Natural source EM for offshore hydrocarbon detection offers potential cost savings

Leo Fox and Olex Ingerov of Phoenix Geophysics suggest that their marine magnetotelluric concept might provide a cost effective alternative to the marine controlled source electromagnetic methods in operation today. Since 2000, major hydrocarbon companies have increasingly used marine controlled source electromagnetics (MCSEM) to determine the resistivity of deepwater offshore geological structures already discovered with the marine seismic technique. Hydrocarbon companies wish to avoid the high cost (~$50 million) of offshore dry holes. MCSEM has proven very effective.