16/12/2016 ReservoirCharacterizationProcessVol.

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Reservoir Characterization Process - Vol.

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Published on December 14, 2016

Mark Savage Follow

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Geoscientist & Leader

ReservoirCharacterizationProcessVolume2PetrophysicsandGeomodeling

InthispostIcontinuemydiscussionofthereservoircharacterizationprocess,including
somekeyconsiderationsforyourdeliberation.IreferyoutomyNovember28thpost
discussingthedatacollectionstage.

Myoilindustryexperienceisinthegeosciencedisciplineworkinginorleading
geoscienceandmultidisciplinaryteamsfocusedontheexploitationandproductionof
oilandgasassets.Ihaveconventional,unconventionalandoilsandsexperience.This
postwillfocusonmyexperience,bothhandsonandleadingthereservoir
characterizationprocess.

Thereservoircharacterizationprocess(theprocess)isafundamentalcomponentfor
manyassetsubsurfaceevaluationandassessmentdeliverables.Theextentofthedetail
requiredfortheprocessshouldbedeterminedbytheoverallprojectscopeand
schedule.

IwilldescribetheprocessthatIhaveusedand/orledformajordecisiongate(DG)
milestones,DG1(concept),DG3(projectsanction)andforresourceandreserve
determination/validation.Byfollowingtheprocessoutlinedbelow,andtheNov.28th
post,athoroughunderstandingoftheassetspotentialanduncertaintywillbegained.

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ForthepurposeofthispostIwilldiscusstheconsiderationsfromasteamassisted
gravitydrainage(SAGD)perspective.Withsomemodificationstheworkflowand/or
considerationscitedcouldbeusedacrossvariousassettypesandprojectscopes.

Akeycomponentoftheprocessisthemultidisciplinaryteamscompositionandtheir
mandate.Asaminimumtheteamshouldbecomprisedofthefollowingdisciplines:
geology,geophysics,petrophysics,geomodellerandreservoirengineering.Depending
ontheprojectspecificsotherspecialistsmayalsoberequired:hydrogeologist,risk
analyst,finance,etc.Theteamneedsaworkenvironmentthatencouragescollaboration
andopennesstoensuretheendproductrepresentsandquantifiesaholisticrangeof
uncertaintyandopportunity.

Therearefivestagestotheprocessworkflow:

DataCollection

PetrophysicalAnalysis

Geomodelscope,discussionandconstruction

Simulation,proxycurvesandforecast

RiskAnalysis,documentationandmitigation

Theproductsfromeachstageofthisworkflowwillheavilyinfluencethedegreeof
uncertaintycapturedintheresultantperformancepredictions.Thesepredictionscanbe
usedtoassessanddefend(internallyand/orexternally)therecoverablereserves,the
Greenfieldorexpansionoptimalfacilitydesigncapacity,thenumberofwellsrequired
forafield/padstartupandthescheduleforsubsequentsustainingpads.Thelatter
shouldincludelearningsandrequiredmodificationsresultingfromtheproducingwells
performance,e.g.update3Dgeomodelsandsimulationstoadjustthesustaining
well/padschedule.

FortheremainderofthispostIwilldiscussthePetrophysicalandGeomodelstagesof
thereservoircharacterizationprocess.Thelasttwostagesoftheprocesswillbe
addressedinafuturereservoircharacterizationpost.

PetrophysicalAnalysisStage

Letmefirststatethatmylearningsandrecommendationsstemfromobservations,
directlyworkingwithand/orleadinganumberofpetrophysiciststhroughoutmycareer.
Petrophysicalanalysisisafundamentalcomponentofanyreservoirevaluationand
assessmentprocess.Thisstageofthereservoircharacterizationprocess(process)
providesthecleanedandnormalizedinputdataforthegeomodel,volumetric
calculations,etc.

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AsdiscussedintheNov.28thpostwhichreviewedthedatacollectionstageofthe
process,oncetherequireddatahasbeenacquiredacriticalstepbeforeusingthis
informationisthedatacheck,cleaning,normalizationandanalysis.

