The marine electromagnetic resistivity mapping project of the CRI involves CGGVeritas (industry partner) and CMR. The project aims at optimizing receivers used for marine electromagnetic resistivity mapping – in particular receivers applied for the controlled source electromagnetic sounding method (CSEM). The motivation for the project is to reduce operational cost and through increased accuracy being able to generate resistivity maps for reservoirs below the seabed.
 
Background
The CSEM method has developed into a promising tool for mapping resistive, subseabed geological structures – particularly hydrocarbon structures – and is emerging as an important supplement to traditional seismic methods. There are, however, still significant challenges involved in the development of equipment for CSEM. One major challenge is the sensitivity of CSEM receivers, which is currently one of the limitations for improved resolution in resistivity maps and for generation of resistivity maps for deeper reservoirs. Also problematic is the complicated handling of CSEM receivers due to the long dipoles used for electric field measurements. 

An important part of the work will be to define appropriate measurement setups and simulation models to be able to quantify improvements in receiver sensitivity, and to minimize the workload for testing different approaches.