浅水区的瞬变电磁法：一维数值模拟结果分析

在浅水环境中,利用频率域海洋可控源电磁法探测油气藏薄层面临着挑战,这是因为空气波支配着电磁响应而它只含有少量海底电阻率结构的信息.本文研究了空气波对时间域可控源电磁(CSEM)响应的影 响. 空气波到达时间取决于海水深度.在浅水区空气波到达早,而在深海水区空气波到达晚,空气波与来自深部电阻体的电磁波出现在不同时间段.虽然在中等深度的海水区空气波和来自深部电阻体的电磁信号几乎同时到达,但与不含有油气藏的背景模型相比,仍可以看到明显的异常.浅水区勘探的好处在于可以使用表面拖曳系统.     

Research on 3D marine electromagnetic interferometry with synthetic sources for suppressing the airwave interference

In order to suppress the airwave noise in marine controlled-source electromagnetic （CSEM） data, we propose a 3D deconvolution （3DD） interferometry method with a synthetic aperture source and obtain the relative anomaly coefficient （RAC） of the EM field reflection responses to show the degree for suppressing the airwave. We analyze the potential of the proposed method for suppressing the airwave, and compare the proposed method with traditional methods in their effectiveness. A method to select synthetic source length is derived and the effect of the water depth on RAC is examined via numerical simulations. The results suggest that 3DD interferometry method with a synthetic source can effectively suppress the airwave and enhance the potential of marine CSEM to hydrocarbon exploration.     

A scaled experiment for the verification of the SeaBed Logging method

SeaBed Logging (SBL) is an application of the marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method that is used to directly detect and characterize possible hydrocarbon-bearing prospects. Although the CSEM method has been used by academia for more than three decades, the application as a direct hydrocarbon indicator was first introduced about five years ago. The central idea of SBL is the guiding of electromagnetic energy in thin resistive layers within conductive sediments. Even if it has been well known for a long time that electromagnetic signals can propagate from a conductive region to another via resistive regions such as air or resistive parts of the lithosphere, the application to hydrocarbon exploration has not been developed until recently. This might be due to the uncertainty of getting any significant response from thin resistive layers such as hydrocarbon reservoirs since electromagnetic energy is highly attenuated in conductive sediments. Thus, during the early development phase of the SBL technique, a scaled laboratory experiment was performed to validate if a thin resistive layer (e.g. hydrocarbons) buried within conductive media (e.g. sediments) could be remotely detected by using electric dipoles as sources and receivers. Data from this experiment were compared to a forward modelling code for layered media, and the comparison showed good agreement between experimental and theoretical results. This suggested that thin resistive layers buried in conductive media are detectable due to the guiding of the electromagnetic field within the resistor. The successful results were vital for realizing the application of marine CSEM as a hydrocarbon exploration technique. We here present the results of the first scaled SBL experiment.     

A land controlled‐source electromagnetic experiment using a deep vertical electric dipole: experimental settings,processing, and first data interpretation

A multichannel borehole‐to‐surface controlled‐source electromagnetic experiment was carried out at the onshore CO₂ storage site of Hontomín (Spain). The electromagnetic source consisted of a vertical electric dipole located 1.5 km deep, and the electric field was measured at the surface. The subsurface response has been obtained by calculating the transfer function between the transmitted signal and the electric field at the receiver positions. The dataset has been processed using a fast processing methodology, appropriate to be applied on controlled‐source electromagnetics (CSEM) data with a large signal‐to‐noise ratio. The dataset has been analysed in terms of data quality and repeatability errors, showing data with low experimental errors and good repeatability. We evaluate if the induction of current along the casing of the injection well can reproduce the behaviour of the experimental data.     

A numerical comparison of time and frequency‐domain marine electromagnetic methods for hydrocarbon exploration in shallow water

In shallow water the frequency domain controlled source electromagnetic method is subject to airwave saturation that strongly limits the sensitivity to resistive hydrocarbon targets at depth. It has been suggested that time‐domain CSEM may offer an improved sensitivity and resolution of these deep targets in the presence of the airwave. In order to examine and test these claims, this work presents a side‐by‐side investigation of both methods with a main focus on practical considerations, and how these effect the resolution of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Synthetic noisy data for both time‐domain and frequency domain methods are simulated using a realistic frequency dependent noise model and frequency dependent scaling for representative source waveforms. The synthetic data studied here include the frequency domain response from a compact broadband waveform, the time‐domain step‐response from a low‐frequency square wave and the time‐domain impulse response obtained from pseudo‐random binary sequences. These data are used in a systematic resolution study of each method as a function of water‐depth, relative noise and stacking length. The results indicate that the broadband frequency domain data have the best resolution for a given stacking time, whereas the time‐domain data require prohibitively longer stacking times to achieve similar resolution.     

