Using Large-Size Three-Dimensional Marine Electromagnetic Data for the Efficient Combined Investigation of Natural Hydrogen and Hydrocarbon Gas Reservoirs: A Geologically Consistent and Process-Oriented Approach with Implications for Carbon Footprint Reduction

Abstract

The recycling or burial of carbon dioxide in depleted petroleum reservoirs and re-imagining exploration strategies that focus on hydrogen reservoirs (with any associated hydrocarbon gas as the upside potential) are a necessity in today’s environmental and geopolitical climate. Given that geologic hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases may occur in the same or different reservoirs, there will be gains in efficiency when searching for both resources together since they share some commonalities, but there is no geophysical workflow available yet for this purpose. Three-dimensional (3D) marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) and magnetotelluric (MT) methods provide valuable information on rock-and-fluid variations in the subsurface and can be used to investigate hydrogen and hydrocarbon reservoirs, source rocks, and the migration pathways of contrasting resistivity relative to the host rock. In this paper, a process-oriented CSEM-MT workflow is proposed for the efficient combined investigation of reservoir hydrocarbon and hydrogen within a play-based exploration and production framework that emphasizes carbon footprint reduction. It has the following challenging elements: finding the right basin (and block), selecting the right prospect, drilling the right well, and exploiting the opportunities for sustainability and CO2 recycling or burial in the appropriate reservoirs. Recent methodological developments that integrate 3D CSEM-MT imaging into the appropriate structural constraints to derive the geologically robust models necessary for resolving these challenges and their extension to reservoir monitoring are described. Instructive case studies are revisited, showing how 3D CSEM-MT models facilitate the interpretation of resistivity information in terms of the key elements of geological prospect evaluation (presence of source rocks, migration and charge, reservoir rock, and trap and seal) and understanding how deep geological processes control the distribution and charging of potential hydrocarbon, geothermal, and hydrogen reservoirs. In particular, evidence is provided that deep crustal resistivity imaging can map serpentinized ultramafic rocks (possible source rocks for hydrogen) in offshore northwest Borneo and can be combined with seismic reflection data to map vertical fluid migration pathways and their barrier (or seal), as exemplified by the subhorizontal detachment zones in Eocene shale in the Mexican Ridges fold belt of the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico, raising the possibility of using integrated geophysical methods to map hydrogen kitchens in different terrains. The methodological advancements and new combined investigative workflow provide a way for improved resource mapping and monitoring and, hence, a technology that could play a critical role in helping the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050.