A study of the geophysical response of distributed fibre optic acoustic sensors through laboratory‐scale experiments

In the past few years, distributed acoustic sensing has gained great interest in geophysics. This acquisition technology offers immense improvement in terms of efficiency when compared with current geophysical acquisition methods. However, the fundamentals of the measurement are still not fully understood because direct comparisons of fibre data with conventional geophysical sensors are difficult during field tests. We present downscaled laboratory experiments that enabled us to characterise the relationship between the signals recorded by conventional seismic point receivers and by distributed fibre optic sensors. Interrogation of the distributed optical fibre sensor was performed with a Michelson interferometer because this system is suited to compact test configurations, and it requires only a very simple data processing workflow for extracting the signal outputs. We show acoustic data that were recorded simultaneously by both the fibre optical interferometer and conventional three‐component accelerometers, thus enabling the comparison of sensor performance. We present results focused on the directionality of fibre measurements, on the amplitude variation with angle of incidence, and on the transfer function that allows accelerometer signals to be transformed into optical fibre signals. We conclude that the optical fibre response matches with the array of the displacement differences of the inline accelerometers deployed along the fibre length. Moreover, we also analysed the influence of various types of coupling and fibre cable coating on the signal responses, emphasising the importance of these parameters for field seismic acquisitions when using the distributed fibre optic technology.     

High‐resolution multi‐component distributed acoustic sensing

Distributed acoustic sensing uses an optical fibre together with an interrogator unit to perform strain measurements. The usage of distributed acoustic sensing in geophysics is attractive due to its dense spatial sampling and low operation cost if the optical fibre is freely accessible. In the borehole environment, optical fibres for distributed acoustic sensing are often readily available as a part of other sensing tools, such as for temperature and pressure. Although the distributed acoustic sensing system promises great potential for reservoir monitoring and surface seismic acquisition, the single axial strain measurement of distributed acoustic sensing along the fibre is inadequate to fully characterise the different wave modes, thus making reservoir characterisation challenging. We propose an acquisition system using five equally spaced helical optical fibres and a straight optical fibre to obtain six different strain projections. This system allows us to reconstruct all components of the 3D strain tensor at any location along the fibre. Analysing the condition number associated with the geometry of the optical fibre, we can systematically search for the optimum design parameters for our configuration. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method to successful reconstruction of the full strain tensor from elastic wavefields of arbitrary complexity.     

The use of multi‐frequency acquisition to significantly improve the quality of fibre‐optic‐distributed vibration sensing

Unlike conventional sensors that measure the passage of seismic waves at a single position, distributed vibration sensing systems, also known as distributed acoustic sensing systems, detect the passage of seismic waves by averaging a measurement of strain over a section of fibre‐optic cable. Distributed vibration sensing systems work by transmitting pulses of light down the fibre and measuring the phase of the Rayleigh backscatter. At random positions along the fibre, however, fading occurs; this is where the amplitude of the backscattered signal is very small due to cancellation of the scattered electric fields, resulting in anomalously noisy traces in a common source gather. This paper addresses the problem of fading in a particular form of distributed vibration sensors: a new optical arrangement of the instrumentation is described that allows the measurement to be carried out quasi‐simultaneously at multiple optical interrogation frequencies. The interrogation frequencies are chosen to be sufficiently different that their fading properties are distinct and the diversity thus obtained is used to aggregate the data obtained to substantially reduce the noise caused by fading. As well as reducing the effects of fading, the aggregation of the independent results can also help to reduce the overall noise of the measurement and improve the linearity of the distributed vibration sensing system.     

Elongated horizontal and vertical receivers in three-dimensional electromagnetic modelling and inversion

