According to media reports on July 25th， China’s independently developed high-power controllable source on-shore electromagnetic detection equipment technology has successfully completed industrial demonstration applications in deep-water areas such as Liwan， Luhua， and Lingshui. This marks a significant technological breakthrough for China in the field of marine oil and gas exploration.
Deep-water oil and gas exploration has long been constrained by high costs， high risks， and the challenge of predicting hydrocarbon reservoirs. While current mainstream seismic exploration technology offers advantages in vertical resolution， it is not sensitive to hydrocarbon saturation and suffers from strong ambiguity in interpretation. This can lead to increased exploration costs and a higher risk of drilling dry wells， impacting the overall efficiency and economic viability of deep-water projects.
In contrast， submarine electromagnetic detection technology， by capturing resistivity information of subsurface media， can achieve high-sensitivity detection of oil and gas saturation. This provides a more reliable basis for exploration decisions， potentially reducing the number of unsuccessful wells and optimizing resource allocation.
The research teams from CNOOC Research Institute， Ocean University of China， and China University of Geosciences (Beijing)， leveraging the platform of the National Engineering Research Center for Marine Oil and Gas Exploration， have achieved three milestone breakthroughs in technological advancement. Firstly， they pioneered a 1900-ampere ultra-high current excitation technology. This significantly extends the effective detection transmit-receive distance from the conventional 8-10 kilometers to 15 kilometers， enabling detection depths to reach hydrocarbon reservoirs at 3000 meters for the first time. The combined application of multi-frequency D-wave excitation technology further enhances the accuracy of identifying hydrocarbon reservoirs at different depths. The ability to probe deeper and with greater accuracy is crucial for unlocking resources in previously inaccessible geological formations.
Secondly， they overcame the challenge of operating in rugged seabed environments at a water depth of 1500 meters. Through real-time dynamic positioning control technology， they achieved stable towing of the excitation source within a 30-40 meter range on the seabed. This level of precision in deep-water operations is critical for maintaining the integrity of the survey and ensuring data quality， especially in areas with complex geological features.
Thirdly， they achieved high-precision deployment of receiving stations in complex ocean current environments， controlling the average error to within 5% of the water depth， setting a new industry standard. Accurate placement of receivers is paramount for the data acquisition process， and minimizing deployment errors in challenging oceanic conditions directly translates to improved data reliability.
In the future， submarine electromagnetic detection technology is expected to be further integrated into the process of deep-water oil and gas field exploration and development. This will enhance the success rate of exploring complex deep-water oil and gas reservoirs， injecting strong technological innovation momentum into safeguarding national energy security and promoting the high-quality development of the marine economy. The successful application of this technology signifies a maturing of China’s deep-sea exploration capabilities， positioning the country as a more formidable player in the global energy landscape.