The marine controlled source electromagnetic response of a steel borehole casing: applications for the NEPTUNE Canada gas hydrate observatory

Gas hydrates are a potential energy resource, a possible factor in climate change and an exploration geohazard. The University of Toronto has deployed a permanent seafloor time‐domain controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) system offshore Vancouver Island, within the framework of the NEPTUNE Canada underwater cabled observatory. Hydrates are known to be present in the area and due to their electrically resistive nature can be monitored by 5 permanent electric field receivers. However, two cased boreholes may be drilled near the CSEM site in the near future. To understand any potential distortions of the electric fields due to the metal, we model the marine electromagnetic response of a conductive steel borehole casing. First, we consider the commonly used canonical model consisting of a 100 Ωm, 100 m thick resistive hydrocarbon layer embedded at a depth of 1000 m in a 1 Ωm conductive host medium, with the addition of a typical steel production casing extending from the seafloor to the resistive zone. Results show that in both the frequency and time domains the distortion produced by the casing occurs at smaller transmitter‐receiver offsets than the offsets required to detect the resistive layer. Second, we consider the experimentally determined model of the offshore Vancouver Island hydrate zone, consisting of a 5.5 Ωm, 36 m thick hydrate layer overlying a 0.7 Ωm sedimentary half‐space, with the addition of two borehole casings extending 300 m into the seafloor. In this case, results show that the distortion produced by casings located within a 100 m safety zone of the CSEM system will be measured at 4 of the 5 receivers. We conclude that the boreholes must be positioned at least 200 m away from the CSEM array so as to minimize the effects of the casings.     

Elimination of the water-layer response from multi-component source and receiver marine electromagnetic data

This paper presents the theory to eliminate from the recorded multi‐component source, multi‐component receiver marine electromagnetic measurements the effect of the physical source radiation pattern and the scattering response of the water‐layer. The multi‐component sources are assumed to be orthogonally aligned above the receivers at the seabottom. Other than the position of the sources, no source characteristics are required. The integral equation method, which for short is denoted by Lorentz water‐layer elimination, follows from Lorentz' reciprocity theorem. It requires information only of the electromagnetic parameters at the receiver level to decompose the electromagnetic measurements into upgoing and downgoing constituents. Lorentz water‐layer elimination replaces the water layer with a homogeneous half‐space with properties equal to those of the sea‐bed. The source is redatumed to the receiver depth. When the subsurface is arbitrary anisotropic but horizontally layered, the Lorentz water‐layer elimination scheme greatly simplifies and can be implemented as deterministic multi‐component source, multi‐component receiver multidimensional deconvolution of common source gathers. The Lorentz deconvolved data can be further decomposed into scattering responses that would be recorded from idealized transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode sources and receivers. This combined electromagnetic field decomposition on the source and receiver side gives data equivalent to data from a hypothetical survey with the water‐layer absent, with idealized single component transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode sources and idealized single component transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode receivers. When the subsurface is isotropic or transverse isotropic and horizontally layered, the Lorentz deconvolution decouples into pure transverse electric and transverse magnetic mode data processing problems, where a scalar field formulation of the multidimensional Lorentz deconvolution is sufficient. In this case single‐component source data are sufficient to eliminate the water‐layer effect. We demonstrate the Lorentz deconvolution by using numerically modeled data over a simple isotropic layered model illustrating controlled‐source electromagnetic hydrocarbon exploration. In shallow water there is a decrease in controlled‐source electromagnetic sensitivity to thin resistors at depth. The Lorentz deconvolution scheme is designed to overcome this effect by eliminating the water‐layer scattering, including the field's interaction with air.     

时频方向谱分析在海洋电磁数据处理中的应用

海底采集到的电磁数据按照其主要包含的信息及研究目的大致可分为海洋可控源电磁场(CSEM)信号、天然场源大地电磁场(MT)信号、海洋环境电磁场信号以及其他随机干扰信号.常常通过计算功率谱密度、时频分析和极化分析的方法研究海洋电磁场特征.本文介绍一种新方法——时频方向谱分析法及其在实测海洋电磁数据处理中的应用,该方法能够在一定的时间-频率尺度上有效分辨场源信号的运动方向.对于海洋CSEM数据,利用该方法可以估算发射源的运动方向,进而在发射源或采集站方位信息缺失情况下,实现海洋CSEM数据的旋转电性轴处理.对于海洋电磁数据,利用该方法可以详细分析海水运动感应电磁场的信号特征.     