Electromagnetic geophysical methods often rely on measurements of naturally occurring or artificially impressed electric fields. It is technically impossible, however, to measure the electric field directly. Instead, the electric field is approximated by recording the voltage difference between two electrodes and dividing the obtained voltage by the distance between the electrodes. Typically, modelling and inversion algorithms assume that the electric fields are obtained over infinitely short point-dipoles and thus measured fields are assigned to a single point between the electrodes. Such procedures imply several assumptions: (1) The electric field between the two electrodes is regarded as constant or being a potential field and (2) the receiver dimensions are negligible compared to the dimensions of the underlying modelling grid. While these conditions are often fulfilled for horizontal electric fields, borehole sensors for recordings of the vertical electric field have dimensions in the order of ≈100 m and span several modelling grid cells. Observations from such elongated borehole sensors can therefore only be interpreted properly if true receiver dimensions and variations of electrical conductivity along the receiver are considered. Here, we introduce a numerical solution to include the true receiver geometry into electromagnetic modelling schemes, which does not rely on such simplifying assumptions. The algorithm is flexible, independent of the chosen numerical method to solve Maxwell's equations and can easily be implemented in other electromagnetic modelling and inversion codes. We present conceptual modelling results for land-based controlled source electromagnetic scenarios and discuss consideration of true receiver geometries for a series of examples of horizontal and vertical electric field measurements. Comparison with Ez data measured in an observation borehole in a producing oil field shows the importance of both considering the true length of the receiver and also its orientation. We show that misalignment from the vertical axis as small as 0.1° may seriously distort the measured signal, as horizontal electric field components are mapped into the desired vertical component. Adequate inclusion of elongated receivers in modelling and inversion can also help reducing effects of static shift when interpreting (natural source) magnetotelluric data.     

基于电场总场矢量有限元法的接地长导线源三维正演

电磁场数值模拟的背景场/异常场算法是三维正演的有效策略之一,优点为采用解析法计算电磁场背景场代替场源项、克服了场源奇异性,缺点为不适用于发射源布置于起伏地表或背景模型复杂的情形.总场算法是直接对电磁场总场开展数值模拟,其难点是有效加载场源、保证近区与过渡区数值解精度.本文以水平电偶源形式分段加载接地长导线源,并以电场总场Helmholtz方程为矢量有限元法控制方程,实现了基于非结构化四面体网格剖分的接地长导线源频率域电磁法三维正演.通过与均匀全空间中水平电偶源产生的电场解析解对比,验证了本文算法的正确性,并分析了四面体外接圆半径与其最短棱边的最大比值和四面体二面角最小值对数值解精度的影响规律.通过与块状高导体地电模型的积分方程法、有限体积法和基于磁矢量势Helmholtz方程的有限元法数值解对比,进一步验证了本文算法正确性,同时说明了非结构化四面体网格能够更加精细地剖分电性异常体,利于获得精确数值解.     

井间电磁法综述

地面电磁法在实际工作中在很大程度上受到了探测深度和分辨率的限制.为了克服这些缺点,出现了井间电磁法.井间电磁法指的是在两个(或多个)钻孔中分别发射或接收电磁波信号,利用电磁波信号进行成像并探测井间物理性质的地球物理方法.由于发射机和接收机可以分别放置在很深钻孔中,其具有大透距、大探测深度的特点,因而广泛应用于工程环境物探、矿产勘查、石油勘探等中.针对不同的应用,产生了各具特点的一些特殊方法,包括井间无线电波成像、跨孔雷达、井间电磁成像.井间无线电波成像仪目前只测量电场强度数据,工作频率低,一般是单频的电磁波,频率范围通常在1 kHz至10 MHz.由于缺少走时数据修正射线路径,井间无线电波成像主要是进行基于直射线追踪的衰减层析成像.井间无线电波成像既可用于工程与环境地球物理也可用于找矿.跨孔雷达是钻孔雷达的一种探测方式,用高频电磁脉冲探测两个井孔间介电常数和电导率的变化.跨孔雷达层析成像也叫地质雷达CT,既可进行走时成像,还可进行衰减成像.一般来说,地质雷达CT的电磁波工作频率较高,中心频率通常在10 MHz和1 GHz之间,因此在分辨率指标上占有优势,跨孔雷达主要用于工程与环境地球物理.井间电磁成像采用更低的频率,测量复电磁信号,适合油气储集层监测,是一种地球物理前沿技术.经过在多个试验区初步试验表明,井间电磁成像是油藏研究的有效手段,可用于分析剩余油分布,寻找油气富集区,进而达到提高钻探高效井成功率和提高采收率的目的.本文详细介绍对比了这三种方法在理论和实践中的一些特点,并对未来的发展进行了展望.     

