BRUCEA. BLAKEand DANIELE. FIGUEROA,Repsol- YPF, Dalias, Texas, U.S.

Sub-Andean Bolivia is of special

importance because it is on trend with
several major gas fields in !:he Nor!:h-
west Basi11of Argentina (Figure 1). Tl1e
largest of !:hefields are Ramos-Chango
Norte (6 trilUon ft') and Aguaragiie (4
"'6
~ trillion ft1).
Repsol-YP"Fis the operator of l:l1fee
~
ti) blocks in this trend in Bolivia-
o:: Caipipendi, Charagua, and Lagun-
"g
;.:¡ illas-and is currently drilling two
"'= delineation wells near the recent
~
o::
'"' Margarita discovery. Our total holdi11g
~
"t
in !:heseI:hreeblocks is 11000 km2, a11d
the company has more than 2500 km
'"'
~ of 2-D seislnic data along trend. Wells
~
~ cost more than $15 million, so it is very
~ important to accurately interpret 1:l1e
:f;' seislnÍc Unesdelu1eating 1:l1e prospects.
~ Problems impacting seislnÍc imaging
§ u11:l1ÍS afea Í11clude:
~
o
o
U 1) This is a dual detachment defor-
mation system with major zones of
décollement in the Devonian-age Figltre 1. Location of the sub-Andean fold and thrust belt in Bolivia and
Los Monos Formation and the basal Argentina. Serraníasare green. To the west is the Andean Cordillera and to
Silurian Kirusillas Formation the eastis the Chaco Plain. AIso shown are the larger Huamampampa gas
(Figure 2). The detachment and fields in the Northwest Basin of Argentina.
duplexu1g within the Los Monos
shale is the pril11ary mountain- ..
blulding process.
2) The litl1010gy of th~ various forma-
tions is primarily clastic witl1 minor
amow1ts of limestones.
3) The general structural grain is
north-south. The serranías(moun-
tau1 ranges) extend uninterrupted
for more tl1an 100 km.
4) The age of structural deformation is
Miocene with faulting in tl1e lmde-
formed afea to the east (Chaco
Basin). Figure 2. Balanced cross-section, typical for ibis dual detachment fold and
thrust bello The horizon of interest is green (Huamampampa + Santa Rosa).
Primary targets f<jlroil exploration Shown as seismic line ti es are hypothetical strike-line positions. AIso
are carbolilierous fo~ations and tl1e shown are normal incident raypaths from the top of the Huamampampa to
Devonian-age Iquiri Formation. Tl1ese the strike liDes. The upper deck is the yellow, dark green, and gray hori-
targets are above the Los Monos zons while the lower deck is the light green and pink horizons. The shal-
detachment zone and are shallower lower detachment is at the base of the brown horizon (Los Monos). The
tl1an 2000 m. lower detachment is at the base of the pink horizon (basal Silurian).
Recent discoveries Í11Argentina's
Nortl1west BasÍ11and fue announce~ Huamampampa in t11estudy afea is work. However, it is apparent that the
ment of a gas pipeline to Bolivia have generally greater t11an4500 m. best data are recorded where Tertiary
generated interest in the deeper or younger formations are exposed at
Devonian-age Huamampampa and Seismicchallenges.Seismicdataqual- t11esurface. Seismic is also cheaper to
Santa Rosa formations. This objective ity is infamously poor in the sub- acquire in these afeas. We typically
is below fue upper detachment and, in Andean fold and thrust belt of record 60-fold data over the Tertiary
many cases, the culmination at the northern Argentina and southern outcropping regions versus 180-fold
deeper target is not coincident with Bolivia, making seismicdefinition of in the mountains.
the shallower structtlre. The deptl1 to structural culminations very risky Historically, prospective afeas in
fue fold and thrust belt have beeniden-
tified from three primary sources:
topographic maps, surface geologic
maps, and satellite images. Each has
identified structural highs buried at
shallow depths above fue Los Monos
detachInent. The topography of tl1e
afea is a result of mountain-building
deformation and its lmderlying struc-
hlre. The moLU1tau1S themselves show
where tl1e structures are located, in a
regional sense.Minor variations U1ele-
vations can imply changes in a strike
direction of fue underlying struchlre.
