Modeling geologic objects in faulted formations

• US 20030216897A1
• Filed: 05/17/2002
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Inventors: Bouzas, Horacio R., Endres, David Mack
• Granted Patent: US 7,523,024 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 11/00 Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more of main groups G01V1/00 - G01V9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 20/00 Geomodelling in general

Abstract

A system and method of modeling a geological body in a contemporary formation is presented that includes constructing a geologic object based on an original depositional paleo-space associated with the contemporary formation, and transforming the geologic object based on a deformation model of the contemporary formation using acquired data, the transforming allowing modeling of the deformed formation geological body and a lateral extent spanning a plurality of fault blocks.

Claims

1. A method of modeling a faulted formation geological body with a lateral extent spanning a plurality of fault blocks in a contemporary formation using data acquired from the formation and stored in a data processing system, the method comprising:

constructing a geological object using the acquired data situated in a depositional paleo-space model associated with the contemporary formation; and

transforming the geological object constructed in paleo-space based on a deformation model of the contemporary formation, the transforming allowing three dimensional modeling of the deformed formation geological body, the transforming allowing modeling of the deformed formation geological body with the lateral extent spanning the plurality of fault blocks.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the transforming further includes inverse paleo-transforming a boundary surface that is trimmed to fit in a block unit representation of the contemporary formation by performing an intersection operation that is nondestructive to the block unit representation.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the transforming further includes inverse paleo-transforming a boundary surface that is trimmed to fit in a block unit representation of the contemporary formation by performing an intersection operation that is destructive to a copied inverse transformed boundary surface.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the transforming further includes inverse paleo-transforming a bounding surface that is trimmed to fit in a block unit representation of the contemporary formation by performing an intersection operation that operates on an original boundary surface.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the transforming further includes inverse paleo-transforming a bounding surface that is trimmed to fit in a block unit representation of the contemporary formation by performing an intersection operation that is destructive to a copied, inverse transformed boundary surface and non-destructive to the block unit representation.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising inverse transforming the geologic object to create a model of the contemporary formation that re-imposes any folding on the deformed formation geological body when the transforming includes unfolding of at least a portion of the geological object.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the transforming and the inverse transforming are via one or more of a paleo transform, an inverse paleo transform, a paleo transform matrix, an inverse paleo transform matrix, a point-by-point application of a paleo transform and a point-by-point transform of an inverse paleo transform.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the constructing includes building a fault block model using the acquired data.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the constructing further includes building a contemporary structure model based on the fault block model.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising trimming the geologic object using a fault block model.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the constructing further includes transforming structural blocks from the contemporary structure model to the original depositional paleo-space.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the transforming the geologic object utilizes an inverse transform based on the transformed structural blocks.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the paleo-space model is obtained by transforming one or more fault blocks to paleo space.

14. A system for modeling geologic objects in deformed formations, the system comprising:

an applications module adapted to transform a graphical representation of ancillary spatial data representing a geologic object by constructing a geologic object based on an original depositional paleo-space associated with a contemporary formation, and transforming the geologic object based on a deformation model of the contemporary formation using the ancillary spatial data;

an application programming interface coupled to the applications module, the application programming interface adapted for input/output manipulation;

a design database adapted to provide a plurality of tools for the input/output manipulation; and

a geometry database coupled to the application programming interface.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the applications module further comprises:

a first object adapted to create a model of one or more deformed formation geological bodies in an original paleo-space model via one or more restoration transforms; and

a second object adapted to trim the model within a block unit in a model of the contemporary formation;

wherein when the first object performs an unfold operation of the block unit, an inverse paleo-transform reimposes a fold operation on the model of the deformed formation geological body.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the original paleo-space model is at least unfaulted and unfolded.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the applications module further comprises:

a fault block modeling object; and

a structural modeling object;

the applications module operable with the application programming interface to allow a user to choose via the fault block modeling object an order of fault insertion, the order of insertion determining how the structural modeling object inserts horizon and unconformity patches into fault blocks created by the fault block modeling object.

18. An apparatus for modeling a deformed formation geological body in a contemporary formation using data acquired from the formation, the apparatus comprising:

means for constructing a geologic object based on an original depositional paleo-space associated with the contemporary formation; and

means for transforming the geologic object based on a deformation model of the contemporary formation using the acquired data, the transforming allowing three dimensional modeling of the deformed formation geological body.

19. A method for modeling geologic objects in deformed formations, the method comprising:

transforming a graphical representation of ancillary spatial data representing a geologic object using one or more spatial paleo-transforms;

recording the transform for predetermined points;

inverse transforming predetermined portions of the transformed graphical representation; and

trimming the inverse transformed graphical representation, the trimming providing a deformed formation geological body in a contemporary space model.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the inverse transforming and the transforming are invertible bulk paleo-transformations, the invertible bulk paleo-transformation translating and rotating a best fit plane of a portion of a datum horizon that bounds a volume v to a z=0 plane.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein a transformation vector is applied to every point in or on the boundary of volume v.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the inverse transforming is an invertible transformation using a two-dimensional scalar field:

T(v,x,y)=<

0,0,T(v,x,y)>

, the invertible transformation translating every point of a portion of a datum horizon that bounds a volume v to a z=0 plane, where v is bounded by one of the predetermined portions and T(v2,x,y)=T(v,x,y) if a volume v2 outside is outside the one of the predetermined portions is above or below volume v.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the invertible transformation and an inverse thereof both apply a transformation vector point-by-point on each of a plurality of spatial data points that define one or more entities to be transformed.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the plurality of spatial data points include one or more of triangle and quadruple corners, borehole survey points, wireline log data, logging-while-drilling log data, measurement-while drilling log data, core measurement data and well marker positions that define one or more entities to be transformed.

25. The method of claim 19 wherein the one or more spatial paleo-transforms includes T(x,y,z) and is unique for every point in or on the boundary of a volume v.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein an inverse (T−

1(v)) of a bulk transform applies without forcing at least one of the geologic objects to conform to a localized shape of a datum horizon.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein at least one of the geological objects can be made to conform to a localized shape of a datum surface in a contemporary model by using a surface conformance algorithm.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the surface conformance algorithm uses a plurality of vertexes, each vertex being translated in z by a quantity according to a formula using variables derived by projecting a ray vertically from one of the plurality of vertexes until the ray hits one of a top conformal surface and a bottom conformal surface.

29. An apparatus for modeling geologic objects in faulted formations, the apparatus comprising:

means for transforming a graphical representation of ancillary spatial data representing a geologic object using one or more spatial paleo-transforms;

means for recording the transform for predetermined points;

means for inverse transforming predetermined portions of the transformed graphical representation; and

means for trimming the inverse transformed graphical representation, the trimming providing a deformed formation geological body in a contemporary space model.

30. A program product comprising:

signal bearing media bearing program code for;

transforming a graphical representation of ancillary spatial data representing a geologic object using one or more spatial paleo-transforms;

recording the transform for predetermined points;

inverse transforming predetermined portions of the transformed graphical representation; and

trimming the inverse transformed graphical representation, the trimming providing a deformed formation geological body in a contemporary space model.

31. A program product comprising:

signal bearing media bearing program code for;

constructing a geologic object based on an original depositional paleo-space associated with the contemporary formation; and

transforming the geologic object based on a deformation model of the contemporary formation using the acquired data, the transforming allowing three dimensional modeling of a deformed formation geological body.