Abstract
RECENTLY geo-electric methods as applied to oilfield exploration have been regarded with some disfavour, but Mr. O. H. Gish in a paper on this subject (Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geol., 16, No. 12, Dec. 1932, pp. 1337-1348) maintains that factors influencing this condemnation are subjective rather than objective. Many people still believe that electricity is endowed with a mystical power and thus the impostor has ample scope for his nefarious activities, while the bona fide geophysicist has perforce to qualify his statements. The impostor may forecast the number of barrels of oil obtainable from a given site, while the geophysicist speaks only of indications good or bad. Electromagnetic and resistivity methods have enjoyed a measure of success in the exploration for oil. They are, however, at a serious disadvantage when compared with seismic and gravimetric methods, in that they entered the field relatively late and with inadequate theoretical equipment for the best interpretation of results. It is recognised that only in special cases will electric methods admit of unique interpretation, but, of several consistent interpretations, some may be eliminated as being incompatible with facts known to the geologist and others by employing different survey methods in corroboration or otherwise. In principle, therefore, it seems possible to determine from geophysical surveys, augmented by other available data, the approximate depth and features of petroliferous structures. Although electric methods may be more widely adopted by technologists in the future, there are still many errors in technique which have hitherto vitiated results and must first be eradicated. Moreover, it is not possible at this stage to determine whether the results from these methods compare economically with those obtained from gravimetric or seismic methods.
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Geo-electric Methods in Search for Oil. Nature 132, 200–201 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132200d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132200d0