Integral equation method for 3‐D modeling of electromagnetic fields in complex structures with inhomogeneous background conductivity in marine CSEM applications

Abstract

Summary We present a new formulation of the integral equation (IE) method for models with variable background conductivity. This method overcomes the standard limitation of the conventional IE method related to the use of a horizontally layered background only. The new IE method still employs the Green’s functions for a horizontally layered 1-D model. However, the new method allows us to use an inhomogeneous background with the IE method. The method was carefully tested for modeling the electromagnetic (EM) field for complex structures with known variable background conductivity. It can find wide application in modeling EM data for multiple geological models with some common geoelectrical features. As an example, we consider marine controlled source EM (MCSEM) application for simulating EM response of a petroleum reservoir in the presence of a salt dome structure.