Slopes of an airborne electromagnetic resistivity model interpolated jointly with borehole data for 3D geological modelling

We investigate a novel way to introduce resistivity models deriving from airborne electromagnetic surveys into regional geological modelling. Standard geometrical geological modelling can be strengthened using geophysical data. Here, we propose to extract information contained in a resistivity model in the form of local slopes that constrain the modelling of geological interfaces. The proposed method is illustrated on an airborne electromagnetic survey conducted in the region of Courtenay in France. First, a resistivity contrast corresponding to the clay/chalk interface was interpreted confronting the electromagnetic soundings to boreholes. Slopes were then sampled on this geophysical model and jointly interpolated with the clay/chalk interface documented in boreholes using an implicit 3D potential‐field method. In order to evaluate this new joint geophysical–geological model, its accuracy was compared with that of both pure geological and pure geophysical models for various borehole configurations. The proposed joint modelling yields the most accurate clay/chalk interface whatever the number and location of boreholes taken into account for modelling and validation. Compared with standard geological modelling, the approach introduces in between boreholes geometrical information derived from geophysical results. Compared with conventional resistivity interpretation of the geophysical model, it reduces drift effects and honours the boreholes. The method therefore improves what is commonly obtained with geological or geophysical data separately, making it very attractive for robust 3D geological modelling of the subsurface.     

Interaction of helically wound fibre‐optic cables with plane seismic waves

Distributed acoustic sensing is a novel technology for seismic acquisition. In this technology, strain changes induced by seismic waves impinging on an optical fibre are monitored. Due to the fact that glass is relatively rigid, straight glass fibres are not sensitive to broadside waves. We suggest using distributed acoustic sensing systems with fibres helically wound around cables. One increases the fibre sensitivity to broadside waves by decreasing the fibre wrapping angle (the angle between the fibre axis and the plane normal to the cable axis). The optimal wrapping angle is chosen to minimize the impact of Rayleigh waves on the signal measured. This angle depends on the cable Poisson ratio, and it is approximately equal to 30° for cables composed of plastic. For reliable detection of seismic waves, one needs a good mechanical contact between the cable and the surrounding medium. On the other hand, the sensitivity of distributed acoustic sensing systems to primary waves can be significantly reduced if the cable is placed in a cemented borehole.     

Electromagnetic fields in a steel-cased borehole

The development of an electromagnetic numerical modelling scheme for a magnetic dipole in an arbitrary casing segment in an inhomogeneous conductivity background has been difficult, due to the very high electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability contrasts between the steel casing and the background medium. To investigate the effect of steel casing efficiently, we have developed an accurate but simple finite‐element modelling scheme to simulate electromagnetic fields in a medium of cylindrically symmetric conductivity structures. In order to preserve the cylindrical symmetry in the resulting electromagnetic fields, a horizontal loop current source is used throughout. One of the main advantages of the approach is that the problem is scalar when formulated using the azimuthal electric field, even if the casing is both electrically conductive and magnetically permeable. Field calculations have been made inside the cased borehole as well as in another borehole which is not cased. Careful analyses of the numerical modelling results indicate that the anomaly observed in a cross‐borehole configuration is sensitive enough to be used for tomographic imaging.     

油田开发中后期持水率测井技术研究与展望

油田开发中后期油井水的含量上升,油田开发除单一的垂直井开采外,水平井、大斜度井开采技术应用逐渐增多,因此对持水率测井技术提出了新的挑战．针对这种情况,国内外先后研究了电磁法、电容法、电导法、光纤法等持水率测量方法．本文通过对这些方法物理基础的分析,阐述了目前研究进展情况．在此基础上探讨了适应油田开发中后期复杂条件下持水率仪研究的发展方向．     

The electromagnetic response of a horizontal electric dipole buried in a multi‐layered earth

