315

Chapter 10
A Short History of Electrical Techniques
in Petroleum Exploration

10.1 The utilization of electrical techniques in oil and gas exploration has always
INTRODUCTION been a subject of great interest to geophysicists, largely because of the hope that the
application of such techniques would eventually lead to the direct detection of
hydrocarbons through their insulating properties. However, 60 years of constant and at
times frenzied debate over direct detection has failed to produce clear evidence of
success, and wildly unrealistic claims by competitive service companies have done
much to discredit the use of all electrical methods in petroleum exploration. Apparently,
this was a problem from the very start. Even as early as the 1930s, while the seismic
reflection method was evolving from infancy to a dominant role in the oil patch,
electrical prospecting was still mired in an abyss of ignorance about the very
fundamentals of electromagnetic theory. Peters and Bardeen (1932) commented:
At the present time electrical methods of prospecting for oil
seem to be in disrepute. This is partly due to cost of electrical
surveys as compared with other geophysical methods and
partly due to the failure of the extravagant claims made for the
process to materialize. However, the electrical method of
prospecting for oil cannot be forgotten because it is one of the
two prominent geophysical methods in which it is possible to
control the field being employed. Improvements in methods of
interpretation and field techniques should give electrical
methods a definite field of usefulness in prospecting for oil.
This statement remains valid today, but the situation is even more complex
than it was in 1932. The petroleum industry is bombarded with a large number of
exploration proposals, some of which are aggressively marketed by persons with
minimal technical understanding of the processes they claim to measure. As a result,
most if not all electrical methods have quietly been filed in the bottom drawer of
"unconventional methods” by the petroleum industry, despite their widespread
acceptance and extensive utilization by the mining industry over the past 30 years.
To understand the origin of this prejudice, it is useful to review the efforts of
electrical prospectors since they first applied the techniques to petroleum exploration in
the 1920s. This will also provide a perspective for evaluating the recent resurgence of
electrical techniques in petroleum exploration.
316 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

10.2
THE EARLY
YEARS:
1900- 1940

Geophysical The early years of electrical methods of geophysical exploration are reviewed in
Development detail by Heiland (1932) and in summary form by Rust (1938). Rust notes that the first
use of electrical methods in geophysics is attributed to R.W. Fox. Working in Cornwall
mines in 1830, Fox found that the voltages resulting from induced currents were
strongly influenced by the presence of ore bodies. He advocated the use of resistance
measurements as an exploration tool, but this method was deemed impractical because
of contamination of measured voltages by electrode polarization. In 1880, Barus solved
this problem by developing a non-polarizing electrode made of a porous wood or
unglazed clay cup filled with a metal sulfate solution. Interestingly enough, this
invention was very similar in design to the "porous pots" used for potential
measurements today. Barus used his new electrodes to trace the Comstock lode past
its previously known position.
Electricity had very much captured the public's fancy at this time. Thomas
Edison's invention of the incandescent lamp in 1879 was an unparalleled popular
success, and further developments of electricity provided conveniences and
opportunities never before imagined. It is not surprising, then, that electrical techniques
were enthusiastically applied to geological exploration beginning early in this century.
In 1900, Brown and McClatchey applied for a patent on resistivity
measurements in the United States, while Daft and Williams proposed the use of
potential differences in resistivity work. However, little quantitative work appeared until
15 years later, when Wenner (1915) suggested the use of the four-electrode array
which now bears his name. Other arrays were also in use at the time, and there was no
general agreement as to which ones were best for exploration.
After testing the DC resistivity method during the years 1913 - 1920, Conrad
Schlumberger began to use resistivity mapping as a tool for oil and gas exploration.
The approach was to map salt domes and other structures. Work was done in the
Pechelbronn oil region from 1921 to 1926, in Romania from 1923 to 1926, and in
Alsace from 1926 to 1927. Schlumberger first worked in the United States for Roxana
Petroleum Corporation and Shell Company of California from 1925 to 1929. The
mapping work tapered off as Schlumberger became increasingly involved in downhole
electric logging, but a number of other contractors were heavily involved in surface
measurements, including the Swedish-American Prospecting Corporation, Elbof
Company, Geophysical Service, Inc., McCollum Exploration Company, Radiore
Company, and lnternational Geophysics, Inc. Several oil companies, including Sun Oil,
Pure Oil (which later discovered Lisbon Field), and Midwest Refining, maintained in-
house electrical prospecting groups. Unfortunately, very little of their work was ever
published; and what was published was generally of poor quality.

