Sensitivity of Marine Controllable Source Electromagnetic Soundings for Identifying Plume Migration in Offshore CO₂ Storage

Abstract

Offshore carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage is an effective method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, when using traditional seismic wave methods to monitor the migration of sequestration CO₂ plumes, the characteristics of wave velocity changes tend to become insignificant beyond a certain limit. In contrast, the controllable source electromagnetic method (CSEM) remains highly sensitive to resistivity changes. By simulating different CO₂ plume migration conditions, we established the relevant models and calculated the corresponding electric field response characteristic curves, allowing us to analyze the CSEM’s ability to monitor CO₂ plumes. We considered potential scenarios for the migration and diffusion of offshore CO₂ storage, including various burial depths, vertical extension diffusion, lateral extension diffusion, multiple combinations of lateral intervals, and electric field components. We also obtained differences in resistivity inversion imaging obtained by CSEM to evaluate its feasibility in monitoring and to analyze all the electric field (E _x, E _y, and E _z) response characteristics. CSEM has great potential in monitoring CO₂ plume migration in offshore saltwater reservoirs due to its high sensitivity and accuracy. Furthermore, changes in electromagnetic field response reflect the transport status of CO₂ plumes, providing an important basis for monitoring and evaluating CO₂ transport behavior during storage processes.

Keywords

Offshore carbon dioxide storage / Geophysics / Resistivity inversion / Monitoring / Plume migration / Marine controllable source electromagnetic method

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