Marine Controlled-source Electromagnetic Method Research Articles

A marine controlled-source electromagnetic application using towed and seafloor-based receivers capable of mapping seafloor and embedded massive sulfides

Deep-sea massive sulfide deposits formed by hydrothermal fluid circulation are potential metal resources. They can exist not only as mound manifestations on the seafloor (seafloor massive sulfides) but also as embedded anomalies buried beneath the seafloor (embedded massive sulfides). The distribution of embedded massive sulfides is largely unknown, despite their expected high economic value. Recent drilling surveys have revealed a complex model suggesting embedded massive sulfides coexist beneath seafloor massive sulfides. In the coexisting case, geophysical methods are required to distinguish and map seafloor and embedded massive sulfides for accurate resource estimation. Marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) methods are useful for mapping massive sulfides because they exhibit higher electrical conductivity compared with the surrounding host rock. However, CSEM applications capable of distinguishing and mapping the massive sulfides are lacking. We use a towed electric dipole transmitter with two types of receivers: stationary ocean-bottom electric (OBE) and short-offset towed receivers. This combination uses differences in sensitivity: the towed receiver data are sensitive to seafloor massive sulfides, and the stationary OBE receiver data are sensitive to embedded massive sulfides. Our synthetic data example demonstrates that the combined inversion of towed and OBE data can recover resistivities and positions of the massive sulfides more accurately than existing inversion methods using individual applications. We perform the combined inversion of measured CSEM data obtained from the middle Okinawa Trough. The inversion models demonstrate that a combined inversion can map the location and shape of embedded massive sulfides identified during drilling more accurately than the inversion of individual data sets.

Marine CSEM synthetic study to assess the detection of CO2 escape and saturation changes within a submarine chimney connected to a CO2 storage site

SUMMARY Carbon capture and storage (CCS) within sealed geological formations is an essential strategy to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, the primary goal of the 2015 United Nations Paris Agreement. Large-scale commercial development of geological CO2 storage requires high-resolution remote sensing methods to monitor CO2 migration during/after injection. A geological formation containing a CO2 phase in its pore space commonly exhibits higher electrical resistivity than brine-saturated (background) sediments. Here, we explore the added value of the marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method as an additional and relevant geophysical tool to monitor moderate to significant changes in CO2 saturation within a fluid conduit breaking through the seal of a CCS injection reservoir, using a suite of synthetic studies. Our 2-D CSEM synthetic models simulate various geological scenarios incorporating the main structural features and stratigraphy of two North Sea sites, the Scanner Pockmark and the Sleipner CCS site. Our results show significant differentiation of leakage through the seal with CO2 saturation ($S_{{\rm CO}_2}$) ranging between 20 and 50 per cent, while our rock physics model predicts that detection below 20 per cent would be challenging for CSEM alone. However, we are able to detect with our 2-D inversion models the effects of saturation with 10 and 20 per cent CO2 within a chimney with 10 per cent porosity. We demonstrate that simultaneous inversion of Ey and Ez synthetic electric field data facilitates a sharper delineation of a CO2 saturated chimney structure within the seal, whereas Ez synthetic data present higher sensitivity than Ey to $S_{{\rm CO}_2}$ variation, demonstrating the importance of acquiring the full 3-D electric field. This study illustrates the value of incorporating CSEM into measurement, monitoring and verification strategies for optimal operation of marine CCS sites.

Rapid imaging approach for marine controlled-source electromagnetic with deployed transmission system

The marine controlled-source electromagnetic (MCSEM) method is widely used in gas hydrate exploration. For the deployed transmission system of MCSEM, it is equipped with two groups of orthogonal transmission antennas to obtain more comprehensive information. The mainstream processing method involves using a single rotated field component for conventional 2D inversion to obtain the resistivity model. However, data preprocessing and inversion speed are relatively slow, making it difficult to quickly or nearly real-time identify gas hydrate anomalous areas. In order to leverage the benefits of multi-component data and obtain a potential real-time imaging method for the future, we have developed a rapid imaging technique for the deployed transmission system to obtain apparent resistivity pseudosections. The current and electromagnetic field data in different directions are replaced by rotational invariants, and an approximate formula is derived based on the half-space formula and test corrections. This formula maps the apparent resistivity and field data. Results from model tests demonstrate that the apparent resistivity pseudosections can qualitatively identify reservoirs, particularly in the lateral range. In 2015, the South China Sea gas hydrate exploration project acquired data using the deployed transmission system. The pseudosections reveal that the rapid imaging method can directly detect resistivity anomalies and serve as an approximate and effective display method for deployed transmission system of MCSEM, thanks to its simplicity, efficiency, and low computational cost.

