Parametric Surface Subsoil Modeling Inversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining subsoil formations, particularly in the hydrocarbon industry, face challenges such as meshing biases, inability to account for sedimentary bodies during modeling, difficulty in satisfying well constraints, and inadequate association of cells with facies or geophysical properties due to pre-meshing requirements and limitations in prior art.
Innovation Solution
A method using parametric models that simulate sedimentary flow with deterministic and stochastic terms, employing NURBS surfaces for accurate representation of geological formations without initial meshing, allowing for post-determination meshing that fits the formations' shapes and enabling association of facies and properties with cells based on quality index distributions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pre-meshing is performed before modeling, then the modeling process can be initiated, but the mesh size, orientation, and number of meshes induce bias in the modeling and cannot accurately represent sedimentary bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional workflow by performing modeling before meshing. Instead of starting with a pre-defined mesh and then modeling within its constraints, the method first determines sedimentary bodies and their properties through modeling, and only then generates the mesh to represent these identified formations. This inversion eliminates the bias introduced by pre-meshing while maintaining computational feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic workflow where the mesh generation process adapts to the modeled sedimentary bodies. The mesh is not fixed beforehand but is dynamically created after modeling to accurately represent the identified formations, allowing the mesh configuration to respond to the specific geological structures discovered during modeling.
2Device complexity
If pre-meshed models are used, then the modeling framework is established, but it becomes difficult to accurately satisfy well constraints and associate cells with facies or geophysical properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reverses the conventional sequence by performing cell association and constraint satisfaction after modeling rather than before. This allows the methodology to first identify sedimentary bodies and their properties, then associate cells with these formations and satisfy well constraints based on the actual modeled structures, significantly improving measurement precision and constraint satisfaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary modeling to identify sedimentary bodies and their properties before performing cell association and constraint satisfaction. This preliminary action establishes the geological framework that guides subsequent cell-facies association and ensures accurate satisfaction of well constraints based on the identified formations.
3Productivity
If conventional meshing methods are used, then the subsoil formation determination can be performed, but the meshing process creates bias and cannot account for sedimentary bodies identified during modeling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional workflow sequence, performing modeling to identify sedimentary bodies before meshing. This inversion allows the mesh to be generated after the geological structures are identified, eliminating the bias that would otherwise be introduced by pre-meshing and improving the accuracy of subsoil structure determination while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temporal parameter of the meshing operation from before-modeling to after-modeling. This parameter change allows the mesh configuration to adapt to the identified sedimentary bodies, improving determination accuracy while maintaining efficient processing through automated post-modeling mesh generation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method for determination of real subsoil geological formation characterized in that the method comprises: /a/ receiving a model representing the real subsoil, /b/ determining a first fluvial geological formation in said model using parametric surfaces, /c/ determining a subsequent fluvial geological formation as a deformation of the first fluvial geological formation using parametric surfaces, /d/ subtract the first fluvial geological formation from the subsequent fluvial geological formation to create a new geological formation named point bar formation.