The main problem in inferring
detailed structure from elevations
alone is U1tryjng to ~ move the effects
of erosion from the data. Many suc-
cessful and unsucc sful well loca-
tions ha ve been based on surface
data. Structure maps can be made
knowing the location and elevation
of formation contacts and projecting Figure 3. Surface geology map from the southern sub-Andean trend in
these points, using dips measured at Bolivia. Outcrops are color coded as follows: yellow = Tertiary; green =
the surface. Sate\lite images help Cretaceous;light blue = Permian and Triassic; grey = Carboniferous; and
interpolate betweenl recorded surface brown = Devonian. AIso indicated are a complete fold, with both back-
measurements. limb and forelimb exposed,an overturned fold that has only a backlimb
The sub-Andean Argentine and exposure,and seismic-line locations.
Bolivian fold arid thrust belt is a dual
detachment system. This means that
the sha\low struchlre does not neces-
sarily conform to tl1e deeper structure.
A dishalmony exists between bed dips
of the upper "deck" and the lower
"deck," caused by d~formation within
the Los Monos shal~ formation, a duc-
tile lmit. !
Figure 2 is a b~lanced geologic
cross-section typical for this trend.
Most wells in tl1e afea drilled in fue
past 50 years have targeted tl1e shal-
lower, Upper Oevonian and post-
Devonian formations. Current explor-
ation emphasis is on the deeper
Devonian Huamampampa and Santa
Rosa formations where world-class
gas discoveries have been made in fue
Noroeste (Northwest) Basin of
Argentina. Because of fue structural
difference between the upper and
lower decks, explorationists ha ve
relied on seismic pefinition of the
deeper structure tb properly place
wells.
The main issues with seismic data
in this afea are cost and quality. A typ-
ical seismic program in any other afea
of fue world consists of at leastone and
usua\ly three clip lines tl1at cover fue
lead area with some allowance for
mapping error plus a crestalsh'ike line.
In good data afeas,this grid of control
is sufficient for mapping fue structure
and locating a well. Wl1en fuese types
of seismic programs are carried out in
the fold and thrust belt, the result is a
set of noisy sections that is difficult to
 lines provided good results, showing
where structural culminations and
depressions are, in a strike sense. The
clip lines still suffered from the data-
quality issues previously identified.
Our current design incorporates a two-
stage exploration approach.
Using surface geologic maps, we
can confidently identify the serranías
and their Tertiary aprons (Figtlre 3).
Stage 1 is to shoot a backlimb strike
line, using thesemaps to plan fue line's
location. Stage 2 is using fue results of
the backlimb strike line to layout clip
lines and a possible forelimb strike
line. Thís forelimb seismjc line is espe-
cially useful along folds that are not
overtllrned; that is, they have a fore-
limb surface expression.
Une location is critical for both
strike and clip lines, but the strike lines
require special consideration. First, fue
strike lines must be located along
Tertiary-age or yollnger outcrops. As
mentioned earlier, seismjc data qual- Figure 5. Dip seismic Line 2 that crossesthe northern culmination seen in
ity is controlled by this factor. Dip fules Figure 4. Colored line along top of section representsthe surface topogra-
in the afea, which cross several differ- phy (in time) and the age of the outcropping formations. Yellow = Tertiary;
green = Cretaceous;blue = Permo-Triassic; gray = Carboniferous; and
ent formations, show a marked change
in reflection continuity at the Tertiary brown = Devonian. Short black segmentsindicate surface dips of outcrop-
to non- Tertiary contactoWe irlformally ping beds.
refer to thís bowldary as fue "no-data Une 1. 3000m
wall." Therefore, it is critical that sh"ike
lines are laid out so as not to cross into
outcrops older than Tertiary age.
Second, the strike lines must
remain subparallel to tlle serranía so
as not to produce an apparent struc-
tllre on the stack section. If one were
to record a perfectly sh.aight seismjc
line along a slightly serpentÍ11eser-
ranía, fue result would be an apparent
culmination where fue line was clos-
est to the serranía and apparent
depression where it is farthest. Third,
fue strike line must not cross a Sytlcline
axis.Tl1is is especially important when
shooting a forelimb line where there
is a tight sytlcline in front of tlle toldo
Strike lines always "look" urdir.
Therefore, if fue striike line crosses fue
syncline axis, it images a completely
different subsurface feature.