The electromagnetic response of a horizontal electric dipole transmitter in the presence of a conductive, layered earth is important in a number of geophysical applications, ranging from controlled‐source audio‐frequency magnetotellurics to borehole geophysics to marine electromagnetics. The problem has been thoroughly studied for more than a century, starting from a dipole resting on the surface of a half‐space and subsequently advancing all the way to a transmitter buried within a stack of anisotropic layers. The solution is still relevant today. For example, it is useful for one‐dimensional modelling and interpretation, as well as to provide background fields for two‐ and three‐dimensional modelling methods such as integral equation or primary–secondary field formulations. This tutorial borrows elements from the many texts and papers on the topic and combines them into what we believe is a helpful guide to performing layered earth electromagnetic field calculations. It is not intended to replace any of the existing work on the subject. However, we have found that this combination of elements is particularly effective in teaching electromagnetic theory and providing a basis for algorithmic development. Readers will be able to calculate electric and magnetic fields at any point in or above the earth, produced by a transmitter at any location. As an illustrative example, we calculate the fields of a dipole buried in a multi‐layered anisotropic earth to demonstrate how the theory that developed in this tutorial can be implemented in practice; we then use the example to examine the diffusion of volume charge density within anisotropic media—a rarely visualised process. The algorithm is internally validated by comparing the response of many thin layers with alternating high and low conductivity values to the theoretically equivalent (yet algorithmically simpler) anisotropic solution, as well as externally validated against an independent algorithm.     

Controlled‐source electromagnetic monitoring of reservoir oil saturation using a novel borehole‐to‐surface configuration

To advance and optimize secondary and tertiary oil recovery techniques, it is essential to know the areal propagation and distribution of the injected fluids in the subsurface. We investigate the applicability of controlled‐source electromagnetic methods to monitor fluid movements in a German oilfield (Bockstedt, onshore Northwest Germany) as injected brines (highly saline formation water) have much lower electrical resistivity than the oil within the reservoir. The main focus of this study is on controlled‐source electromagnetic simulations to test the sensitivity of various source–receiver configurations. The background model for the simulations is based on two‐dimensional inversion of magnetotelluric data gathered across the oil field and calibrated with resistivity logs. Three‐dimensional modelling results suggest that controlled‐source electromagnetic methods are sensitive to resistivity changes at reservoir depths, but the effect is difficult to resolve with surface measurements only. Resolution increases significantly if sensors or transmitters can be placed in observation wells closer to the reservoir. In particular, observation of the vertical electric field component in shallow boreholes and/or use of source configurations consisting of combinations of vertical and horizontal dipoles are promising. Preliminary results from a borehole‐to‐surface controlled‐source electromagnetic field survey carried out in spring 2014 are in good agreement with the modelling studies.     

Electrical and electromagnetic borehole measurements: A review

Electrical and electromagnetic geophysical techniques have reached a high level of technological sophistication since they were first used in boreholes less than one hundred years ago. Borehole logging-the detailed determination of rock and fluid properties adjacent to the borehole, and borehole geophysics-extending the range of geophysical investigation large distances away from the borehole, are essential for exploration, assessment and production of earth resources, as well as for fundamental studies of the earth. Borehole electrical and electromagnetic methods incorporate 17 decades of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 1000-s geomagnetic studies, through resistivity and permittivity measurements, to high-resolution resistivity imaging, NMR and optical spectroscopy.     

Field testing of modular borehole monitoring with simultaneous distributed acoustic sensing and geophone vertical seismic profiles at Citronelle,Alabama

A modular borehole monitoring concept has been implemented to provide a suite of well‐based monitoring tools that can be deployed cost effectively in a flexible and robust package. The initial modular borehole monitoring system was deployed as part of a CO₂ injection test operated by the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership near Citronelle, Alabama. The Citronelle modular monitoring system transmits electrical power and signals, fibre‐optic light pulses, and fluids between the surface and a reservoir. Additionally, a separate multi‐conductor tubing‐encapsulated line was used for borehole geophones, including a specialized clamp for casing clamping with tubing deployment. The deployment of geophones and fibre‐optic cables allowed comparison testing of distributed acoustic sensing. We designed a large source effort (>64 sweeps per source point) to test fibre‐optic vertical seismic profile and acquired data in 2013. The native measurement in the specific distributed acoustic sensing unit used (an iDAS from Silixa Ltd) is described as a localized strain rate. Following a processing flow of adaptive noise reduction and rebalancing the signal to dimensionless strain, improvement from repeated stacking of the source was observed. Conversion of the rebalanced strain signal to equivalent velocity units, via a scaling by local apparent velocity, allows quantitative comparison of distributed acoustic sensing and geophone data in units of velocity. We see a very good match of uncorrelated time series in both amplitude and phase, demonstrating that velocity‐converted distributed acoustic sensing data can be analyzed equivalent to vertical geophones. We show that distributed acoustic sensing data, when averaged over an interval comparable to typical geophone spacing, can obtain signal‐to‐noise ratios of 18 dB to 24 dB below clamped geophones, a result that is variable with noise spectral amplitude because the noise characteristics are not identical. With vertical seismic profile processing, we demonstrate the effectiveness of downgoing deconvolution from the large spatial sampling of distributed acoustic sensing data, along with improved upgoing reflection quality. We conclude that the extra source effort currently needed for tubing‐deployed distributed acoustic sensing vertical seismic profile, as part of a modular monitoring system, is well compensated by the extra spatial sampling and lower deployment cost as compared with conventional borehole geophones.     