3D fictitious wave domain CSEM inversion by adjoint source estimation

Marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method has proved its potential in detecting highly resistive hydrocarbon bearing formations. To image the subsurface resistivity, this paper presents the first application of a frequency domain CSEM inversion approach using fictitious wave domain timestepping modelling. Each inversion iteration requires the gradient of the misfit with respect to resistivity computed by the product between the forward and adjoint fields. Simulation of the adjoint field using fictitious time modelling is challenging as it requires the time domain adjoint source functions while only a few discrete frequencies of the data residual are available for the inversion. To overcome this issue, we formulate a regularized linear inverse problem to estimate a long time series from very few frequency samples. It can then be solved using linear optimization technique in matrix-free manner. Instead of computing adjoint source time function one by one at each receiver location, a basis function implementation has been designed, such that the linear inversion can be solved only once and then reused every time to construct all time-domain adjoint sources. The method allows computing all frequencies of the EM fields in one go without heavy memory and computational overhead. Numerical examples are employed to demonstrate the application of our method.

Time-Lapse 3D CSEM for Reservoir Monitoring Based on Rock Physics Simulation of the Wisting Oil Field Offshore Norway.

The marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method has been used in different applications, such as oil and gas reservoir exploration, groundwater investigation, seawater intrusion studies and deep-sea mineral exploration. Recently, the utilization of the marine CSEM method has shifted from petroleum exploration to active monitoring due to increased environmental concerns related to hydrocarbon production. In this study, we utilize the various dynamic reservoir properties available through reservoir simulation of the Wisting field in the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea. In detail, we first developed geologically consistent rock physics models corresponding to reservoirs at different production phases, and then transformed them into resistivity models. The constructed resistivity models pertaining to different production phases can be used as input models for a finite difference time domain (FDTD) forward modeling workflow to simulate EM responses. This synthetic CSEM data can be studied and analyzed in the light of production-induced changes in the reservoir at different production phases. Our results demonstrate the ability of CSEM data to detect and capture production-induced changes in the fluid content of a producing hydrocarbon reservoir. The anomalous CSEM responses correlating to the reservoir resistivity change increase with the advance of the production phase, and a similar result is shown in anomalous transverse resistance (ATR) maps derived from the constructed resistivity models. Moreover, the responses at 30 Hz with a 3000 m offset resulted in the most pronounced anomalies at the Wisting reservoir. Hence, the method can effectively be used for production-monitoring purposes.

Marine Controlled-Source Electromagnetic Data Denoising Method Using Symplectic Geometry Mode Decomposition

The marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method is an efficient tool for hydrocarbon exploration. The amplitudes of signals decay rapidly with the increasing offset, so signals are easily contaminated by various kinds of noise. A denoising method is critical to improve the data quality, but the diversity of noise makes denoising difficult. Specific frequency signals are transmitted for exploration requirements, and thus traditional filtering methods are not suitable. Symplectic geometry mode decomposition (SGMD), a new method to decompose signals, has an outstanding decomposition performance and noise robustness. Furthermore, it can reduce multiple types of noise by reconstructing the single components. In this study, we introduced SGMD to reduce the noise of marine CSEM data and improved the data quality significantly. The experiments show that SGMD is better than variational mode decomposition and the sym4 wavelet method.

