4D in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Hoover, Madison, and Marshall fields

The use of time-lapse or 4D seismic technology is well established in the North Sea and West Africa where the application of 4D for reservoir production monitoring and surveillance has resulted in documented gains in recovery efficiency, increased reserves, and more efficient field operations. However, for several reasons, including challenging acquisition conditions, 4D technology has not been widely applied in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. In late 2005 and early 2006, ExxonMobil acquired a deepwater Gulf of Mexico 4D survey covering the Hoover, Madison and Marshall fields in the Alaminos Canyon/East Breaks area (for simplicity, we will refer to this as the Hoover survey).