As outlined above, fue Ñrst stage
of tlle exploration progt"am is to shoot
the backlimb seismjc line. This line Figure 6. Three-dimensional model of the backlimb and crestal strike liDes.
provides valuable irlformation on fue In the background is a cross-sectionthrough the model, color-coded by
strike (north-south) location of a sub- horizon. The Huamampampa surface is shown coming out of the cross-
surface culmination. Rarely is the section toward the viewer and is color-coded by depth. White liDes are nor-
lower deck culmination coincident mal incident rays from the Huamampampa to eachstrike-line surface
with that of the upper deck or with location.
what is seen at fue surface. By using
the backlimb line to identify fue loca- Cross-sectionexample of fue thrust tumed fold thathassubsequentIybeen
tion of the deeper culmination, clip
sheets.Figttre 2 is a balanced,dip-ori- eroded, leaving exposed a simple
lines can be positioned to define fue ented cross-sectionthat illustratesfue thrust sheet."Tie A" shows where a
cullnination position in tlle clip (east- variability in the dip position of a backlimbstrike line rW1Ilingperpen-
deeperculmination. On the eastern dicular to the plane of section that
west) sense.
(right) side of fue sectionis an over- would intersectthis line. Also shown

DECEMBEIl1999 THELEAOINGEOGE 13.

~
Line3
 is a ray normal to the green
(Huamampampa) horizon, fue target
horizon in this trend. This is what we
mean by a strike line 1ooking" in fue
updip direction. Note fue position of
fue culmination at fue green horizon
in an east-westdirection. m reality, this
position mar be up to 6 km to either
side of where it is shown in fue figure.
Consider the structure on the
west (left) side of ~igure 2. Here we
have an eastward-verging complete
toldo Another hypothetical backlimb
strike line is shown at "Tie B/I with
its associated normal incident ray-
path to fue Huamampampa horizon.
The east-west position of fue culmi-
nation in this structure is limited by
fue locationc of. ~e llimbs at ~e s~-
face. The pos1tlon uncertamty lS
much less for this type of fold than
for an overturned fold described
above. m this case shooting a fore-
limb strike line ~t1location /lTie C/I
would also be very useful.
m either case, clip lines are nec-
essary to identify fue exact culnúna-
tion position and d~pth for fue deep
structure. Because bf fue pOOl qual-
ity of fue data in fue afeas where the
non- Tertiary rocks outcrop, interpre-
tation of deeper structures on clip
lines is still very ~cult and much
uncertainty remain¡;.
Map migration. ~e interpretation
and mapping of offrstructure seismic
lines necessitate map-migration
teclmiques to resrore reflectiol1Sto their
proper POSitiOl1S. Strike lines "look"
in an updip direction. It is through
map migration that we move fuese
reflectiol1Sout of fue plane of fue seis-
mic section back to their origino We
interpret reflections on unmigrated
stack sectiol1S,tying fue seismic data
to surface geology data (formation
contacts and dips). TIme surfaces are
created from fuese interpretatiol1S at
various key horizol1S. These key hori-
1364 THELEADINGEDGE DECEM8ER1999
zonaare tied to majar changesin veloc-
ities. Each successively deeper hori-
zon is map-migrated to create a depth
map and added to a 3-D depth model
of fue prospecto Migration of deeper
horizons relies on this overlying depth
modelo When it is complete, we typi-
rally have a 3-D depth model of at
least six horizons that have been tied
to fue surface data.
Results of two-stage shooting.
Repsol-YPF has been explormg m fue
southem sub-Andean trepd for sev-
eralyears. We have identified numer-
ous leads and prospects usmg fue
techniques described m this papel.
Below is one ex~ple.
Figure 3 is fue surface geologic
map. The very tight fold and steep
dips along fue serraIÚa are ideal for
strike-line methodology. For simplic-
ity, we are showing only three of fue
lines acquired ayer this prospect: two
strike lines and one clip. The backlimb
strike line (Line 1)was fue first line that
Repsol-YPF acquired. The following
year we acquired fue clip line (Line 2)
and, at fue insistence of fue partners,
a crestal strike line (Une 3). Lme 1 (60-
fold) cost about $20OOO/kmto acquire
and process. Unes 2 and 3 are higher
fold (240 and 180, respectively) and
cost about $30 OOO/kmbecause of fue
greater effort and fue difficult terrain
conditions.