Using Large-Size Three-Dimensional Marine Electromagnetic Data for the Efficient Combined Investigation of Natural Hydrogen and Hydrocarbon Gas Reservoirs: A Geologically Consistent and Process-Oriented Approach with Implications for Carbon Footprint Reduction

The recycling or burial of carbon dioxide in depleted petroleum reservoirs and re-imagining exploration strategies that focus on hydrogen reservoirs (with any associated hydrocarbon gas as the upside potential) are a necessity in today’s environmental and geopolitical climate. Given that geologic hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases may occur in the same or different reservoirs, there will be gains in efficiency when searching for both resources together since they share some commonalities, but there is no geophysical workflow available yet for this purpose. Three-dimensional (3D) marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) and magnetotelluric (MT) methods provide valuable information on rock-and-fluid variations in the subsurface and can be used to investigate hydrogen and hydrocarbon reservoirs, source rocks, and the migration pathways of contrasting resistivity relative to the host rock. In this paper, a process-oriented CSEM-MT workflow is proposed for the efficient combined investigation of reservoir hydrocarbon and hydrogen within a play-based exploration and production framework that emphasizes carbon footprint reduction. It has the following challenging elements: finding the right basin (and block), selecting the right prospect, drilling the right well, and exploiting the opportunities for sustainability and CO2 recycling or burial in the appropriate reservoirs. Recent methodological developments that integrate 3D CSEM-MT imaging into the appropriate structural constraints to derive the geologically robust models necessary for resolving these challenges and their extension to reservoir monitoring are described. Instructive case studies are revisited, showing how 3D CSEM-MT models facilitate the interpretation of resistivity information in terms of the key elements of geological prospect evaluation (presence of source rocks, migration and charge, reservoir rock, and trap and seal) and understanding how deep geological processes control the distribution and charging of potential hydrocarbon, geothermal, and hydrogen reservoirs. In particular, evidence is provided that deep crustal resistivity imaging can map serpentinized ultramafic rocks (possible source rocks for hydrogen) in offshore northwest Borneo and can be combined with seismic reflection data to map vertical fluid migration pathways and their barrier (or seal), as exemplified by the subhorizontal detachment zones in Eocene shale in the Mexican Ridges fold belt of the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico, raising the possibility of using integrated geophysical methods to map hydrogen kitchens in different terrains. The methodological advancements and new combined investigative workflow provide a way for improved resource mapping and monitoring and, hence, a technology that could play a critical role in helping the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Identification of induced polarization of submarine hydrocarbons in marine controllable source electromagnetic exploration

The identification of hydrocarbons buried on the seafloor is highly dependent on geophysical exploration capabilities. Seismic exploration has been an important tool in providing information on submarine stratigraphy before offshore drilling, but it is a challenge to identify the nature and saturation of the fluid in the structure by seismic exploration. Of all the physical properties, electrical parameters are the most sensitive to the fluids in the reservoir and would be able to be combined with seismic data to improve the identification of hydrocarbons at depth. However, the marine controlled-source electromagnetic method usually only considers the effect of electromagnetic induction and ignores the induced polarization (IP) effects. The IP effects can occur in the stratum where the reservoir is located due to a variety of factors, so considering the IP effects will make the modeling more reasonable and thus give more accurate results when interpreting and processing the data. We have used the integral equation method for modeling, adopted the scattering and superposition methods to calculate the dyadic Green’s function required in the study, replaced the real resistivity with a complex resistivity that takes into account the IP effects, investigated the response patterns of different ion polarization models, and analyzed the influence patterns of various model parameters. These investigations will provide important contributions to the study of submarine hydrocarbon detection. The field data also show the amplitude, and phase response results of polarizability show that it gradually increases from the offset.

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetic Using a New High-Order Finite Element Method With an Absorption Boundary Condition

The marine controlled source electromagnetic method (MCSEM) is widely used in marine oil, gas exploration and deep structures investigation because of its low cost and high efficiency. In this paper, a high-precision forward algorithm for 3D modeling for MCSEM is proposed. Unstructured meshes are used to discretize the model domain, and local mesh refinement techniques are applied, which is conducive to simulating complex terrains and targets. The application of electric dipole discrete technology can load wire excitation sources with arbitrarily complex spatial shapes, which can simulate more realistic electromagnetic field distribution of marine controllable sources electromagnetic in actual exploration. Absorption boundary conditions based on real number and exponential stretching techniques are introduced to improve the numerical solution accuracy. To improve the efficiency of solving, the open-source massively parallel solver (MUMPS) based on the multifrontal algorithm is used to solve the finite element equations. Finally, some typical geoelectric models are designed to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The calculation results show that higher order finite elements bring about higher accuracy. In addition, the loading of absorption boundary conditions is simple and effective than conventional Dirichlet boundary conditions.