Wavenumber of the guided wave supported by a thin resistive layer in marine controlled‐source electromagnetics

This paper discusses the asymptotic behaviour of the electromagnetic fields received on the sea‐bed (target response), as well as the fields distributed inside a thin resistive target, generated by a horizontal electric dipole above the sea‐bed in marine controlled‐source electromagnetics for hydrocarbon exploration. It is found that the guided wave supported by a thin resistive target can be expressed as a single‐mode exponential function. A simple closed‐form expression is derived to relate the single‐mode wavenumber of the guided wave to the model parameters: the resistivity and thickness of the target layer, the sea‐bed resistivity and the frequency. When the air‐wave is removed, the guided wave is dominant among the fields received on the sea‐bed at far offset. Hence the wavenumber of the guided wave can be calculated from the fields measured on the sea‐bed. The closed‐form expression can then be used to invert the target property from the calculated wavenumber and hence, can be considered as a hydrocarbon indicator.     

Controlled source electromagnetic three‐dimensional grid‐modelling based on a complex resistivity structure of the seafloor: effects of acquisition parameters and geometry of multi‐layered resistors

A comprehensive controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) modelling study, based on complex resistivity structures in a deep marine geological setting, is conducted. The study demonstrates the effects of acquisition parameters and multi‐layered resistors on CSEM responses. Three‐dimensional (3D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) grid‐modelling is used for CSEM sensitivity analysis. Interpolation of normalized CSEM responses provides attributes representing relative sensitivity of the modelled structures. Modelling results show that fine grid, 1 × 1 km receiver spacing, provides good correlations between CSEM responses and the modelled structures, irrespective of source orientation. The resolution of CSEM attributes decreases for receiver spacing >2 × 2 km, when using only in‐line data. Broadside data in the grid geometry increase data density by 100 – approximately 200% by filling in in‐line responses and improve the resolution of CSEM attributes. Optimized source orientation (i.e., oblique to the strike of an elongated resistor) improves the structural definition of the CSEM anomalies for coarse‐grid geometries (receiver spacing ≥3 × 3 km). The study also shows that a multi‐resistor anomaly is not simply the summation but a cumulative response with mutual interference between constituent resistors. The combined response of constituent resistors is approximately 50% higher than the cumulative response of the multi‐resistor for 0.5 Hz at 4000 m offset. A gradual inverse variation of offset and frequency allows differentiation of CSEM anomalies for multi‐layered resistors. Similar frequency‐offset variations for laterally persistent high‐resistivity facies show visual continuity with varying geometric expressions. 3D grid‐modelling is an effective and adequate tool for CSEM survey design and sensitivity analysis.     

一维电阻率各向异性对海洋可控源电磁响应的影响研究

地下介质的电阻率常常表现为各向异性,海底裂隙地层和层状沉积序列可能形成宏观电阻率各向异性.在解释海洋电磁资料时,电阻率各向异性的影响不应该被忽略,否则可能会得到错误的海底地电模型.作者编写了电阻率任意各向异性一维层状介质海洋可控源电磁场计算程序,计算了电阻率各向异性层状模型的海洋可控源电磁响应,讨论了覆盖层和高阻储层分别具有电阻率各向异性时的电磁场响应特征.     

Feasibility of signal enhancement with multiple grounded‐wire sources for a frequency‐domain electromagnetic survey

Frequency‐domain electromagnetic methods with a grounded‐wire source are powerful tools in geophysical exploration. However, the signal may be too weak to guarantee the quality of survey data in complex electromagnetic environments, especially when the receiver is located in the air for the newly developed grounded‐source airborne frequency‐domain electromagnetic method. In this paper, a signal enhancement method with multiple sources is proposed to solve this problem. To evaluate the signal enhancement effect, we compared the signals generated by a single source and multiple sources with equal electric moment. The signal differences caused by synchronisation error and separation distance between source elements were analysed, and the methods to achieve maximum signal were introduced. Besides, we discussed the interaction between adjacent source elements to ensure the system safety, including the changes in output current and the safe distance between two sources using a dual‐source model. Lastly, a comprehensive field experiment was designed and conducted to test the multiple‐source method. The data processing results are comparable for single and dual sources, and the signal‐to‐noise ratio of dual source is higher in the field test. The subsurface resistivity structure at the test site is consistent with the previous controlled‐source audio‐frequency magnetotellurics method. These results show that signal enhancement with multiple sources is feasible. This study provides guidance to the application of multiple sources in field surveys when the survey environment is complex and rigorous.     

