--> ABSTRACT: Critical Insights into the Delineation of Structurally Complex Reservoirs during Field Development from Interpretation in a Shared Earth Environment, by Le Turdu, Caroline; Bejarano, Gaston; Laver, Rod; Koley, Manas; Schulte, Lothar; Abbott, William E.; #90155 (2012)

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Critical Insights into the Delineation of Structurally Complex Reservoirs during Field Development from Interpretation in a Shared Earth Environment

Le Turdu, Caroline1; Bejarano, Gaston2; Laver, Rod3; Koley, Manas3; Schulte, Lothar4; Abbott, William E.5
1Schlumberger, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
2Schlumberger, Hannover, Germany.
3Schlumberger, Gatwick, United Kingdom.
4Schlumberger, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
5Schlumberger, Beijing, China.

Accurate interpretations of tectonic structures and reservoir properties are vital for the correct prediction of in place hydrocarbon volumetrics and input models into simulation. In the past a fault interpreted by a geophysicist and the one included into a simulation model by a reservoir engineer were two very distinct objects with very few common characteristics. Today working in shared earth unified environments has changed the way the industry can interpret and integrate faults into each step of a field development planning. This is particularly important in the appraisal, concept stage gate phases where most of the value is created. Now faults have a real life throughout a project as they tend to gain more characteristics as interpreters inject more knowledge over time. In effect faults become gradually more "intelligent" objects.

This paper aims at giving examples of new advanced and unified workflows which strongly contribute to the better mapping and characterizing of faults, fault systems and fractures, as well as understanding their dynamic behavior. With 3D data from seismic surveys, new advanced fault detection workflows become available to help interpret all scales of lineaments from minor faults to large faults or swarms of faults and fractures clusters. In addition, high quality visualization and volume rendering tools and workflows further help identifying and isolating different families of faults and understand their relationship and hierarchy. Importantly fault planes can be modeled on the fly during the seismic interpretation. Geometrical fault properties such as fault dip and strike or contouring of the fault throw are powerful QC tools for building a realistic structural framework. With geological information from wells, fault juxtapositions can be analyzed to help further predict fault transmissibility and fault sealing status of any fluids. Finally the usage of reservoir simulation provides information on the dynamic behavior of a fault or a fault system and importantly helps optimize the location and number of wells.

The example of shared earth unified workflows described in this paper are applicable for a variety of reservoir types and during Greenfield or Brownfield developments and will play a crucial role in meeting global future energy demand.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90155©2012 AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, Singapore, 16-19 September 2012