Electrical-prospecting method for hydrocarbon search using the induced-polarization effect

Abstract We propose a method of surface and marine electrical prospecting using controlled-source excitation. The method is designed to detect hydrocarbon deposits at depths of a few kilometers and to map their boundaries. The technique is based on imaging the induced-polarization (IP) parameters of the geologic formation. We use the fact that, because of the imaginary part of the electric conductivity, polarized media support wave propagation processes whose nature is similar to displacement currents induced by the dielectric permittivity. However, unlike displacement currents, these processes reveal themselves at much lower frequencies and, therefore, at greater depths. It is established that the ratio of the second and the first differences of the electric potential does not decay after the current turn-off in polarized media, whereas it decays quickly if the IP effect is absent. Thus, the IP response can be observed directly and separated from the electromagnetic (EM) response. We use a vertical focusing of the electric current to decrease the effect of laterally adjacent formations to apply a 1D layered model in a 3D environment. This method obtained promising results in several regions of Russia.