Signal detectability of marine electromagnetic methods in the exploration of resistive targets

We compare selected marine electromagnetic methods for sensitivity to the presence of relatively thin resistive targets (e.g., hydrocarbons, gas hydrates, fresh groundwater, etc.). The study includes the conventional controlled‐source electromagnetic method, the recently introduced transient electromagnetic prospecting with vertical electric lines method, and the novel marine circular electric dipole method, which is still in the stage of theoretical development. The comparison is based on general physical considerations, analytical (mainly asymptotic) analysis, and rigorous one‐dimensional and multidimensional forward modelling. It is shown that transient electromagnetic prospecting with vertical electric lines and marine circular electric dipole methods represent an alternative to the conventional controlled‐source electromagnetic method at shallow sea, where the latter becomes less efficient due to the air‐wave phenomenon. Since both former methods are essentially short‐offset time‐domain techniques, they exhibit a much better lateral resolution than the controlled‐source electromagnetic method in both shallow sea and deep sea. The greatest shortcoming of the transient electromagnetic prospecting with vertical electric lines and marine circular electric dipole methods comes from the difficulties in accurately assembling the transmitter antenna within the marine environment. This makes these methods significantly less practical than the controlled‐source electromagnetic method. Consequently, the controlled‐source electromagnetic method remains the leading marine electromagnetic technique in the exploration of large resistive targets in deep sea. However, exploring laterally small targets in deep sea and both small and large targets in shallow sea might require the use of the less practical transient electromagnetic prospecting with vertical electric lines and/or marine circular electric dipole method as a desirable alternative to the controlled‐source electromagnetic method.     

可控源海洋电磁勘探中空气波影响的理论分析和数值模拟

可控源海洋电磁勘探(MCSEM)中空气波对海底电磁响应的影响已为业界所熟知,且已提出了多种压制方法.然而,由于空气波与海水层中其它信号相互作用的复杂性,至今其作用机理及对有效信号的影响方式尚未完全清楚,这也阻碍了浅水域MCSEM油气勘探的应用.本文在前人研究的基础上, 基于一维层状介质的电磁位和电磁场分析,采用电磁场的模式分解理论导出了空气、海水层和海底地层之间的相互作用关系.分析了MCSEM电磁响应的影响因素和空气波的作用机理.以无限水深假想模型、三层介质模型和四层介质模型为基础,导出了水平电偶极子(HED)的横电(TE)和横磁(TM)模式的电磁场关系,分析显示了前人提出的上下行波分离进行空气波压制所存在的缺陷.通过理论和数值模拟知道, 利用横电(TE)和横磁(TM)模式受空气相互作用影响的差异和电磁场水平分量与垂直分量受空气层相互作用影响程度的不同可减弱空气波对有效信号的影响,这将有助于实现浅水域海洋电磁勘探数据的有效利用.     

Seismic and electromagnetic controlled-source interferometry in dissipative media

Seismic interferometry deals with the generation of new seismic responses by crosscorrelating existing ones. One of the main assumptions underlying most interferometry methods is that the medium is lossless. We develop an ‘interferometry‐by‐deconvolution’ approach which circumvents this assumption. The proposed method applies not only to seismic waves, but to any type of diffusion and/or wave field in a dissipative medium. This opens the way to applying interferometry to controlled‐source electromagnetic (CSEM) data. Interferometry‐by‐deconvolution replaces the overburden by a homogeneous half space, thereby solving the shallow sea problem for CSEM applications. We demonstrate this at the hand of numerically modeled CSEM data.     

Electromagnetic fields generated by finite‐length wire sources: comparison with point dipole solutions

In present‐day land and marine controlled‐source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys, electromagnetic fields are commonly generated using wires that are hundreds of metres long. Nevertheless, simulations of CSEM data often approximate these sources as point dipoles. Although this is justified for sufficiently large source‐receiver distances, many real surveys include frequencies and distances at which the dipole approximation is inaccurate. For 1D layered media, electromagnetic (EM) fields for point dipole sources can be computed using well‐known quasi‐analytical solutions and fields for sources of finite length can be synthesized by superposing point dipole fields. However, the calculation of numerous point dipole fields is computationally expensive, requiring a large number of numerical integral evaluations. We combine a more efficient representation of finite‐length sources in terms of components related to the wire and its end points with very general expressions for EM fields in 1D layered media. We thus obtain a formulation that requires fewer numerical integrations than the superposition of dipole fields, permits source and receiver placement at any depth within the layer stack and can also easily be integrated into 3D modelling algorithms. Complex source geometries, such as wires bent due to surface obstructions, can be simulated by segmenting the wire and computing the responses for each segment separately. We first describe our finite‐length wire expressions and then present 1D and 3D examples of EM fields due to finite‐length sources for typical land and marine survey geometries and discuss differences to point dipole fields.     

