After intense collaboration among operators, service companies, and software vendors (all members of an Energistics Special Interest Group (SIG)) Version 1.0 of the RESQML data exchange standard has been released. Prototypes implemented by both vendors and operators have been tested and have proved the efficiency of the concepts. RESQML has been designed to support: Interaction with real-time production and drilling domains;Transfer of giga-cell reservoir simulation models, which are currently in use in some areas of the world, and with static reservoir models, which may be significantly larger;Loss-less data transfer for complex grids, especially for non-standard connectivity;Retention of the geologic and geophysical meta-data associated with 3D grids;Data exchange for flexible and iterative multi-vendor subsurface workflowsacross geology, geophysics and engineering. A demonstration will illustrate how different components of a shared earth model can be exchanged between major commercial applications. Additionally, based on the Alwyn North Field dataset, a typical validation loop involving operator in-house and vendor applications will be demonstrated. The objective is to transfer in-house interpretation results (e.g., horizons and faults) as RESQML features to diverse structural, stratigraphic, and reservoir vendor applications, then re-import the RESQML features (modelled horizon and faults, reservoir grid geometry) obtained by these applications into the in-house application to ensure, at each step, an overall consistency with the original interpretation.

Objective/Scope Exploration and production (E&P) work flows continue to evolve in completeness and complexity. Multidisciplinary teams use a variety of software packages to perform the many tasks required to build and update accurate and comprehensive earth models used over the life of a field. Continued data-gathering and iterations to characterize the range of uncertainty is an integral yet challenging part of the process. Incorporating new data into an existing model can be "painful"—time consuming, tedious, and error prone—which inhibits our ability to easily and accurately update a model. Methods, Procedures, Process RESQML is the industry-defined data-exchange standard used in E&P to transfer earth models between software applications in a vendor-neutral, open, and explicit format. In Version 2.0.1 (published in September 2015), RESQML defines a richer, more complete set of data objects (than Version 1) across the subsurface work flow. RESQML now also defines precise classifications of data objects and the relationships between them to create a knowledge hierarchy of: abstract subsurface features, human interpretations of those features, the data representations of those interpretations, and the properties indexed onto those representations. These and other new features now make it easier to exchange data, iterate, and update models along the entire subsurface work flow. Result, Observations, Conclusions This paper presents a work flow—using actual data from the Alwyn North Field—for adding "one more fault" to a structural interpretation after a preliminary unsatisfactory history-matching exercise in a flow simulator. The paper describes how the RESQML v2.0.1 data-exchange standard can support a repository for geological knowledge and how multiple RESQML-enabled software packages (structural and stratigraphic interpretation applications and reservoir modeling systems) can share, transfer, and iterate on a coherent model. The work flow is based on a test case used to demonstrate interoperability of multiple software packages from various member-companies (operators and service/software companies) of Energistics, the upstream oil and gas data standards organization. All along the reservoir model cycle, Energistics members exchanged: individual interpretations (e.g., for horizons, faults, wellbore trajectories and formation markers), their individual representations (e.g., scattered points, surfaces, wellbore logs, and blocked wellbores), composite interpretations (e.g., structural, stratigraphic, and reservoir organizations) with their framework and grid-based representations and properties. The paper explains how the members produced a reservoir model, then updated and exchanged only the model elements required to change when a poor history match indicated an important fault was missing from the initial structural interpretation and had to be added to the model. Novel/Additive Information The new RESQML v2.0.1 design and capabilities mean E&P professionals can now transfer complete models with all data in context and/or logically transfer (update) only the parts of a model that have changed. This new v2.0 functionality is a significant improvement over RESMQL v1.1 and its precursor, RESCUE, both of which could only exchange a smaller set of individual elements and none of the relationships between them.

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The benefit of a 3D Modeling chain in Exploration Production is demonstrated on a real case study. It consists in constructing a Shared Earth Model integrating data and interpretation from geophysicists, geologists and reservoir engineers. Fast and easy updating of consistent 3D information is a key aspect. The shared earth model is the integration of the following speciality models:3D Structural Model3D Sedimentary Model3D Reservoir Model As it contains all reservoir data, it is the reference model for:–Integrating new data–Integrating analysis form structural unfolding, foward sedimentary modeling,…–Checking new or alternative interpretations–Uncertainties–. . . This case study highlights that a consistent model can only be achieved through a full 3D interdisciplinary team work. P. 741

Exploration and production workflows are evolving in complexity. We aspire to transfer both data and interpretations across a wide domain range, often using a variety of software applications throughout the reservoir management life cycle. Keeping the model updated with new information while characterizing the range of uncertainty is a continual challenge.RESQML is the data exchange format used in the upstream oil and gas industry for transferring earth models between software applications in a vendor-neutral, open and explicit format. RESQML V1.1 focused strictly on data exchange. A key goal for RESQML V2 is to provide a mechanism to transfer relationship information (between data-objects, such as faults, horizons and grids), while continuing to expand the fundamental data types within the standard, for example, unstructured simulation grids. This paper describes how the RESQML format is evolving from a single exchange of independent geometry and property representations of horizons, faults, and corner-point structured grids to a comprehensive consistent earth model exchange that is able to capture and understand all the successive steps contained within a reservoir model.As an example, we explain the advantage of the RESQML V2 model versus the earlier RESCUE and RESQML V1.1 data models to associate horizon interpretations with reservoir grids all along the reservoir life cycle. We demonstrate use cases that show how these enhancements can be used to update and execute sensitivity workflows on a reservoir model, while describing uncertainty in seismic horizon picks used to build the structural framework.