Second Conference on Forward Modelling of Sedimentary Systems

valuation in hydro-carbon geological and recoverable reserves. Plastic deformation and dynamic duplex phase moments for micro-scaled porous space and saturation with porous fluid provides significant effect upon global structure of sedimentary matrix and bio-sphere block-type conductivity: like energetics, soil, water, hydrocarbons, sands and mountains, climate, ecology and social sphere. Deformation and lithosphere tunnel-type super-conductivity specify filtration nature and accumulation forms for compact/de-compact dissipative-resonant energetics in self-organized fracturing of Earth’s microstructure and its orbital quantal-wave evolution. The paper presents analytical solution and analysis of new “second” Darcy-Fick’s Law in view of de-formative second-moment with compact convective-diffusive filtration at oil/gas saturated fields, vulcanoes and earth-quakes, de-compacted tunnel-type reservoirs and wave channels with oceanic subduction.

This report focuses on the use of Roxar's RMS to model geologically simplified and complex scenarios synthetically. Workflows were developed in RMS to show the evolution of synrift sedimentation through displacement events. Initially, simplified planar faults were used to generate multiple experiments with changing fault length, displacement amounts and reverse drag. Then more geologically complex experiments were conducted using similar workflows to show sedimentation patterns associated with a relay structure, the interaction of multiple faults and a Gilbert delta. The results in this abstract will focus on the complex models.

Exploitation of unconventional resources could prolong the gas production in the North Sea. Low-net-to-gross fluvial intervals may have tough-gas reservoir potential in thin-bedded crevasse splays.To assess economic risks associated to the development of these reservoirs, a numerical model can help to predict the sediment distribution. To this end, simulations were conducted with Delft3D process-based modelling software. Input parameters and the validation data sets for these models are derived from outcrop studies in the present-day Río Colorado fluvial system in the Altiplano Basin, Bolivia. The grain-size trends of the simulated surface sediments for a single flood event show a trend which is consistent with the validation data. For example, grain-size decreases with increasing distance from the channel, which is in line with the physical concept of decreasing sediment size for decreasing flow energy. This shows that numerical models can be used to support sediment trends and depositional mechanisms of a crevasse splay. The combination of numerical models and discrete field data provides a solid case for sediment distribution predications. However, simulations still have a limited accuracy.

Carbonate rocks are generally considered to be complex, heterogeneous, and as a result very difficult to predict in terms of reservoir property, architecture from seismic interpretation. The core of our proposed scientific method is to interlock sedimentology and stratigraphy together with geophysics in a forward modelling loop. In other words to pose and try to resolve the equation of the stratigraphic architecture, depositional facies, and diagenesis of carbonate plays versus the seismic response. Practically, this approach is meant to understand and explicit (i.e. forward model) the carbonate reservoirs in order to increase their interpretation and prediction robustness. This approach is multi-disciplinary and integrates measurements and knowledge of the carbonates at all scales, from grain to basin scale, from thin section to seismic data. The keystones of the method are : 1. the interlocking of the forward stratigraphic and diagenetic modeling with the seismic modeling. 2. the integration of the diagenetic overprint in the petro-elastic signature

The process of constructing geological models is used on various scales in mining, oil and gas exploration, hydrology as well as in large construction projects. Development of geological models is a complex process consisting of various phases. A large degree of uncertainty is introduced from the interpretation of the data to the construction of the geological model. To arrive at the best approximation of the subsurface, relevant analogues are identified and consulted. Therefore, uncertainties originate from unknown depositional processes, but also from uncertain correlation between the study area and the analogues. We developed a set of tools to quantify the variability in deltaic geological models resulting from these uncertainties. These tools were applied to an ensemble of simulations generated in Delft3D by processed-based forward modelling. We show how a set of analyses can be used to quantify the differences in the resultant delta deposits. Analyses investigated channel networks, topographic profiles and sediment distribution in the delta. The tools make use of the unique advantages of numerical forward models, allowing single variables to be studied at high spacial and temporal resolution.