层状垂直各向异性介质海洋CSEM发射源及接收站姿态和位置对电磁响应影响研究

众所周知,电阻率各向异性对海洋可控源电磁(CSEM)响应有显著影响.在模拟和解释海洋可控源电磁资料时,通常假设接收站布放于平稳的海底,发射源以理想的水平电偶极源形式按预设路径拖曳前进.然而,在实际海洋作业中,自由下沉的接收站可能沉降在局部倾斜的海底面上,在海底的方位可能是任意取向的.同时,由于洋流等因素的影响,发射源偶极子会发生旋转、倾斜,其位置也会偏离预设的拖曳路径,所以发射源和接收站姿态的变化都将对电磁资料产生影响.本文计算了电阻率各向异性介质中,发射源任意姿态任意位置激发、接收站任意姿态任意位置接收的海洋CSEM响应,分析观测系统引起数据误差的机制,分别在电阻率各向同性、围岩电阻率各向异性和高阻储层电阻率各向异性三种模型中,讨论发射源和接收站的姿态及位置变化对响应的影响.计算结果表明,电磁场振幅误差主要来源于发射源和接收站的倾斜角,而相位的变化为发射源位置和接收站倾斜角、位置共同影响的结果.     

基于改进的接收点插值算法的频率域海洋可控源电磁法2.5维正演

在海洋可控源电磁法勘探中,接收站常置于海底.在进行海洋电磁场模拟时,由于海水和海底介质存在显著电性差异,这给海底接收点处场值的求取带来困难.本文提出一种新的接收点插值算法,该算法考虑到海底电场法向分量不连续性问题,用法向电流分量进行插值以准确求取海底任意接收点处电磁场值.本文利用交错网格有限差分法实现了二维介质中频率域海洋可控源法(CSEM)正演.对构造走向做傅里叶变换,将三维电磁模拟问题转换为波数域2.5维问题,即三维场源激励下针对二维地电模型的电磁模拟问题.使用交错网格有限差分法,基于一次场/二次场分离方法导出波数域二次电场离散形式,并进一步求得波数域电磁场.采用本文提出的改进的插值算法可求得海底任意接收点处波数域电磁场,采用傅里叶逆变换对波数域电磁场进行积分可得到接收点处空间域电磁场.模型算例表明,与常规的线性插值和严格插值算法相比,本文提出的改进的插值算法具有更高的精度.     

海底电性源频率域CSEM勘探建模及水深影响分析

为了探索我国海域油气和水合物等高阻目标体CSEM勘探的可行性和方法技术,本文研究了在海水中水平电性源激励下有限水深海洋地电模型的频率域电磁响应,为进一步的1D和3D仿真计算奠定了理论基础.在推导电磁响应公式时,首先给出了各层介质的Lorentz势,然后根据Coulomb势与Lorentz势的关系,得到了各层介质的Coulomb势.各层介质中的电磁场均可以由Lorentz势或者Coulomb势计算得到,但在有限元计算时Coulomb势具有优势.长导线源的电磁场和势函数可以由电偶源的电磁场和势函数沿导线长度积分得到.文中具体给出了海水中水平电偶源和长导线源在海水层的电磁场公式,并根据该公式计算了不同水深环境下海底表面的电磁场分布,分析了海水深度对海底油气储层电磁异常的影响.结果表明,随着水深减小,异常幅度和形态特征发生明显变化.当水深很浅时(如50 m),只有同线方向的E_x和E_z两个电场分量存在明显异常.最后,以两个已知海底油田为例,计算了不同水深环境下可观测到的电场异常,展示了电性源频率域CSEM在海底勘探中(包括浅海环境)的良好应用前景.对于该方法实用化过程中还需进一步解决的问题,文中结尾部分也进行了初步探讨.     

Petro-Sonde法场源研究

美国的Petro-Sonde（简称PS）法,对地层有很高的分辨力和一定的识别物性的能力,从而引起我国地球物理学界的重视,国内研究者相继开展了对该方法的研究。但由于对PS法的场源机制并不清楚,这妨碍了对方法原理的研究,因而对场源机制的探讨至关重要。本文提出PS法所利用的场源是起因于雷暴闪电的天然电磁场,且主要是电型场或TM场,而TM零阶模和TM一阶模为其主要的初始场形式,这明显不同于Cagniard模型。