Feasibility of EM Monitoring in Land Reservoirs

Marine controlled-source electromagnetic method (CSEM) is increasingly used today in oil exploration in conjunction with seismic data. It helps to decide whether or not a structure displays the resistive anomaly characteristic to the presence of hydrocarbons. In this respect, marine CSEM is intended to provide a non seismic attribute that can be considered as a Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator. However, since resistivity is closely related to the nature of the fluids in the reservoir, one can also expect that changes in the fluid flow can induce resistivity changes that can be measured performing time-lapse measurements. In this paper we simulate a lateral variation of the brine-hydrocarbon contact and give an estimation of the 3D corresponding time lapse signal in a land environment.