EMGS has begun an extensive and diverse program of electromagnetic (EM) imaging surveys over the Troll field, which is situated in a shallow water region of the North Sea. The primary objectives of the program are to validate the latest EM imaging technology developed by EMGS and, in collaboration with StatoilHydro, to advance a new generation of EM technology and applications. The project is funded by StatoilHydro and will provide an ideal showcase for EMGS's current portfolio of advanced EM products and services.

Svein Ellingsrud, EMGS chief technology officer stated: "This will be a unique and valuable project for several reasons. Firstly, we will demonstrate our latest innovations and imaging capabilities by deploying a broad array of EM technologies and methods in a wide range of acquisition geometries. Secondly, the Troll West oil province is geologically interesting, and complex from an EM perspective, in that it contains a large gas reservoir and a much thinner "less visible" oil reservoir situated below it in relatively shallow water. Thirdly, the existing infrastructure surrounding this mature producing field will provide a challenging environment in which to validate our data acquisition and processing techniques."

EMGS chief executive Terje Eidesmo commented: "We deployed our early generation technology on Troll in 2003, so it's fitting that we should return to the field to advance and validate our latest technology and methods. As the market leader in our category, it's a key part of our strategy to maintain an innovative, relevant and broad portfolio of EM products and services. This allows us to extend further the benefits we bring to our clients through the detection and quantification of hydrocarbon deposits, and also to satisfy new emerging markets in shallow water and reservoir monitoring. Additionally, this project will provide the industry with further evidence of the value and effectiveness of our cutting edge EM imaging technology, and our unique interpretation and data integration capabilities.

Ellingsrud continues: "We will acquire 4 major survey types. A high-density grid geometry to enhance our current understanding of 3D resistivity mapping and how this can be used to delineate reservoirs and to estimate hydrocarbon volumes. A course grid EM scanning survey will be deployed over a larger area to demonstrate the effectiveness of scanning in detecting commercial hydrocarbon reservoirs rapidly. Magnetotelluric (MT) data will also be acquired and we will evaluate time-domain EM data using techniques derived through our recent acquisition of KMS Technologies. In addition, interpretation methodologies and the integration of the various EM data types with each other and with other measurements such as seismic will be a key objective."

Tags: EMGS, StatoilHydro, Troll field