Themajorityofthedatathatisusedintheprocessiswellbased,geophysicalwireline
logsandcoredata.Thisdataiscollectedfrommultiplesourcesandatdifferentsample
sizes,microtomacroscale.Nomatterthehydrocarbonorplaytypethereareseveral
commonandcriticalparametersthatneedtobeincorporatedintotheprocess:porosity,
permeabilityandsaturation.Somereservoirsaremorecomplexandhaveotherreservoir
specificintrinsiccharacteristicsthatrequirefurtherdataandanalysistocompletethis
process,e.g.wettability,capillarypressure,geochemistry,fluidproperties,etc.
Understandingtheaffectoftheseinherentcharacteristicsonporosity,permeabilityand
saturationiscritical.

Anearlydiscussionanddecisionthatneedstobereachediswhichequationwillbeused
toderivethewatersaturation(Sw)values.Forsomecompaniestherequiredequationis
prescribedintheirpetrophysicalanalysisworkflow.TheArchieequation(Sw=[(a/F
m)*(Rw/Rt)](1/n))isthemostcommonequationbutisnotnecessarilytherightone
touseforyourreservoir.Simplistically,Archiesequationwasderivedforreservoirs
withintergranularporosity,nonpotableformationfluidsandminimalvolumesofclay.
Theequationneedstobemodifiedoradjustedwhenthereservoirdepartsfromthese
specificparameters,whetherthatis:fractureorvuggyporosity,freshwater,and/orthin
bedsofheterogeneousrock.InmuddominatedintervalsorreservoirsArchiesequation
willresultinhigherSwvaluesduetotheconductivityofthemudbeds.

Itisrecommendedthattheexponentvalues,a,mandn,bederivedfromcoreanalysis
foryourspecificreservoirand/orregionofthebasin.

ThereareanumberofotherequationsthatcanbeusedtoderiveSw:Simandoux,
Indonesian,DualWaterandWaxmanSmitsThomas,etc.Fortheoilsandsseveral
operatorsusethemodifiedSimandouxequationduetotheshalynatureofsome
reservoirs.Decidingwhichequationisbestforyourspecificreservoirshouldbe
confirmedearlyintheprocess,preferablywhendefiningtheprojectscope.

TherearetwocommondatasourcesthatprovideinformationtoobtainSwvalues:core
OBplugsandthegeophysicalwirelineresistivitylogs.Itisadvantageoustohave
multipledatasourcesforderivingthekeyinputparameters,suchassaturation.The
difficultyisthedifferentsamplesizesofthesetwodatasources.Ensurethattheanalysis
includesacalibrationofthewirelinevaluestothecorederivedvalues,thereby
improvingtheconfidenceandqualityofthegeomodelinputdata.Asimilarprocesscan
becompletedforporosityandpermeabilityinsomereservoirs.Intheoilsandscaution
isrequiredwhenusingcoreOBplugporosityandpermeabilityvaluesduetothecore
expansionphenomenonthattakesplacewhenbringingthecoretosurface.

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Fortheoilsandsitisrecommendedthattheneutrondensitycombinationlogbeusedto
acquiretheporosityvaluesderivedfromthecorrecteddensityporositydatavalues,once
thedatahasbeennormalized.Ialsorecommendthatthesoniclogberuninanumberof
representativeverticalordeviatedevaluationwells.Thiswillaidthegeophysicistsin
theirprocessingandinterpretationoftheseismicdata.Also,incertainreservoirsthe
combinationofsonicandneutrondensitylogdatacanbeusedtohelpdiscernbetween
primary(intergranular)andsecondary(vug/fracture)porosity.

Permeabilityisthedeterminingparameterforthereservoirsultimateperformance.The
adventofthenuclearmagneticresonance(NMR)loggingtool,anditswireline
derivatives,allowsfortheinsitumeasurementofpermeability,hydrocarbonpore
volumeandwatercut.Itisrecommendedthatcoreplugpermeabilityvaluesbeusedto
calibratetheNMRdatasourcevalues.Itisalsorecommendedthatpriortorunningthe
NMRintheoilsandsyoucompleteyourownduediligencetodeterminethevalueof
thisdatasourceforyourparticularfield.

