Resistance: Integrating New Technology
by Steve Earle
This month we feature a technical article on a marine CSEM case study. Controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys use a geophysical method that measures resistivity contrasts in the earth, somewhat analogous to the way seismic surveys measure acoustic contrasts. Although resistivity techniques have been used in the mining industry for a long time, their use in hydrocarbon exploration has been limited. However, recent advances in marine CSEM applicable for deep-water work mesh with the need to control risk in this high-cost environment. A method that directly measures hydrocarbon signatures now has tremendous financial impact and the ensuing research has led to significant technological breakthroughs.
The case study here is from the Norwegian Sea. Several early surveys from the North Sea and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico demonstrated the promise of CSEM, but the Luva area seemed to give a false negative. The article explains that there actually is a hydrocarbon signature in the data and why the early work did not see it.
This follows the interesting September presentation by Jason Robinson, in which he discussed how MTEM, his employer who was recently purchased by PGS, has brought CSEM back onshore. They use a source that generates a varying-frequency EM signature and process the measured response, similar to how Vibroseis works. Clearly, a fair amount of new development is occurring in this field and companies that can integrate the new technology into their workflow can gain competitive advantage. The authors of the case study published here work for a small company, so large size is not necessary to be a player.
A separate point that the article makes is that interpretations that integrate more data are always more robust. Everyone understands this point, but effectively doing it can be a challenge. At various times, you need to be expert on depositional environments, diagenesis, biostratigraphy, log analysis, structural geology, seismic interpretation, AVO analysis, geochemistry,... and I'm just getting started here. Now throw in electromagnetic methods. Whew!
So exactly how does new technology get integrated into the mainstream? Art Berman gave an interesting talk last year that drew upon research out of Iowa State College. Joe Bohlen and George Beal followed the introduction of a hybrid corn that not only gave superior yields but was more disease, pest and drought resistant (Ref. 1). This work was later generalized by Everett Rogers as his diffusion of innovations theory and initially published in 1962 (Ref. 2). The research suggests that only 16% of a population readily adopts new technology. Another two-thirds will follow along, spread over some time period, and the remaining 16% of people change reluctantly, if ever. Art agues that innovation in the oil and gas industry follows this same path.
The relationship of this to the creaming curve is striking and suggests they are linked. The creaming curve says the earliest wells find the easiest and largest fields--the "cream of the crop." The majority of reserves in any given trend will be discovered fairly early in the exploration cycle after some initial period in which people determine the keys to success. When I worked in a frontier exploration group, we believed that new plays, whether identified by new technology or the opening of new basins, fit this model and that success comes to those who identify when a new idea is just beginning to mature. This also ties into the idea of "tipping points" where the unusual becomes the norm. I believe we are at that point in the cycle with regards to CSEM and other resistivity techniques, especially for deepwater exploration.
I'll wrap up with another request for technical articles, case histories, your recollections of interesting events from "the patch" or a discussion about an especially interesting rock (photo required). If you have an interesting submission for the Bulletin, please send it to me at hgs_editor@earthlink.net.
References
1. Joe M Bohlen and George M Beal (May 1957), "The Diffusion Process," Special Report No. 18 (Agriculture Extension Service, Iowa State College) 1: 56-77.
2. Everett M Rogers (2003), Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.