--> Digital Pathway From Core Barrel to Oil Barrel

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Digital Pathway From Core Barrel to Oil Barrel

Abstract

The complexity and heterogeneity of reservoirs makes the task of characterizing reservoirs and predicting recovery extremely challenging. Many interpretation and modeling techniques are guided by well core data. Rock core held in a core barrel within the well trajectory provides sample of the actual reservoir formation extracted thousands of feet beneath the earth's surface. Such hard data provides valuable insight into the reservoir and its timely description and interpretation can have a major impact on prospect generation and field development. Since coring began, sedimentologists have typically expressed their interpretations with creativity and flexibility using pencil and paper. Assimilation of these interpretations into a digital workflow then involves a time consuming process of digitization, coloring, scanning, and quality control which is prone to human error. Ultimately the original pencil and paper interpretation has minimal numerical contribution to the rest of the reservoir characterization digital application processes. A new application and workflow has been introduced to directly describe the core via a stylus on a tablet. The ergonomics of the process is similar to that of using pencil and paper but the digital output can be fully integrated with geology, petrophysics, and modeling environments. Company standard carbonate and clastic reservoir templates with a uniform library of symbols, patterns, and sedimentary structures enable a common interpretive environment that aids correlation and analysis. Geoscientists holding a tablet use a digital pen and finger movement to describe core while walking around the core storage facility. This adds substantial accuracy and agility. These technologies have been successfully applied in several Saudi Aramco fields, including Ghawar and Shaybah. Lithofacies from core have been calibrated with Petrophysical Rock Type to help guiding the optimal field development. Accuracy has been significantly enhanced and the turn-around time reduced. A significant bottom line impact can be expected from this “Core Barrel to Oil Barrel” paradigm shift.