Salt interpretation for depth imaging – where geology is working in the geophysical world

Accurate salt interpretation involves an integration of geology and geophysics. In the practice of salt interpretation and model building in depth imaging, we see two problems that could happen: exclusive geophysical interpretation without geological input and insufficient geological interpretation without understanding how the geophysical data are processed and without evaluating the limit and uncertainty of some geological data. Here we present two before-after examples to show why these problems can happen, how the final imaging products can be improved through integrating geological and geophysical data in salt interpretation/modeling for depth migration, and why the cross-training of geological, geophysical and interpretation skill sets are key factors in improving depth imaging products.