Sedimentology & Stratigraphy:

• 3D modelling/reconstruction of depositional systems– Accommodation space, subsidence rate, sea- level and sediment

transport

• Immersive reservoir visualisation– e.g. Hive, Cave, Visionarium...

• Fundamentals– Database of good stratigraphic/biostratigraphic framework

– Sedimentology on core/logs

Sedimentology & Stratigraphy:Present status

• 3D modelling/reconstruction of depositional systems– Accommodation space, subsidence rate, sea- level and sediment

transport

• Immersive reservoir visualisation– e.g. Hive, Cave, Visionarium...

• Fundamentals– Database of good stratigraphic/biostratigraphic framework

– Sedimentology on core/logs

Sedimentology & Stratigraphy:Technology Gaps

• Møre and Vøring basins– ’Immature’ understanding of reservoir and source rock distribution (not

many wells)

• Description of reservoir heterogeneities & true 3D models– Geologically relevant upscaling to test the effects of merging

heterogeneities at different scales into a geological meaningful model. – True 3D models giving a definition of the palaeotopography

• Age dating & sedimentology expertise– Maintain biostratigraphy expertise– Norway has few consultant firms offering sedimentology or

biostratigraphic expertise compared to UK/USA.

Sedimentology & Stratigraphy:Future Focus

• Calibration in underexplored basins: – Gathering data on stratigraphy, reservoir, source rock and thermal

history in immature areas will spur research activity, and reduce exploration uncertainty.

• High resolution reservoir characterization: – Integration of high resolution 3D sedimentological models into

simulation will preserve detailed field heterogeneities, increase our understanding of reservoir performance and increase ultimate field recovery.

Structural Geology:Present status

• In areas of poor seismic quality the interpretation of accumulations, reservoir presence and assessment of compartmentalization of the reservoirs is often difficult.

• Fault seal analysis has not evolved significantly during the last decade. – Both in exploration and in field production our ability to predict fault

behaviour is poor even though several commercial applications exist.

• Predicting reservoir performance in fractured reservoirs (e.g. chalk) is also still a challenge in the industry.

Structural Geology:Technology Gaps

• Understanding the structural evolution in complex or obscured areas is limited by the quality of seismic data. – Our focus in these areas should address the proper acquisition and

processing of high-resolution seismic data.

• Predicting the reservoir performance in fractured reservoirs (e.g. chalk) is also still a challenge in the industry. – Integrated interpretation of data from drilling engineering, logging and

seismic is needed in order to close the gap in this area.

• Improvements in seismic data volumes and interpretation tools will increase the accuracy of structural/fault interpretation and reduce drilling and prospect risk. – The integration of this high-resolution data into geomodels and

simulation models remains a challenge, and advances in software handling are needed.

Structural Geology:Future Focus

• Behaviour of faults and fractures on reservoir performance: – Development of an integrated tool to handle both clastic and carbonate

fault seal analysis, drilling engineering, logging, and seismic data.

• Fractured reservoirs, improved image log interpretation: – Derive fracture permeability from image logs by integrating mud loss

information from drilling records.

Geomechanics:Present status

• Geomechanics has mostly been used in a reactive mode in the industry, often in response to drilling problems in field developments.– The geomechanics software applications around drilling and wells are

well established.

• Sand production evaluations for optimising completion design.

• The use of geomechanics in reservoir performance prediction is only rarely applied currently and is often poorly linked to the geomechanical processes over geologic time.

Geomechanics:Technology Gaps

• At present there is a lack of fully integrated geomechanics software for the oil industry and the work flows/’best practices’ for interpretation are not well established.

• In high pressure environments there is a higher risk that depletion will cause large changes in stress leading to drilling challenges. – In order to investigate high pressure and temperature effects the

laboratories have to develop the capability to simulate the same extreme stress conditions that exist in nature.

Geomechanics:Future Focus

• Integrated geomechanics ‘software/work flows’: – Make the geomechanics interpretation part of a truly integrated

reservoir modelling work flow.

• Develop a tool to directly measure pore pressure in shale (low permeability rock): – Improve well design by providing real, instead of predicted pressure

data.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling:

• A strong Norwegian environment has developed internationally renowned reservoir building and modelling software.

• Integration of different data types is continuously advancing such that oil, gas water flow rate, pressure and geological data are used together to provide a good understanding of fields. – 3D visualization of data is standard.

– 4D seismic is commonly used to try and track the movement of fluids.

– We collect and store large amounts of different types of data.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling:Present status

• A strong Norwegian environment has developed internationally renowned reservoir building and modelling software.

• Integration of different data types is continuously advancing such that oil, gas water flow rate, pressure and geological data are used together to provide a good understanding of fields. – 3D visualization of data is standard.

– 4D seismic is commonly used to try and track the movement of fluids.

– We collect and store large amounts of different types of data.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling:Present status continued

• New tools that allow top quality data integration and viewing are available.– Utilise computing power.

– Extract the relevant data for interpretation/integration from large data piles.

• Limited ability to test alternative geological models and the impact these will have on flow characteristics.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling: Technology Gaps-introduction

• Many of the identified gaps are related to the ability to quickly integrate and visualize diverse data types together so that realistic models can be used to optimise field production. – 3D seismic– 4D seismic – Geomechanical information – Flow data

• Modelling the history of oil and gas production in fields involves:– Several ‘tools’ to interpret data – Much more data is generated than can be successfully ‘integrated’ and

interpreted with current systems

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling: Technology Gaps

• There are no solutions that efficiently bridge the gap between different 2D and 3D applications in terms of resolution, gridding algorithms and upscaling routines.

• There is a need to manage uncertainty and flexibility in the History Matching process.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling: Technology Gaps continued

• Software is not capable of providing a fully integrated Reservoir Model all the way from seismic, through geo model to flow model. – Current upscaling in Reservoir Characterization tools eliminates details

from the geomodels

• Enhanced Oil Recovery: tracking the movement of oil, gas and water through the field’s lifetime.– Managing large data flows quickly

– Interpret and include in long term depletion strategy

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling: Future Focus

• 4D seismic and life of field seismic (LoFS): – Both of these techniques are used to track the movement of oil, gas and

water through time.

– Research data analysis techniques that could be used to position fluids’ subsurface location and other changes in the field (e.g. compaction).

• Integrated reservoir modelling and uncertainty management: – Software applications we have today, are not capable of providing a

fully integrated Reservoir Model all the way from Seismic, through Geo Model to Flow Model.

– We need to solve the problem of utilizing all significant data in work flows, and conduct probabilistic evaluation.

Reservoir Simulation & Modelling: Future Focus

• In field heterogeneities: – Identify the key heterogeneities and develop a predictive methodology

to assess the effect on reservoir performance.

• Horizontal well modelling: – Solve the challenges that exist in modelling of horizontal wells and the

link between horizontal production/geology and the full field model.

– We continue to struggle to model horizontal wells correctly and use vertical dominated upscaling techniques.