New Method for Inferring Process-Based Models to Well Data in the Case of Meandering Systems

A strategy has been developed to infer the needed parameters for a process-based modeling of channelized meandering system (FLUMY) when several well logs are available. These parameters correspond to: sand ratio, channel maximum depth and sand body extension. Although the sand ratio can be easily obtained either from well or outcrop data, the two other parameters are only directly accessible from the outcrop studies.

We present a method that allows the prediction of these two last parameters from the analysis of the sand thicknesses distribution from well data or field sections. This technique is based on the identification of some key values, corresponding to major break in the data distribution: local minima or proportion of large isolated values. These values are then related to: 1) the channel maximum depth, considering a simplified but realistic description of thickness distribution within a point bar; 2) the sand body extension, using an approach relating the number of sand bodies over a given area to the avulsion frequency.

The method is illustrated on a field case study (Loranca Basin, Spain). Parameters are inferred from the field sections considered as well data, then compared to the channel maximum depth and sand body extension measured in the field. Estimation of the parameters is obtained from the sections using different bins from 0.05m to 0.3m. All of these give results in good agreement with the field data. Channel maximum depth is more sensitive to sampling bin than sand body extension that is at nearly two orders of magnitude larger.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California