An Introduction to the Application of Marine Controlled-Source Electromagnetic Methods for Natural Gas Hydrate Exploration

Natural gas hydrates have been an unconventional source of energy since the beginning of this century. Gas-hydrate-filled reservoirs show higher resistivity values compared with water-filled sediments. Their presence can be detected using marine controlled-source electromagnetic methods. We classify acquisition configurations into stationary and moving receiver configurations, which are described in terms of the design group, the operational details, and where they have been used successfully in the field for natural gas hydrate exploration. All configurations showed good numerical results for the detection of a 700 m long gas hydrate reservoir buried 200 m below the seafloor, but only the stationary configurations provided data that can be used to estimate the horizontal boundaries of the resistive part of the reservoir when the burial depth is known from seismic data. We discuss the operational steps of the configurations and provide the steps on how to choose a suitable configuration. Different CSEM configurations were used together with seismic data to estimate the edge of the gas hydrate reservoir and the total volume of the gas hydrates, to optimize the drilling location, to increase production safety, and to improve geological interpretations. It seems that CSEM has become a reliable method to aid in the decision-making process for gas hydrate reservoir appraisal and development.

Analysis of singular values in a 3D joint inversion problem of MMT and MCSEM data

Abstract Single value decomposition (SVD) is a mathematical method of decomposing a matrix into three other matrices that have very important properties of the original matrix. One of these matrices provides us with the singular values of the original matrix. By analysing these singular values, we can determine whether an inverse problem has an ambiguous solution or whether the solution is stable. With this analysis we can also check whether the estimated solution gives an exact fit to the data, find out which combinations of parameters can be determined by observations and which cannot, and more. In this work, SVD was applied to assess the feasibility of a joint 3D inversion of marine magnetotelluric method (MMT) and marine controlled source electromagnetic method (MCSEM) data, as these methods should theoretically provide complementary information. The singular values were generated from the Hessian matrix of each method and from the joint implementation, and we compared them by considering the null space of each method. The analysis of the singular values proved to be an important step before the iterative inversion process, indicating the feasibility of the inversion without spending much time. However, we still need to spend the time to calculate the Jacobian and Hessian matrices.

Monitoring Offshore CO2 Sequestration Using Marine CSEM Methods; Constraints Inferred from Field- and Laboratory-Based Gas Hydrate Studies

Offshore geological sequestration of CO2 offers a viable approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Strategies include injection of CO2 into the deep-ocean or ocean-floor sediments, whereby depending on pressure–temperature conditions, CO2 can be trapped physically, gravitationally, or converted to CO2 hydrate. Energy-driven research continues to also advance CO2-for-CH4 replacement strategies in the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), producing methane for natural gas needs while sequestering CO2. In all cases, safe storage of CO2 requires reliable monitoring of the targeted CO2 injection sites and the integrity of the repository over time, including possible leakage. Electromagnetic technologies used for oil and gas exploration, sensitive to electrical conductivity, have long been considered an optimal monitoring method, as CO2, similar to hydrocarbons, typically exhibits lower conductivity than the surrounding medium. We apply 3D controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) forward modeling code to simulate an evolving CO2 reservoir in deep-ocean sediments, demonstrating sufficient sensitivity and resolution of CSEM data to detect reservoir changes even before sophisticated inversion of data. Laboratory measurements place further constraints on evaluating certain systems within the GHSZ; notably, CO2 hydrate is measurably weaker than methane hydrate, and >1 order of magnitude more conductive, properties that may affect site selection, stability, and modeling considerations.