Figure 4 is the backlimb strike
seismic line (Lme 1). The quality is
considered to be very good because
fue line was entirely on Tertiary out-
crops. Based on this line, we identi-
fied a small depression, seen m fue
middle of fue displayed section, with
culminations to fue north and south.
Additionallines were shot to delin-
eate fue complete structural picture.
One clip lme (Lme 2) is shown m
Figure 5. Although this is not the
ideal scale on which to mterpret fuese
data, it is obvious that data quality is
much poorer than on Line 1. Dip
directionsin fue core of fue anticline
areobvious, but there is no reflection
(or package of reflections) that is
unique enoughin characterto allow
a jump correlationwith parallellines.
Therefore,structural mapping in fue
north-south direction relies solely on
fue strike-line interpretation.
Thecrestalstrikeseismicline (Line
3)is also shownin Figure4. Quality is
poorerthan Line 1 yet costs50%more
to acquire. This line was shot on
Carboniferous-age and Devonian-age
outcrops.Thereare similarities in fue
structurebetweenthis line and Line 1.
Note fue high on fue south (left) end
ofboth sections.The depressionis also
visible on both sections.Minor differ-
encescan be seenin fue shapeof fue
reflections.Theseareattributed to dif-
ferent ray paths and different over-
burden velocities. The one majar
difference is fue strong package of
reflectorsabovefue green horizon on
Line 3 on fue north end. Basedon for-
ward ray-trace modeling, we believe
fueseto be tuming-ray reflectionsfrom
the undersides of Cretaceous and
Carboniferousformationson fue steep
flanks. Becausethey are out of fue
plane of fue section,we have ignored
them in our structural interpretation.
Modeling and ray-tracing. Indepen-
dent of our seismic interpretation and
using 13 balanced cross-sections that
cover this prospect, we built a 3-D
depth model of fue structure. We then
ray-traced from fue model to our var-
ious 2-D line locations to investigate
what part of fue subsurface fuese lines
were seeing. Not surprisingly, fue
modeled dip lines showed very little
out-of-the-plane reflection events.
However, the strike-line models
showed a very different picture. As
expected, fue backlimb strike line
imaged fue Huamampampa well out
of fue plane of fue line itself and fue
cresta! strike line imaged fue target
horizon directly below the line.
Surprisingly; both lines saw essentia1ly
fue same subsurface points (Figure 6).
For clarity, we show only a portion of
fue topographic and fue Huamam-
pampa surfaces. Also shown in this
figure is a cross-section through fue
model that is color-coded by layer.
Although fue two strike lines are about
3000 m apart on the surface, the
Huamampampa reflection points are
only 400 m apartoUsing velocities and
frequencies of data in this area, we
estimate fue Fresnel zone radius to be
600 m. Therefore, for all practica! pur-
poses, both lines are seeing fue same
~ \
subsurfaceafea.
~!, The distance an off-structure
strike line imagesupdip is a function
of the velocity of the layersabovethe
zone of interest, the clip of theselay-
ers,and the depth to fue zone of inter-
estoIt is important that forward ray
tracingbe done on differentprospects
to see what effect the velocities and
dips have on the raypaths. Because
of the very steepbeds in the prospect
describedaboveand the depth to the
target horizon, the backlimb strike
line nearly imaged the highest point
on the structure. Every prospectwill
be different,and Bornemar not image
as close to the crest as we ha ve
demonstratedhere. But the off-struc-
ture strike line will always in1agein
an updip direction.
Geophysical explanation of fue tech-
nique's success. We are advocating
shooting strike lines as opposed to
clip lines in afeas of complex geology.
This would appear to go against all
previous guidelines for laying out a
seismic programo Yet we believe that
there is both technical and financial
merit to support this methodology.
The old guideline for shooting
clip lines is predicated on minimizing
out-of-plane reflections to improve
data quality. Our argument for aban-
doning this guideline is twofold.
First, we have demonstrated that
quality is a function of line place-
mento By avoiding non- Tertiary out-
crops, we can get better seismic
sections. Second, if we can move out-
of-plane reflections back to their
proper place, then these reflections
are no longer considered noise.
Granted, interpretation is now more
difficult beca use we are forced to
mapmigrate our interpretations. But
data quality and interpretability have
been enhanced many times overoThe
result is a more complete interpreta-
tion.
