Christoforos Benetatos, Giorgio Giglio. Coping with uncertainties through an automated workflow for 3D reservoir modelling of carbonate reservoirs[J]. Geoscience Frontiers, 2021, 12(6): 100913. DOI: 10.1016/j.gsf.2019.11.008
Citation: Christoforos Benetatos, Giorgio Giglio. Coping with uncertainties through an automated workflow for 3D reservoir modelling of carbonate reservoirs[J]. Geoscience Frontiers, 2021, 12(6): 100913. DOI: 10.1016/j.gsf.2019.11.008

Coping with uncertainties through an automated workflow for 3D reservoir modelling of carbonate reservoirs

  • Reliable 3D modelling of underground hydrocarbon reservoirs is a challenging task due to the complexity of the underground geological formations and to the availability of different types of data that are typically affected by uncertainties. In the case of geologically complex depositional environments, such as fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs, the uncertainties involved in the modelling process demand accurate analysis and quantification in order to provide a reliable confidence range of volumetric estimations. In the present work, we used a 3D model of a fractured carbonate reservoir and populated it with different lithological and petrophysical properties. The available dataset also included a discrete fracture network (DFN) property that was used to model the fracture distribution. Uncertainties affecting lithological facies, their geometry and absolute positions (related to the fault system), fracture distribution and petrophysical properties were accounted for. We included all different types of uncertainties in an automated approach using tools available in today’s modelling software packages and combining all the uncertain input parameters in a series of statistically representative geological realizations. In particular, we defined a specific workflow for the definition of the absolute permeability according to an equivalent, single porosity approach, taking into account the contribution of both the matrix and the fracture system. The results of the analyses were transferred into a 3D numerical fluid-dynamic simulator to evaluate the propagation of the uncertainties associated to the input data down to the final results, and to assess the dynamic response of the reservoir following a selected development plan. The “integrated approach” presented in this paper can be useful for all technicians involved in the construction and validation of 3D numerical models of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs and can potentially become part of the educational training for young geoscientists and engineers, since an integrated and well-constructed workflow is the backbone of any reservoir study.
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