SimClast: An aggregated forward stratigraphic model of continental shelves

Dalman, R.A.F.; Weltje, Gert Jan

doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2011.05.014

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Stratigraphic forward models may also be classified in terms of targeted sedimentary environments. Siliciclastic models describe the evolving forms of clastic basin fills as a function of physical erosion, transport and deposition (Tetzlaff and Harbaugh, 1989;Storms et al, 2002;Clevis et al, 2003;Dalman and Weltje, 2012), whereas carbonate models implement bio-chemical constraints to calculate insitu precipitation and production of carbonate sediment (Burgess, 2001, Warrlich et al, 2008. Models of complete sedimentary systems are obtained by dynamically coupling single-environment models (Hutton and Syvitski, 2008;Warner et al, 2008).…”

Section: Process-based Stratigraphic Simulatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards process-based geological reservoir modelling: Obtaining basin-scale constraints from seismic and well data

Sacchi

Weltje

Verga

2015

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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Highlights:• Fluvio-deltaic stratigraphy was simulated with a 2DH process-based model • Goodness of fit functions were used to infer boundary conditions from subsurface data • Information content of seismic and well data was evaluated • Depth of reservoir top across basin is best predictor of reservoir lithology ABSTRACT Forward stratigraphic modelling aims at representing the spatial distribution of lithology as a function of physical processes and environmental conditions at the time of deposition so as to integrate geological knowledge into the reservoir modelling workflow, thus increasing predictive capabilities of reservoir models and efficient exploitation of hydrocarbons. Application of process-based models in inverse mode is not yet well-established due to our limited insight into the information content of common subsurface data and the computational overhead involved.In this paper we examine inverse modelling of stratigraphy by using a typical dataset acquired in the hydrocarbon industry, which consists of seismic data and standard logs from a limited number of wells. The approach is based on the use of a forward model called SimClast, developed at Delft University of Technology, to generate facies distribution and architecture at the regional scale. Three different goodness of fit functions were proposed for model inversion, following an inference approach. A synthetic reservoir unit was used to investigate the impact of the uncertainty affecting the input parameters and the information content of seismic and well data.The case study showed that the model was more sensitive to the initial topography and to the location of the sediment entry point than to sea level. The depth of the seismic reflector corresponding to the top-reservoir surface was the most informative data source; the initial and boundary conditions of the simulation were constrained by evaluating the depth of this reflector across the whole basin area. In the reservoir area, where the seismic-to-well tie was established, the depth of the reservoir top does not give enough information for constraining the model parameters. Our results thus indicate that evaluation of basinscale data permits reduction of uncertainty in (geostatistical) reservoir models relative to the current workflow, in which only local data are used. Effective use of well data to generate reservoir models conditioned to basin-scale scenarios requires post-processing methods to downscale the output of the forward model used in the experiments.

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Section: Process-based Stratigraphic Simulatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards process-based geological reservoir modelling: Obtaining basin-scale constraints from seismic and well data

Sacchi

Weltje

Verga

2015

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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“…For basin scale lithological simulation an aggregated, basinscale 2DH stratigraphic model, called SimClast (Dalman & Weltje, 2011), was adopted. For basin scale lithological simulation an aggregated, basinscale 2DH stratigraphic model, called SimClast (Dalman & Weltje, 2011), was adopted.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to integrate basin-scale information into reservoir models