Theprimarysourceforpermeabilitydatawillbethecorederivedvaluesusingeither
OBplugsand/orstackedcoreplugs.Itismypreferenceandrecommendationthatthe
stackedcoreplugtestsbeusedtomeasuretheverticalpermeabilityforthegeomodel
andsimulations.Asthismaybetheonlypermeabilitydatasource,careshouldbetaken
toensuretheplugsselectedmeettheneedsofthetest.Thisscreeningcanbe
accomplishedbyusingtheCTscan.Thiswillnotpreventerroneousreadingsduetothe
samplepreparationorthetestconditions,ifrunatexpectedoperationalconditions.A
thoroughreview,includingthemultidisciplinaryteammembers,ofeachtestare
requiredtocullthisinvaliddata.

Anotherkeyparameterrequiredforthegeomodelandsimulationsarethereservoirs
flowunitfaciesassociations(facies),bothforthepayandthenonpayintervals.The
interpretationandidentificationofthefaciesunitsistypicallyconductedbythe
geologistusingcore,boreholeimageandotherwirelinelogs.Collaborationbetweenthe
petrophysicistandgeologistcanprovideascreeningofthecorebasedfaciestoensure
consistencyandidentificationofanypotentialoutliers.Dependingonthecorecoverage
considerationforthegenerationofelectrofacies,faciesoriginatingfromwirelinelog
analysis,mayberequiredtosupplementthefaciesdataset.Ifelectrofaciesaredeemeda
necessitybesurethatthelimitationsofthisdatasourceareunderstoodbyallteam
members,e.g.difficultyindistinguishingmudclastbreccia,etc.

Thepetrophysicalanalysisprocessisadynamicprocessthatisalsomeanttoidentify
elementsofuncertaintyforthekeyparameters.Theuncertaintyrangeattributedwith
porosityandsaturationwillaidincapturingamorecomprehensiveprobabilisticrange
forthefieldsinplaceresourcevolumetricassessment.Toaidincapturingthis
uncertaintythepetrophysicistwillprovidearangeofuncertainty,usingatoolsuchas
@RiskorSpotfire,forthekeyreservoirparameters.Havingthisrangeofuncertaintyis
equallyvaluableforthesimulationstage.

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Understandingthereservoirscriticalperformanceparametersandincorporatingthe
multidisciplinaryteammembersinputandfeedbackduringthepetrophysicalanalysis
stageisessentialtoensureacomprehensiveanalysisandaholisticrepresentationofthe
uncertainty.Aswithanyanalysisworkflow,opencommunication,collaborationand
integrationensuresthattheresultswillmeettheprojectsscopeobjectives.

GeomodelStage

Letmefirststatethatmylearningsandrecommendationsstemfromobservations,
directlyworkingwithand/orleadinganumberofgeomodellersthroughoutmycareer.
Thedevelopmentofageologicalmodel(geomodel)isateameffortandrequires
ongoingcommunicationandconsultationamongstthemultidisciplinaryteam
members.Thegeomodel,2Dor3D,istheessentialcomponentofanyreservoir
evaluationandassessmentprocess.Thisstageofthereservoircharacterizationprocess
(process)providestheinputforthesimulationgrids.Thegeomodelcanalsoprovidethe
inplacevolumetricprobabilisticassessmentfortheareaofinterest,wellorpadorfield.

Belowareanumberofdiscussionpointsthathavebeenexperiencedduringmycareer
forthedevelopmentofageomodel.Thisisnotmeanttobeadescriptionofa
recommendedworkflowforyourgeomodeldevelopment,asnotallreservoirsareequal
andeachwillrequiresignificantdiscussionregardingthecriticalelementsforthe
modelingprocess.