Methodology By the 1930s, field logistics and techniques varied widely. Heiland (1932), Rust
and (1938, 1940), and other contemporary writers describe at least eight commonly used
Equipment arrays, which used up to five electrodes. Many of the methodological distinctions drawn
by these authors are now insignificant in terms of their application, and for the most
part, they would be classified today as resistivity profile or sounding methods. Three
field approaches were in common use during the 1930s: the "resistivity" method, the
"potential-drop-ratio" method, and the "vertical electric drilling" method. The surveys
were made at both AC and DC frequencies, and in some cases phase angle
 A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 317

measurements were carried out, although there is little evidence that phase information
was used to any extent for interpretation.
The so-called "resistivity" method involved the transmission of a signal into a
long current dipole. The voltage was measured by potential electrodes located either
between the current electrodes or near one of them, and an apparent resistivity map
was produced.
A second approach, known as the "potential-drop-ratio" method, investigated
potential ratios in the vicinity of one of the current poles. The receiving positions were
advanced along a traverse, one dipole at a time, with the rear dipole repeating the
position previously occupied by the front dipole. By obtaining a ratio of the voltages
measured at each set-up by the two dipoles, and by propagating a series of ratios along
a traverse, it was possible to make measurements which were independent of the
current source strength.
Potential-drop-ratio surveys were laborious, and were not the preferred method
used in oilfield work. Instead, the most common technique was one known as "vertical
electric drilling," in which an array of three to four electrodes (usually using the Wenner
array) was used as an expander around a point about to be drilled. This approach
yielded a vertical apparent resistivity sounding, as opposed to the horizontal profile of
the potential-drop-ratio method. Heiland notes that interpretation of these electrical
data was based upon potential contour maps drawn for various depths of investigation
and upon resistivity curves. Results were checked against in-hole electric logs, rock
sample measurements, and modeling tank experiments.
Equipment during the 1930s generally consisted of various modifications of the
Gish-Rooney apparatus developed in 1925. The receiver consisted of a milli-ammeter
for current measurement, a potentiometer for voltage measurement, and a commutator,
which provided a low-frequency AC signal. Power was supplied by a hand-driven DC
generator, an electric engine, or batteries.

Early Claims of Prior to 1930, electrical exploration was used primarily for structure mapping.
Direct Detection Specific targets included salt domes, anticlines, faults, fracture zones, lithologic
of Hydrocarbons contacts, and the mapping of glacial overburden. However, keen competition among
the numerous service companies and encroachment on electrical "turf" by a rapidly
developing seismic industry seem to have encouraged some companies to make claims
which could not be supported. Elbof Company has the dubious distinction of being the
first to claim success in the direct detection of hydrocarbons. Elbof's "current
deflections" in electromagnetic data were made in an area of complex geology, at great
depths; their work, which seems not to have been published, was widely disputed.
Further work with resistivity and potential-drop-ratio methods was published in 1930,
but the data are of poor quality and the conclusions are not convincing. Hedstrorn
(1930) argued against the possibility of direct detection, claiming that resistivity
contrasts greater than 10:1 would not produce responses significantly different from
contrasts of 1000:1 or more, which might be expected at a hydrocarbon interface.
Thus, he argued, an oil response could not be distinguished from many other
responses in the ground which are unrelated to the presence of hydrocarbons. Heiland,
in a carefully neutral discussion of direct detection, observes that direct detection might
be viable in the future, but notes that he "believes that several authors who were
involved in the animated discussion at that time wish now, in view of the recent
developments, that they had not voiced their opinions in the [direct detection] matter."
Heiland does quote two examples of work supporting direct detection. The first
is by Lee and Swartz (1930), who showed "vertical electric drilling" or resistivity
sounding data from an oilfield in Allen County, Kentucky. The oil lies about 250 feet
318 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

beneath a sequence of limestones, cherts, and shales. At first glance, the data appear
to show a resistor at depth, but it is difficult to believe that an insulator barely 25 feet
(8 m) thick and 250 feet (75 m) deep was detected with the existing equipment.
Nevertheless, Heiland was convinced, and he cites a second body of work by Swartz
(1932) in which oil was detected at 500 to 800 feet (150 - 250 m), with predictions
confirmed by subsequent drilling. One case presented by Swartz shows an anomaly
which he attributes to a bed 4 feet thick (1.3 m) buried some 640 feet (195 m) deep.
This, of course, is quite impossible to accept, as is Swartz's claim that ". . . the shielding
effect of such low resistivity beds as are encountered in oil and gas fields are negligible
as far as the detectability of underlying gas and oil horizons is concerned."

Early During the mid-1930s, the direct detection movement took a new course, de-
Transient emphasizing the search for insulators by DC resistivity soundings. Instead, attention
Methods was focused on finding electromagnetic transient reflections (Eltran). The psychological
incentive to see reflections from depth was certainly understandable, considering the
success of seismic reflection methods and the continued desire for a direct indicator of
hydrocarbons.
Transient work can be traced back to 1933, when U.S. Patent 1,911,137 was
issued to L.W. Blau, a research geophysicist with Humble Oil and Refining. Karcher
and McDermott (1935) were evidently the first to advocate Eltran methods for direct
detection of oil, and over the next five years, a number of other authors published their
results. Keller (1968) provides a working bibliography of these references. Most of the
Eltran publications advocate time-domain waveform transients using the four-electrode
Schlumberger, Wenner, or dipole-dipole arrays. The results of these surveys, when
reviewed in the context of current knowledge, are rather ambiguous. The detection of
electromagnetic reflections with the instrumentation of the 1930s is highly unlikely. The
first substantial theoretical arguments to this effect were not advanced until the 1950s,
even though electromagnetic theory had been up to the task since work by Foster
(1931) and Riordan and Sunde (1933).

