Electro-Magnetic Sensitivity in the Bengal Basin: Implications for Exploration in Myanmar, Bangladesh and NE India

Abstract The Ganges Brahmaputra Delta and the associated Bengal Fan is the world's largest delta/submarine fan complex. The deepwater areas of the Bengal and Rakhine Basins are relatively underexplored frontier areas. In 2003 the large Shwe gas field was discovered in Lower Pliocene turbidite fan sediments with reserve estimates of 6–9 tcf. As additional blocks are licensed, new data will be acquired to evaluate the area including 3D CSEM which is being considered as a complementary exploration method to seismic data. The controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) method has been applied to oil and gas exploration and production for more than 10 years. EM data are used to indicate the presence of hydrocarbons, since hydrocarbon saturated rocks display higher electric resistivity compared to water-filled reservoirs. CSEM is an excellent technique to define the lateral extent of hydrocarbon accumulations and is particularly useful in determining the existence and extent of stratigraphic accumulations. 3D modelling indicates CSEM is sensitive to the Shwe Field reservoirs and can define the lateral extent of the pay zones. 3D CSEM forward modelling has been performed over a range of target sizes within the economic limitations of deepwater drilling, and the modelling shows that CSEM would be sensitive to those targets. Based on these results, it is concluded that CSEM 3D data will detect the presence of hydrocarbon accumulations and thus, high-grade exploration areas in the greater Bengal Basin. Introduction In this paper we describe how the deepwater reservoir sediments in the Bay of Bengal, dominated by a deepwater turbidite depositional process, is the ideal geologic setting for detecting resistive anomalies related to hydrocarbon accumulations. Turbidites, by nature, are anomalous deposits of sand encased in shale. When saturated with hydrocarbons, they are more resistive than the surrounding shales, allowing them to be detected using the marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method. CSEM is sensitive to the large Shwe field accumulation on the shelf, offshore Myanmar and is used in this study to illustrate the ranges of detectability in the adjacent deepwater areas (Fig. 1).