Thecriticalinitialstepinthegeomodelprocess,preferablywhendefiningtheproject
scope,isdeterminingthepurposeforthegeomodelrealizations,e.g.wellplacement,in
placevolumetrics,recoverypotential,wellratepotential,aquiferpressuretransient
impacts,etc.Confirmingthispurposewiththemultidisciplinaryteammemberswill
ensurethatthegeomodelisconstructedtomeettheobjectiveforthereservoir
characterizationprocess.Itiseasyforsomestafftofallintotheassumptionthatoncea
geomodelisbuiltitcanbeusedforotherunintendedpurposes,e.g.attemptingtousea
largegridcellvolumetricgeomodelwithasimplifiedfaciesmodel(sand,siltandshale)
forwellplacementand/orfieldperformanceforecasts.

Anothercriticaldecisiontobeconfirmedistheareaofinterestforthegeomodel,i.e.a
singlesubsurfacedrainagearea,afullpadortheentirefield,includingtheappropriate
buffer.Thisdecisioncoupledwiththegeomodelspurposewillaidindeterminingthe
requiredtimelinetocompletethisdeliverable.Thismayalsoinfluencethegeomodel
gridcellsizeused,especiallywhenconstructingafullfieldgeomodel.

Thethirdearlytimecriticaldecisiontobeconfirmedisthenumberofrealizationsyou
needtogenerate.Mostcompanieshaveageomodelworkflowthatprescribesthe
numberofrealizationstobegenerated.Itismyrecommendationthataminimumof
fiftyrealizationsbegenerated,moreiftimeandthecomputingcapabilityarenota
factor.Thisnumberofrealizationscanprovideanadequaterangeofuncertainty

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wherebytheprobabilisticrealizations(P10,P50andP90)canbeselectedforthe
simulationstage.

Formostprojectstheendresultofthegeomodelstagewillbetoproducesimulation
gridstoforecastreservoirperformanceanduncertainty.Dependingonthesizeofthe
areaofinterestandthemodelpurpose,thesefactorsmayalsoinfluencethegridcell
dimensionsused.Theanalogoutcropfaciesdatacanassistindeterminingthe
appropriategridcelldimensions,e.g.usetheoutcropfaciesdimensionsasaguidefor
determiningtheappropriategridcellsize.Cautionshouldbetakenwhenusingthis
datasetforthispurposeastheoutcropmaynotbetrulyrepresentativeregardingthe
faciesspatiallocation,distalorproximal,whencomparedwithyourreservoirs
depositionallocation.Thedegreeofreservoirheterogeneityisanotherfactorthatcould
influencetherequiredgridcellsize,i.e.moreheterogeneousreservoirsmayneed
smallergridcellsizes.

Ihavenotmentionedthedeterministicversusstochasticmodelchoiceasmost
companieshavetheirownguidelinesregardingthisdecision.InmyexperienceIhave
seenandusedmodelsgeneratedfromeachmethodandahybridproduct.Formy
particularcircumstanceitismypreferencetousethehybridgeomodel.Thesemodels
incorporatedastructuregridwithmultipleobjectbasedzoneslimitedtoselectandkey
definablesurfaces,derivedfromtheintegratedinterpretationofthewellsand3D
seismic.Theobjectbasedcomponentofthehybridproductallowedforabetter
geologicalrepresentationinacomplexdepositionalandfaciesenvironment,e.g.
multipleincisingchannels,abandonmentchannels,etc.

Ifyouaregeneratinganobjectbasedinfluencedsurfaceand/orgeobody,makeuseof
boththeoutcropandmodernanalogdatainordertoinfluencethedimensionsofthese
features.Ofcourse,whenconsideringtheuseofsuchdataitshouldntbedonein
isolationandasanabsolute.Noanalog,whetheritismodernoranoutcropwilltruly
representyourreservoir'sdepositionalconditions.Thisdatacanbeusedtoassistin
derivingthevaluesusedinthesurfaceuncertaintyprocess.