Hydro‐frac monitoring using ground time‐domain electromagnetics

As motivation for considering new electromagnetic techniques for hydraulic fracture monitoring, we develop a simple financial model for the net present value offered by geophysical characterization to reduce the error in stimulated reservoir volume calculations. This model shows that even a 5% improvement in stimulated reservoir volume for a 1 billion barrel (bbl.) field results in over 1 billion U.S. dollars (US$) in net present value over 24 years for US$100/bbl. oil and US$0.5 billion for US$50/bbl. oil. The application of conductivity upscaling, often used in electromagnetic modeling to reduce mesh size and thus simulation runtimes, is shown to be inaccurate for the high electrical contrasts needed to represent steel‐cased wells in the earth. Fine‐scale finite‐difference modeling with 12.22‐mm cells to capture the steel casing and fractures shows that the steel casing provides a direct current pathway to a created fracture that significantly enhances the response compared with neglecting the steel casing. We consider conductively enhanced proppant, such as coke‐breeze‐coated sand, and a highly saline brine solution to produce electrically conductive fractures. For a relatively small frac job at a depth of 3 km, involving 5,000 bbl. of slurry and a source midpoint to receiver separation of 50 m, the models show that the conductively enhanced proppant produces a 15% increase in the electric field strength (in‐line with the transmitter) in a 10‐Ωm background. In a 100‐Ωm background, the response due to the proppant increases to 213%. Replacing the conductive proppant by brine with a concentration of 100,000‐ppm NaCl, the field strength is increased by 23% in the 100‐Ωm background and by 2.3% in the 10‐Ωm background. All but the 100,000‐ppm NaCl brine in a 10‐Ωm background produce calculated fracture‐induced electric field increases that are significantly above 2%, a value that has been demonstrated to be observable in field measurements.     

Convolutional neural networks for automated microseismic detection in downhole distributed acoustic sensing data and comparison to a surface geophone array

Distributed acoustic sensing is a growing technology that enables affordable downhole recording of strain wavefields from microseismic events with spatial sampling down to ∼1 m. Exploiting this high spatial information density motivates different detection approaches than typically used for downhole geophones. A new machine learning method using convolutional neural networks is described that operates on the full strain wavefield. The method is tested using data recorded in a horizontal observation well during hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, and the results are compared to a surface geophone array that simultaneously recorded microseismic activity. The neural network was trained using synthetic microseismic events injected into real ambient noise, and it was applied to detect events in the remaining data. There were 535 detections found and no false positives. In general, the signal-to-noise ratio of events recorded by distributed acoustic sensing was lower than the surface array and 368 of 933 surface array events were found. Despite this, 167 new events were found in distributed acoustic sensing data that had no detected counterpart in the surface array. These differences can be attributed to the different detection threshold that depends on both magnitude and distance to the optical fibre. As distributed acoustic sensing data quality continues to improve, neural networks offer many advantages for automated, real-time microseismic event detection, including low computational cost, minimal data pre-processing, low false trigger rates and continuous performance improvement as more training data are acquired.     