10.3
CONTINUED
DEVELOPMENT:
1940 – 1960

Later Transient Although the excitement over Eltran seems to have subsided after 1940, the
Methods basic ideas were inherited by the Elflex company. The history of Elflex can be traced
back to an interesting patent (U.S. patent 2,190,320) by Gennady Potapenko (1940), a
professor at the California lnstitute of Technology. Potapenko describes laboratory
measurements on oil-saturated sands over a frequency range of 0.01 Hz to 100 Hz.
The claim was that an oil-saturated sand showed a substantially different voltage decay
response than a sand which did not contain oil. Potapenko proposed a measurement
system in which a Schlumberger array was used for depth sounding in the field.
Haakon M. Evjen, a scientist with Shell Oil Company, evidently had worked with
Potapenko for a time, and in 1940 he and Hal Edwards left Shell to apply some of
Potapenko's ideas commercially in a company they called Elflex. Patents on electrical
prospecting equipment similar to Potapenko's were issued to them in 1944 and 1945.
Evjen's first electrical paper, published in 1938 while he was still with Shell, focuses on
electrical detection of salt domes and faults. He disclaimed the detection of material at
 A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 319

depth. In his second paper (1943), he expresses the hope that sandstone reservoirs
could be traced horizontally, and that lateral changes in conductivity caused by the
presence of oil might eventually be detected. In subsequent papers, Evjen and his
colleague, W. Bradley Lewis, generally discuss structural mapping and technical
considerations of their work; they avoid commenting on direct detection except in a few
of their less technical papers (e.g., Evjen 1953). Although Evjen's technical papers in
general are of fairly good quality, it is doubtful that he was actually measuring
electromagnetic reflections, especially considering the primitive ballistic galvanometers
in use at the time (see section 2.3).

Radio-Wave During the late 1940s and the mid-1950s, the radio-wave method was applied
Methods enthusiastically to hydrocarbon detection. The method used a fixed current antenna
and measured a voltage decay curve along an in-line radial. The signal used was at
radio frequencies, typically 1 to 2 MHz. One of the chief proponents of this work was
W.M. Barret, who claimed that the method lent itself to direct detection of oil. In one
article (Barret, 1949), he states that 80.6 percent of the hydrocarbon prospects drilled
proved to be productive, and that all condemned prospects proved to be nonproductive.
Mooney (1954) investigated these claims and found them to be unsubstantiated,
concluding that the true success ratio of radio-wave methods was no better than that
which would be expected of a random drilling program in a petroliferous basin.
The whole radio-frequency episode seems odd in retrospect, because it should
be fairly obvious that depth penetration in the 1 to 2 MHz range is very small due to
severe skin depth attenuation. This was demonstrated by Yost (1952), Pritchett (1952),
and Yost et al. (1952). These articles give theoretical and experimental proof that skin
depth at such frequencies is hundreds of feet, not the thousands of feet necessary to
sound down to oil reservoirs. For example, Pritchett lowered a 1.6 MHz transmitter into
a well and found that the attenuation in shales and limestones was 0.75 to 2.0 db per
foot (2.5-6.6 db/m). The diversity of opinions over this matter is well demonstrated by
the lengthy debate which follows Pritchett's article. Radio methods fell into disfavor in
the 1950s, but occasional "discoveries" of the method occurred even as late as the
1970s (Oilweek, 1974b).

10.4
RECENT
ELECTRICAL
WORK

Introduction The past five years have seen a remarkable resurgence of electrical techniques
in hydrocarbon exploration. Presentations on the subject have increased greatly at
recent conventions of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and a review of
geophysical activity reports shows a dramatic increase in expenditure on electrical
work. The number of competing contractors in the field has increased from just a few in
1975 to several dozen in 1982. However, because much of the on-going work is
proprietary or has not been published, it is difficult to document the increased activity
very accurately. By necessity, therefore, this discussion is incomplete.
320 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

The variety of approaches used in the field is impressive, but most on-going
work can be classified as follows:
1. Direct Detection of Hydrocarbons
• Resistivity methods
• Transient methods
2. Indirect Detection of Hydrocarbons (electrochemical alteration)
• Induced polarization / resistivity methods
• Self-potential methods (oxidation / reduction cells)
3. Structure Delineation
• Magnetotelluric methods
• Induced polarization methods

Direct Detection As discussed in Chapter 2, the direct detection of hydrocarbons is theoretically

of Hydrocarbons possible, providing that they are fairly shallow. However, the extreme difficulties in
detecting an insulating target at normal depths have discouraged all but a few
contractors from attempting such measurements.