Oneofthemainpurposesforbuildinggeomodelsistoquantifytheuncertainty
associatedwiththeprojectspotentialperformance(resource,reserveanddailyfluid
rate).Toaidincapturingthisuncertaintythepetrophysicistwillprovidearangeof
uncertaintyusingatoolsuchas@RiskorSpotfireforthekeyreservoirparameters
derivedfromcoreandwirelinedata.Anotherkeyuncertaintythatneedstobe
incorporatedistheuncertaintiesassociatedwithkeysurfacesintheinterwellareas,e.g.
oilwatercontacts,baseand/ortopofpay,basement,etc.Dependingonthewellspacing
andthequalityofthe3Dseismicthisuncertaintycanbeminimal,butitisstillpresent
andshouldbeaddressedinthemodels.InarecentgeomodelprojecttheuseofCohiba
surfacemodelingsoftwareresultedinsuccessfullycapturingthisuncertaintyinour
models.

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Thefaciespropertiescanbepopulatedusingadiscrete3Dfacies(stochastic)parameter
foreachrealizationgenerated.Thefaciesproportionsforeachzoneofthegeomodelare
definedfromthewellsstatistics.Dependingonthe3Dseismicquality,thefaciescan
alsobeinfluencedbyasofttrendwhichisderivedfromaseismicattributeandusedto
influencethefaciespropagationintotheinterwellregions.Weexperiencedmixed
resultswithseismicattributesofttrends.Theseismicattributesofttrendworkedwell
fortheprojectwherethe3Dseismicwasofahighquality,boththeacquisitionand
processing.

Theverticalproportioncurves(VPC)areacriticalcomponentforpopulatingthefacies
varianceacrossthemodelregion.Inmyexperience,complexreservoirscanbenefit
fromutilizingmultipleregionswithintheoverallgeomodelareaofinterest.Eachof
theseseparateregionscanthenhavetheirownVPC,allowingthereservoirsgeological
complexitytoreflecttheinherentheterogeneityandvariablemudvolumedependingon
thespatialposition,e.g.inadistalorproximallocationinapointbarcomplex.

Ihaveonlytouchedonasmallandlimitedaspectofthegeomodelingworkflow.Theart
ofdevelopingthefaciesspecificvariogramisanothercriticalaspectthatwill
significantlyinfluencethesimulatorsresults,butmybackgroundandexperience
regardingthistopicisverylimited.Thereareanumberresourcesavailabletoassistin
developinganappropriateworkflowthatbestfitsyourparticularreservoirandyour
corporategeomodelingphilosophy.

Thekeymessageisthatageomodel,2Dor3D,isessentialtoanyreservoirevaluation
process.Ensuringthatyouincludetheappropriatelevelofdetailshouldbediscussed
andconfirmedasearlyaspossibleinordertoaccomplishtheprojectscope.

Inclosing,thepetrophysicalandgeomodelstagesofthereservoircharacterization
processarecriticaltotheoverallevaluationprocessandthefinaloutcomeofthe
simulationstage.Thesetwostageswillensurekeyreservoirparameterswhichinfluence
thefieldsperformancearedefinedandincorporatedintothesimulations.Includingthe
datasandkeysurfacesinherentuncertaintywillaidinensuringthatthegeomodelisa
technicallyvalidrepresentationofthereservoir.

Ensurethatyouspendadequatetimeearlyintheprojectscopephasetodiscuss,debate
anddesignthegeomodelworkflow,beingsuretoincludethemultidisciplinaryand
crossfunctionalgroups.Ultimately,itistheintegrationofthedifferentdatasources,
thepetrophysicalanalysisandthegeomodelcoupledwithopenandtheongoing
collaborativecommunicationthatwillleadtoamorerepresentativerangeofsimulation
results,includingbothopportunityanduncertainty.

InmylastreservoircharacterizationpostIwillreviewanddiscusstheremainingtwo
stagesoftheprocess.Yourthoughtsandinsightsarealwayswelcomedandappreciated.

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Mark Savage
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Mohammed Al-Amrani 9h
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Nice. Video example would be useful.
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