IER service directly detects hydrocarbon

Victor Schmidt
Exploration Editor
Offshore staff

Seismic Sciences of San Diego, California, announced the commercialization of its direct hydrocarbon detection technology, Induced Electrokinetic Response (IER), at the Offshore Technology Conference May 2 in Houston, Texas. The technique has been proven offshore in the Black Sea and onshore in Nevada.

IER uses a low frequency (0-50 Hz) sparker in conjunction with a single, towed streamer containing an array of electromagnetic sensors. The sparker creates acoustic energy to excite the fluids in the rock. The towed array then detects the electromagnetic properties emanating from the hydrocarbons and water. The data collected defines the edge of the water/hydrocarbon boundary. Data are presented in SEGY format for integration with traditional seismic data.

"We believe that this technique is a paradigm shift in finding oil and gas in the future," said John Slizza, sales leader for Seismic Science. Slizza claims that IER can discriminate a hydrocarbon deposit 0.2% the depth of the response. A 20 ft pay zone can be defined for a 10,000 ft response, according to Slizza. The system can be run in tandem with a hydrophone streamer to produce a directly-overlaid, combination survey.

The company has created three separate systems for shallow water (0-600 ft), deepwater (beyond 600 ft), and land. The steerable streamer is towed to within 50 ft of the seabed. In deepwater the vessel can gather 35 mi per day while in shallow water it can gather 70 mi per day. The company said the technique is protected by 30 patents.

5/02/05