Multiscale 3D Static Modelling in Norwegian Deepwater for Exploration and on Down the Lifecycle Stream

Ru Smith¹ and Martin William Ecclestone^2
1Shell International Exploration and Development, The Hague, Netherlands
²Shell International Exploration and Development, 4098 Stavanger, Norway

A hierarchical organization of heterogeneity in sedimentary systems has long been noted and this concept was explicitly built into Shell's proprietary reservoir modelling system in the early 1990s. The approach nested progressively finer levels of detail within parent objects and provided a mixed deterministic and stochastic technique for achieving realistic reservoir architectures at multiple levels in the hierarchy of heterogeneity. By 1999 the concept of hierarchical static modelling had been extended to basin-scale, as a means to promote consistency between local and regional data, interpretations and models. Tangible business benefits have been demonstrated for both exploration and appraisal decision making and the approach promotes continuity in subsurface evaluation along the whole exploration through to production lifecycle.
Key to the success of the Multiscale static modelling approach is the combination of multiple data types (having differing resolutions and degrees of completeness) with global geological knowledge to "complete the gaps" associated with data resolution limits and incomplete data coverage. Synthetic seismic expression of resultant models is used to ensure consistency with available seismic information.
The paper will illustrate how this approach is being used as a methodology to support exploration prospect maturation using multi-scale property models within the Norwegian Deepwater Area and challenges the myth that useful static geological models can only be built at prospect scale and not at regional scale.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90072 © 2007 AAPG and AAPG European Region Conference, Athens, Greece