling<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Land
Land drilling rig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the results of the interpretation seem favourable, then an exploration borehole will be drilled. A well in a previously unexplored area is called a wildcat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Recap – the four stages of Seismic Exploration are:<\/p>\n

Acquisition<\/h2>\n

Land and marine seismic data is created and recorded all over the world by field crews<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Processing<\/h2>\n

Seismic sections are created from the raw data recorded by the field crew<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interpretation<\/h2>\n

Horizons and structures are identified and the location of possible hydrocarbon reserves are mapped<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Drilling<\/h2>\n

Exploration wells are drilled to see if there are hydrocarbons in sufficient quantity to become a reservoir of economic viability<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Next – How a Seismic Line is Produced<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The oil industry uses specialized seismic contractors and equipment in their search for hydrocarbons. There are 4 stages of exploration: 1. Seismic Acquisition To produce a seismic image of the subsurface, a seismic source must be generated and the resulting reflection data recorded by a field crew. In this way, land and marine seismic data … Continue reading The Four Stages of Seismic Exploration<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-66","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":534,"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66\/revisions\/534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sub-surfrocks.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}