RESISTIVITY METHODS
The use of resistivity measurements in direct detection of hydrocarbons has
been the subject of several recent investigations. Kinghorn (1967) performed tests with
a pole-dipole resistivity system, by which an insulator was detected at shallow depths;
he concluded that direct detection was at least a possibility. George Keller, working at
the Colorado School of Mines, has also been interested in the subject for some time.
His article in the School of Mines Quarterly (1968) provides a sound discussion of
general electrical techniques in the oil patch; in a second informative article in World Oil
(1969), he expresses the hope, based on his research on Russian efforts, that
improved instrumentation will eventually lead to direct detection of hydrocarbons by
electromagnetic methods.

TRANSIENT METHODS
The transient methods developed during the 1930s have recently been
practiced by two prominent contractors-Elflex and Electraflex. As mentioned earlier,
Elflex was founded by Evjen and Edwards in 1940. Evjen fell ill in the early 1950s and
Edwards took over as president of the company, moving its main office to Calgary,
Alberta. In 1975, Edwards moved the company back to the United States. The Elflex
method was being used under license as recently as 1979 (DESCO, 1979), and it is
believed that Elflex had at least one or two crews in the field up to the late 1970s.
Until recently, the Elflex technique was used primarily as a direct-detection
method and only secondarily as an indirect method. However, a recent paper by
James Powell (1981) indicates that the company has undergone a significant change in
its perception of the measurements. Powell pursues an enlightened discussion of
alteration mechanisms over oil fields, and concludes:
Anomalously high decay voltages appear over hydrocarbon
accumulations. This higher voltage occurs because of induced
polarization effects, not because of electromagnetic "reflections."
The induced polarization probably results from chemical changes
caused by upward migration of hydrocarbons or other compounds
from reservoirs. Chemical changes may produce higher induced
polarization voltages via metal-electrolyte contact effects, or by
means of membrane polarization.
 A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 321

Elflex has recently merged with LaJet Energy Company of Abilene, Texas, and
information regarding recent endeavors of the new company is generally unavailable.
Electraflex, a spin-off of EIflex, was formed around 1970. Although the two
"flex" companies performed similar services, they were distinct from one another, and
the atmosphere between them was not always amicable (Oilweek, 1974a). Electraflex
has been propelled to the public spotlight largely through the writings of Jamil Azad,
who joined the company as a vice president in 1971. Several of his statements may be
of interest to those involved in electrical prospecting: "Electraflex, on the contrary, is
'blind' to conductive material of any kind and reacts only to extremely resistive bodies
such as hydrocarbons or the cap rock of a salt dome" (1973) . . . "No effect from the
lithologic nature and variability of the surface soil has been documented" (1979a) . . .
"In my early writings, I found it impossible to avoid some theoretical discussion of the
[Electraflex] subject because many editors pay lip service to the altar of theory, without
which, apparently, there can be no respectability . . .” (1981). Such statements tend to
cast doubt upon Electraflex's understanding of the phenomena they claim to measure.
The Electraflex method is based exclusively on the theory that oil is an
excellent insulator, having a resistivity on the order of 3x1011 ohm-meters, and as such,
produces transient reflections when energized by a source current at the surface. A
time-domain squarewave signal at about 1 Hz is used, and about 0.05 second after the
pulse is turned off, the decay voltage is measured. This technique assumes that all
polarization and electromagnetic coupling effects have decayed to a negligible amount
after the 0.05 second interval, leaving a transient reflected by the high impedance oil
interface. A Schlumberger array is used on all work. Up to 4 kw of power are
transmitted into a 2,640-foot (805 m) current dipole; the return voltage is measured in
the time domain by a 50-foot (152 m) receiving dipole.
Based upon a large statistical base of 843 wells drilled on anomalies in Canada
between 1971 and 1981, Azad claims that 82% of the wells drilled on anomalies were
producers, 9% were dry but had shows, and 9% were dry with no shows. Conversely,
of 284 wells drilled in non-anomalous areas, 95% were dry. To support these statistics,
Azad has published a number of case histories based primarily on relatively shallow
fields, although he claims that oil horizons as deep as 16,000 feet (4,900 m) have been
detected. Most of the articles dismiss the disruptive effects of well casings and
pipelines (when they are perpendicular to the array), but his most recent writings
indicate an increased awareness of their importance (Azad 1979a). He has also taken
great pains recently to try to prove that the anomalous data are due to reflections from
hydrocarbons and not to electrochemical alteration effects.
Electraflex equipment is manufactured by a separate concern, and only
recently has the company converted to digital instrumentation. No substantive details
are available on this equipment.

