Peter Wang, Geophysical Technical Advisor at Emerson E&P Software, will be the guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the Society of Independent Earth Scientists (SIPES) – Fort Worth Chapter, with special co-presenter Monte Meers, Independent Geologist and Vice-Chair of SIPES Ft. Worth.
Peter and Monte will present a case study,
Exploring for Wolfcamp Reservoirs, Eastern Shelf of the Permian Basin, Texas, Using a Machine Learning Approach, co-authored by Bruno de Ribet (Emerson E&P Software), Howard “Pete” Renick (Independent Geologist), Russ Creath
(Reservoir Geophysicist, Hardin International), and Ryan McKee
(Geophysical Technician, RAM Imaging Technology).
Reserve now!
To reserve your space ($30 for lunch), contact SIPES Chapter Secretary Jim West, at Gemdrillingco@sbcglobal.net.
Abstract
One of the leading challenges in hydrocarbon exploration and production is predicting rock types and fluid content distribution throughout the reservoir away from the boreholes. In this presentation, we will demonstrate the application of a neural network-based machine learning methodology called Democratic Neural Network Association (DNNA) to the problem of finding oil-filled packstones in the Middle Wolfcamp, Eastern Shelf of the Permian Basin, Texas.
The DNNA algorithm searched through fifteen 3D seismic volumes simultaneously, and was able to build a model which reconstructed the nine lithofacies. No evidence was seen of false positive or false negative predictions at the wells for the oil-filled packstone facies.
The neural network learnings were applied through the 3D survey, and results were delivered with up to a 0.5 ms two-way time vertical resolution, or about 5 ft, a significant uplift from conventional seismic resolution. Lateral resolution was also improved. Additional drilling opportunities can be identified from the seismic facies thickness map or the facies probability voxel clouds.
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| Voxel visualization display of the Lower and Upper Wolfcamp oil-filled facies probability cloud, Eastern Shelf of Permian Basin, TX |
Biography
Peter Wang is a Geophysical Technical Advisor with Emerson E&P Software. He has a BS in Geosciences from Brown University, and an MS in Geophysics and MBA from the University of Houston. He started in the Oil & Gas business at Amoco (now BP) in 1986. Prior to joining Emerson in 2015 he was Schlumberger’s Seismic for Unconventionals Product Champion. He is First Vice-President Elect for the Geophysical Society of Houston.