Technical Papers - Airborne Electromagnetics – Case Histories

Airborne ALTREX^TM Electromagnetic/Magnetic Definition of Hydrocarbon Alteration Plumes

J. D. Rowe, R. S. Smith, D. D. Beattie, Fugro Airborne Surveys, Ottawa, and R. K. Warren, Houston.

Abstract

ALTREX^TM (ALTeRation EXploration) combined airborne electromagnetic and magnetic surveys were flown over a number of oil fields in the south-western United States with the intention of testing the feasibility of mapping hydrocarbon plumes from the air. In some of the areas, there is an anomalous magnetic response, and in many of the areas there is an excellent correlation between an enhanced conductivity anomaly and the oil fields. The approach indicates that alteration plumes may be detected and defined with greater confidence from a survey employing a multisensor system than from a survey using only a single sensor system (e.g., magnetics only).

Abstract of a paper published in Geologic applications of gravity and magnetics: case histories, 1998, Eds. R. I. Gibson and P. S. Millegan, SEG Geophysical Reference series No 8. For more information on this and other SEG publications, see http://www.seg.org

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