Indirect INDUCED POLARIZATlON / RESISTIVITY METHODS

Detection of Indirect detection is a relatively new concept in electrical exploration for
Hydrocarbons hydrocarbons. Most of the indirect methods are variations of the induced polarization
(Electrochemical method, which has been used extensively by the mining industry since the 1950s. The
Alteration) use of induced polarization in oilfield applications was first suggested by Mueller (1934),
and the induced polarization phenomenon was recognized by Potapenko (1940) when
he patented his prospecting system. However, the full power of the multi-frequency
induced polarization approach was not really utilized in oilfield work until the late 1970s.
Since then, a number of contractors have become involved in the technique; there may
be as many as two dozen active at this time. Geophysical activity reports, published
322 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

annually in Geophysics, show that oilfield induced polarization expenditures have

increased from $179,000 (1979) to $1,260,000 (1980) to $3,895,728 (1981).
One of the first companies to apply induced polarization to oilfield exploration in
recent years was Colfax Surveys, Ltd., which is mentioned as early as 1976 in the non-
technical literature (Oilweek, 1976, 1978). Colfax Surveys used a Schlumberger array
with a 440-foot (134 m) current dipole, a 400-foot (122 m) receiving dipole, and a time-
domain signal. The method was based upon the geochemical fuel cell model
postulated by Pirson (1971, 1974). The object of the surveys was to measure the
polarization effect of reducing materials migrating from hydrocarbons at depth. The
company is still in existence today.
Educational Data Consultants, Inc. (EDCON) was one of the first companies to
publish a detailed case history of induced polarization work over an existing oilfield
(Snyder et al. 1981). EDCON had previously specialized primarily in magnetic and
gravity techniques, and had recently expanded to electrical methods largely under the
direction of Donald Snyder. In early 1979, EDCON and Diversified Exploration
Services, Inc. (DESI ) collaborated on a proposal for a speculative survey to investigate
the use of induced polarization in oilfield exploration (EDCON-DESI, 1979). The
authors of this proposal disputed the "flex" claims of measuring reflection transients,
and they proposed that the speculative survey employ multifrequency induced
polarization to determine the true source of measured anomalies. The proposal was
well thought out, and was offered on a participation basis to the petroleum industry for
about $50,000. About a dozen companies participated in the work.
The speculative survey included 13 test sites in Wyoming, Texas, Nevada,
Utah, California, and North Dakota. Ten projects were known fields, three were
prospects. The fields vary in size from fairly small to the very large Pineview Field.
Production depths vary from 4,200 to 13,700 feet (1,300-4,200 m). Some of the data
were obtained at four discrete frequencies; other data were acquired in a harmonic
complex resistivity mode (Van Voorhis, Nelson, and Drake, 1973; Wynn and Zonge,
1975; Zonge and Wynn, 1975a), using a frequency range of 0.02 to 110 Hz. The
dipole-dipole array was employed for most of the work. The digital receiver equipment
was designed and manufactured by EDCON (Snyder, 1975; 1976).
The results of the project were somewhat favorable. Six of the known fields
showed well-defined polarization responses, while four showed responses which were
minimal or uncorrelated with the hydrocarbons. Of the prospects, one anomaly was
later drilled; shows of gas were found in the well. Two non-anomalous areas were also
drilled, resulting in dry holes. In their summary, Snyder et al. (1981a, 1981b) stated that
several surveys were poorly designed; they also pointed out problems in coupling
separation in low resistivity ground and the importance of selecting the correct dipole
separation in survey work.
EDCON has published three case histories from the speculative survey in
promotional literature (Snyder et al., 1981a, 1981b). Work at Lambert Field, in Oldham
County, Texas, showed low resistivity and high negative phase angle anomalies which
correlated well with the lateral extent of the hydrocarbons. Millis Field, located in the
overthrust area of western Wyoming, was surveyed prior to the spudding of the
discovery well; neither the resistivity or the phase data showed significant anomalies,
possibly because the dipole spacing was too small. Data from Meridian Field, in Loving
County, Texas, showed a strong negative phase anomaly, but the resistivity
pseudosection was complicated and did not show a clear-cut anomaly.
A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 323