Quinto

Jan

2013

EAGE Annual Conference &Amp; Exhibition Incorporating SPE Europec

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Objectives and scope of the Study In this paper a new approach is presented to consistently integrate basin-scale information into reservoir models. The impact of the quantitative integration of boundary conditions derived from basin-scale modeling on the facies distribution at the reservoir scale is evaluated. To this purpose, a new workflow was defined based on a geostatistical approach. The aim was that of integrating the typical dataset for reservoir geological modeling, comprising well and seismic data, with a potentially new kind of data obtained from 3-D process-based stratigraphic modeling and related to the distribution of the hydrocarbon bearing volumes. Quantitative coherence between the small scale reservoir volume and the large-scale geological setting defined by the basin model was imposed. Synthetic case studies were set up to verify the effectiveness of the method.Applications The entire process was applied to a fluvio-deltaic environment to integrate the basin-derived information, such as (1) the overall reservoir/non reservoir volumes, (2) the 3D distribution of channelized volumes and (3) related flow directions, to the reservoir model. Eventually, the uncertainty reduction in the description of the final facies distribution at the reservoir scale was evaluated. Results, Observations and ConclusionsThe developed approach proved very efficient to estimate the lithological fraction of the hydrocarbon bearing rocks (i.e. sands in a shaley/clayey environment). The lithological fraction is of crucial importance during the appraisal phase of a reservoir when relevant decisions have to be taken but few wells are drilled and, as a consequence, a limited amount of data is available to perform a reliable volumetric estimate. Furthermore, the prediction of the 3D facies architecture (such as the channel pattern in a fluvial depositional environment) can effectively assist in the well planning strategy. Besides, the overall uncertainty affecting a reservoir model can be assessed; this uncertainty is both a function of the initial environmental parameters for basin modeling and of the adopted methodological approach for basin-toreservoir data integration. Therefore, an accurate inference of the basin parameters is needed to achieve a reliable prediction of both the channel location and the sand/shales volumes fractions.Significance of subject matter Reservoir modeling can significantly benefit from the integration of quantitative basinscale information. In particular, the numerical modeling of the stratigraphic sequence can be used to steer the reconstruction of the reservoir internal geometry and to reduce the uncertainty in the distribution of the hydrocarbon-bearing lithologies. Furthermore, this approach provides a rigorous assessment of the information content of all the available data and thus it might be very useful to guide further data acquisition campaigns.

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“…The stratigraphic evolution in the model is handled in a way common to several stratigraphic (Tetzlaff and Harbaugh, 1989;Hutton and Syvitski, 2008;Dalman and Weltje, 2012) and hydrodynamic (Li and Amos, 2001;Warner et al, 2008) models. It is capable of representing an unlimited number of user-defined non-cohesive sediment classes.…”

Section: Stratigraphic Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined hillslope diffusion and sediment transport simulation applied to landscape dynamics modelling

Salles

Duclaux

2014

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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We present a new numerical approach for simulating geomorphic and stratigraphic processes that combines open‐channel flow with non‐uniform sediment transport law and semi‐empirical diffusive mass wasting. It is designed to facilitate modelling of surface processes across multiple space‐ and time‐scales, and under a variety of environmental and tectonic conditions. The physics of open‐channel flow is primarily based on an adapted Lagrangian formulation of shallow‐water equations. The interaction between flow and surface geology is performed by a non‐uniform total‐load sediment transport law. Additional hillslope processes are simulated using a semi‐empirical method based on a diffusion approach. In the implementation, the resolution of flow dynamics is made on a triangulated grid automatically mapped and adaptively remeshed over a regular orthogonal stratigraphic mesh. These new methods reduce computational time while preserving stability and accuracy of the physical solutions. In order to illustrate the potential of this method for landscape and sedimentary system modelling, we present a set of three generic experiments focusing on assessing the influence of contrasting erodibilities on the evolution of an active bedrock landscape. The modelled ridges morphometrics satisfy established relationships for drainage network geometry and slope distribution, and provide quantitative information on the relative impact of hillslope and channel processes, sediment discharge and alluviation. Our results suggest that contrasting erodibility can stimulate autogenic changes in erosion rate and influence the landscape morphology and preservation. This approach offers new opportunities to investigate joint landscape and sedimentary systems response to external perturbations. The possibility to define and track a large number of materials makes the implementation highly suited to model source‐to‐sink problems where material dispersion is the key question that needs to be addressed, such as natural resources exploration and basin analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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SimClast: An aggregated forward stratigraphic model of continental shelves

Cited by 18 publications

References 15 publications

Towards process-based geological reservoir modelling: Obtaining basin-scale constraints from seismic and well data

Towards process-based geological reservoir modelling: Obtaining basin-scale constraints from seismic and well data

How to integrate basin-scale information into reservoir models

Combined hillslope diffusion and sediment transport simulation applied to landscape dynamics modelling

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