Advancing hydrocarbon target exploration
For roughly the past fifty years, the Magnetotelluric (MT) sounding method has been commonly used in difficult projects with deep, complex structure such as those of hydrocarbon targets. As a result of their location, these areas present difficulty in acquiring, processing, and modelling data. The key benefit of the MT method as compared to other geophysical methods is that it is substantially more cost effective. Taking this advantage into consideration, it follows that it was well worth evolving the method in order to maximise its potential. What was in need of improvement included making the method less sensitive to man-made noises and improving the sub-surface imaging techniques. The selected test area was in an oil target region in NW Greece. An important result of the effort was an inversion code capable of producing 3D imaging. This means a reduction in the time required for evaluating the dimensions of the hydrocarbon reservoir. This is good news for both geophysical and hydrocarbon companies alike, as it makes their projects more efficient in addition to being more environmentally friendly for the world at large.
