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- Volume 40, Issue 7, 2022
First Break - Volume 40, Issue 7, 2022
Volume 40, Issue 7, 2022
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Introduction to Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Part 1 – Fracture Origins, Characteristics and Parameters
By Tim WynnAbstractThis paper is part one of a two-part series that introduces naturally fractured reservoirs. For the purposes of these papers, natural fractures are discontinuities formed from tectonic activity and other processes, such as diagenesis or cooling, that enhance fluid flow. The paper will cover their common characteristics, how they form, key issues to consider during appraisal and development and ways of mitigating some of the risks. The presence of natural fractures in the sub-surface is important for a number of different subsurface developments – e.g. hydrocarbon reservoirs, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), other gas storage, hydrogeology, geothermal and nuclear waste disposal. This article covers how fractures form and the different types created by different processes, their characteristics and distributions and the key parameters relevant to sub-surface fluid flow e.g. permeability. A follow up technical article will cover fracture network categories and concepts, recovery mechanisms of fluids from naturally fractured reservoirs, modelling techniques and approaches for developing and managing fractured reservoirs to maximise production and minimise risk.
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Using Digital Models to Identify Hydrodynamic Interference Between Producing and Injection Wells to Improve Field Development Management Efficiency
Authors A. Drobot, D. Vasechkin and S. UrvantsevAbstractEffective development of oil fields is impossible without reliable information on the degree of well interference.
The interference between production and injection wells is evaluated using indicators that are commonly known as the interference coefficients or connectivity coefficients. There are a number of statistical, analytical, and predictive methods for hydrodynamic connectivity (interference) assessment.
This paper focuses on a new approach designed to overcome the challenges related to the rational development of reserves and well interference assessment with building an improved hybrid material balance model.
The purpose of the research was to evaluate various scenarios for well interference assessment, as well as to identify hydrodynamic communication between injection wells and specific producing wells for prompt decision-making to optimize the development system. The paper discusses the results of studies conducted on one field of Western Siberia, having a complex geological structure and high heterogeneity.
Well interference coefficients were obtained as the result of the studies, which helped us to understand how the average proportion of water injected from a particular injection well effectively impacts the producing wells in question located in the immediate vicinity. The digital hybrid model was used to identify the injection wells that are hydrodynamically connected with producing wells, estimate the degree of their impact on the production performance of the latter, as well as monitor the dynamics of such influence for each well. Based on the analysis performed, some recommendations were made for improving the oil recovery factor in the oil fields and reducing development costs.
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Artificial Intelligence for Automating Seismic Horizon Picking
By Norman MarkAbstractFully-automated seismic horizon picking dramatically shortens the time between acquiring seismic data and picking drilling targets. Oil and gas exploration companies worldwide spend millions of tedious man-hours picking horizons on seismic data to produce inventories of drilling targets. Freeing up that time to better incorporate the geologic and geophysical properties within mapped structures guarantees more drilling success.
Artificial intelligence is frequently mentioned in today’s news: self-driving cars, vehicle identification, robot vacuums, fingerprint identification, facial recognition and Alexa are just a few examples. Why not seismic data interpretation? Here, it is proven that automated seismic horizon picking is possible.
From a two-column text file of time-amplitude pairs my algorithm produces a reflection-time-ordered text file of all continuous series of connected pixel coordinates easily-read by mapping software. These connected pixels are plotted separately on the input seismic test line’s peaks and troughs. More than 10,000 connected segments were written in less than a minute of computer time, saving many hours of manual labour. This time-saving extrapolated to 3D seismic surveys will reduce the time it takes to find drilling targets by months.
