Halliburton | Landmark - STEPS Distinguished Lecture - Theme 6, Lecture 3
Talk Title: Designing Good Reservoir Models Guiding Thoughts for Production and Storage Projects
Presenter: Mark Bentley ,TRACS International & Heriot-Watt University
Watch Now
ABSTRACT : 3D reservoir models are now mainstream tools for forecasting both production and injection (storage) projects. Despite this, many models still disappoint, and we maintain a systematic tendency towards optimistic forecasts. There are ‘good models’ and ‘bad models’ and it is argued that the difference rests primarily on the choice of workflows: the central issue of model design.
This talk draws on experiences accumulated over the last 30 years from working with international and national oil companies, and draws out three common themes which tend to distinguish ‘good’ models from ‘bad’:
- Model purpose, and the balance of simplicity vs. complexity in modelling
- Imperfect data and the requirement for concept-based modelling – “If you can sketch it, you can model it”
- Taking a fluid-centric view of the need for detail: reservoir modelling, rather than geological modelling
- The scale transition, restoring 'lost heterogeneity'
The points above will be illustrated with a case study from a mature oil field undergoing waterflood, where a decision for infill drilling is to be made. The talk will close on the application of these themes to the (generally more difficult) issue of modelling for storage.
Halliburton | Landmark - STEPS Distinguished Lecture - Theme 6, Lecture 2
Talk Title: Innovations in 3D Hybrid Stratigraphic Modelling: From Exploration and Field Development to Resource Management
Presenter: Dr. Nicolas Hawie ,Senior Petroleum Systems Analyst Consultant for Halliburton
Watch Now
ABSTRACT : This distinguished lecture discusses the latest innovations revolving around petroleum systems elements prediction and characterization using integrated 3D ‘Hybrid’ stratigraphic modelling applications and sensitivity analysis.
As various challenges arise along the hydrocarbon E&P chain, we demonstrate the value of multi-disciplinary assessment of sedimentary systems on (1) the multi-scale de-risking of conventional and unconventional exploration and prospect evaluation activities, (2) the improvement of reservoir volumetric assessment as well as (3) the optimization of drilling activities through advanced Mechanical Earth Models, to enhance wellbore stability and reduce non-productive time. Traditional conceptual and stochastic geostatistical techniques appear to be insufficient in capturing the influence of interacting geological and ecological parameters on sedimentary architectures and facies variability in mixed sedimentary systems. Thus, a Shared Earth Approach supported by artificial intelligence and hybrid numerical stratigraphic models is developed. This integrated method results in a stratigraphically constrained framework at seismic and sub-seismic scales. It allows us to overcome some of the limitations witnessed while using the traditional geostatistical methodologies in E&P activities. Finally, such 3D Hybrid modelling approaches transcend the Oil and Gas sector and are expected to contribute more to the integrated workflows used in carbon sequestration, geothermal energy, nuclear waste storage as well as planetary studies.
Halliburton | Landmark - STEPS Distinguished Lecture - Theme 6, Lecture 1
Talk Title: Earth Models: Pretty Pictures or Decision-Making Tools?
Presenter: Dr. Sebastien Strebelle,Chief Product Manager/Domain Owner – Earth Modeling Halliburton, Landmark
Watch Now
ABSTRACT : Earth Modeling consists in generating 2D, or most often 3D, digital representations of subsurface properties. Models of depositional facies, lithofacies, porosity, permeability and water saturation are typically built during hydrocarbon reservoir studies. These models can be used to estimate hydrocarbon volumes in place and can be sent to a flow simulator to forecast hydrocarbon production, helping make important decisions about reserves booking, field development plans, or well drilling locations.
Earth Modeling is a data integration problem: the geomodeler needs to reconcile direct, but sparse, measures of the property to be modeled (well log data) along with abundant, but indirect, measures (seismic and production data), within a given context (depositional environment). This reconciliation calls for a combination of statistical data analysis and data interpretation technologies. Very sophisticated technologies have been developed for the last forty years to capture more and more geological details; they have greatly improved the geological realism of models, providing pretty pictures for presentations, but have made Earth Modeling an increasingly complex and time-consuming exercise. Yet not all geological details have an impact on reservoir volume or flow performance forecasts. It is important for practitioners to identify what modeling parameters matter for the decisions to be made, so that they can focus their time and effort on assessing, and, if possible, reducing, the uncertainties associated with those parameters. Based on this sensitivity analysis, an ensemble of Earth models spanning the range of the major subsurface uncertainties should be built to estimate reservoir volume and flow performance uncertainty and communicate geological risks to decision-makers.
In this talk, after providing a brief history of Earth Modeling, and describing the main current geostatistical technologies, I will share best practices and make general recommendations for effective Earth Modeling.