Smooth Particles Hydrodynamics-based numerical modelling (SPH) is becoming an interesting simulation technique to model the flow phase of submarine landslides and its tsunamigenic interaction with the water column. This work presents a depth-integrated SPH-based modelling of submarine landslides incorporating non-linear and heterogeneous rheological features and the associated turbulence modulation. The model is applied to the well documented BIG'95 debris flow which presents an heterogeneous behaviour and an important tsunamigenic potential. Results show the capability of the model to reproduce major features of the flow and to improve previous modelling-based descriptions. Its ability to reproduce simultaneous behaviours and types of flow ranging from plug-laminar to turbulent provides an operational coupling between slope-stability analysis and turbidity induced flows and the capability to evaluate the dynamic generations of long tsunamic-waves generated by submarine landslides.

Process-product studies have been critical to the development of process sedimentology over the past few decades, with the ability to measure flows, and later examine the resulting deposits, removing much of the ambiguity associated with previous interpretations. However, perhaps uniquely for large geomorphic systems on Earth, there are no field-scale process-product studies of submarine channels. In fact, there are remarkably few direct measurements even of the flow dynamics as a result of the difficulties of measuring these powerful, infrequent, and often inaccessible flows. Over the past decade, physical experimentation has provided the first process-product studies for model submarine channel systems, enabling us to link flow behaviour and sedimentation patterns. This has been supplemented by numerical simulations. Synthesise of these observations, in the context of our direct knowledge of submarine channels, enables an overview of submarine channel flow dynamics to be derived, along with process-orientated intra-channel architecture models for low and high latitude systems. These studies reveal that submarine channel processes and deposits change globally (latitudinally), and as a function of geological time, moving us towards a first order prediction of submarine channel deposits based on palaeolatitude and age.

Process-based numerical models are increasingly used to study landscape evolution. Whilst a detailed description of small scale processes provides an accurate representation of reality, direct simulation on relevant time scales constitutes an unfeasible computational effort. Therefore, most process-based forward morphological models incorporate techniques that accelerate the morphological and stratigraphic development. This so-called morphological acceleration utilizes the difference between hydrodynamic and morphological response time scales. This imposes an upper limit of typically thousand years of time scale for these type of forward models. Given the relevance of base-level variations for whose period is more than thousand years, the development of additional acceleration techniques is required. Here we propose a new acceleration technique to facilitate the modeling the evolution of deltaic systems on the time scales of more than thousand years. The effect of the acceleration technique is analyzed for accommodation-driven deltas. The results show that as long as the [A]/[S] ratio is honored for the acceleration technique, the morphological indicators for the delta-plain geometries are well reproduced for accommodation-driven deltas. In conclusion, the usage of additional acceleration technique enables process-based models to reach long time-scales.

There are several approaches of interpretation fluvial depositional environment sediments based on seismic and well data. This work show some examples of interpretation deposits from the west Siberia and Pannonian Basin which have the same geological settings. Due to the seismic attribute analysis, the integration of spectral decomposition with log analysis was defined in the investigated interval and facies boundaries were established. The most perspective part of the pay is the channel deposits which location were identified more precisely after spectral decomposition interpretation in the interval of interest. The lithological model obtained as a result of this project differs qualitatively from all previous models of the investigated formation, due to the following: using the predictive facies boundaries derived from the complex dynamic interpretation of the seismic data to detect geological characteristics more precisely; reconstructing the formation heterogeneity, which is very important for the well position planning and its hydrodynamic studies.

New developments are currently being undertaken to develop a new open source web-based modelling system based on the process-based model Delft3D. This modelling systems (Delft3D-GeoTool) aims to provide non-modeling specialists (as wel as specialists) in the field of sedimentary geology and reservoir geology with tools to easily set up their own model simulations and scenarios, perform post-processing analyses and store the results in a database.