EDCON's conclusion from this work was that the polarization anomalies
measured over the known oil and gas fields were caused by micron-sized pyrite
particles in the overlying sediments, and not by electromagnetic reflections. It was
proposed that pyrite was formed in the overlying sediments by the reaction of iron with
sulfur supplied by the upward migration of hydrocarbons. However, Holladay and West
(1982) posed an alternative view that the EDCON anomalies may have been from
effects due to well casings rather than from any oil-caused alteration. Their paper
presented the results of a three-dimensional modeling program in which the Lambert
Field data were matched quite well with the calculated well-casing effects. The paper
presents a serious objection to the attempts of EDCON, Zonge Engineering and others
to prove the viability of induced polarization in oil exploration by showing anomalies
over existing fields. This problem is still not fully resolved, and has been discussed at
great length in Chapter 2.
Following the publication of the survey conclusions, Snyder left EDCON for a
job with Mount Sopris Instruments Company. EDCON has since faded from the
electrical exploration scene, and has concentrated on its expertise in gravity and
magnetic methods. By 1981, it employed only one electrical oilfield crew; today, the
company no longer advertises electrical work. Whether this is due to a change in
company philosophy or Snyder's departure is not known.
Zonge Engineering performed its first contract services in hydrocarbon
exploration in late 1977, using the harmonic complex resistivity method (Van Voorhis,
Nelson, and Drake, 1973; Wynn and Zonge, 1975; Zonge and Wynn, 1975). The
current application of the method was originally developed during the early 1970s by
Ken Zonge (1972) for laboratory discrimination of various sulfides, and was patented by
him in 1976 (U.S. Patent 3,967,190). The technique has been used in the field for the
detection of massive disseminated sulfides, geothermal targets, and uranium prospects,
and for structural mapping. Wynn and Zonge (1975) introduced the application of
electromagnetic coupling to electrical exploration, using proprietary techniques to
separate this information from the induced polarization data. With truck-mounted
equipment consisting of a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 computer, cassette
drive, teletype, a Zonge-designed two-channel receiver, and a 10 to 20 kw transmitter
(Zonge, 1973), field work was carried out with the dipole-dipole array at a frequency
range of 0.1 to 110 Hz. Beginning in 1980, data were collected with Zonge's two-
channel, microprocessor-controlled receiver (Zonge, 1975; Staley, Clark, and Zonge,
1978). At first, measurements at four to six discrete frequencies were made in the
0.125 to 4 Hz range, using a crew of eight and roll-along style logistics. In 1981,
software was finalized for running harmonic complex resistivity with the Zonge
equipment, and that system has been used since then. Controlled source
audiofrequency magnetotelluric measurements were employed for the first time in
hydrocarbon exploration in late 1982, although they had been used in mineral
exploration since 1978.
A brief discussion of Zonge's hydrocarbon work was provided in 1979, but the
first data were not published until three years later (Carlson, Hughes, and Zonge,
1982). This paper presented data from a line run over Lisbon Field, in San Juan
County, Utah. A strong conductive anomaly correlates well with the lateral extent of the
hydrocarbons. The phase data show a strong, near-surface anomaly, attributed to the
influence of a surface pipeline which crosses the line near an electrode station; no
residual phase anomaly was seen. A third set of information (called "REM," for residual
electromagnetic data) shows a strong conductive feature which, according to the
authors, originates from depth. Whereas EDCON had viewed polarization as the
diagnostic parameter to be interpreted, the work of Carlson, Hughes, and Zonge
indicates that apparent resistivity is the more reliable parameter, and that polarization
324 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

results are inconsistent. The authors believe that at least two anomaly mechanisms
account for the consistent resistivity results and the inconsistent polarization results
(both of which are thought to be related to upward migration processes reported in the
geochemical literature). They suggest that the resistivity information is related to
salinity concentrations above the hydrocarbon trap, while polarization data are related
to pyrite and clay alteration, also above the trap. The authors note that their
polarization anomalies appear most commonly in Texas and Oklahoma, where iron
occurs abundantly in the overlying formations.
Concurrent with this paper, Holladay and West (1982) announced the results of
their well-casing modeling of EDCON's Lambert Field data, prompting the Zonge group
to provide an analysis of the effects of well casings on their data (Hughes et al. 1982).
This paper specifically compares the relative effects of well casings to those expected
from a vertical alteration plume. Results were presented from two intersecting lines run
over the Cowboy Field, a small oil producer in San Juan County, Utah. The data at a
dipole spacing of 1,250 feet (381 m) were shown to be equally well represented either
by well casings or by a conductive plume. However, one of the lines had been run with
2,500-foot (762 m) dipole spacings as well, and the character of the data at depth
showed geometric effects which could not be reproduced by the well-casing model, but
which could be represented well by the presence of a conductive plume. Cowboy Field
also showed a relatively well-defined REM anomaly, but no polarization anomaly.
Zonge Engineering also initiated a sale of some of the data which had been
collected in 1979 and 1980; the sale included surveys over eight oil and gas fields in
Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The package was offered for $20,000. The details of this
data sale are contained in this volume, so no further mention will be made of it here.
Diversified Exploration Services, Inc. (DESI), which participated with EDCON in
its speculative survey, performs induced polarization surveys using receivers and
peripherals manufactured by Zonge Engineering. Field logistics vary, but usually the
dipole-dipole array is used. DESI data are examined for polarization responses above
hydrocarbons, which are attributed to the precipitation of pyrite. According to an
informational flyer (DESI, 1982), the success rate of these surveys is encouraging. Of
19 fields surveyed, 16 showed induced polarization anomalies; of nine wildcat wells
drilled on induced polarization anomalies, seven were producers and two were dry or
noncommercial; and of seven wildcat wells drilled in non-anomalous areas, six were dry
or noncommercial, and one was a producer.
Around 1979, Conoco began an induced polarization program called "IN-
DEPTH" which was subsequently patented (Sternberg, Miller, and Bahjat, 1981). The
technique has been licensed to interested contractors (e.g., Geosource) since early
1980. Early literature is inexplicably vague, referring to "anomaly indicators 1 and 2,"
but more recent publications (Oehler and Sternberg, 1982) have contributed much to
our understanding of near-surface alteration patterns over oilfields. The INDEPTH
system consists of truck-mounted equipment using digital receivers. A Schlumberger
array is used. The source signal is frequency domain; 0.1 Hz signals are typical,
although the frequency may vary from 0.001 to 100 Hz. Signal strength is 2 to 5
amperes.
INDEPTH interpretation is based on geochemical evidence that light
hydrocarbons leak from their reservoirs at depth and rise vertically to the surface. Near
the surface, a number of geochemical interactions may occur. As explained by Oehler
and Sternberg, hydrocarbons near the surface undergo bacterial alteration by means of
sulfate reduction, yielding hydrogen sulfide and bicarbonate ions. Iron in the host rock
then combines with the hydrogen sulfide to yield pyrite; the bicarbonate ion combines
with calcium to form calcite cementation. The pyrite yields a polarization anomaly, and
calcite causes a high resistivity anomaly.
A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 325

