Author: Tomas Labrador Olarte, Emerson
In structurally complex geological zones such as the Bolivian Sub-Andean areas, the scarcity of reliable seismic data, of good quality and resolution, has enough wells to carry out calibration of data, a high uncertainty associated, and constant reprocessing of the data to improve seismic images. These difficulties, as well as the high costs to acquiring information, has permitted create of a specific workflow applied to geological interpretations from the available 2D seismic lines that are essential resource for geological interpretation in structurally complex areas.
Together with these low-resolution seismic data, extrapolate the information captured and interpreted from some wells, measurements taken on outcrops and surface geology data, as well as the use of theoretical models of deposition and tectonic deformation, represent the most of the inputs data that geoscientists have to use to carry out two-dimensional geological interpretations in areas as a Bolivian sub-Andean. From there, the generation and restoration of 2D balanced cross-sections, which will become the starting point to understand and predict where it is likely that the oil system has generated commercial accumulations of hydrocarbons.
As with the electrical log information from wells that is only provide us information about few centimeters around a hole, it is possible to maximize 2D geological interpretations to infer that around of these, the data could be extrapolated to obtain a greater benefit when carrying out a local analysis.
The result of this two-dimensional interpretations will be curves or lines that represent the magnitude, direction and dips of the geological faults, as well as the horizons lines that represent the top of a geological formation or a member of it, a specific geological facies, an operational target, or in some cases a geo body. Whatever case (horizons and faults), the result is lines made up of X, Y and Z coordinate points, which generally must be densified in order to obtain a greater number of control nodes, to be later extrapolated to the adjacencies generating information in different directions; This means that we will have a volume of data that will facilitate the construction of a three-dimensional geological model, as well as a geological grid that represents the main tool for populating discrete and continuous data.
Bio:
Tomas Labrador Olarte, Emerson
Tomas graduated as Geological Engineer from the Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela. In his 18 years of experience in the industry, he has worked as Reservoir Geologist at PDVSA for 10.5 years, Petrel Technical Support at Schlumberger for 1.5 years, and Geomodeller at Emerson for 6 years.
Currently, he is Geoscientist at Emerson to South America at Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where he is responsible for geomodelling technical support.