Electromagnetics (EM) continues to be the new darling of the exploration industry. By taking resistivity measurements of deep-lying sediments, EM technology can often provide an indication of the presence of hydrocarbons, something that the best seismic data can rarely do.

The recent commercial availability of this technique has spawned several companies that specialize in the technology, and the people who work for these companies have been quick to emphasize the fact that EM is not intended to replace seismic but rather act as a complementary technology. To that end company researchers have been working on software products that help explorationists integrate seismic data with EM data to get a better picture of the reservoir.

Seismic companies have begun to take notice. But apparently it’s easier just to swallow an EM company whole than work jointly on software.

The trend started quietly in 2004 when Schlumberger announced that it was buying AGO, one of the original EM companies spun out of a research setting. After WesternGeco became solely owned by Schlumberger, AGO was transferred there. By this year’s European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) meeting in London, the AGO name had gone away, to be replaced by WesternGeco Electromagetics.

For WesternGeco President Dalton Boutte, this was a natural progression. “If you want to be a standalone EM company, you could be quickly commoditized,” he said. “But if you have the capability to integrate a multitude of measurements to produce a solution for a difficult problem, then you start to create huge value.”

Another seismic contractor, Wavefield Inseis, was also quietly pursuing EM capabilities. It became a little less quiet when one of Wavefield’s research partners ran an article in a newspaper. But the project is still in a research mode, and Rick Donoghue, vice president of sales and marketing for Wavefield, said that now is not the time to be waving the banner.

Maybe not, but other companies haven’t been so taciturn. Before EAGE ended, PGS announced that it had purchased MTEM Limited, another EM company that uses a cable-based EM technique and has had success both onshore and offshore.

“Being the only player to offer a complete EM acquisition and processing technique both offshore and onshore, we believe the company to be a perfect fit within PGS,” said Sverre Strandenes, PGS group president of data processing and technology. “MTEM’s technology will help accelerate the development of our own towed EM technology, enabling PGS to offer a unique total service offering comprising seismic and EM in all environmental settings.”
Added MTEM’s chief executive officer, Leon Walker, “We believe that a combined seismic and EM company will gain a stronger market position than a stand-alone EM player.”

Apparently he’s not the only one with that belief. Though WesternGeco already has an EM component, its parent company just bought another EM provider, Geosystem from Milan. The company provides land and marine EM along with seismic imaging services.

“The combination of Geosystem land acquisition, processing and interpretation expertise with the marine acquisition capabilities of WesternGeco Electromagnetics will result in a comprehensive geophysical solution for our customers,” Boutte commented.

One of Geosystem’s areas of expertise is the joint inversion of multiple geophysical measurements, including seismic, gravity and magnetotellurics.

Lastly, CGG Veritas has entered into a strategic operating alliance with Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc (OHM) under which both companies will jointly develop the global market for Controlled Source Electromagnetic imaging (CSEM) and capitalize on seismic and CSEM integration opportunities.

The agreement is expected to benefit both companies since CGG Veritas will gain access to the CSEM technology and OHM will gain access to CGG Veritas’ large marketing and operational network.

When the dust clears from these purchases, it will be interesting to see how the EM component changes companies for whom seismic has been their bread and butter for years. Apparently a “comprehensive geophysical solution” can no longer live on seismic alone.

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