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Ranking and Evaluation of CO2 Storage Sites Using an Advanced Workflow
Authors Cyrille Reiser, Noémie Pernin and Nick LeeAbstractThe world is in urgent need of carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites/facilities to achieve ambitious net carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction goals. After CO2 capture and transport, storage is the third step of the CO2 journey. Accessing and utilizing regional seismic information is a significant part of any workflow attempting to identify and characterize proposed subsurface CO2 storage sites. In this paper, we have developed and implemented a workflow over a proof-of-concept (PoC) area to assess CCS storage capacity and containment at a candidate saline aquifer site. Injectivity and monitoring/monitorability are assessed as part of an extended workflow. The integrated PoC CCS site assessment workflow allows validation of the various workflow elements and technologies, with the view to creating an efficient and scalable tool for regional site identification and characterization. The current project has been established using a PGS regional multi-client broadband seismic dataset in the North Sea which comprises an extensive cross-border regional dataset in the UK and Norway. The broadband nature of the seismic data allows significant and efficient site assessment, by providing detailed 3D characterization of the subsurface, away from areas with well control, and the parameterization of more accurate/reliable attributes for key storage attributes such as net-to-gross, porosity, and thickness. Finally, the integrated workflow and data integration allowed us to perform an efficient carbon storage site risk assessment as part of an overall site ranking process.
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Unlocking the Hydrocarbon Potential of the Mannar Basin (Sri Lanka) Based on New Data and New Ideas
Authors Oliver Schenk, Ching Tu, Ngo Lee Sii, Wei Ching Ong and Chaminda KularathnaAbstractThe Mannar Basin is a failed rift basin located between Sri Lanka and India. Massive flood basalts have been deposited during latest Cretaceous/earliest Paleocene magmatic activity that is also represented by numerous igneous sill intrusions. The two discoveries are associated with this magmatism: Barracuda and Dorado, both discovered in 2011, have been drilled in the northern part. One of the key challenges for hydrocarbon exploration in volcanic provinces is sub-basalt imaging due to the velocity contrast between basalts and siliciclastics. To unlock hidden play types and identify geological features within Mesozoic intervals we utilized both infill 2D seismic data acquired in 2018 and vintage 2D seismic data reprocessed in 2021. These provide new insights for hydrocarbon exploration and the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of Sri Lanka’s offshore basins. We integrated these new study results into a regional 2D petroleum system modelling study. Modelling results indicate hydrocarbon potential for several play types: Cretaceous reef, turbidite and fan plays. Since the tectonic evolution of the Mannar Basin is still a matter of debate, especially related to timing and duration of extension and Sri Lanka’s position during Gondwana breakup, we created different heat flow scenarios to validate the impact on the hydrocarbon prospectivity.
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Interpretation and Modelling for Deep Geothermal Energy in Vienna
AbstractA funded research project, GeoTief EXPLORE, heralded a new era in the systematic development of geothermal energy in Austria. Complementing most of the exploration projects for the use of deep geothermal energy carried out in Europe so far, the research project adapted established knowledge of hydrocarbon exploration and merged it into an integrative and interdisciplinary study on the exploitation of this renewable form of energy. GeoTief EXPLORE investigates the potential in the east of Vienna (Figure 1), probably the most productive geothermal reservoir in Austria, evaluated it with regard to geological, technical, and economic risks and derived an implementation plan for the development of environmentally friendly heat.
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Volumes & issues
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Volume 42 (2024)
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Volume 41 (2023)
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Volume 40 (2022)
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Volume 39 (2021)
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Volume 38 (2020)
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Volume 37 (2019)
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Volume 36 (2018)
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Volume 35 (2017)
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Volume 34 (2016)
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Volume 33 (2015)
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Volume 32 (2014)
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Volume 31 (2013)
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Volume 30 (2012)
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Volume 29 (2011)
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Volume 28 (2010)
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Volume 27 (2009)
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Volume 26 (2008)
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Volume 25 (2007)
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Volume 24 (2006)
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Volume 23 (2005)
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Volume 22 (2004)
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Volume 21 (2003)
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Volume 20 (2002)
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Volume 19 (2001)
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Volume 18 (2000)
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Volume 17 (1999)
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Volume 16 (1998)
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Volume 15 (1997)
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Volume 14 (1996)
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Volume 13 (1995)
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Volume 12 (1994)
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Volume 11 (1993)
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Volume 10 (1992)
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Volume 9 (1991)
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Volume 8 (1990)
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Volume 7 (1989)
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Volume 6 (1988)
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Volume 5 (1987)
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Volume 4 (1986)
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Volume 3 (1985)
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Volume 2 (1984)
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Volume 1 (1983)