A review of marine controlled-source electromagnetic data preprocessing technology

The marine controlled-source electromagnetic (MCSEM) method is an important geophysical technique for seabed resource exploration. During the MCSEM exploration process, distortion and noise will inevitably appear in the original data collected by the receiver due to various interferences and geological factors. The data preprocessing technology, therefore, is essential to improve the data quality for further inversion explanation of the seabed’s geological structure. Through tracing and analyzing the relevant literature published over two decades on MCSEM data preprocessing technology, including data correction and noise suppression methods, this Review first introduces the basic principle of MCSEM exploration and then analyzes the advances, limitations, and challenges of its current application. Ultimately, this Review discusses the prospects of this technology, providing a reference to relevant industries and researchers.

An Effective Algorithm for 2D Marine CSEM Modeling in Anisotropic Media Using a Wavelet Galerkin Method

The marine controlled-source electromagnetic method (MCSEM) has attracted considerable attention as an approach to explore marine oil and gas resources and geological structures. This study presents a new wavelet Galerkin method (WGM) to solve the forward modeling problem of 2D MCSEM data incorporating conductivity anisotropy. The method uses Daubechies wavelets that may be differentiated based on the need to solve the governing field equations of MCSEM. A quasi-minimal residual method was adopted by combining an incomplete LU preconditioner to solve the WGM equations. The numerical results were compared with the analytical solution and those obtained by the finite difference and element methods. The results show that the proposed WGM is superior to the finite element and difference methods in terms of computing time and memory requirements. This algorithm can be applied to solve the forward modeling problem of MCSEM. The conductivity anisotropy of the background medium affects the MCSEM response more than the reservoir anisotropy. The match between the modeled results and measured data for the simplified real model demonstrates the necessity for using the anisotropic model to interpret data. Although this study used the proposed algorithm for 2D models, it may also be used for 3D models.

Goal-Oriented 3-D Time-Domain Marine CSEM Modeling With Anisotropy and Topography

We have proposed a goal-oriented iteration algorithm with adaptive error estimation for the 3-D modeling of the time-domain marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method. The algorithm is based on finite-element time-domain (FETD) formulations, and it updates both the time step and the mesh size in a staggered manner. With this scheme, the computational error is well suppressed, and the efficiency of the FETD simulation is guaranteed by adaptive time-stepping within each iteration. The verification results of an electric dipole radiation model and a synthetic 1-D marine CSEM model have shown that the proposed algorithm achieves a fine balance between computational accuracy and efficiency. Through numerical examples incorporated with stratum anisotropy and seafloor topography, we further conclude that both background anisotropy and topography impede the identification of submarine high-resistivity bodies with the electric field response. Contrarily, the time derivative of the magnetic field is sensitive to high-resistivity reservoirs over an extensive period of time in both anisotropic and topographic models. Based on this, we suggest that the magnetic field should be collected along with the electric field over the whole target area to reveal the anisotropic structure of submarine sediments and the existence of oil and gas reservoirs.

Sensitivity and Resolution of Controlled-Source Electromagnetic Method for Gas Hydrate Stable Zone

Natural gas hydrate is one of the most important clean energies and part of carbon cycle, due to the least carbon content. Natural gas hydrates depend on high pressure and low temperatures, located under seabed or permafrost. Small changes in temperature and pressure may lead gas hydrates to separate into water and gas, commonly as methane. As a powerful greenhouse gas, methane is much stronger than carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the gas hydrates stable zone (GHSZ) before the methane gas escapes from GHSZ. Marine controlled source electromagnetic method (CSEM) is a useful tool to detect gas hydrate in offshore. The results from 3D CSEM method are a resistivity cube to describe the distribution of gas hydrates. In order to study the detectability of CSEM method, we simulate the sensitivity and resolution of marine CSEM synthetic data. By using the sensitivity and resolution, a simple statement may be quickly judged on the existence and occurrence range of the natural gas hydrate. In this paper, we compare the resolution of marine CSEM method with various transverse resistance. This information may help researchers find out whether the GHSZ exists or not.

