Volume Based Modeling - Automated Construction of Complex Structural Models

Souche, Laurent; Lepage, F.; Iskenova, Gulnara

doi:10.3997/2214-4609.20130037

Cited by 31 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In the following sections, the fundamentals of volume-based modeling [9] will be reminded and the integration of various structural and stratigraphic constraints in the model construction will be presented. The way modeling outputs can be fed back into the interpretation processes will also be discussed.…”

Section: Automated Seismic Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of Structurally and Stratigraphically Consistent Structural Models Using the Volume-Based Modelling Technology: Applications to an Australian Dataset

Souche¹,

Iskenova²,

Lepage³

et al. 2014

International Petroleum Technology Conference

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This paper describes new techniques and algorithms for building consistent and accurate structural models of the subsurface in structurally and stratigraphically complex areas, and proposes an innovative workflow for iteratively building large-scale models in presence of sparse or noisy data.Contrary to traditional 3D modeling approaches, which consist in modeling first geological interfaces independently from each other before gluing them together to form a watertight representation of geological layers, the proposed technique creates first a 3D unstructured mesh representing the volume of interest, which is then sliced and diced by geological horizons and faults. It is based on a global interpolation method in which a scalar property representing the relative stratigraphic age of the formations is interpolated everywhere in the volume of interest. In the process, the geometry of each horizon is effectively constrained by interpretation data of all other horizons belonging to the same conformable sequence.The interpolation is practically insensitive to the complexity of the fault network (X faults, Y faults, thrusts) and yields a high resolution, 3D representation of geological layers, allowing the extraction of main horizons based on seismic input and of closely spaced intermediate horizon surfaces defined by well data.The proposed technique ensures the preservation of four key quality features:1. Geometrical accuracy: surfaces are as smooth as possible while fitting all input data geometry. 2. Topological correctness: all model contacts are perfect and watertight. 3. Stratigraphic consistency: horizon surfaces cannot cross each other; layering and truncation patterns dictated by the input stratigraphic column are honored everywhere in the model. 4. Structural coherency: variations of fault displacement should be consistent with their size; layer thickness changes should be as regular as possible.These benefits are illustrated through the step-by-step construction and refinement of a large scale geological model located offshore Western Australia. It is also demonstrated that this technique and methodology can successfully be applied to a large variety of structural and stratigraphic contexts.

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Section: Automated Seismic Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of Structurally and Stratigraphically Consistent Structural Models Using the Volume-Based Modelling Technology: Applications to an Australian Dataset

Souche¹,

Iskenova²,

Lepage³

et al. 2014

International Petroleum Technology Conference

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“…Discrete implicit modeling represents geological surfaces as isosurfaces of a piece-wise linear scalar field ϕ , interpolated within a set of three-dimensional elements [Moyen et al, 2004;Frank et al, 2007;Caumon et al, 2013;Souche et al, 2013;Mallet, 2014;Collon-Drouaillet et al, 2015]. Linear tetrahedron elements are generally used as they provide a simple linear interpolation in three-dimensional space and can be progressively refined [Frank et al, 2007] and adapted to discontinuities such as faults .…”

Section: Principles Of Discrete Implicit Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iterative Thickness Regularization of Stratigraphic Layers in Discrete Implicit Modeling

Laurent

2016

Math Geosci

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International audienceDiscrete implicit modeling consists in representing structural surfaces as isovalues of three-dimensional piecewise linear scalar fields, which are interpolated from available data points. Data are expressed as local constraints that can enforce the value of the scalar fields as well as their gradients. This paper illustrates some limitations of published discrete implicit methods, related to the difficulty of controlling the norm of scalar field gradient and its evolution over the interpolated domain. It is shown that important artifacts may arise due to the intrinsic dependence between variations in the norm and the direction of the scalar field gradient, from one element to its neighbors. Evidence that these artifacts are related to mesh facet direction with respect to gradient direction are given. The artifacts lead to rapid and uncontrolled variations of thickness that may induce erroneous interpolations. This paper proposes two original approaches to overcome these problems. The first one consists in iteratively adjustingthe norm of scalar field gradients in the direction obtained after previous iterations. The second solution consists in optimizing the mesh used by the interpolation. This requires finding appropriate mesh facet orientationwith respect to scalar field gradient. These methods demonstrate that the results of discrete implicit surface interpolation can be improved and call for further development of available interpolation schemes

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“…EarthVision, 1 Paradigm Gocad 2 and Petrel 3 ) suitable for reservoir dynamic simulations (e.g. Chen et al 2013;Prévost et al 2005;Souche et al 2013). However, such solutions are generally cost demanding for academic standards, the implemented methodologies not published in detail and/or secluded to the user's community, leading to the so-called ''black box'' paradigm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

MeshIt—a software for three dimensional volumetric meshing of complex faulted reservoirs

Cacace

Blöcher

2015

Environ Earth Sci

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Flow, mass and energy transport processes in natural reservoirs are controlled to a large degree by the presence of geological heterogeneities including structures such as fractures and fault zones embedded in a spatially varying three-dimensional (3D) porous matrix of the reservoir. Despite recent advances, currently, state-of-theart models rely on a number of simplifications partly related to our inability to represent heterogeneities as observed in the field into dynamic model realizations. In this respect, an adequate geometric representation of the discrete system is a basic requirement. In this study, we show how fundamental concept from computational geometry can be assembled and used to bridge the gap between geological and dynamic forward models. The result is an automated, open source software solution (MeshIt) to generate quality 3D meshes suitable for the study of flow and transport processes in faulted and fractured reservoirs. The software enables us to integrate into a 3D volumetric representation dipping structures, comprising fault zones and fractures as well as inclined well paths. This permits us to correctly simulate interactions between discrete flow paths along these interacting components and the 3D flow within the reservoir matrix. The crucial factor that makes the approach applicable to real case reservoirs is that all algorithms are local and scalable parallel and have computing times increasing approximately linearly with data volumes. We test the performance and the robustness of the software against three different scenarios of increasing complexity and further discuss current limitations and range of applicability of the software. Although all examples describe geothermal applications, it is worth mentioning that the approach is equally valid for other applications in geoscience from oil and gas industry to carbon capture and sequestration issues.

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Volume Based Modeling - Automated Construction of Complex Structural Models

Cited by 31 publications

References 1 publication

Construction of Structurally and Stratigraphically Consistent Structural Models Using the Volume-Based Modelling Technology: Applications to an Australian Dataset

Construction of Structurally and Stratigraphically Consistent Structural Models Using the Volume-Based Modelling Technology: Applications to an Australian Dataset

Iterative Thickness Regularization of Stratigraphic Layers in Discrete Implicit Modeling

MeshIt—a software for three dimensional volumetric meshing of complex faulted reservoirs

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