4D Book of Knowledge Chapter VII – The secret of successful 4D inversion – coupling
Coupling is a commonly ignored systematic error in 4D inversion 4D acquisition and processing are ‘coupled’ by nature, meaning that parameter selection takes into account all survey vintages. In addition, processors are trying all possible ways to honor the coupling between vintages and surveys with innovative co-processing workflows and algorithms. However, most 4D quantitative interpretation […]
4D Book of Knowledge Chapter VI – One chart to take away to plan your entire 4D work
4D Specialists simplify things for 4D! This time we share a one chart handbook for all 4D practitioners to overview the full spectrum of 4D interpretation task that can be carried out from processing, data enhancement for QI, basic 4D interpretation to the ultimate application of 4D data. Like it, save it, print it off, […]
Towards the Future: 4D Permanent Reservoir Monitoring
By David Cox, Stingray Geophysics – the leading 4D PRM system manufacturer There are a range of methods for acquiring 4D data which vary in cost and quality of the data acquired. These include; repeat streamer surveys, temporarily installed ocean bottom cables (OBC / OBS) nodes or cables that are permanently installed for the lifetime […]
4D BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE IV – Modular approach for 4D feasibility projects
4D feasibility studies are required to assess the detectability of the expected 4D signal from changes in the reservoir over time. It is necessary to integrate petrophysics, reservoir engineering and geophysical expertise to conduct these studies. A modular approach could be taken in analysing the detectability of the expected 4D signal. Recall Serial 3 – […]
Deep dive into hardcore rock physics calibration (By Dr. Hamed Amini)
Why are we still calibrating the rock-physics models? Rock-physics empirical relations, theoretical models, and heuristic approaches are used successfully to aid quantitative characterisation of the sweet spots or monitoring of the production induced changes in the reservoir. Along with applicability to the specific reservoir scenario, calibrability is an indispensable criterion for selection of the optimum […]
4D Book of Knowledge Chapter 2 – The role of 4D in the coming decade? DIGITAL 4D as Standard (by Prof. Colin MacBeth)
Predicting the future of 4D from its past 4D or time-lapse seismic is now one of the up and coming technologies in the industry today .. proven, mature and accepted. This technology was famously resisted by several major oil companies in the late 1980’s as not being economically viable, flipped overnight to become the gold […]
4D Book of Knowledge Chapter 1 – Managers and technical leaders, how do you establish 4D expertise in your corporation?
Are your 4D competencies lagging behind the current leading 4D players in the industry? Back in 2007, some of the super-majors were trying to improve their technology maturity and corporate capability in 4D seismic. Most of them realized the gaps and opportunities as tabulated below as 10-year development targets. And it is now 2017. If […]
IRES-GEO TECHNOLOGY AND STINGRAY GEOPHYSICAL PARTNER FOR FASTER, CHEAPER 4D SOLUTIONS
Edinburgh, August 3st, 2017 – Edinburgh-based iRes-Geo Technology and global Stingray Geophysical are pleased to announce a new partnership aimed to offer better 4D solutions to meet the industry’s increasing reservoir monitoring needs. By joining iRes-Geo’s team of world’s foremost experts with Stingray’s unique fiber optic Permanent Reservoir Monitoring System, the partnership will provide the […]
Subsurface Integration: Take it or Lean it!
Subsurface integration has always been a hot topic for the EP companies. Today, more than ever, there is a strong push to tackle the subsurface challenges in an integrated fashion. Unfortunately, the misconception of collocating subsurface people in the same corridor as the one and only requirement to achieve subsurface integration is well alive. Subsurface […]
“What is the uncertainty, how far from the ‘truth’ could you be?”
The question itself strikes deep uncertainty into the hearts of geologists, geophysicists, reservoir modellers and many other subsurface experts. As a geophysicist, how could I quantify the accuracy of the position and geometry of my meticulously picked horizons and faults? I would cook something up, based on wavelengths, detectability limits, velocity model issues, Fresnel zones, […]
You can’t have your cake and eat it (too), but you can do two inversions
You will agree… Seismic inversion methods are powerful tools for reservoir characterization, and when you combine them with rock-physics, the reservoir properties can be directly inferred. However, Inversion methods got their pros and cons, such as: Deliverables Pros Cons Post-stack deterministic inversion P-impedance Quick and robust Low resolution limited by bandwidth, initial model Pre-stack […]
Ages of Reservoir Modelling – what are already there and what are coming
Geomodelling has been in service for decades in the industry. The technical and business mission has evolved remarkably in different ages. Past: Age of Geostatistics (approx. 1970s-1990s) representing technology: Kriging, Co-kriging, SIS, SGS We are in the post classic-geostatistics age but when it was invented, Geostatistics is motivated by demands such as: (1) data conditioning: […]
Don’t get all stressed up about 4D stress. There are solutions for solving this thorny issue
At some point during a 4D project you will encounter stress – not just the human kind of course, but the kind that changes the rocks in your reservoir and its surroundings. Unfortunately, all reservoirs experience this during production lifetime, although admittedly to a lesser, or greater extent depending on the degree of connectivity, pressure […]
How to predict reservoir performances with uncertainty? – Some snacks to go with afternoon tea!
It takes ONLY 3 mins to read this article. Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one – Voltaire. This is what every reservoir engineer knows: In a closed-loop reservoir management system, continuous updating of reservoir model is required when new data (e.g. 4D seismic, production data, pressure measurements) become available, without returning […]
Poor well tie for mature fields – you may know the first 3 reasons, but here is the “amazing 4th”.
Well tie is almost a must do for all seismic related field studies. It helps to calibrate on the T2D relationship, extracting representative wavelets, marking the reservoir location and so on. We are all expecting a high correlation between the synthetics and the composite seismic along the wells, which gives confidence in the interpretation of […]
How To Improve The Predictability Of Your Reservoir Model With The Smallest Effort Possible (Part Two) – Addressing the “Under Modeling” issue
Before I get down to the meat of the post, I’d like to say that THE TIME HAS CHANGED for conventional oil producers. Yes, you read it right. With the rise of the unconventional oil, we’ve witnessed a structural change of the industry’s focus. The competition has never been fiercer between conventional and unconventional. The […]
Four questions you need to answer before shooting a 4D Seismic (Part 1) – Why 4D? Why this reservoir?
iResGeo has considerable experience in the integrated 4D feasibility studies through the integration of petrophysics, reservoir engineering, and geophysical expertise. In this series of articles, we go through key elements of best practices for 4D feasibility studies. 4D feasibility studies determine the scope of application of the 4D technology in the development of the field […]
How To Improve The Predictability Of Your Reservoir Model With The Smallest Effort Possible (Part One)
To begin with, I think you agree with me: Thanks to the progress in computing performance and commercial geomodelling software, building a reservoir model are not terribly difficult. But to build the ‘right’ model with adequate level of complexity that can satisfactorily support the business decision is often not straightforward, at a particular stage of […]
3 powerful tools to locate remaining oil in mature fields. It may not be what you think!
Nearly 70% of the oil production today comes from the mature fields. However, the development of mature fields is faced with tremendous financial and technical challenges. Nevertheless, 80% of oil comes from 20% of highly productive wells – which means pinpoint drilling of sweet spots, together with customised reservoir development strategy, can achieve the commercially […]