Introduction

Prospecting for petroleum is a four-step process: (1) echo soundings are recorded; (2) they are analyzed for reflections; (3) the reflections are interpreted as a geological model; and (4) the prospect is tested by drilling. The first two stages, data acquisition and analysis, are on a worldwide basis a multibillion-dollar-per-year activity. This book describes only the echo soundings analysis. Together with my 1985 book, , it provides a complete introduction to echo soundings analysis.

The subtitle of this book, Processing versus Inversion, places the book equidistant from two approaches, one generally practical and industrial and the other generally theoretical and academic. This book shows how the two approaches are related and contribute to each other.