The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 02, 1999
Filed:
May. 06, 1991
Applicant:
Inventors:
Arthur Howard Thompson, Houston, TX (US);
Grant Alan Gist, Houston, TX (US);
Assignee:
Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, TX (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01V / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
367 14 ; 324323 ; 324334 ; 367 25 ;
Abstract
Method and apparatus are provided for a new type of geophysical prospecting. The method applies an electric field to a fluid-containing porous subsurface formation to create a fluid pulse from changes in the polarization of pore fluid dipoles. The fluid pulse propagates in the subsurface as a seismic wave that may be detected by an appropriate array of seismic detectors. The apparatus is a pulsed DC or AC source for generating an applied electric field and a seismic detector.