Advanced Workflow for Collaborative Well Planning
Paradigm™ Sysdrill® DirectorGeo® integrates drilling constrained well plans with the advanced capabilities from VoxelGeo® volume-based seismic interpretation system. Together, they offer a single environment for use by multidisciplinary teams of geoscientists and drilling engineers to help plan, drill, and monitor wells in real time and facilitate optimal wellbore positioning.
Target selection
Within VoxelGeo, geoscientists pick targets based on interpretations, horizons, or arbitrary seismic lines. They then transfer target UTM coordinates and depth to Paradigm Sysdrill DirectorGeo, where the depth is automatically adjusted to the reference rig elevation. The drilling engineer can accurately size the drillers’ target based on the size of the actual prospect and compare against the original interpretation.
Well Planning
With the auto-plan mode, users can tell the wellbore to hit multiple targets with a single click. They can then calculate positional uncertainty for the planned wellbore in order to determine the feasibility of drilling geological prospects. Geological horizons and faults can be extracted from VoxelGeo and loaded into the DirectorGeo 3D viewer for use by the driller at the rigsite. Automatic computation of the intersections between the planned wellbore and geological horizons in VoxelGeo allows optimization of entry angles and casing setting depths.
Visualization
When a wellbore design is completed, it is instantly shown in VoxelGeo. The display includes positional uncertainty, hole sections, casings, and comments. Any modifications that are made to the planned wellbore are immediately updated in VoxelGeo. If the predefined dogleg limits are exceeded, the wellbore will turn red, signifying a problem. You can drape seismic well traverses along the wellbore to allow geoscientists to review the wellbore along the reservoir section in order to validate the targets and also to identify potential hazards in the overburden. Casing shoes can be visualized to optimize casing seat selection relative to geological horizons.
Avoiding Geohazards
Users can create planned wellbores to avoid any geohazards that have been interpreted and visualized in VoxelGeo, such as geological faults or shallow gas. Using VoxelGeo’s multivolume rendering capability, Sysdrill DirectorGeo can plan wells in seismic and/or pressure volumes simultaneously to avoid areas of over-pressure. You can extract pore pressures and fracture gradients along the planned wellbore trajectory and use them to perform casing seat and mud window calculations within the Paradigm™ Sysdrill® engineering applications. Porosity volumes can also be loaded into VoxelGeo to help identify high porosity areas and make target adjustments to optimize production.
Survey Management
Directional survey data can be loaded in real time using Paradigm’s WITSML technology. This automatically computes the actual wellbore position and its positional uncertainty as drilling progresses. You can view the actual wellbore in VoxelGeo to compare the current drilling position with the planned wellbore and the geological targets.
Anticollision and Projecting Ahead of the Bit
Wellbore positional uncertainty is incorporated into the anticollision analysis to reduce drilling risk by minimizing the possibility of collision. You can view anticollision results graphically to highlight possible well convergence. Paradigm Sysdrill DirectorGeo offers comprehensive tools for projecting ahead of the bit, allowing you to decide how to drill ahead for optimum well placement. In order to avoid geohazards, the existing drilling trend can be analyzed to determine whether corrective action is required before drilling continues.
Team-Based Decisions
During drilling, Paradigm Sysdrill DirectorGeo can be used in the office with VoxelGeo or connected remotely from the rigsite to a desktop workstation or visualization center. With VoxelGeo, Sysdrill DirectorGeo enables multidisciplinary teams of geoscientists and drilling engineers to meet in a 3D visualization environment and view real-time data while drilling.