Source modification for efficiency enhancement of marine controlled-source electromagnetic method

Abstract Controlled-source electromagnetics is a strongly efficient technique to explore deep-water marine hydrocarbon reservoirs. However, the shallow-water unsolved limitations of electromagnetic shooting methods still exist. In this regard, this work aims to alter the existing conventional electromagnetic source such that it can converge the down-going electromagnetic wave while simultaneously dispersing the up-going electromagnetic energy to minimise the airwave in shallow water. This work presents computed electric current distribution inside a modified transmitter, using a method of moments. Simulation and an experiment-based methodology are applied to this work. Finite element simulation of the response of the modified transmitter displayed the capability of the new transmitter in dispersing the airwave, by 15%. The experimental setup confirmed a better performance of the new transmitter, showing hydrocarbon delineation of up to 48%, compared to the existing conventional transmitter, with 25% oil delineation at the same depths in the same environment. Modification of the electromagnetic source to unbalance the up-down signals may have the potential to enhance the delineation magnitude of the target signal and, as a result, significantly improve oil detection capability.

The latest development of Marine controllable source electromagnetic transmitter

Marine Controlled-Source Electromagnetic (MCSEM) methods have been recognized as an important and effective tool in accurate analysis of shallow electrically resistive structures such as oil, gas and gas hydrate. However, the MCSEM performance in the deep ocean is strongly affected by the hardware design, especially the transmitter system. We have developed a series of deep-towed MCSEM transmitter systems. The design of the transmitter system meets serious challenges such as long-distance and high-voltage transmission, water sealing under high-pressure, the real-time monitoring of seafloor status information 4 km below the sea-surface. In this paper, we present the latest research and development of the MCSEM transmitter systems by presenting key technologies in hardware development and implementation details. The deep tow transmitter system consists of three parts: the deck unit, the deep tow cable and the deep tow unit, which can transmit the high frequency and high power to the seawater, maintaining a high-speed data communication with control center which in the ship’s lab. We conducted several experiments in the South China Sea from August of 2010, to November of 2019. The results showed that the development of the transmitter is successful and it can be used for oil, gas and gas hydrate exploration as an effective source.

Finite Element Simulation of 3-D Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetic Fields in Anisotropic Media with Unstructured Tetrahedral Grids

Marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method has proved to be a powerful tool and found its increasing applications for offshore resource exploration and tectonic studies. However, bathymetric variations and anisotropic structures encountered in practical measurements have posed challenges for reliable interpretation of marine CSEM data collected in increasingly complex geologic settings. In this study, we present a Finite element (FE) based forward algorithm for simulating 3-D marine CSEM responses in geologic settings characterized with rough bathymetry and electrical anisotropy. Unstructured tetrahedral meshes are employed to permit precise descriptions of arbitrary seafloor topography. After validating the accuracy of the algorithm, we investigate the effects of bathymetric variations and complicated electric anisotropy separately and jointly on marine CSEM responses. Numerical results have demonstrated that both the bathymetry and electrical anisotropy can cause significant distortions on marine CSEM responses, but to different extent. The effects of full electrical anisotropy and bathymetry have to be taken into consideration for reliable interpretations of marine CSEM data in practice.

Exploration of Seafloor Massive Sulfide Deposits with Fixed-Offset Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetic Method: Numerical Simulations and the Effects of Electrical Anisotropy

Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits have attracted growing interest and become the focus of current seafloor mineral exploration. One key challenge is to delineate potential SMS accumulations and estimate their quantity and quality for prospective resource mining. Recently, geophysical electromagnetic methods which are routinely used for land-based mineral exploration are being adapted to detect and assess SMS occurrences by imaging their conductivity distributions. However, the rough seafloor topography and electrical anisotropy of the seafloor formations encountered in practical surveys pose challenges for reliable data interpretation, and recent studies have revealed that the rough bathymetry could cause measurable distortions. Here, we consider a fixed-offset marine controlled-source electromagnetic method (CSEM) for SMS exploration, and investigate the effects of electrical anisotropy of sedimentary formations through numerical simulations for marine CSEM surveys aiming at conductive targets in the shallow regions of the seafloor. Numerical results demonstrate that the presence of electrical anisotropy could impose significant influence on fixed-offset marine CSEM data and suggest that the distortions should be sufficiently accounted for reliable data interpretation, thus lending confidence to subsequent quantification of available SMS minerals.