Using data from in-hole induced polarization measurements of the top 250 feet
(75 m) over Ashland Field in southeastern Oklahoma, the authors showed that high
polarization and high resistivity are highly correlated in the logs. Through core analysis,
they also showed a direct correlation of calcite to high resistivity, and a fairly convincing
correlation of pyrite to high polarization. They confirmed that high methane
concentrations occur over the field, but not off the field. INDEPTH surface induced
polarization measurements plotted in plan view are shown to be correlated with the
known extent of the hydrocarbons: the center of the field was more resistive and
polarizable than the background. The authors also discuss the false induced
polarization anomalies encountered over the Salt Draw prospect in western Texas,
which does not host hydrocarbons. The authors conclude that accurate interpretation
of their work requires a combination of downhole geologic, geochemical, and electrical
analyses correlated with surface electrical data.
Phoenix Geophysics brought its experience from the mining industry to oilfield
exploration with a speculative survey in 1982, in which they proposed to develop a
100 kw transmitter to match their seven-channel induced polarization receiver.
Fourteen oil companies signed on for the equipment development, for field work over
about a dozen known fields, and for research projects related to induced polarization
measurements. The total cost was about $110,000 per participant.
Details of the Phoenix program are proprietary, but available data seem to be of
good quality. A dipole-dipole array and frequency domain signal are used over a
frequency range of 0.0625 to 128 Hz. Resistivity and phase data are obtained, and a
Cole-Cole dispersion model (Cole and Cole, 1941; Pelton et al., 1978) is used for
decoupling the phase data. Data from the David Field in Alberta have been published
(Klein, 1983; Petrick, 1983); they show a fairly distinctive phase anomaly and a minor
resistivity anomaly. Sill (1983), basing his idea on the results of a well-casing model
developed for Phoenix, suggests that phase data may be strongly affected by well
casings.
Reeves Exploration is also engaged in near-surface induced polarization
investigations. Using Zonge Engineering receivers and peripherals, Reeves works with
a modified Schlumberger array consisting of a 2,640-foot (805 m) transmitting dipole,
and a 500 foot (150 m) receiving dipole which is offset 250 feet (175 m) from the
transmitting line. Both time-domain and frequency-domain data are obtained, and a
convolution of frequency-domain phase, time-domain amplitude, and apparent
resistivity is used for interpretation. Reeves has encountered low resistivities and high
polarization over typical oil and gas fields. Two Reeves brochures (1980, 1982) present
brief case histories of several Texas oilfields. Reeves has recently been acquired by a
group of California investors; their future development is not known.
Auriga, Inc. performs its induced polarization services with a small, portable,
microprocessor-controlled, two-channel receiver manufactured by Aquila Instruments,
an Auriga subsidiary. The polarization parameter is used primarily for interpretation;
pyrite is believed to be the causative mechanism for the measured anomalies (Auriga,
1982). William Frangos, the President of Auriga, had worked with EDCON and DESl on
their speculative survey.
M.J. Exploration of St. Louis, Missouri (M.J. Exploration, 1982a, 1982b)
conducts a time-domain induced polarization survey using a Schlumberger array. The
squarewave is transmitted on a two-seconds-on, two-seconds-off cycle; measurements
are taken 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 seconds after the signal is turned off. The company claims
to measure "electrically chargeable particles" which occur near the surface because of
the upward migration of hydrocarbons from traps at depth. This movement is believed
to take place through microseeps (hence the survey name, "MEAS," for "Microseep
Electrical Analog Surveys"). Informational brochures claim that 81 percent of the MEAS
326 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

anomalies are associated with hydrocarbons; the rest are due to ore zones and other
causes. The two types are distinguished, according to the brochures, by varying the
electrode separations. It is claimed that some 96 percent of the wells drilled
subsequent to MEAS surveys have been producers.
Transiel, a system developed by Compagnie Générale de Geophysique (CGG
1982), is designed to map changes in polarization caused by the presence of
hydrocarbons. A four-seconds-on, four-seconds-off time-domain signal is used in
conjunction with a Schlumberger array. Currents of 10 to 50 amperes are used. The
truck-mounted system consists of a six-channel digital receiver, magnetic tape recorder,
and appropriate electronic gear.

