This year's EAGE student lecture was on How to Manage Fractured Reservoir Modelling and it showed how to avoid potential pitfalls in over or under representing the complexity of a fracture network with some 'common sense' approaches to the accurate capture of dynamic behaviour. The lecture was well attended by staff and students from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh, and some industry professionals. Audience feedback was positive throughout and the Q&A session after generated particular interest in the use of 4D seismic data.
Fractured Reservoir Modelling
All reservoirs should be considered as fractured until proven otherwise...avoid fracture denial - model your reservoir accordingly.
In nature, naturally fractured reservoirs are much more common than we think. Carbonates are estimated to contain 80% of future hydrocarbon reservoirs (reserves) and most of them within fractured reservoirs. In addition, tight gas reservoirs, which represent a large proportion of unconventional hydrocarbon resources around the world, are presently poorly exploited because their reserves are difficult to assess and production is highly unpredictable. Fractured reservoirs can exhibit very specific behaviour in terms of fluid flow, and production mechanisms. This complex behaviour is often difficult to reproduce using classical reservoir simulation methods.
Bertrand Gauthier
Bertrand Gauthier is a senior reservoir geologist and seismologist specialist of naturally fractured reservoirs in charge of the dedicated study and R&D team at Total. He earned a PhD in structural geology from Pierre and Marie Curie University of Paris before beginning his career as a research structural geologist and then a seismologist with Shell. He later moved to Total where he took several positions dedicated to the characterisation, interpretation, and modelling of structurally complex reservoirs.
Edinburgh Time-Lapse Project (ETLP)
The ETLP is recognised as a mature UK-based university consortium specialising in the development and application of analysis tools for engineering-consistent quantitative interpretation of 4D seismic data. The consortium is in its fifth phase of research which began in June 2012 and runs to June 2015.