2.5维起伏地表条件下频率域地空电磁正演模拟

频率域地空电磁探测方法是指在地面布设人工场源,在空中测量电磁场的一种高效的地球物理勘探技术.该方法具有大范围、高通过性、快速测量的优势,尤其适合崎岖山地、沙漠、沼泽、海陆交互带等复杂地貌区域的资源勘查.但是这些地区的地形起伏通常较大,因此分析地形对地空电磁响应的影响具有重要意义.本文利用有限元法对频率域地空电磁响应进行了正演计算,分析了起伏地表条件下的频率域地空电磁响应特征.首先利用傅里叶变换将2.5维问题转化成二维问题,利用伽辽金加权余量法推导了相应的离散有限元方程组.采用任意四边形单元对区域进行不均匀网格剖分,源和异常体附近网格加密处理,保证计算精度,远离目标区域网格逐渐稀疏,模拟无穷远边界,降低对计算资源的要求.在单元内进行插值,将有限元方程组变换为线性方程组,采用总场算法,利用具有一定面积的伪δ函数表达源电流分布,源项近似为分布在以电偶极源为中心的25个节点上.通过求解线性方程组得到波数域电磁响应,再对波数域电磁场响应进行反傅里叶变换从而获得空间域2.5维频率域电磁场值.通过对比2.5维正演结果与均匀半空间解析解,验证了本文算法的精度,同时本文还对地空电磁场与地面电磁场的响应特性进行了对比.     

VLF RESISTIVITY MAPPING AND VERTICALIZATION OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD1

For over 20 years, powerful VLF transmitters have been used as electromagnetic sources for subsurface investigations in mining exploration. Measurements initially concerned the vertical component of the magnetic field or the inclination of the field and were later extended to measurement of the horizontal electric field in the direction of the transmitter, to determine the resistivity of the terrain. Measurement of the electric field is usually performed with electric lines, grounded or not, with lengths of at least 5 m. This paper presents the concept of a VLF resistivity meter with a very short electric sensor (1 m) and the results obtained with it. This technique improves the measurement of the electric field, which is in principle a point value. It also permits a higher spatial sampling rate and, by closely linking the electric sensor with the magnetic sensor on a lightweight mount, makes it possible for the instrument to be used by a single operator. In addition, transformation of the electric field data, analogous to reduction to the pole in magnetism, is proposed to correct the horizontal deformation of the anomalies created by polarization of the primary field. Comparison with direct current electrical measurements shows highly satisfactory correlations. This transformation, validated for VLF, can be extended to any electrical or electromagnetic method using a uniform primary field, i.e. gradient array in direct current or low-frequency magnetotellurics. We call this verticalization of the electric field. Resistivity measurements and mapping using the VLF frequency range can be applied not only to mining but also to a wide range of shallow geophysical studies (hydrology, civil engineering, etc.) and are not limited to problems concerning the location of conductive targets     

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.     

Illuminating and optimising a three‐dimensional model of an oil shale seam and its volume distribution using the transient electromagnetic induction method,central part of Jordan

The oil shale exploration program in Jordan is undertaking great activity in the domain of applied geophysical methods to evaluate bitumen‐bearing rock. In the study area, the bituminous marl or oil shale exhibits a rock type dominated by lithofacies layers composed of chalky limestone, marls, clayey marls, and phosphatic marls. The study aims to present enhancements for oil shale seam detection using progressive interpretation from a one‐dimensional inversion to a three‐dimensional modelling and inversion of ground‐based transient electromagnetic data at an area of stressed geological layers. The geophysical survey combined 58 transient electromagnetic sites to produce geoelectrical structures at different depth slices, and cross sections were used to characterise the horizon of the most likely sites for mining oil shale. The results show valuable information on the thickness of the oil shale seam at 3.7 Ωm, which is correlated to the geoelectrical layer between 2‐ and 4 ms transient time delays, and at depths ranging between 85 and 105 m. The 300 m penetrated depth of the transient electromagnetic soundings allows the resolution of the main geological units at narrow resistivity contrast and the distinction of the main geological structures that constrain the detection of the oil shale seam. This geoelectrical layer at different depth slices illustrates a localised oil shale setting and can be spatially correlated with an area bounded by fold and fault systems. Also, three‐dimensional modelling and inversion for synthetic and experimental data are introduced at the faulted area. The results show the limitations of oil shale imaging at a depth exceeding 130 m, which depends on the near‐surface resistivity layer, the low resistivity contrast of the main lithological units, and the degree of geological detail achieved at a suitable model's misfit value.