On the electromagnetic response of complex pipeline infrastructure
Gurban Orujov, Ethan Anderson, Rita Streich, Andrei Swidinsky
Abstract
ABSTRACT Controlled-source electromagnetics (CSEM) can be used to image subsurface resistivity and add value in petroleum exploration. However, the application of CSEM methods can be particularly challenging in mature oil and gas fields, where the presence of steel casings and complex seabed infrastructure may influence electromagnetic (EM) fields. The effect of this metal infrastructure can be modeled using the method of moments (MoM), which has previously been demonstrated to be effective in simple situations. We have now developed a methodology for modeling the EM response of complex pipeline geometry using MoM, and we validate our approach numerically and experimentally; the difference between finite-element and MoM modeling is less than 3%, whereas the difference between experimental data and MoM results is less than 30%. We further develop a fast and efficient approach to model the EM response of horizontal pipeline infrastructure. First, we create individual pipe sections of custom shape; when assembled, these sections are used to construct the entire pipeline system. We then identify “precise” and “approximate” zones based on how accurately we need to perform the calculations. We find that the electric field values in the approximate zone can be calculated accurately and quickly using previously saved table values, and therefore achieve a considerable reduction in computational requirements. Finally, we apply our methodology to a real situation of a 60 km horizontal seabed pipeline and find that the electric field distortion can be calculated rapidly and efficiently with our custom-built algorithm.