Strike sections are improved
because we are artificially flattening
the reflections. Most processing algo-
rithms assume that the subsurface is
made up of flat, homogeneous layers.
With a clip line, we are recording
reflections from layers that are very
steep, sometimes vertical. Rays cross
through layers of different velocities.
This produces CMPs that are nonhy-
perbolic, which violates another pro-
cessing objective. By shooting lines
that are strike oriented, the apparent
clip of beds approaches zero and the
CMPs become hyperbolic, resulting
in a much cleaner stack section.
FinalIy, off-structure strike lines are
much cheaper to acquire than clip lmes eration in relation to thrusting in the
($20000/km versus$30000/km). This sllb-Andean zone from 18 to 2205,
is a ftmction of both lower fold of the Bolivia" by Moretti et al. (Petroleum
data and easieraccessto shooting lines Geoscience,1996). IÉ
in the Tertiary valleys. The crews that
survey, drill, and record clip lmes must Acknolvledgrnents: This article expands a
cross serranías with more than,600 m presentation at AAPG's 1999 Annual
of vertical relief. Helicopters move Convention titled "Strike-line methodol-
equipment and personnel along the ogy in afeas of comple.\' geolagy." The
line. 'n1evalIeys, on fue other hand, are authors recognize ti/e follolving companies
more easily accessible. Many times fa,. permission ta use the seismic data il/ tllat
there are roads along which equip- original pape,.: Andina, Petrobras, Petrole.\',
anti Repsol- YPF.
ment can be moved. The terrain,
although not an oren plam, does not
Corresponding author: B Blake,
have the vertical relief of tl1eclip lines.
bruce_blakL-@ notes.ma.tus.com.
By making the exploration pro-
gram two stage, companies can save Bruce A. Blake received a B.S. degree in gL'O-
money by acquiring clip line data
physics (1977) from
only where there is a lead, because Te.\'as A&M Univer-
clip lines are laid Ollt only after the
sity. Llpongraduation,
backlimb strike lme is shot and inter- he joined Houstoll Oil
preted. With a "traditional" explo- & Minerals Corpor-
ration program, clip and strike lines ation as a geophysicist.
wollld be acquired at the same time. In 1980 he joined
If fue lead did not materialize, the Hunt Oil Company
money spent on dip-line acquisition and in 1988 began
is wasted. Under our approach, we lvork lvith Maxus
can avoid making this type of mis- EnergajCorporation, lvhich l/JIIS subsequently
take by providing a back-ollt pomt bought by Repsol- YPE He is nOlvan e.\'plo-
early in the programo ration consnltant for Repsol- YPE His pri-
mary interL'St is structural intelpretation of
seismic data, inc/udÍllg ray-trace modeling,
Conclusion. The strike-liI1e method-
seismic imaging, and map migration. He is
ology outlined in tl1is paper breaks
an active member of SEG, AAPG, and the
some of t11erules used in the pastoBut
Geological Society of America.
this methodology improves fue effi-
ciency of fue exploration effort while Daniel E. Figueroa received his license in
reducing the lfficertainty of the inter-
geological sciences
pretation. The methodology is straight- and degree in petro-
forward: leum geology (1980)
from the Universidad
1)Always shoot a backlimb strike de Buenos Aires. In
line. that sume year he
2) Interpret the backlimb strike lme, joined YPF as a geol-
identifying structural culmina- ogist. He currently is
tions. the exploration coor-
3) Shoot clip lines (and possibly a dinator-Bolivia for
forelimb strike line) ayer afeas Repsol- YPE His primary interest is struc-
with culminations. tural geologrj.
4) Map-migrate the interpretation
from the stack sections.
We have found this approach to
be successful in the sub-Andean fold
and thrust belt of Bolivia and believe
it is applicable to any similar afea
with a dual detachment system.
Suggestions for further reading.
"Structural styles and petroleum occur-
rencell1 tl1esub-Andean fold and thrust
belt of northern Argentina" by Belotti
et al. (in Petroleum Basins 01 South
America, AAPG Memoir 62, 1995).
"Structural styles and hydrocarbon
potential of fue sub-Andean thrust belt
of southern Bolivia" by Dunn et al. (in
AAPG Memoir 62). "Hydrocarbon gen-
DECEMBER1999 THE LEADINGEDGE 13