SELF-POTENTIAL METHODS (OXIDATION / REDUCTION CELLS)

Self-potential (SP) and magnetic field measurements have been used for over
a decade now in an effort to delineate the "redox fuel cells" popularized by Silvain
Pirson. Although the practitioners of this method claim success, the specific details are
beyond the scope of this volume. Pirson (1971, 1974, 1976, and 1980) has published
some useful references.

Structure The ability of seismic methods to map subsurface structure has greatly
Delineation surpassed that of electrical methods in terms of penetration and resolution capabilities.
For the most part, electrical structure methods are used only in certain areas where
seismic methods fail. The structural delineation techniques are generally classified as
magnetotelluric methods or as induced polarization methods.

MAGNETOTELLURIC METHODS
Electromagnetic techniques have been used in oil exploration since the late
1920s (Sundberg, 1920), and electrotelluric surveys were in use by Schlumberger and
by Soviet scientists during the 1930s. The magnetotelluric technique proper was first
used in the 1940s, but the method did not become popular until after a pioneering paper
by Cagniard (1953). It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe the large body of
research in this matter, but useful information of U.S. magnetotelluric work can be
obtained from contractors such as Woodward-Clyde Associates and Geotronics. The
Soviets have been especially active in magnetotelluric research; some references on
this work can be obtained in articles by Keller (1968, 1969) and Caldwell (1969).

INDUCED POLARIZATION METHODS

INDESCO appears to be the only major contractor using induced polarization
measurements primarily for structure and lithology detection in the oil patch. The
company was founded in 1981 by Howard Renick, Jr., who directed an Elflex
speculative survey in 1979 under the company name "DESCO." Renick, James
Pritchard (who had worked with George Keller of the Colorado School of Mines), and
Jack Jordan are responsible for much of the development of the INDESCO system,
which is essentially a hybrid induced polarization sounding system. Sounding curves
are configured to resemble downhole electric logs. The data are used to detect
lithologic units, changes in porosity or facies, the presence of reefs, and detrital
material.
The truck-mounted equipment consists of an eight-channel digital receiver,
CRT data display, and floppy disk storage. A 150 kw, 400 Hz, three-phase generator
supplies a unipolar time domain signal at currents up to 100 amperes. The arrays used
are Schlumberger, modified Schlumberger, or non-collinear dipole-dipole. The
literature (INDESCO, 1981; Jordan, Pritchard, and Renick, 1982; Pritchard and Renick,
1982) describes in general terms a complex series of multi-layered models and
 A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 327

smoothing routines which are applied to the data. Thickness resolution is claimed to be
as good or better than 3 percent. A speculative survey in the Pedrogosa Basin of New
Mexico was being advertised at the 1982 SEG convention, but no details are generally
available.

10.5 If there is any value to the preceding discussion, it is in the form of a warning to
INTO THE those who promote electrical techniques: do not allow the enthusiasm of commercial
FUTURE success to overshadow the need for genuine scientific research. The problem of the
past has been that some groups, apparently motivated by economic and personal
interests, have made fantastic claims for electrical techniques which could not be
substantiated. The result is the current atmosphere of suspicion which sometimes
clouds an objective evaluation of these methods by the petroleum industry.
The key to the future seems to be in lowering our expectations of what
electrical techniques can provide to an exploration program. They will not provide the
answers to all exploration problems by themselves, as some have claimed in the past.
As those of us who look at geophysical data on a daily basis know all too well, no
geophysical interpretation is totally unique; it must be used sensibly in the context of
geologic, geophysical, and other data. If we approach the future in this context, we may
well find electrical techniques to be the valuable prospecting tool we have been hoping
for.
Two exploration approaches show promise during the next decade: the
detection of electrochemical alteration over oilfields and the direct detection of
hydrocarbons at depth. The detection of alteration has already been demonstrated to
be a viable technique, but a great deal of work remains to be done in distinguishing
electrochemical anomalies from structural and cultural anomalies, and in providing
more quantitative information to the exploration geologist. It is important to realize that
anomalies can often be subtle, and the mechanisms which cause them can be very
complex. Hence, a full understanding of these mechanisms must surely be gained in
order to utilize the technique fully in oil exploration. The second approach, direct
detection, should also be considered, despite its unsavory reputation in the past. Some
of the evidence that direct detection of hydrocarbons can be achieved, at least over
shallow fields in geologically simple environments, appears to be substantiated.
However, a complete revolution in instrumentation sensitivity and data processing
techniques will be necessary in order to use direct detection as a viable exploration
technique for deep fields. Such a revolution is not imminent, but the incentive for it is
certainly there.
328 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

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A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 329

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A SHORT HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNIQUES IN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 331

Notes
332 CASE HISTORIES OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC METHOD FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION