An electromagnetic survey method for surveying an area of seafloor that is
thought or known to contain a subterranean hydrocarbon reservoir,
comprising obtaining a first survey data set with a vertical electric
dipole (VED) antenna for generating vertical current loops and a second
survey data set with a vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna for
generating horizontal current loops. In an alternative embodiment, the
VMD antenna is dispensed with and the horizontal electromagnetic field is
derived from the naturally occurring magnetotelluric (MT) electromagnetic
field. In another alternative embodiment, the VED data is compared with a
background geological model instead of VMD or MT data. The invention also
relates to a survey apparatus comprising VED and VMD antennae, to
planning a survey using this method, and to analysis of survey data taken
using this survey method. The first and second survey data sets allow the
galvanic contribution to the detector signals collected at a detector to
he independently contrasted with the inductive effects. This is important
to the success of using electromagnetic surveying for identifying
hydrocarbon reserves and distinguishing them from other classes or
structure.