PLT data integration    P a g e  | 1 

Intro:
Petrel core is modeling. Petrel ability however is more than that. Practically any piece of
information related to reservoir characterization can be analyzed within the package. Having the
same software environment for all steps of FDP (Field Development Study) process enables
users to incorporate data from various domains together in order to build a solid reservoir model.

Problem definition:
PLT logs are used to analyze production profile along the borehole. It can greatly enhance
reservoir understanding, since you can clearly see which units flow and what is the phase at a
given time. The practice is to use PLTs on a well-by-well level. The challenge is to find a way to
assess it all together at the same time to identify possible trends.

Petrel allows user to visualize simulated PLTs that are generated during ECLIPSE run. However
the tools for observed PLT analysis are not yet implemented.

General workflow:
1. Import QW (fraction of water) as a log
2. Scale up QW logs to the 3D model merging it by selected time periods (depends on PLT
availability).
3. Generate “Maximum” of all QW properties from p.2. and calculate difference between
layers (use Adjacent plug-in for that)
NOTE: step 2 and step 3 are included mainly to demonstrate Petrel options, i.e., it’s not a
strict workflow, and might be not applicable or not recommended depending on the objectives.

Step-by-step guide:
Step 1: PLT as a log 

PLT can be imported as a flat file using either

LAS or Well Logs (ASCII) format.

Figure 1 show well with 3 PLT logs at March

1999, Oct 1999 and June 2006 respectively.

It’s an open-hole well. Stimulation job at the

top of Zone 2 was performed in 2005 causing a
dramatic increase in production from top
layers.

It was decided to merge PLTs by year, i.e. it

was sampled well enough especially during the  
last 10 years.
Figure 1

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Step 2: 3D PLT by time interval 

     
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Using Scale Up Well Log process you can transform logs to cells. On the above pictures (2-4)
you can see properties (or rather “upscaled” cells in Petrel terminology) for some of the time
intervals.

Step 3: water by layer 

To make an overview of multiple PLTs one

may want to use the Maximum option provided
by Petrel: Property folder Settings ->
Operations tab -> Maximum. You have an
option to select the properties you want to use
for calculations.

By generating maximum property you can

overcome characterization problems related to
workovers: if the water was eliminated or
reduced due to mechanical interruption, but
 
was captured by previous PLT logs it will be
represented in maximum property. Figure 5

Using free-distributed “Adjacent cell” plug-in

you can calculate +K property, which has
essentially the same values, but translated one
layer above. Now you can open property
calculator to run New=Maximum_plusK-
Maximum equation. The result is simply the
difference between neighboring layers. To be
more precise each layer will be assigned delta
value with the next one:
 
New[@L4]=Maximum[@L4]-Maximum[@L5]
Figure 6

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As a result you have 3D property that exists along the wells. Leverage on Petrel visualization
capabilities to perform the analysis: 3D view will give you big picture and the feeling of water
movement, while Well section window is handy for correlation and adding various levels of
details such as completions, open-hole logs, markers, etc.

   
Figure 7 Figure 8

The way forward:

The above workflow was not intended to be used as an A to Z solution, but rather an idea
generator.

The resulting 3D PLT property may help with e.g. quality control of your water saturation model
or reservoir connectivity description.

One may want to interpolate the values between the wells to get an additional representation of
water saturation based only on dynamic data.

NOTE: main objectives of the workflow are to demonstrate Petrel options, i.e., it’s not a strict
workflow, and might be not applicable or not recommended depending on the objectives.

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